Little known fact: Today marks the 80th anniversary of the clip-on wheel balance weight.

“The first patent for a clip-on wheel balance weight that attached to a wheel flange was applied for on Dec. 3, 1932, exactly 80 years ago,” said Gregory Parker, marketing manager for wheel weight maker Perfect Equipment, which itself was founded 73 years ago.

“Before this invention there were all kinds of crazy patents for ways to cure wheel imbalance, but none of them really addressed the efficiency requirements that budding OEMs required for their new assembly line process. The clip-on weight, patented by James W. Hume from Jackson, Mich., was quick and easy to install on the rim flange without removing the tire and could fix an imbalance in mere seconds.”

Since that first patent for clip-on wheel weights was granted, there have been hundreds of subsequent patents on many different types of wheel balance weights, many of them referencing that first Hume patent (#2,036,757) as the father of the rim flange, clip-on design.

“Today, we want to simply pause and recognize this product on its 80th birthday,” said Parker. “The clip-on wheel balance weight has helped to provide millions of vehicles and millions of families with a safe and comfortable ride for more than three generations. Now that’s a great American invention!”