Tire Balancing - Why Is It So Important?

If you want to get the best out of your tires, you need to pay close attention to maintaining a proper tire balance. Not only will you get a much smoother ride, but your tires will last much longer as well. It is extremely important that you understand the process of balancing and have a firm grasp of why it is important to keep your tires correctly balanced while they are mounted on your vehicle.

First, having improperly balanced tires can have a very bad result on the ride that your vehicle gives you. Have you ever ridden in a car that feels like it is 'shimmying' down the road? This is most likely due to an imbalanced tire.

When professionals mount a tire onto a wheel, the weight distribution on both the lateral and radial centers is almost always uneven to some degree. In other words, one side of the tire and wheel usually weighs more than the other. Professionals tend to call this " the balancing act". If your tires are not balanced to fix this uneven weight distribution, your car will vibrate while it is being driven.

In reality, there are two distinct types of imbalances. The first is called a 'static imbalance' and occurs when there is a problem with the tire that keeps it from correctly rolling along the road. The problem is often a bald patch or very uneve tread wear. A 'dynamic imbalance' occurs when a tire has an uneven weight distribution. A static imbalance will create somewhat of a vertical vibration that makes you bump up and down in your car. A dynamic imbalance will feel more like a side to side vibration. If you want to maintain a smooth and easy ride, you need to keep your tires properly balanced.

Whenever you have driven your tires for several thousand miles, you have most likely hit many bumps, driven on uneven services and probably developed some uneven tread wear along the surface of your tires. Most people would think that the proper solution is to simply have your tires re-aligned. However, you might also want to think about having them balanced once more.

All of the normal wear and tear on your tires can cause that balanced weight distribution to become unbalanced once again. Even if you aren't able to feel the vibrations caused by an imbalance, they are probably there after a few thousand miles and may cause other problems like wheel alignment issues or even more uneve tread wear.

Still, be very careful not to jump straight to conclusions. Feeling a vibration in your car does not always mean that you have an improperly balanced tire. There are several things that can cause vibrations in your vehicle including bent wheels, tires that have become off center, engine component failure or extreme wear, damage to wheel bearings, wheel alignment issues, or even brake component issues.

Any local professional garage or tire dealer can help you determine if a balance issue is present. If you feel your car vibrating up and down or side to side, it would be in your best interest to seek a professional opinion.

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