I have a Lews Tournament Pro and it has the centrifugal brake system with 4 pins do they have to be balanced out I heard if they aren't it can damage your reel ,is ok for me to just have one of the four on?

It's fine to use only 1, the only negative I can even think of is that the tab will wear a little faster than the others, so maybe you should change it up once in while.

Balanced is better, but you should be ok with just the one.

If one tab provides the braking you need that's fine. If you activate 2 or more, best practice is to balance them out, but it's not catastrophic if you don't. 

I always hear the topic of balance brought up when this question is asked.  I tend to think that any perceived balance that may have existed in the spool before spooling line on it is long gone after the fact.  If this in fact is the balance we are talking about.

When I say "balance" in this context, I'm talking about evenly spaced around the spool. I agree that actual balance as in weight distribution is a non-factor in this situation.

I always hear the topic of balance brought up when this question is asked.  I tend to think that any perceived balance that may have existed in the spool before spooling line on it is long gone after the fact.  If this in fact is the balance we are talking about.

I always wonder about balance and using tape to prevent line slippage with braid, but have never had a problem yet.

The spool is held stationary by a shaft and cannot wobble (forward and back, I know some left-to-right is acceptable), so balance is a non-issue. I do agree that changing to a different shoe every few outings will reduce the amount of wear on each brake over time. Keeping everything oiled properly will help too.

Balanced is better, but you should be ok with just the one.

Not doubting what your saying, but hoping to maybe gain some knowledge.  What do you feel it is about balancing the tabs that makes it better?

Not doubting what your saying, but hoping to maybe gain some knowledge.  What do you feel it is about balancing the tabs that makes it better?

I would think with just one you'd have more wear than normal.

I would think with just one you'd have more wear than normal.

You'd have the same amount of wear as two, except it'd only be on one brake shoe.

You'd have the same amount of wear as two, except it'd only be on one brake shoe.

You'd have slightly more because there would be a little more spool speed, which in turn means more braking pressure applied by the 1 shoe that is out.