One small thing that can cause early tire and suspension wear is an out-of-balance tire. Though the tire balancing procedure may seem minor, it is a critical procedure. If tires don’t have regular balancing, then your car’s handling and even safety may worsen. Discover more about tire balancing, what it does, and signs you need to have your tires re-balanced.
Why Do Tires Need Balancing?
Tires and wheels do not come from the manufacturer in perfect condition and ready to go. Though they may seem uniform to the eye, tires and wheels often have variations in weight throughout their structure. Normal wear and tear can also change your wheel and tire’s balance. When your wheels are not balanced, your tires will not spin smoothly. This affects the way your vehicle handles.
How Is Balancing Done?
Tires are balanced after they are mounted on the wheel. Modern tire shops use a computerized spin balancing machine. The tire goes on the machine and spins at highway speeds. The computer reads where the tire is unbalanced and indicates where weights should be placed on the wheel. The technician places thin metal pieces on the rim to counterbalance heavy spots. Then, the technician spins the wheel again to ensure it has proper0 balance.
What Are the Signs of Out-of-Balance Tires?
Only a small amount of imbalance is enough to disrupt how your car feels and handles. Discover some of the signs that you need to balance your tires.
Strange Vibrations
The sudden appearance of vibrations is one sign that your tires don’t have correct balance. These vibrations are noticeable in your steering wheel when you reach moderate speeds. The vibrations get worse as you drive faster, then smooth out after you reach highway speed.
Unusual Tread Wear
A poorly balanced tire causes unusual, patchy flat areas in a tire’s tread after time. These wear patches often have no consistency in size or shape. If you ignore the problem for too long, then your tires could end up with lost treads. Uneven wear also affects the strength and integrity of the sidewalls after a while and could result in a blowout.
Worn Suspension Components
The vibration from unbalanced tires reverberates through the rest of the wheel and suspension system. This eventually leads to early wear and damage to wheel bearings and shocks. It also affects your vehicle’s responsiveness and handling. Over time, you may notice more play (or looseness) in your steering or strange noises from the bearings.
Changes in Gas Mileage
Vibrations and unusually worn tires can cause your gas mileage to diminish, especially as your speed increases. However, check your tires for underinflation as well, as this is also a common cause of increased fuel consumption.
When Should You Balance Your Tires?
New tires are always balanced when they first go on the rims. When you come in for your regular tire rotation, the mechanic often rebalances them during the process. Your wheels should also receive rebalancing whenever you get suspension work.
Another time to check your tire’s balance is if you suspect you have knocked off a weight, such as if you have hit a pothole or a curb. Check your tires and wheels if you notice any sudden and unusual noise and vibrations.
When your tires are unbalanced, the effect on your car’s handling and tire wear is noticeable. Make sure you balance your tires regularly to keep them in good shape for as long as possible. Evans Tire & Service Centers will balance your new tires but also rebalance your tires when necessary. If you need new tires, or you need other wheel and suspension service, then speak with our experts and stop in for service.
What is tire balancing? And are your tires unbalanced? Read on to learn what this term means, why tires need balancing, and signs that you may have a balance issue.
Tire balancing — also called wheel balancing — fixes uneven weight distribution on the wheels. Wheels that aren’t balanced can cause vibration, excessive tire wear, damage to the suspension, and other issues.
During a tire balance service, a trained technician mounts your wheel and tire assembly onto a tire balancing machine. The machine spins the wheel and tire assembly to determine the amount of imbalance. Using that information, the technician can install the correct wheel weights to properly balance the wheel and tire.
Often, wheel balancing and alignment happen during the same visit, but they’re not the same service. Alignment refers to adjusting your vehicle’s steering and suspension angles; it does not involve balancing the tires or wheels.
Sure, tire balancing sounds important, but why do you actually need this service for your vehicle? Proper balancing of your tires may offer many different benefits, including
What causes tires to become unbalanced? Uneven tire wear or loss of a wheel weight after an impact are often the most common culprits. Also, if you leave your car parked for a long time without moving it, flat spots might appear on the tread's contact patch, leading to a vibration at road speeds.
If the tires are unevenly worn, it might be a sign that your tires need to be balanced. The same may hold true if you notice vibration in the steering wheel, floorboard, or seat.
Where your car is trembling can tell you whether the front or back wheels need to be balanced. Your front tires could be the culprit if the steering wheel is vibrating. But if you feel vibration in the seats, the back tires likely need to be balanced. Other factors may also lead to a vibration. If you notice any of the signs above, it's best to have your vehicle checked by an expert technician.
If you detect any signs that your tires need to be balanced, you definitely should make an appointment to get the situation checked out by a trained technician. But generally, you should have your car’s tires rotated and balanced every 5,000 to 6,000 miles, or as recommended by the manufacturer. Other times to get your tires balanced include:
You should have your vehicle checked as soon as you notice a vibration. Unfortunately, unbalanced tires won’t fix themselves. A trained technician needs to address the problem.
Having properly balanced tires can prevent uneven tread wear and suspension problems down the road. Get ahead of the issue by scheduling an appointment online or visiting your local Firestone Complete Auto Care for wheel balancing today.
Photo: AvtoVzglyad
Most motorists know what wheels need to be balanced. And they do this from time to time when replacing tires or disks at a “tire shop”. However, not everyone knows that balancing is not a panacea for some problems. And even if the wheel is balanced, which is called zero, driving comfort will not increase. The AvtoVzglyad portal found out why in some cases balancing wheels is a waste of time and money.
Efim Rozkin
Many drivers have encountered one or more wheels in their cars. Most often, it occurs when the latter are unbalanced relative to the axis of rotation. For example, a rim or tire has been damaged after hitting a deep pothole in the asphalt. Or is it an ordinary marriage of a tire or disk on which it sits.
Also, poor repair of the tire and disc, asymmetrical tread pattern or uneven tire wear and age deformation can also lead to imbalance. In the end, during operation, the balancing weight could fall off. In general, there are many ways to unbalance the wheels, but not all of them lead you to a tire shop, whose workers are always ready to restore balance with the help of special equipment and weights mounted on the wheel disc. Alas, it also happens that even with excellent readings on the balancing machine, the wheel continues to vibrate. How can this be?
However, first let's figure out what the imbalance of the wheels leads to, because vibrations in the body and beating in the steering wheel are not all the charms of imbalance. For example, if the imbalance is strong and is not eliminated by the car owner for a long time, then the vibrating wheel heavily loads the wheel bearing, which will later have to be replaced with a new one. That is why it is recommended to balance the wheels from time to time, and be sure to do this even when they are assembled from new wheels and tires.
However, there are situations when you do not need to run for a tire fitting. For example, you drove into the snow. He stuck to a warm disk - and here's a reason for you to beat. At a speed of 80-100 km / h, the wheel begins to tremble nervously, transmitting all the vibrations to the steering wheel. The ride becomes uncomfortable in an instant. The same thing happens when dirt sticks to the disc. And in this case, the problem is solved by an ordinary sink. The snow melts, the dirt is washed away, and the balance is restored.
Photo: AvtoVzglyad
It is not necessary to balance the wheels even when the set of replacement tires, planted on the rims, is stored properly. But there are other cases when balancing seems to be necessary, but it turns out to be useless. It simply cannot solve the problem that even a zero-balanced wheel continues to vibrate. The fault is the broken geometry of the disk. For this reason, vibrations on the body and beating in the steering wheel will not go anywhere, no matter how hard the tire fitting worker tries. You can check this by disconnecting the wheel and disk, and scrolling the latter on a balancing machine.
However, in this case, you can return to balancing after restoring the disk geometry. But not all discs are well tolerated by such a procedure. So, for example, it is easy to restore the geometry on stamped disks. But forged and cast, after being rolled on a special machine, lose their characteristics and become unsafe. The reason for this is the unstable pressure on the disk and thermal loading at a certain point, which have a devastating effect on the structure of the disk. In the end, the disk may fall apart on the go.
There is another reason - the wheel is not centered on the hub. In other words, the wheel is spinning. And this is easy to check by unscrewing the bolts a little, and moving the wheel, without removing it from the hub, up and down. A play of 1 mm or more is considered critical. Many people try to fix the problem with centering rings or a more accurate fit of the disc on the hub. However, all this, as they say, is a dead poultice. In fact, it is better to refuse to use such disks.
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traffic safety, wheels, summer tires, repairs, tires, rims, winter tires, life hack, tire service
If your car's steering wheel shakes from side to side or your car feels a little springy when driving on a smooth and level road, it definitely means that your car's tires are out of balance.
If you take a close look at your car's wheels, you'll notice small metal squares lined up on the inside of the wheel. These are wheel weights and were placed there when your wheels were balanced. Balanced car wheels result in a smooth ride on the road and help maintain the longevity of your car's tires and suspension.
Before new tires are fitted to the vehicle, they must first be balanced. And despite all the high-tech chemistry and science that goes into the manufacturing process of car tires, they still have some weight imbalance that is fixed and balanced right in the shop.
When you give your tires for balancing, an auto mechanic will take them and install them on a special wheel balancing machine. The machine will spin the wheel and determine the unbalanced weight in the tire and where it is on the wheel. The mechanic will then place the correct number of weights on the opposite side of the spot the machine has determined, thereby balancing the weight imbalance. This is done on all wheels and the result will be a smooth ride for your vehicle.
Balancing should be done every time you fit a new set of tires. Each tire is unique in terms of weight and must be properly balanced. Balancing should also be done when you install new wheels or rims. Even if the wheels and tires are balanced on their own, when you put them together it can create an imbalance.
The number of weight weights on one tire used on a wheel will not match the other tires when you change them, so it is very important that the set of tires be balanced again.
Most noticeable weight imbalance at higher highway speeds. The most obvious problem that the driver will feel is the vibration or shaking of the car.
Unbalanced wheels will wear unevenly and will either need to be changed more often or driven at a slower speed.
Often, in combination with tire balancing, wheel alignment is done to ensure the most comfortable ride. Motorists who have winter and summer tires on the same set of rims will have to pay extra for balancing each time they change tires. Having separate wheels for each set of car tires will mean that you will most likely only pay once for balancing (until it's time to change to new tires).
While improperly balanced tires and misaligned wheels will make you feel uncomfortable on the road, it will also cost you money in the long run, as all the hustling and bouncing will be transferred to your car's suspension, causing these components to wear out a lot. faster.
So if you feel your car shaking and bouncing on the road, it might be time to get your tires rebalanced.
