Have you ever felt your seat or steering wheel shake while you were driving? If that’s the case, your wheels may not be balanced right. The process of wheel balancing makes sure that your tires roll on the road smoothly and evenly. It’s an important part of keeping your car in good shape and can make it safer and run better.
What is wheel balancing?
When you balance your wheels, you change how the weight is distributed between your tires and wheels. The tires you buy are not perfectly tuned when you first get them. There may be small differences in their weight or shape that can make them wobble or rattle when they turn. This can make it harder to drive, less comfortable, and use more gas.
A mechanic will use a special machine to measure the amount and location of the imbalance in your wheels in order to balance them. After that, small weights will be put on the wheel’s rim to fix the unbalance.
Moving wheels and still wheels are two different ways to balance wheels.
- When you balance a static wheel, you balance the tire and wheel assembly in a single line, which can be vertical or horizontal. Many times, weights are attached to the inside or outside of the rim to do this. Side-to-side or up-and-down vibrations can be taken care of by static wheel balance.
- It is possible to balance a dynamic wheel by balancing the tire and wheel assembly in both vertical and horizontal lines. Most of the time, weights are attached to both sides of the rim to do this. Dynamic wheel balancing can get rid of noises that go up and down and side to side.
Why is wheel balancing important?
Balancing wheels is important for more than one reason. It can:
- Make yourself safer: wheels that aren’t adjusted can make your car pull to one side, make it harder to stop, and raise the risk of a blowout or flat tire.
- Improve your performance: Wheels that aren’t balanced can make it harder to accelerate, guide, and turn. On top of that, they can make your tires run unevenly, which can shorten their life.
- If your wheels aren’t balanced, they can make your steering wheel, seat, or floorboard vibrate, which isn’t fun. Your ride may feel rough and make noise because of these movements.
- Having wheels that aren’t balanced can make your tires have more rolling resistance, which means they need more energy to move. This could make your gas economy worse and your emissions higher.
When to have your wheels balanced
If you see any of these signs of instability, you should have your wheels balanced:
- Once the new tires are on: When they first come from the plant, new tires are not perfectly balanced. Before you put them on your car, they need to be adjusted.
- When the tires are rotated: The act of rotating your tires means moving them from one spot on your car to another. It keeps your tires from wearing down unevenly and makes them last longer. But it can also throw off the balance of your wheels. When you change your tires, you should have your wheels adjusted.
- When you hit a curb or pothole: If you hit a curb or rock, it could hurt your tires or wheels. It could knock them out of shape, bend, crack, or break them. This might make them less balanced and straight. If your wheels get damaged on the road, you should get them checked and tuned.
- If you feel your seat or driving wheel shaking, do the following: One of the most frequent signs of wheel imbalance is a shaking steering wheel or seat. It normally happens at faster speeds (over 40 mph) and gets worse as you speed up. If the steering wheel or seat feels like it’s shaking, you should get the wheels tuned right away.
Conclusion
One way to make sure that your tires spin easily and evenly on the road is to balance them. It’s an important part of keeping your car in good shape and can make it safer and run better. By having your wheels balanced on a regular basis, you can enjoy a safer and smoother ride, tires that last longer and are more reliable, better driving and steering, and less pollution and fuel use. You can get suggestions from family and friends, read reviews online, and make sure the shop has the most up-to-date tools to find a good wheel balancing service. Wheel balancing doesn’t cost much, and it’s well worth the money to make sure you have a safe and smooth ride.
