Is it only required when changing tires? I have about one season old winter tires which were balanced last year. Any need to balance this year?
How often do you balance your wheels?
- Thread starter byez
- Start date
- Status
I have my tires balanced at every tire rotation which is every 5,000 miles.
I only re-balance if there's noticable shake/shimmy.
If I had a tire "package" that took care of rotations and balancing I'd probably have it done more often.
If I had a tire "package" that took care of rotations and balancing I'd probably have it done more often.
Only once...when new. I just don't have them go OOB (Out Of Balance). Maybe it's because they are either Yokohama or Michelin? Don't know...I just never have a problem with either brand staying in balance...and neither have required more that a tiny bit of weight....
Agreed. A good set of tires should need minimal weights and should not need to be rebalanced. I definitely would not do it unless there was a vibration.
When I change tyres. Yokohama usually used but trialling new Bridgestone Adrenalin on Mazda front. Never needed rebalancing
I have a bubble-balancer. I get my tires balanced at the shop when I buy them of course... but thereafter, if there's any hint of vibration, I put them on the bubble-balancer and add a little weight or two. It helps prevent uneven tire wear.
When I run used tires, I usually have to re-balance once after the first two or three weeks... they seem to settle or something after a little driving.
When I run used tires, I usually have to re-balance once after the first two or three weeks... they seem to settle or something after a little driving.
I've never had a tire re-balanced unless it had to come off the rim for some reason.
Joel
Joel
The other day I had my tires rotated...sure as ---- only one tire had any weights on it...my buddy who did the job for me at his shop...was ----...he wanted me to call the dealership that sold me the car and give 'em ----...I decided against it causing a ruckus which they would have denied anyways...now I am all balanced and the car feels smoother...good idea to check and see if your tires have weights...if they don't might be a good idea to have 'em balanced they might need it...by the way my buddy says to balance the tires every time they are rotated and he recommended to rotate every other oil change...
If you have tires mounted at Sams club, they will rotate and rebalance for life of tires every 6K miles. May not really need the rebalance, but its free. I think the same goes for Walmart, but the one time I tried them, they did a ---- job and I had slight leaks that required me to add air every few weeks. They could not seem to be able to fix it when I brought it back. When I had new tires mounted at Sams, no more leaks. (Walmart had used metal valve stems on a Camry).
Kestas
Staff member
How often?... it depends on how picky you are.
Are bubble balancers cheap enough for the DIYer? I'd like to get one.
Are bubble balancers cheap enough for the DIYer? I'd like to get one.
I've driven my Silverado with Uniroyal Laredo tires for 18 months and 14,000 miles, and they still don't need to be rebalanced. These are the tires that came with the truck, so I don't get any free rebalancing, etc. I've roatated the tires myself twice in this time.
Outside of not needing to be rebalanced, these tires are terrible on anything that isn't dry, smooth pavement. They have a smooth ride, but they float the truck all over the road. Wet traction is acceptable, but snow traction is simply non-existant.
However, when I get my new Michelin LTX's put on at Sams, they will come with free rotations and rebalancing every 6,000 or 7,500 miles (one or the other... one number may be Wal-Mart, and the other one is Sam's). I'm waiting for bad weather to arrive before mounting up the LTX's. Getting as many miles as I can tolerate, out of the crapola Laredos.
I will utilize the free rotations, but I won't have them rebalanced unless I detect a balance problem.
Outside of not needing to be rebalanced, these tires are terrible on anything that isn't dry, smooth pavement. They have a smooth ride, but they float the truck all over the road. Wet traction is acceptable, but snow traction is simply non-existant.
However, when I get my new Michelin LTX's put on at Sams, they will come with free rotations and rebalancing every 6,000 or 7,500 miles (one or the other... one number may be Wal-Mart, and the other one is Sam's). I'm waiting for bad weather to arrive before mounting up the LTX's. Getting as many miles as I can tolerate, out of the crapola Laredos.
I will utilize the free rotations, but I won't have them rebalanced unless I detect a balance problem.
My last three sets of tires I've been rotating myself b/c I got such a better deal online when purchasing and just rotate at each OC. Never needed a rebalance yet. Usually get 45-60k miles out of them over 24-36 month period.
Tire Pros was nice enough to offer me free rotations, even though they only installed the tires and I didn't purchase them there. Had the best installation and alignment price in town, too.
Tire Pros was nice enough to offer me free rotations, even though they only installed the tires and I didn't purchase them there. Had the best installation and alignment price in town, too.
I now think its safe to say that wheels do not need balancing unless new tires are put on or a wheel weight falls off.
The wheels are usually balanced along with a rotation just because its so easy to do for shops with the wheels already off.
Thanks
The wheels are usually balanced along with a rotation just because its so easy to do for shops with the wheels already off.
Thanks
I only ever balance mine if a wheel weight falls off or if I get new tires. I have never had a problem, and my trucks routinely see rough roads, mud, rutted fields, etc...
I do mine every other tire rotation . Probably ovekill.
OOPS! I meant overkill .
I balance when I get new tires or the tire comes off the wheel. Or in the rare situation of a vibration.
Bubble balances are reasonably priced I believe. My dad probably wouldn't have one if it wasn't
Bubble balances are reasonably priced I believe. My dad probably wouldn't have one if it wasn't
only when a tire is mounted. My first vehicles were late 40s-early 50s 1/2 ton trucks with 650 x 16" bias belt tires. Never balanced and they never shimmied bad enough to warrant it. I have often wondered why
I bought mine off Ebay for $18 including shipping. I've seen them in the Harbor Freight catalog... maybe $60 or so.
These do a static balance only, of course. When re-balancing, I leave the original weights on the wheel from the first dynamic balance, and just add a small weight on each side as a 'touch up' balance. This way, I should be keeping the dynamic balance close enough, while correcting the static balance.
I really don't think that dynamic balance is all that important in most cases, though... I've balanced several tires using only the bubble balancer, and never noticed any vibration.
- Status
