How to properly balance alloy wheels

Features of balancing alloy wheels

Sometimes you can come across such a statement that balancing alloy wheels is more difficult. Moreover, this opinion is based on the fact that a cast disk has a greater natural imbalance. And the reason for this natural imbalance is that the cast material has a different structure density. Let us say right away that such a statement is a myth.

It is clear that the structure of the metal may be different, but not so much that balancing cast wheels becomes problematic. All operations are performed as usual on conventional balancing machines. It’s just that the method of attaching the balancing weights is slightly different. The location where the balancing weights are attached may also differ.

Why do you need wheel balancing?

A lot depends on proper wheel balancing. Vehicle speeds are increasing, so a significant wheel imbalance affects not only the occurrence of vibrations, which are transmitted to many parts and components of the car, but also overall traffic safety.

If you imagine a rotating wheel and calculate how much the runout can increase in the case of an imbalance of 10-20 grams, you can see large numbers. And an imbalance, even on such a seemingly insignificant scale, is expressed in significant loads that arise as a result of unbalanced rotation.

If the wheels are not balanced, vibrations will begin to be felt in the steering wheel. But this is, so to speak, the external side of the process. Wheel runout causes uneven wear of the tires. The tires begin to wear out on one side. And this, in turn, entails a series of consequences associated with changes in loads on the car’s suspension and destruction of bearings. By and large, everything that the vibration reaches gradually begins to collapse. Thus, we can say that strong vibration is an absolute evil.

In addition, unbalanced car wheels create some problems while driving, which leads to decreased safety on the road. This can be especially true at high speeds.

We invite you to watch a video that clearly shows the process of balancing a cast wheel:

Features of balancing alloy wheels

Balancing of alloy wheels is carried out using a technology where the weights are not stuffed, but are glued to the surface of the disk. Although there are options when the load is installed using stuffing technology. But in most cases, adhesive weights are used for alloy wheels.

On the one hand, self-adhesive weights have their advantages. Balancing weights can be glued so that they are not visible. Weights are glued to the inside of the cast wheel as close to the spokes as possible. Alloy wheels have special areas on which balancing weights are glued.

However, not all motorists like it when loads are on the outside and thereby affect the aesthetics of the rims. In order to place weights on the inside, special computer programs are used, with the help of which you can find out where the load should be attached. In addition, weights are installed along the inner rim of the cast disk. Thus, the load is completely hidden from view.

As for the disadvantages of self-adhesive weights for balancing, the most noticeable is the likelihood that, for example, during washing, the adhesive composition may lose its properties and the weight will simply fall off. This is due to the fact that heated water is used during washing. It is the temperature that affects the adhesive properties.

If we talk about padded weights, then when installing them, the outer coating of the disk may be damaged. And then oxidative processes can begin to develop in this place.

Balancing of alloy wheels should be carried out after analyzing the balancing of the wheel and tire itself. In this case, the heaviest place on the disk and the heaviest place on the wheel are sought. The wheel and tire are then assembled in such a position that the heavy areas are on opposite sides. Thus, additional imbalance is removed, and the wheel becomes easier to balance and with less weight of the balancing weight.

15 MISTAKES IN TIRE INSTALLATION

Spring is truly coming into its own, and the time has come for motorists to change into summer tires.
Today we’ll talk about the most common and dangerous mistakes made by tire fitters, which you need to pay attention to in order to prevent them and decide whether to come to this workshop next time or not. Experts from the RUBICON-S company, the official representative of Snap-On (John Bean, Hofmann), an installer and adjuster of equipment for car service centers, a supplier of tools and consumables for tire fitting, will help us understand these issues.

1. A tire fitter lifts the car with one jack.

Some “clowns” manage to save time, especially often on “fours” and “spots”, to unscrew three wheels at once, lifting the car with one powerful jack. At the same time, the body of a new car can be severely deformed, and in the best case, the doors will not close well, and in the worst case, due to changes in geometry, the car will significantly lose controllability and safety. In the right workshops, cars are re-shoeed on lifts. As a last resort, in normal “garage” workshops they lift each side under the side members with two rolling jacks.

2. Doesn't sign the tires

You come to a tire shop, they remove your wheels or throw off your tires and do not sign which one was installed in which place. This is one of the most serious and common mistakes, because in the future the wheels must fall into place or, if they are worn out, be rearranged in a certain way.

The most common scheme is to swap front and rear. The second technique is to put the front wheels back, and cross the rear wheels and put them forward. And the third option is to swap all the wheels crosswise. By the way, recently tire manufacturers, for example, MICHELIN, have come to the conclusion that on modern cars with their suspension design and wheel alignment adjustment features, such rearrangements are meaningless and unsafe, because they disturb the “used-in” contact spots of the tires with the road. Thus, savings conflict with safety, and manufacturers recommend putting the tires back in their place. Therefore, it is very important that the tires are always signed.

3. Doesn’t wash wheels and tires

This is a very serious mistake by crooked tire fitters. Despite the seeming unimportance of this operation, dirty tires and wheels cannot be balanced correctly, because even 10 grams of dirt on a disk or pebbles in the tire tread, which is invisible at first glance, will lead to incorrect balancing, steering wheel beating at a speed of 100 km/h and breaking of suspension components.

4. Does not use nylon protective pads on the machine

Sometimes the price of wheels and tires can exceed the cost of a tire shop. Therefore, in the right tire service, in order not to “punch” expensive wheels and damage the rubber during installation and dismantling, they use special nylon pads on the presser feet of the machine, pry bars, and even on the heads of wrenches. By the way, the most common “stampings” in places where there are “knots” also begin to rust.

5. Does not use tire paste

Many unfortunate tire fitters, for the sake of imaginary savings, like to boil a soap solution instead of tire paste, or, even worse, use “working off” to facilitate the installation of rubber. The paste is needed to lubricate the tire when seating it on the rim. It, unlike soap solution, also works as a sealant and has anti-corrosion properties. It takes some time to dry and set. Therefore, after changing shoes, it is recommended not to accelerate too much for several days, otherwise if there is a lot of “stupidity” under the hood and in your head, you can easily rotate the tire on the rim and kill the balancing. By the way, the “working off” does not dry out at all and corrodes the rubber.

6. Ignores tire color codes

One of the main mistakes tire fitters make is misaligning the color marks on the tires and wheels.
Manufacturers of tires, including motorcycle tires, mark the point of maximum centrifugal force of the tire with a red mark and recommend combining it with the minimum radius of the disk (usually this place on the disk is marked with a white dot). The yellow mark indicates the lightest spot on the tire and, in the absence of a red mark, should be aligned with the heaviest spot on the rim. There is a myth that the yellow mark on the tire must be aligned with the valve on the rim. But the nipple installation location does not necessarily have to be the hardest. It can be determined by spinning a washed, empty rim with a nipple, but without tires and weights, on a balancing machine and noting the place where the machine suggests hanging the weight. Diametrically opposite this point will be the heaviest place on the disk, and it is with this point that the yellow mark on the tire needs to be aligned. This is the only way to achieve the best balance and get by with a minimum of weights when balancing. Many tire fitters have no idea what these dots represent.

7. When installed on a disk, the tire is poorly inflated and does not sit down

In order for the tire to fit well on the rim, it needs to be inflated quite high. At least up to 3 atmospheres, sometimes up to three and a half. Otherwise, the tire sits down only later while driving, and this hurts your nerves. And, of course, to easily fit the tire onto the rim, you must use tire mounting paste.

8. Inflates the wrong tire pressure

Many tire fitters, without particularly bothering, stupidly pump the “two” to all wheels. In fact, the pressure in the front and rear wheels is usually different. It is determined by the design of the car and depends on the load (if the car is loaded, pump up the wheels, and vice versa). The tire inflation pattern is usually indicated on the nameplate at the ends of the doors or on the gas tank flap.

You need to inflate exactly as recommended by the car manufacturer. If you don't inflate enough, the rubber will wear out a lot at the edges. If you over-pump, the center will wear off. This affects handling, braking and tire durability. And most importantly - for your safety!

No good tire repairman will let a customer go without checking the pressure in all tires, even if only one wheel was repaired.

9. The balancing machine is not secured to a solid base

A very serious mistake made by tire shops is the incorrect location of the balancing machine, when it often just stands in a trailer on a wooden floor. The balancing machine must be securely secured with anchor bolts on a horizontal, flat and solid (concrete) surface. Any vibrations must be excluded. Otherwise, normal wheel balancing is simply impossible. For the same reason, balancing done at mobile tire stations is practically useless.

10. Does not calibrate balancing equipment

According to the regulations, the balancing machine must be calibrated several times a season. Of course, in most poor workshops they often don’t bother with this procedure. Moreover, many expensive machines do not allow you to do the calibration yourself and you need to call a specialist and pay for his services.

11. Poor adhesion of balancing weights

Balancing weights are usually glued to alloy wheels. In order for the load to hold well on the disk and not fall off due to vibrations or, for example, in a car wash under a Karcher stream, the disk and the load itself must be carefully prepared. Before gluing the load, the surface of the disk in the place of gluing must be degreased with a not very aggressive solvent (it is assumed that the disk has already been cleanly washed from dirt) and it is advisable to warm up the place of gluing and the weight itself with a hair dryer. Only in this case the load will stick “tightly” and will not fall off at the very first wash. By the way, pay attention: there are a lot of loose weights lying around at self-service car washes.

12. Does not achieve balancing “zeros”

In a hurry or out of laziness, a tire fitter can convince you that this will do: “5 grams of imbalance is not felt.” Considering that when installing a wheel on a car, the imbalance will increase even more, you must always ensure that, as a result of balancing, the machine shows all zeros on the outside and inside. You may have to peel off and move the weights. You may have to disassemble and clean the inside of the disk and tire (it happens that there is dirt or water inside the wheel). The disk may be crooked and will have to be “rolled”, but errors should always be kept to a minimum. Because even 5 grams of imbalance at high speeds will lead to steering wheel wobble, decreased controllability and rapid failure of suspension parts.

13. Screws the wheels with a wrench

This is one of the most common and harmful mistakes because it saves the tire fitter time and effort, although to the detriment of your safety. A wrench can easily strip the threads of studs, nuts and bolts, which could cost you your life. In addition, if over-tightened, the seat on the disk may become bent, and this will lead to imbalance and wheel runout.

Even with the most minimal force, the impact wrench usually “hammers” a bolt or nut with a large constriction. And you simply cannot unscrew the wheel with a wheel wrench in the field. Only in very advanced tire centers are special impact wrenches designed and adjusted to the minimum force, so that you can then tighten the nuts with a torque wrench to the required torque. Proper tire fitters use a wrench to unscrew the nuts.

14. Tightens the bolts or nuts on the wheel in a circle

When the nuts are tightened in such a way (in a circle), the alignment of the wheel relative to the hub is disrupted, which can lead to severe imbalance and runout of the wheel. And therefore the load on the hub, suspension parts and your nerves. Therefore, in order not to disturb the alignment, be sure to tighten the bolts or nuts crosswise.

15. Does not use a torque wrench, but tightens the nuts with uneven force “by eye”

This is also a common mistake when, when installing a wheel, the nuts are tightened manually with force, “relying on your experience,” or worse, with a wrench. Considering that the rim is relatively soft, uneven tightening can lead to slight bending and imbalance. To properly tighten wheel bolts or nuts, there is a torque wrench. Only they can tighten the nut with the required force, which is different for each machine, calculated by the manufacturer and indicated in the manual.

In addition, the size of a standard wheel wrench in your trunk is not a mockery for saving space. It is designed exactly so that you can kneel down and use your hands (without putting a pipe on the key or jumping on it with your feet) to tighten the wheel nuts with the required force. Even a girl can cope with this. And, accordingly, you can unscrew the wheel in the field with a standard “bolt”, provided that it is tightened at the tire shop with a torque wrench with the force required for your car.

And, finally, advice to you, dear car owners

Every season, when changing tires, immediately check the wheel alignment. Our climate and our roads are very conducive to maintaining the correct adjustments. And don’t wait for hot days when “tinsmith’s day” comes and the roasted rooster starts pecking in one place. On days like these, even in the most correct tire service centers, the most qualified installers may make mistakes in “parking”, which can cost you your nerves and health. Take care of yourself! Change your car's shoes in advance.

How to properly balance wheels

Installing a wheel on a balancing machine

Before installing the wheel, you need to check its mounting hole and the disc flange. Metal corrosion products and dirt are removed. To ensure a tight fit of the steel disk on the shaft of the balancing machine, special cones are used. The master presses the cone tightly to the central hole of the disk and, together with the wheel, places it on the machine shaft. This avoids shocks to the shaft itself, to which this device is very sensitive. With a central nut, this structure is pressed tightly against the flange, which here serves as the hub of the car.

Some alloy wheels do not have a center hole. In this case, special devices are used. In general, all aluminum wheels require the use of special bushings and centering washers. The work is more labor-intensive, which is why such balancing more than similar-sized steel ones.

When the wheel is correctly installed and securely fixed, all that remains is to enter its dimensions into the computer memory. Depending on the type of balancing equipment, these parameters are set manually or automatically.

Wheel balancing

Now let's proceed directly to the balancing . It is enough to lower the protective cover and the machine spins the wheel itself. Done, lift the casing and look at the monitor for the weight of the weights on both sides of the wheel. The weights are attached to the steel disc with special clamps directly to the rim. For cast ones, special self-adhesive plates are provided. The place where they are installed must be degreased, the protective film removed from the adhesive side of the weight and pressed firmly to the inside of the wheel. On light alloy wheels, weights are mounted inside, also on both sides of the wheel. In this way, it is possible to preserve the original appearance of the beautiful cast wheels.

After installing the weights , we check the balancing and, if the computer shows zero imbalance, we consider the operation completed.

Types of weights for balancing

Weights are divided into driven and adhesive. Drivers are placed on the wheel rim and can be either universal or designed for specific brands of cars. We produce weights for motorcycles, cars and commercial vehicles.

The following weights are placed on motorcycles: padded weights - for light alloy wheels weighing from 10 to 30 g, for wheels with spokes from 10 to 30 g and adhesive weights of 2.5 and 5 g.
For passenger cars - padded weights from 5 to 60 g, in some cases and up to 100 g, and adhesive ones are mainly from 5 to 10 g element, up to 60 g in a bag.
For trucks, hammer weights weighing from 50 to 400 g are produced; adhesive weights come in 25–50 g pieces, with a total weight of 100–200 g per package.

There are also special weights with a set of balls that move as they move. As you know, centrifugal force forces free elements to shift towards the lightest place. Thus, some correction of wear factors occurs during movement, but the practical feasibility of this solution is questionable.

All about wheel balancing /

Frequently asked questions about wheel balancing

Today, wheel balancing has become an essential part of car maintenance.

Why is balancing needed?

Almost always the center of mass of the wheel does not coincide with the geometric center. When driving, such a wheel causes increased vibration of the vehicle, which leads to both a decrease in comfort and wear of the steering and wheel suspension elements, and increases tire wear. Moreover, the shock load on the suspension turns out to be quite noticeable - an imbalance of only 20 grams on a 14-inch wheel at a car speed of 100 km/h is equivalent in load to the blows of a sledgehammer weighing 3 kg, hitting the wheel with a frequency of 800 times per minute!

Do the rear wheels need to be balanced?

The rear wheels need to be balanced, just like the front wheels. Compared to the front wheels, the imbalance of the rear wheels is less noticeable, but this does not mean that it does not exist. In addition to the suspension problems listed above, wheel imbalance leads to uneven wear of the rubber itself.

How often should balancing be done?

Balancing must be done regularly, since wheel imbalance occurs due to rubber wear, disc deformation (when it gets into a hole) and when taking shape. Therefore, balancing must be carried out when: installing a tire on a rim, 500 km after installing a new tire, and after falling into a large hole.

How does balancing happen?

After mounting the tire, the clean wheel is placed on a balancing machine and centered using a cone. At the stand, the wheel parameters are set, after which the computer gives the tire fitter information about where and what weight of the load needs to be added. When balancing, padded weights for stamped discs and adhesive universal weights can be used.

RLD centers are equipped with the most modern tire fitting equipment from the German company Hofmann. We invite you to have your wheels balanced at any of the RLD centers.

How to recognize good balancing?

On a new wheel with a new disk, the weights attached should not exceed 60 grams. If the weight of the loaded load is greater, then you need to make sure that the wheel is assembled correctly or find the reason for the impossibility of correct balancing (worn tire, bent disk). If the wheel is balanced and removed from the stand, ask, just for fun, to fix it there again and check the imbalance. The possible spread of readings when reinstalling wheels with steel rims is plus or minus 5 grams on both sides, and with alloy wheels - 3-5 grams on both sides. The larger and heavier the wheels, the more noticeable the impact of errors in securing the wheels on the machine on the quality of balancing. Of course, it is impossible to make a perfectly balanced wheel, and since we are talking about a disc-tire set, the quality of the assembled wheel directly depends on the quality of each of these components. Therefore, there are certain ranges - tolerances, within which the existing imbalance is considered acceptable. 10 grams is the maximum allowable imbalance value. This value is determined by the tolerances when centering the rim.

What is Haveka balancing?

Despite the fact that most balancing is done using the central hole, which does not wear out during operation and is left on the disk specifically for balancing. The HAWEKA company has invented a method for balancing wheels using the holes through which the wheel is attached to the hub. The essence of the method is as follows:

According to the “Haveka” system, double wheel alignment occurs: preliminary alignment with a cone along the central hole of the disk and final alignment - the disk is attached to the balancing stand with a flange adapter that imitates the hub studs of your car. The only difference is that the preliminary alignment of light alloy wheels is done not with a cone, but with a collet adapter.

How else can you improve the quality of balancing?

Some tire centers use so-called “finish” balancing. However, this type of balancing cannot act as an alternative to balancing on stationary balancing stands. The final balancing device is designed for static balancing of the entire assembly, i.e. hubs together with the wheel and brake disc. Moreover, the ALLOWABLE weight of the weight used to correct the imbalance of the unit is a maximum of 15 grams. It should be noted that in this case the wheel MUST be balanced.

Balancing Secrets: Square Wheels

Anatoly Vaisman

Serve it round!

The car is shaking - don’t panic: eliminating the cause can sometimes be easier than a steamed turnip. Let's say, when driving on smooth asphalt, the steering wheel wobbles. It's always the wheels' fault! Especially if the car has light rack and pinion steering - for example, a front-wheel drive VAZ. The wheel should be treated with respect: the faster it spins, the stricter the requirements for the accuracy of its shape, the quality of balancing and installation. If the balancing is “C”, when the wheel rotates, the inertial force of the “heavy place” causes shaking. And then simple arithmetic. Let’s say that in one revolution the wheel travels 2 m, but shakes the strongest at only 90 km/h (25 m/s). This means that the resonant oscillation frequency is 12.5 Hz. Remember: the steering wheel can only be calmed by fine balancing of the front wheels. Not everyone does it carefully, not everywhere, so look for experienced craftsmen.

The vibration pattern is not always simple. If only one wheel shakes, then it all depends on its imbalance and rotation speed. Maximum - all at the same resonant speed. But if every time after a turn in the road the steering wheel shakes differently than before, it means that both front wheels are not in order. The paths they take during the turn are different - the relative positions of the “heavy places” and their effect on the steering wheel change. If you drive lap after lap around a track at a constant speed, the vibrations will wax and wane.

Slowly rotating the wheel, we control the runout of the rim in the transverse direction. We'll also check the tire. Runout of more than 0.5 mm is undesirable. It is equally important to limit the radial runout of the wheel. Only a wheel of the correct shape makes sense to balance.

But sometimes this happens on a straight highway. And few people guess the reason - these are poorly balanced wheels. different sizes! The explanation is simple: you replaced a wheel with a tread worn by 1.5 mm with a fresh spare wheel. If the spare tire travels the same 2 m per revolution, then the working wheel travels 1.9906 m. With each revolution, the “heavy spot” of one wheel moves relative to the other - and the vibration pattern of the car will be repeated after 423 m of travel. Of course, the greater the difference in tire sizes, the more frequent the repetitions. Well, all this can be further complicated by slippery roads! In short, if you don’t want puzzles, watch the balancing.

Alas, the problem does not end there. For example, the crankshaft is perfectly balanced, but a deformed wheel, no matter how you balance it, continues to shake violently. Riding on such a “wheel” - thank you! Serve round. Let us compare (Fig. 1, a, b) the behavior of a deformed wheel on a smooth surface and a good one on a bumpy surface. If the bump on the tire reproduces the length and height of the bump on the surface, then the trajectory of the wheel axis during slow motion is the same. At high speeds there may be some nuances, but still shaking from a crooked tire is inevitable.

How can you tell when driving that a wheel or tire is crooked? If the steering wheel drives softly or the body sways at speeds of 5–10 km/h, when the role of imbalance is negligible, it means that at least one wheel is damaged. Everything that was said above about variable shaking in corners, etc., is also true for crooked wheels.

So, wheel balancing alone is not enough - it is important that in contact with the road the rotating wheel does not have geometric runouts - radial, axial or any other. Otherwise, even a completely round one, finding itself on a deformed hub, can throw up a mystery. Here's a recent case. The driver felt the steering wheel shaking and had the wheels balanced. They did it - it shakes again. We repeated it again. Arrived to me. It was not without difficulty that we found the cause - a bent hub! That's why the good wheel rolled in a zigzag.

But here is a typical mistake of an inexperienced motorist: he puts on a spare tire instead of a punctured wheel - and lowers the car with the bolts loose - after that, they say, it’s better to tighten it! Well, under load, the wheel will move upward relative to the hub as far as the clearances allow. If you now tighten the bolts, friction will not allow the wheel to center - and it will rotate with eccentricity e (Fig. 2), acquire an imbalance and hit the road with an amplitude of 2e.

A bump on the tread or a bump on the surface? As sources of shocks, impacts, and vibrations, they are essentially equivalent!

It is correct to start not with balancing, but with adjusting the geometry: the radial and axial geometric runout of the tire should be as small as possible. Only then go to balance.