How can a wheel balance go wrong?
Discussion
I had a puncture last week on the front passenger wheel so took it to my local tyre fitters to have a replacement fitted. After the new tyre was fitted the steering wheel shook violently at anything above 60mph so I swiftly took the car back as I assumed they hadn't balanced the wheel properly. They hadn't. However, the shaking is still there albeit not as bad as before, but it still shouldn't be there at all right!
I saw the guy balance it the second time and he did it right, but something's not right. Could the other wheel have not been balanced and the new tyre has emphasised this? It always had a very slight shake at motorway speeds but nothing major, nothing to warrant me even bothering to have the wheels balanced!
I saw the guy balance it the second time and he did it right, but something's not right. Could the other wheel have not been balanced and the new tyre has emphasised this? It always had a very slight shake at motorway speeds but nothing major, nothing to warrant me even bothering to have the wheels balanced!
The balancer at a tyre centre I worked at years ago was utterly crap. It can't balance anything above 16" and will tell you a wheel is balanced, refit it, and still get horrific vibrations.
From my point of view though, I couldn't balance it any better than the machine would let me, so it was frustrating watching customers drive off knowing they'd probably be back.
From my point of view though, I couldn't balance it any better than the machine would let me, so it was frustrating watching customers drive off knowing they'd probably be back.
Two tyre places have previously charged me for a balance which they never did.
How do I know? Because the wheel has no removable center cap, and neither place had the equipment to deal with it. Go to a good garage and get it done properly.
Although, if the repair has been done badly, it could have knocked the balance so far off that it's impossible to balance properly.
How do I know? Because the wheel has no removable center cap, and neither place had the equipment to deal with it. Go to a good garage and get it done properly.
Although, if the repair has been done badly, it could have knocked the balance so far off that it's impossible to balance properly.
Another thing worth checking is that the tyre is seated evenly all the way around. I've had this problem with a few tyres I've fitted myself without using enough lube (oh er) and balancing doesn't get rid of the wobbling. It'll need to be un-seated, lubed up and seated again if it's not right.
If you have after-market wheels you might have needed a spiggot ring thing in order for your wheel centre bore to fit snugly on the hub. If the spiggot ring was, for example, left on the balancing machine and not refitted back on the wheel when it was mounted back onto the hub then you are relying on the wheel bolts 'centering' the wheel on the hub, which is never exact, hence the wobble.
Wheel and tyre combo could be perfectly balanced but not sitting centrally on the hub.
Just a suggestion, could be well of the mark.
Wheel and tyre combo could be perfectly balanced but not sitting centrally on the hub.
Just a suggestion, could be well of the mark.
I did wonder whether it was worth just bobbing to another garage and asking them to do both wheels.
It's not the ball joint as I checked both of these recently, definitely down to wheel balancing. The wheels are slightly buckled - I can only blame the terrible roads round here and low profile tyres, but the point being there was very minimal shaking before the wheel was fitted so it has to be related.
It's not the ball joint as I checked both of these recently, definitely down to wheel balancing. The wheels are slightly buckled - I can only blame the terrible roads round here and low profile tyres, but the point being there was very minimal shaking before the wheel was fitted so it has to be related.
busta said:
Another thing worth checking is that the tyre is seated evenly all the way around. I've had this problem with a few tyres I've fitted myself without using enough lube (oh er) and balancing doesn't get rid of the wobbling. It'll need to be un-seated, lubed up and seated again if it's not right.
How the hell could you miss a tyre with a bead that hadn't seated correctly, try to balance it, fit it to the car and then find out? If you got as far as putting the wheel anywhere near a car you should never fit a tyre ever again....6potdave said:
I did wonder whether it was worth just bobbing to another garage and asking them to do both wheels.
It's not the ball joint as I checked both of these recently, definitely down to wheel balancing. The wheels are slightly buckled - I can only blame the terrible roads round here and low profile tyres, but the point being there was very minimal shaking before the wheel was fitted so it has to be related.
If the wheel is buckled they won't be able to get it to balance properly.It's not the ball joint as I checked both of these recently, definitely down to wheel balancing. The wheels are slightly buckled - I can only blame the terrible roads round here and low profile tyres, but the point being there was very minimal shaking before the wheel was fitted so it has to be related.
Their machine used for balancing might need calibration. As I understand it this needs to be done every so often. I had this problem years ago at a Kwik Fit. New tyres all round on my Polo and over 40-50 mph the car shook badly. I took it back they balanced them again and it still wasn't right. In the end I had to take it to a different branch of Kwik Fit and they balanced them fine.
EDLT said:
6potdave said:
I did wonder whether it was worth just bobbing to another garage and asking them to do both wheels.
It's not the ball joint as I checked both of these recently, definitely down to wheel balancing. The wheels are slightly buckled - I can only blame the terrible roads round here and low profile tyres, but the point being there was very minimal shaking before the wheel was fitted so it has to be related.
If the wheel is buckled they won't be able to get it to balance properly.It's not the ball joint as I checked both of these recently, definitely down to wheel balancing. The wheels are slightly buckled - I can only blame the terrible roads round here and low profile tyres, but the point being there was very minimal shaking before the wheel was fitted so it has to be related.
My preferred tyre place is in Mount Vernon in Glasgow.
It's an odd oldfashioned outfit but they use a motorbike balancing machine which is calibrated either every week or two and measures down to 1g imbalance rather than the 5g your local s
tFit seem to think it's acceptable to leave.
I love going there and always come away with a superbly vibration free car.
Sadly I can't get to it as easily as I used to as I live and work some way from it now but I'd trust them implicitly to do the job right.
It's an odd oldfashioned outfit but they use a motorbike balancing machine which is calibrated either every week or two and measures down to 1g imbalance rather than the 5g your local s
tFit seem to think it's acceptable to leave.I love going there and always come away with a superbly vibration free car.
Sadly I can't get to it as easily as I used to as I live and work some way from it now but I'd trust them implicitly to do the job right.
Duff wheel balancing is one of my pet hates. Most places simply can't be bothered, only way to truly have them balanced correctly is balanced with the wheels on the car (needs special equipment).
In the past I've had warped discs, dodgy calipers, bushes and loose steering wheel columns cause shake, but to be honest its usually simple poor balancing.
In the past I've had warped discs, dodgy calipers, bushes and loose steering wheel columns cause shake, but to be honest its usually simple poor balancing.
Dog Star said:
I'd go for it being a defective tyre - had this a couple of times myself. The worst example also offset my steering wheel by about 30 degrees. New tyre and the steering wheel was straight. Weird.
I had the steering issue after having a couple of tyres fitted + balancing at a certain "speedy" tyre fitting company. 9 visits later and they still can't fix it. The tyre starts to wear on one edge, so I switch the front tyres over and the car pulls the other way, obviously a defective tyre. The tyre co refuse to even look at the tyre saying it could be tracking and its not their responsibility anymore.
Both front tyres are worn badly on the edges so have to be replaced within a year (due to countersteering all the time). The new tyres run straight and are still going strong 3 years and 20,000 miles later.
Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff