* cracks knuckles *
- Don't assume your alignment is perfect just because your factory wheels don't shimmy at the same speed. They might shimmy at a lower speed but you're just not looking for it, or used to it. That being said, the 50+MPH steering wheel shake does point toward out of balance or out of round tires/wheels.
- Horrifying question: your tires are properly inflated, correct? The technician is performing the balancing and force matching process with the tires properly inflated, correct?
1. The Road Force balancing machine is only as good as the person using it. I have personally witnessed and assisted in the mounting and balancing of 3 sets of wheels and tires for my Raptor(s).
2. The Method wheels are going to be inherently more difficult to balance, because they require the use of "stick-on" weights which will likely be mounted toward the center of the wheel due to spoke location and design. Mounting the weight toward the center of the wheels, rather than the lip, will usually require more weight to be used to achieve balance. The old clamp on weights are ugly and screw wheels up, but they work. Don't be afraid to use clamp on weights on the inside lip of your wheels if necessary.
3. Beyond weighted balance, the road force machines can also measure the roundness of the wheel, the wheel run-out (side to side), and the roundness of the tire. After performing "force matching", the machine will analyze the wheel and tire, and attempt to match any high/low spots on the wheel, with any low/high spots on the tire to reduce any possibility for high or flat spots on the mounted tire. In other words, a tire can be balanced and in spec, but still have a nasty hop that a novice or uncaring technician would likely ignore.
4. The road force balancing machine with a laser option will show the technician precisely where to put the weights, and how much weight to use. If the tire/wheel combo is outside of spec, or close to tolerance, the tech can opt to have the machine recommend where he/she can rotate the tire to best match the contour of the wheel. ** This is important, because any average technician would probably accept "good enough" balancing and force matching versus the prospect of carrying your heavy-ass 35" tire back to the mounting machine, breaking the bead, turning the tire, and trying again.
5. Continuing on #4, it may take several attempts by deflating/breaking the bead/turning/re-inflating the tire to find the sweet spot where the tire is most round, while requiring the least weight; or at least a happy medium of the two. This is where the road force machine shines, but again most techs are too lazy. If this process is performed for all 4 tires, you would then hope that your worst tire isn't all that bad and install it on the right rear.
6. How the tech installs the weight can play a major role in the overall balance. As I already said, the laser option for the road force machines will show the tech EXACTLY where to put the weight. If it's a lot of weight, which in my experience with the Raptor is 4oz or more, they need to stack it up, not spread it out. The tech can also get fancy and apply the a little less weight closer to the lip than the machine is suggesting, and spin again to see what it says. More trial and error, but it will get there.
7. The 35's are a bear to work with for many places and techs end up using a lot of "soap" on the bead and the lip of the wheel. If they use too much; or even if they don't, your tire can rotate on the rim from just your drive home. Chevy recently encountered this problem on the new ZL1 where the car has so much power and sticky enough tires that the tire would actually make almost a full rotation after a few hard pulls. They had to add an abrasive surface to the wheel lip to prevent that from happening. This scenario is unlikely, but worth mentioning. Technically you're supposed to let your truck sit for like 24 hours before driving it. The road force machines do help in seating the tire bead completely, so it's less of a concern.
8. 150 lb-ft is probably one of the highest torque settings you will see on a half-ton truck, and some techs might think 90-100 is enough. As others have stated, with the lug-centric wheels and conical lug nuts, the wheels need to find their "home". Gradually tightening the lug nuts in a star pattern and ensuring they are torqued to 150lb-ft will be an important piece of the puzzle.
Cliffs notes: Your Methods may very well be a little out of round or balance. But, short some major manufacturing flaw, a properly trained technician with a fully equipped road force balancing machine should be able to get your wheel/tire combo well within spec unless the tires themselves are horribly out of round or balance.