The inner workings of a tire aren’t things you see every day. That’s why this video from the Warped Perception YouTube channel is so interesting. Thanks to a GoPro mounted on a wheel inside of a tire, we can see exactly what happens as a car drives down the road, complete with balance beads to give us some context as to what’s actually going on.
Seeing the inside of a tire as it rolls down the road is bizarre enough. But for an added effect, the aforementioned balance beads are added. They’re tiny balls made of plastic or glass poured into a tire once it’s mounted on a rim, meant to balance the wheel as it spins. You’ll find all kinds of highbrow physics-themed discussions online that both support and refute whether they actually work.
Beads aside, we’re more interested in watching what happens inside a tire as it traverses cratered streets in Chicago. We’ve actually seen in-tire footage from this YouTuber before, but without the free-flowing beads, all you see is the inside of a tire. The beads provide some much-needed perspective on the centrifugal forces taking place as the tire spins. It’s also oddly relaxing watching the beads fly about at slow speeds.
It’s worth noting the tire balancer featured earlier in the clip showed an imbalance of 2 ounces on the first spin and 1.5 ounces on the second, both with the beads added. It’s not a perfect balance by any means, but considering there’s a GoPro stuck to the rim, it’s not too bad.
All things being equal, we’d just hammer a couple of ounces to the back of the rim and be done with it. But it’s fun to know there are quirky alternatives out there. And isn’t variety what life is all about?