How often do you balance tires?

Status
Not open for further replies.
Joined
May 18, 2010
Messages
330
Location
Louisiana
I have road hazard on my Civic with its fairly new Michelin's, and the guys at the shop said to balance every time you rotate. It's not included in the maintenance minder for the Civic (maybe they assume you'll do it when they start vibrating the car) and it's not like they're making money if I do it every 5k miles because it's included already. Toyota recommends every 15k miles for my Sienna. Some old-schoolers I've talked to say they "never" do it, unless of course there's an issue. So, what do you think? Every 5k miles, 15k miles, 30k miles, etc.? I do about 70/30 hwy to city driving and rarely hit any large potholes (if that makes a difference). Thanks!
 
Whenever I notice a vibration OR every tire rotation, whichever comes first.

Its free at Discount Tire anyway, so I err on the side of more often than less. I absolutely HATE feeling a vibration that's at tire-rotation speed in any car I drive.
 
I buy tires from Discount and getting them balanced is free. For this reason I always ask them to balance them when I get the tires rotated.

In the case of having to pay for it, unless you notice the tires wearing poorly or can feel a vibration, don't worry about it.
 
In theory, it shouldn't be needed unless you feel anything. However, my tire place gives free balancing at the free rotations, so it makes sense to do it every time just to be sure.
 
In theory tires should be balanced every time they are rotated. I try and avoid "free balances and rotations", because the less someone touches one of my vehicles, the better. The tire shops around here use the free rotations and balancing to sell brake and front end work so for me it is not worth the aggravation. If I feel something amiss that could be tire related I'll have the tires balanced. Only after I r/o worn front end parts, or a bad tire, and check the brakes myself.
 
On my Nissan, I've been rotating every 7,500 and balancing every 15,000. These intervals either came from the owner's manual or was the dealer's recommendation.

On our VUE, I've been rotating every 6,000 and balancing every 18,000. Again, these intervals either came from the owner's manual or was the dealer's recommendation.

When I had new tires put on the VUE a couple weeks ago I asked the shop. They suggested every 5,000 - 8,000 for rotations and balance only when needed, signaled by vibration felt in the steering wheel.
 
Originally Posted By: flatlandtacoma
The only time I've had a tire rebalanced was if it was remounted on a rim.


+1, or if it is vibrating at high speed (but that's usually too late).
 
Originally Posted By: simple_gifts
Never, unless a reason manifests itself.



+1

If there is no problem, a "tech" won't make it better, but he might make it worse or screw something else up.
 
Good point. If it ain't broke don't fix it. There is a very good chance a re-balance can make a good situation into a bad one.
 
Originally Posted By: demarpaint
Good point. If it ain't broke don't fix it. There is a very good chance a re-balance can make a good situation into a bad one.

That's what I was hoping for. The last time I let the tire shop rotate/balance, they chipped my rim and almost rotated wrong if I wouldn't have caught it... I think I'll continue to rotate myself and bring it for a rotation/balance every 10 or 15k since they're free. The worst part is having to wait more than an hour for someone to do the work that doesn't care about my vehicle when I can do it myself and enjoy doing it...
 
Good tires seem to need less balancing, and stay balanced.

But every time you rotate the tires is way too often. They had better NOT need it that often!

15-20,000 seems about right, maybe less if you have a special free deal.

BTW, when actually driving on a tire, it is flat on the bottom, and squished out on the sides, to some degree. This has to change the balance of a tire that was spun balanced round with no load.
 
I balance my tires at every rotation, I do this because despite popular belief tires can spin on the rim (even if so slightly) and this throws off the balance. balance can effect the wear on the tires as well. some tires are more prone to this than others.
Besides, I have free balance and rotations on my tires so I might as well get full use of it.
I also rotate my tires every oil change.
 
Usually only if I feel something is up. Last time I rotated the 18s, I could feel a bit of a vibe above 60MPH. I brought in to WM and had the front two balanced.
 
When I had my tires' balance checked with a Hunter balancer equipped with the smartweight software, 3 out of 4 tires remained balanced after more than 30,000 miles. The 4th tire that required balance was only 0.25 ounces off.

So, tires do not go out of balance as often as some may believe.
 
I balance tires myself. When working on them I'll sometimes notice the tires aren't perfectly round. They'll shimmy when I drive no matter how well I balance them.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top