Coats Engineers Solutions for Tough Tire Service Jobs at SEMA

The equipment manufacturer's latest tire changers and diagnostic tech aim to help dealers handle difficult fitments, diagnose vibration problems and protect expensive wheels.

Sara Welch

Nov. 12, 2026

4 min read

Add Us On Google

What Tire Dealers Should Know

The ProBalance E900 goes beyond traditional wheel balancing. Its laser measurement system and ProMatch technology help technicians identify and correct runout-related issues that can cause vibration complaints, even when an assembly is properly balanced.
Coats is expanding options for tire and wheel service. The Maxx T90 adds a pneumatic locking mechanism, while the center-clamp Maxx T90C offers an alternative for shops servicing premium and custom wheels.
The Maxx 100 targets challenging fitments. Its touchless design and specialized mounting and dismounting tools help dealers service ultra-low-profile tires and expensive wheel assemblies while reducing the risk of damage.

Coats E900 with Ben Wright — Coats software engineer Ben Wright helped develop the technology behind the ProBalance E900 diagnostic wheel balancer, which combines automated measurements, runout diagnostics and guided corrective procedures to help tire dealers address vibration complaints.

"This is my baby,” Coats Co. software engineer Ben Wright said. He wasn't talking about a car or a restoration project at the 2026 SEMA Show in Las Vegas. He was talking about the technology he helped develop for the company's ProBalance E900 diagnostic wheel balancer.

As Wright detailed every aspect of the machine's capabilities, his enthusiasm for the equipment and the tire shop problems he’s trying to solve were hard to miss.

Beyond the ProBalance E900’s programming, lasers and automated measurements lies a problem tire dealers know well: A wheel can be perfectly balanced and still cause a customer to return with a vibration complaint.

"This machine is more than a balancer," Wright explained. "It can also diagnose and walk you through correcting issues that a balancer alone cannot."

The E900 was introduced in 2025, but Wright said the version demonstrated at this year's show represented the machine's complete, envisioned feature set.

During the demonstration, Wright showed how the system automatically measures wheel dimensions, evaluates runout and identifies weight placement locations during a balancing cycle.

The machine combines a diagnostic roller that measures radial runout with a laser system that measures the wheel's interior geometry. Its ProMatch technology then helps technicians identify whether repositioning the tire on the wheel could reduce runout-related vibrations. When correction is appropriate, the system guides technicians through marking the tire and wheel and repositioning the assembly.

The machine can also generate a PDF report with diagnostic information, including before-and-after measurements, giving tire dealers a way to document the work performed and explain additional corrective services to customers.

Wright also demonstrated the E900's adhesive-weight placement system, which uses lasers to identify installation locations and can guide technicians through hiding weights behind wheel spokes — a capability that is particularly useful as alloy wheels and designs that limit conventional clip-on weight placement become increasingly common.

The E900 also features Coats' direct-drive balancing technology, which integrates the motor and spindle into a single assembly.

Coats tire changers — Coats showcased its Maxx T90 tire changer (left), featuring a pneumatic locking mechanism, alongside the center-clamp Maxx T90C (right), which offers an alternative approach to securing wheels during tire service.

Tire changers for more demanding fitments

The company's tire changer lineup demonstrated a similar emphasis on making difficult jobs more manageable for technicians.

The Maxx T90 builds on the existing Maxx 90 platform with the addition of a thumb-operated pneumatic locking mechanism. Instead of relying on a traditional screw-and-slide arrangement, technicians can engage the lock with the press of a button. Wright explained that the system is designed to maintain the mount/demount head's position and help prevent unintended contact with the customer's wheel. The machine also features a wheel lift, pedal-operated bead breaker, leverless mount/demount head and Coats' Robo-Arm and Robo-Roller.

Coats also displayed its center-clamp configuration, the Maxx T90C. Unlike traditional rim-clamp systems, center-clamp machines secure the wheel through its center opening. Wright said the choice between center-clamp and rim-clamp designs often comes down to technician preference and the types of wheels a shop services. For dealers handling premium or custom wheels, a center-clamp configuration with protective accessories offers an alternative to contacting the wheel at its outer edges.

Coats Maxx 100 — Lee Vickers (left), commercial distribution manager, and Ben Wright (right), software engineer for Coats Co., demonstrate the Maxx 100 touchless tire changer, designed to handle challenging ultra-low-profile tire and high-end wheel assemblies while minimizing the risk of damage.

A touchless approach to difficult tire assemblies

Another machine on display, the Max 100, takes a different approach to particularly challenging wheel and tire combinations. Rather than relying on a conventional mount/demount head to perform multiple operations, the Max 100 uses separate tools designed for individual mounting and dismounting functions.

According to Lee Vickers, commercial distribution manager for Coats, the system is intended for assemblies that can be especially difficult to service with conventional equipment, including wide, ultra-low-profile tires mounted on expensive custom or carbon-fiber wheels.

The fully touchless machine is not necessarily designed to complete every tire change faster, Wright explained. Instead, its advantage is handling difficult assemblies while minimizing stress on the tire and wheel. Vickers said that capability can be particularly valuable for custom shops, tire dealers specializing in ultra-high-performance fitments and dealerships servicing expensive OE wheels.

For dealers considering an expansion into higher-end fitments, that capability presents an opportunity to serve additional customers while managing the risks associated with expensive tire and wheel assemblies. Vickers also suggested that investing in specialized equipment can help tire dealers differentiate themselves by accepting jobs other shops may be reluctant to handle.

Across the equipment displayed at SEMA, Coats' focus remained on the work being performed in the service bay and meeting the demands modern tire dealers face every day.

About the Author

Sara Welch

Managing Editor

Sara Welch is Modern Tire Dealer's managing editor. She is an award-winning journalist who covered agriculture in Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia for 10 years and sports for five years before coming to MTD. She can be reached at [email protected].