WHEEL BALANCING WHERE TO GO

[SECTOR]

Hi all,
I need my front wheels balancing. Do I take it to any tyre fitting place or should I do specialist, and also whats dynamic balancing about.
Thanks all.

 

[szklarek]

I usually just use my local tyre place - Merits - they supply tyres at a good price and balance as part of the deal.

'Dynamic balancing' balances the wheel whilst it's spinning thus giving you the corect balance for when it's in use (ie spinning on the car). Static balancing just attempts to balance the wheel when it's not moving - not very effective and I haven't seen it done anywhere in many many years.

I did once encounter a garage that carried out dynamic balancing with the wheel still fitted to the car - by spinning the wheel with an electric motor. In theory this should be better as it would take account of any out of balance hub elements but, again, I haven't seen that approach in a long time.

So my vote's for dynamic balancing at your local tyre place.

Regards
Anton

 

[clyde]

Is it wheel balancing or wheel alignment you are talking about here Stephen? I wouldn't normally expect to need to balance wheels in between new tyres being fitted unless a weight had dropped off and then it would only be the affected wheel.

If it's wheel balance then as Anton says any tyre monkey can do that for you, if it's wheel alignment then you are into a more specialist area. Although it is possible to have your front wheel alignment checked and adjusted just like any other car and it will improve tyre wear and may slightly improve handling you will not be getting the best out of your car. You really need a full suspension geometry check and adjust. There are many good places out there that will do this for you (sit back and wait for the first person to suggest Centre Gravity [8|] ). If you are going down this route I would post on your regional forum and ask for recommendations.

BTW, dynamic and static balancing isn't about the type of equipment used. Static imbalance is when the heavy spot on the tyre is on either side of the tyre's centreline, this normally causes the tyre vibrate in an up and down motion. Dynamic imbalance is where you have heavy spots on both sides of the tyres centre line resulting in the side-to-side shake or shimmy when driving. If someone has told you that you have a dynamic imbalance at the front this could be down to more than the tyre balance, it may, for example, be a brake issue such as a warped disc.

 

[SECTOR]

Thank you for the reply all.
I have had the geo done by Center Gravity not so long back, but the car has had a hammering last month, with a track day at Donington, with new yellow stuff brack pads, where I did have to come in during one session to cool things down as I was getting brake fade, so there could be a warped disc. I have done Curborough Sprint track and rode the Kirbs a bit. I am hoping it is just a weight that has gone, as I had a bit of steering wheel wobble / vibration at 50mph ish before, its just worse now, but it is only between 50 and 60 mph.
I think I will get the fronts balanced and see if that improves things.

Cheers all