balance every 5K miles? 15K? Ever?

[tpattgeek]

I just wanted to get some real world experience from everyone. Is there any proof that your tires, suspension, etc., will stay in better shape if you balance every so many miles? I have road hazard so it's free to do it no matter what, but I loathe sitting in the tire shop hoping I can get a good view while they rotate/balance in case they rotate wrong (happens all the time). I've heard that you should never need to balance unless you feel vibrations or feel as if something is wrong. I actually enjoy doing the rotations myself so I can get a good inspection of things, so if you can convince me a balance every 15K miles or so is not necessary, that'd be great! So, any good suggestions? Thanks.

Edit: BTW, I drive 70-75mph every day, and have never had even a slight vibration. It's been 15K miles since my last balance. Thanks.

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted By: tpattgeek
I've heard that you should never need to balance unless you feel vibrations or feel as if something is wrong.

That's basically what I believe, but I'm sure you'll find lots of different opinions on this.

 

[adamjeeps]

I never get a balance unless I feel a problem. I've had sets of tires that were not even rotated like they should have been and never needed to balance them.

 

[John_K]

Originally Posted By: adamjeeps
I never get a balance unless I feel a problem. I've had sets of tires that were not even rotated like they should have been and never needed to balance them.



I really don't see the need to rotate/balance unless you're having an issue.

John

 

[Craig in Canada]

...when required.

It seems to be common that a tire assembly will require at least one rebalance after breaking in following initial balance. Other than the odd stubborn problematic tire, this is pretty much what I've observed.

I have one stubborn winter tire that keeps needing rebalancing (I'm going to ask them for a full ForceMatch remount this time) at the moment, and I had another single one of my previous winter tires which was also annoying.

 

[Artem]

Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
Originally Posted By: tpattgeek
I've heard that you should never need to balance unless you feel vibrations or feel as if something is wrong.

That's basically what I believe, but I'm sure you'll find lots of different opinions on this.


^ +1. I've had tires that ran until they were bald without a single balance, just rotation.

Then i've had tires that would suddenly require balancing (weight fell off or a rock stuck in the tread, causing a imbalance, who knows)

If you inspect the tires every rotation for abnormal wear and aren't experiencing vibrations, a tire balance or alignment is not needed and there isn't a service interval for it. You do it when its NEEDED.

 

[ARB1977]

I would say on perfect roads, yes. If you drive on [censored] roads like I do its not going to help all that much.

 

[bullwinkle]

I would add that many LT radials need almost constant rebalancing, I have ZERO trouble with passenger car tires needing it done.

 

[tonycarguy]

I only balance when needed. The less often one of those impact-wrench-wielding tireshop guys touch my car, the better.

 

[SLCraig]

As needed basis only.

 

[FZ1]

Depends on whether your tires are balanced on or off the car. If they are balanced off the car,you could go indefinitely as long as no vibrations were observed.

 

[SaturnIonVue]

I balance if or when I feel vibration or other signs of imbalance only. If the tire is OK, then why bother? I don't see that anything is gained by a re-balance. I rotate at around 5K religiously. I've never been convinced that not rotating tires, at least front to rear doesn't matter! Visit any parking lot and you can just about be sure those people who don't rotate are in the cars where the front tires look much more worn than the rear tires! Even though I don't know their rotation history, it's pretty obvious the tires wouldn't look the way they do, if they had been rotated...so that settles the issue about rotate, or don't rotate for me!

 

[Colt45ws]

I rotate every 5k and balance when needed.

 

[tpattgeek]

Thank you all very much! Glad I don't have to go wait an hour and a half for this to get done and can use my new 150ft/lbs wrench I got just for the job

 

[fdcg27]

Of course.
If you don't notice any imbalance at higher speeds, then why would you bother?

 

[JHZR2]

Rotate, yes. Rebalance, only if needed or changes made (like plugging a tire).

 

[FZ1]

Right. You gotta rotate them to keep your mileage warranty intact. Discount Tire rotates 'em for free every 6,000 for me. Then,when my tires wear out early,Discount gives me a prorated credit toward the replacement set.

 

[teddyboy]

This is an easy one. Buy your tires at Discount Tire and they'll balance them every time they're rotated. That way you don't have to worry about where the benefit/cost ratio is maximized. If you drive a front wheel drive car, which most of us now do, rotation is essential. Otherwise the front tires wear quickly and the back ones get out of round/true due to the light weight in the back end of the car. When I bought my Volvo with 19K, the front and rear tires had significantly different tread due to improper (perhaps never) rotation.

 

[tpattgeek]

Cost isn't a factor since it's included in my road hazard warranty. The only questions were, is it necessary if there's no vibrations? And, how often? I'm rotating myself every 5k with my oil change, but didn't want to waste ~2 hours at the tire shop every 6 months waiting for them to be rebalanced if they didn't have to be and possibly rotated wrong.

Thanks for the input though!

BTW, we don't have a Discount Tire down here. I believe the most popular "dedicated tire shop" around here is Tire Kingdom. There's not really any shop that stands out as far as prices, except the one that rhymes with "Hall Cart", but I know better than to go there.

 

[teddyboy]

Originally Posted By: tpattgeek
BTW, we don't have a Discount Tire down here. I believe the most popular "dedicated tire shop" around here is Tire Kingdom. There's not really any shop that stands out as far as prices, except the one that rhymes with "Hall Cart", but I know better than to go there.


No Discount Tire, you have my sympathies. I had one of my cars done today and was in and out in 30 minutes including balancing. If I had to wait two hours, I'd probably have it done every 20-25K or when they get out of balance, whichever came first.