Why do you need tire balancing?

Reasons for the need for wheel balancing

It happens that an accident is a consequence of the improper functioning of its components and assemblies. One of the reasons may be that the wheels were not balanced on time, which affects the vehicle's handling. Failure to do so in a timely manner will make it difficult to control the vehicle and increase the likelihood of tragic accidents on the road. It is extremely important to understand why wheel balancing is needed and what causes problems associated with imbalance in order to promptly prevent difficulties that arise while driving a car.

What is wheel balancing and why is it needed?

The essence of wheel balancing is to distribute the mass of all the component elements of the wheel as evenly as possible relative to the axis of its rotation, i.e. balance them. The need for balancing is explained by a whole range of reasons:

• vehicle controllability is significantly improved and road maneuvers are performed normally;
• the service life of the vehicle chassis is significantly extended;
• traffic safety is ensured for all its participants.

How and when can you understand that it is necessary to balance the wheels?

It is important for drivers to know not only why wheel balancing is needed, but also how often it needs to be done. A similar need may arise if you are planning a long, long trip. You should check how well everything is balanced if you switch from summer to winter tires.

It is important to do balancing when you need to replace a wheel after a puncture or wheel failure. Experienced car enthusiasts will definitely note that uneven tire wear can lead to wear and tear of components, and it is simply impossible not to pay attention to this factor, because “bald” tires are a potentially dangerous factor in causing accidents on the roads!

And if you feel that it is difficult to control the car, it is constantly being pulled to the side, the steering wheel has become wobbly, or additional vibrations have appeared while driving, then you should contact a tire shop to check the balance.

The main causes of wheel imbalance

Imbalance and significant loss of vehicle control can occur for a number of reasons. The first and one of the most important is the poor quality of the road surface: potholes, bumps, holes. At speed, the wheel becomes deformed, and if you drive for a long time on such a road surface, this can turn into a serious problem. These same shortcomings on the roads lead to the need for wheel alignment. The appearance of imbalance is influenced by driving over rough terrain in mud, extremely worn tires on the wheels, as well as an aggressive driving style, involving sharp braking and jerking.

Balancing stages

Step 1. The wheel is mounted on a special balancing machine strictly along the axis of rotation; special lead weights are hung on both sides of the disk.

Step 2. The wheel begins to spin, and during spinning on a special stand, the mechanic stops the wheel and changes the position of the weights, achieving its balancing along the central axis of symmetry. Modern electronic stands will help you achieve optimal results - the wheel will be balanced according to electronic indicators.

Final wheel balancing

Final balancing is the sequential removal of errors that arose during previous stages on a special finishing machine. It is carried out in conjunction with the assembly of running elements. Finish balancing determines how the car will move at high speed, using highly precise balancing parameters. The balancing results are displayed on a special stand, which guarantees safe long-term driving.

How do you know if balancing was unsuccessful?

If vibration persists at speed, the car pulls to the side, skidding increases and the impossibility of straight-line movement increases, then this indicates that there is a need for re-balancing.

Wheel balancing: what is it and why is it necessary?

Are you interested in what wheel balancing is, why it is needed, and how often it should be done? In this article we will talk in detail about this type of maintenance and its impact on the operating condition of the car.

Let's start with the fact that the balancing procedure was developed relatively recently, and many car owners quite often neglect it. They do this completely unreasonably, since in this case saving time and money can lead to disastrous consequences.

What is wheel balancing

The term balancing refers to the maximum possible, uniform distribution of the wheel mass relative to its axis. This correct arrangement allows you to significantly reduce the presence of vibration when the car is moving, and also eliminates early wear of the wheel bearing and car tires.

In simple terms, well-balanced wheels ensure a comfortable ride on any road. The car has excellent grip on the road surface and handles well at any speed.

No extraneous vibration is felt in the cabin, and the smooth running has a positive effect on the car’s suspension and the service life of the tires. Tire wear occurs evenly on each side, the wheel does not deform or wear out in certain areas.

Why do you need wheel balancing?

Static and dynamic wheel imbalance

As already mentioned, wheel balancing is needed to evenly distribute the mass of the wheel relative to its axis or, in other words, to eliminate imbalance. Experts divide wheel imbalance into two types:

• Statistical. The center of gravity shifts along the axis, resulting in an uneven distribution of the wheel mass along its length.
• Dynamic . This is when the axis of inertia does not coincide with the axis of rotation. In this case, the intersection of the axes occurs at an angle, which leads to uneven distribution of the mass in width.

The existing imbalance can be determined visually by lifting the car on a jack and spinning the wheel, as well as using special diagnostic equipment. The second option guarantees a more accurate result, and is provided as an available service at any tire shop or service station.

How to do wheel balancing

Wheel balancing machine

Before submitting the wheel to a computer stand for balancing, it is advisable to thoroughly wash and clean the tread and disc from dirt, small stones and sand. Their presence will not allow you to carry out the procedure correctly, and you will not get the expected result. Also, before starting balancing, the master must remove all previously installed balancing weights, regardless of their location.

Both front and rear wheels need to be regularly balanced. You should not single out only the leading pair, hoping that the mechanical impact on the other two wheels is less. Uneven wear can appear on any of the four treads, which will entail the consequences already described above.

The wheel balancing procedure itself is carried out on a special balancing machine or stand. The principle of its operation is to install a wheel on a rotating cone, which is automatically controlled by a computer program. The latter determines the exact type of imbalance and indicates where it is necessary to install a special weight to level the center of gravity.

The average weight of a zinc or lead load ranges from five to sixty grams, and is set manually by the master. The specialist also selects a balancing weight option (adhesive or padded), which is used in accordance with the type of wheel rim.

A modern method of computer diagnostics and balancing allows us to identify the slightest aspects of axial displacement that are invisible to the human eye. And it makes it possible to optimally correct the existing situation, which negatively affects the overall technical condition of the car.

On average, the wheel balancing process takes 40-60 minutes. The service can be ordered individually at a tire shop, or at a comprehensive service station. And the result of the quality of the work performed can be seen already at a speed of 60-70 kilometers per hour, on the first trip to the road.

Read also : How to properly store tires all seasons.

How often should you have your wheels balanced?

According to the rules, this maintenance is recommended to be carried out every 5 thousand kilometers of vehicle mileage. The optimal period will ensure minimal tire wear in case of imbalance, and it will be possible to get by with standard balancing rather than buying and replacing new wheels.

Balancing is required in the following cases:

• After a seasonal or regular tire change.
• If the car gets into a deep road hole or pothole.
• When a wheel hits a curb.
• After repairing one or more wheels.
• If vibration is detected in the cabin.
• When hitting the steering wheel at speeds over sixty kilometers per hour.

Each of the above factors should be a reason to urgently contact specialists. A quick response will prevent rapid wear of individual parts, and will ensure your safety on the road at any speed.

Do-it-yourself wheel balancing

A huge number of modern service stations allow you to quickly and easily carry out balancing at any time convenient for this. But for emergency situations, when tire fitting is not available, we will give an example of how this can be done with your own hands using balancing weights, which are sold in any car store.

In this case, you will need a jack, a wrench and a hammer. You need to lift one side of the car, turn off the gear (if the wheel with an imbalance is driving), and loosen the fastening nuts.

Without removing the disc from the hub, you need to spin the wheel to the left and wait for it to come to a complete stop. Mark its top point with a marker or chalk. Next, spin the disk to the right and also set the top mark. Thirty gram weights are placed opposite each mark.

Subsequent unwinding can be carried out in any direction, and at the moment of stopping the load will be at the bottom. This place will mark the lower balancing point. The next action should be the subsequent rotation of the disk and the displacement of the loads in directions opposite to each other. This procedure will cause the wheel to stop in different positions, which will indicate the optimal possible balance.

Of course, such adjustment cannot be compared with the exact data of computer stands and the verified actions of specialists. But for car enthusiasts who want to improve their technical skills, self-balancing will become an invaluable experience, and will help in the future to carefully monitor the level of paid service.

To summarize, we note once again that regular wheel balancing, carried out at least once a year, will allow you to protect important mechanical components of the vehicle from complex repairs and eliminate the purchase of expensive parts.

The necessary procedure will save your money and nerves. And you, as a practical and prudent driver, will get maximum pleasure from a good ride and can guarantee yourself optimal safety during high-speed driving.

Read also : Steering wheel vibration at speeds of 100-120 km/h - the main reasons.

Video on the topic

Balancing wheels in a car

The wheel balancing procedure is a recent one. Drivers neglect it because they do not know all the intricacies and advantages of the operation, remembering it only when the steering wheel begins to tremble and vibrate with every turn. The article talks about wheel balancing, what it is and why it needs to be done.

What is wheel balancing?

Wheel balancing is the procedure for preventing imbalance between wheels, rims, hubs, suspension parts and fasteners. The need for periodic operation is due to centrifugal force.

During the balancing process, the mass of the wheel is located evenly relative to its center. When the procedure is performed correctly, vibration during vehicle operation is reduced and the service life of bearings and car tires is increased.

Benefits of wheel balancing:

1. Comfortable ride on roads of any type and quality.
2. No unnecessary noise from car wheels.
3. Increased wheel usage.
4. Ease of driving at various speeds.
5. Car tires wear out equally and evenly on all sides.

Wheel balancing is required for any car, regardless of the condition of the wheels, tires or the newness of the model.

Consequences of not balancing wheels:

• Frequent bearing failures.
• Steering wheel vibration during vehicle operation.
• Early and uneven wear of car tires.
• Noise in the cabin.
• Immediate shock absorber failure.
• Unsafe movement due to each wheel acquiring its own centrifugal force.
• In advanced cases, the vibration of the wheels causes the bolts to become unscrewed and the ball joint to fly out or fall off.

Why is the procedure necessary?

Inexperienced drivers doubt even after the given consequences of failure to balance the wheels, which can be the most unpredictable: from an uncomfortable ride to breakdown of the car’s chassis.

Driving a car at a speed of 90 km/h with size fourteen wheels out of balance by only 20 g is comparable to hitting part of the suspension with a sledgehammer weighing 3 kg. About eight hundred such strikes occur per minute.

Vibrations and beating of the steering wheel are one of the consequences of unbalanced wheels

Nobody forces you to balance your car, and there are no laws forcing you to do it, but you need to understand that it will cost much more to repair the car.

Imbalance and its types

Imbalance is the presence of unbalanced parts in a car that are in motion: hubs, drums and tires, which change the handling of the vehicle for the worse.

Improper balancing of one wheel causes imbalance. The center of gravity of the wheel must lie on the axis of rotation equidistant from the entire surface.

If this condition is not met, the wheel is considered unbalanced. It is important to remember that a wheel cannot be perfectly symmetrical, since production has its own errors.

Statistical imbalance is quite rare. It occurs when the axis of inertia and the axis of rotation are parallel. The mass is not distributed correctly along the entire axis of rotation. The center of gravity is shifted to one side, and the disk is over the entire surface. This imbalance is easy to notice: the car jumps at any speed, and it becomes impossible to steer. In such conditions, the suspension quickly breaks down.

Dynamic imbalance occurs more often than statistical imbalance. Owners of wide tires are more often susceptible to it. An imbalance occurs due to a mismatch between the axis of rotation and the axis of inertia. During vehicle operation, the center of gravity changes, which leads to dynamic imbalance. The car begins to throw in different directions at a speed of 40 km/h or more. The steering wheel begins to shake and hit my hands hard.

There are two types of wheel imbalance: static and dynamic.

The most common imbalance is a combination of dynamic and static imbalance. This situation is not critical. It can be easily corrected using a balancing machine. For discs that melt easily, it is better to use modern equipment using laser technology.

Procedure technology

Equipment

It is important to prepare the wheels for the balancing procedure, namely, thoroughly clean the tread and disk from sand and dirt. If this rule is neglected, the operation may be performed inaccurately and will have to be repeated. If the car has already been balanced, the technician must remove the balancing weights before starting.

It is very important to check the tire pressure: the tires should not be flat. Before balancing the wheels, the center of gravity is determined, which is monitored by balancing machines. Devices can range from ordinary computers to huge systems with laser sensors and measurement mechanisms. Once determined, the machine automatically installs the balancing weight.

To carry out the procedure, a balancing machine is used, which aligns the position of the wheel along the center of the rotation axis during the procedure.

The type of balancing weight depends on the type of discs. Weights with fastening brackets are installed on steel disks, and with landing on the inside - on cast disks. They are mainly made from zinc, lead or steel.

Weight also depends on the level of imbalance. The weight of the balancing weight with bracket fasteners varies from 5 to 100 g. The weight of the weight for alloy wheels is from 5 to 60 g.

The complexity of the procedure also depends on the mass. The larger the weight, the more likely it is that the wheel needs to be checked for its external qualities: tread condition and general geometric qualities such as symmetry.

In the cold season, due to temperature fluctuations, adhesive weights may come off, which cannot happen with padded ones.

There are special types of weights for stamped wheels. They are stuffed between the disk and the tire, installed on the edge of the disk. Padded weights are not suitable for low-fusible discs. For this type, there are Velcro - self-adhesive weighting agents with an adhesive base. They are practically invisible, because they practically do not stand out from the general appearance. However, they are used only on a perfectly flat surface.

The process of balancing car wheels

The procedure for balancing a car starts with removing the discs, regardless of the characteristics of the model. Balancing occurs according to the following method: remove the wheel, balance it, put it back, then move on to the next one. This completes the procedure for all wheels.

The result depends mostly on the artist, and only a small part is due to the equipment. If the device is modern, then the specialist can only monitor the condition of the rubber and the progress of the procedure.

After cleaning the tread from stones and dirt, a plate is selected, depending on the number of holes in the disc. The specialist places the plate on the disk, tightening the nuts well. After that, he goes to the machine to balance the wheel.

Before balancing, remove any dirt or stones from the tire tread.

After identifying the problem area, the process of installing weights begins. Upon completion, the master returns to the equipment and re-checks the geometric condition of the wheel. If the procedure is successful, the wheel is installed in its place and the next one is taken. Otherwise, the procedure is repeated.

Errors during the procedure

It happens that specialists make mistakes by performing the procedure incorrectly. Let's look at the most common mistakes:

• Neglecting the procedure for cleaning the wheel from stones, sand and dirt. In this case, it will not be possible to achieve an imbalance value close to zero.
• Carrying out the procedure on a damaged wheel.
• Installing weights on top of old ones.
• Insufficient tightening of nuts and bolts on the wheel.

Closely monitor the work of specialists. Even the most experienced workers make mistakes. At the end of the procedure, make sure that the balancing was successful.

Safety precautions

The most basic safety rules during surgery include:

• Wheel balancing can only be carried out by a specialist who has reached the age of eighteen, has passed a medical examination and received permission to perform work of this complexity.
• Wheels weighing more than 20 kg are transported on trolleys or other devices.
• Before the procedure, the condition of the wheel is checked.
• The workplace should be clean, not cluttered with parts.
• Work is not carried out by specialists under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

You should trust your car only to qualified technicians.

How to check wheel balance

It is convenient to check wheel balancing when the season changes. Those who store seasonal tires usually change them themselves, so it will not be difficult for them to check the balancing themselves. It is important that the wheels are clean. For the procedure you will need regular chalk.

• Spin the wheel.
• Wait until the wheel stops completely and scratch with chalk anywhere. For example, in the middle of the tire.
• Repeat the first two points five to ten times.
• Check where the marks are located. If they are close to each other, then balancing is required.
• Otherwise, everything is fine with the wheel and you can save on the procedure.

Is it possible to balance only the front wheels?

When balancing only the front wheels, the steering wheel stops vibrating, so many drivers feel that there is no need to balance the rear wheels. This opinion is completely wrong.

The rear wheels, no less than the front ones, receive mechanical damage when driving over uneven surfaces, so they also need to be balanced

Despite the fact that driving when balancing only the front wheels becomes much more pleasant, the problem does not go away. Unfortunately, parts and suspension wear out not only in the rear of the car.

How often should balancing be done?

According to the rules, balancing is carried out every 5000 km. In addition, balancing is carried out after a number of events:

1. After every tire change: it doesn’t matter whether it’s seasonal or not.
2. When the steering wheel vibrates.
3. When colliding with a curb.
4. When falling into a ditch or hole.

Timely balancing provides a guarantee for the long life of the suspension and tires, so take the procedure responsibly.

Why do you need wheel balancing and when to do it?

Issues discussed in the material:

• Why do you need wheel balancing?
• Is wheel balancing necessary on a truck?
• What is wheel balancing?
• When to do wheel balancing

To save on car maintenance, some owners prefer to forego a number of technical procedures. It may seem unnecessary to balance wheels after tire service, but in fact this service allows you to avoid costly repairs. It is no coincidence that it is recommended to carry it out after changing tires - in the article we will tell you why wheel balancing is needed, when and how to do it.

Why do you need wheel balancing?

The production technology of car tires allows for uneven distribution of their mass along the rim. This is due to various defects: rubber sagging, layered structure. Due to these factors, the weight of the tire sides can vary by up to several grams. When driving, such a tire causes vibrations in the wheel. The higher the speed, the more noticeable the shaking becomes. Such vibrations affect not only ride comfort, but also affect the stability of the car on the road. The danger is that the car loses control over time.

Oscillations begin from the first revolutions, but at low speeds they are not noticeable to the driver. Vibrations begin to be felt when the silent block can no longer cope with the increased amplitude. Resonance occurs, due to which vibrations are transmitted to other structural elements of the car. Upon reaching a speed of 40 km/h, the driver begins to feel vibrations, first on the steering wheel, then on the pedals. Having accelerated to 60 - 80 km/h, discomfort is already felt in the cabin: shaking of seats and trim elements appears. The frequency of vibrations changes: the driver and passengers feel their peaks when things rattle in the glove compartment or trunk. At higher speeds, the shaking may disappear, but this only means that the vibrations of the wheel do not resonate with the car body. When the car slows down, the vibration will be felt again.

Don't underestimate this situation. Shaking negatively affects all parts of the car. Tire treads wear unevenly, which only increases wheel runout. Vibrations cause shock absorbers to fail and the car's suspension to become loose. Hinges, including rubber-metal ones, also become unusable. Over time, the negative effect of vibrations extends to the steering, as well as engine and transmission parts. Vibrations contribute to faster wear of all rubbing structural elements. The result may even be damage to the engine cooling system pipes.

If you do not do balancing immediately after changing the tires, then after a few months of driving the silent blocks may crack or problems with the suspension and other structural elements may arise.

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Is wheel balancing necessary on a truck?

Is this procedure necessary on trucks? Many Russians will answer negatively: “Why spend money on this given the quality of the roads?”

The image of devastation on the roads and in auto repair shops is firmly ingrained in the subconscious. After a trip over potholes, the old ZIL is repaired by a mechanic with a crowbar, and then the car with patches on the tires goes back on the route. But today that is a thing of the past.

Modern highways are distinguished by good coverage, which ensures speed for the flow of cars, buses and multi-ton trucks. Auto repair shops are equipped with everything necessary for complete repairs. This is the picture today.

But even to this, skeptics will find something to answer: “Trucks are too heavy machines to pay attention to wheel imbalance. Even a small unevenness in the road with their mass will have a much greater effect on the suspension!”

But let's do the calculations to see the real picture.

The entire weight of the truck is distributed over 6 or 8 wheels. It turns out that each of them experiences a static load of 1 - 2 tons.

When the wheels are unbalanced, the additional pressure always falls on the same point. An imbalance of 500 grams is considered acceptable. And even with this value, if the car is traveling at a speed of 100 km/h, a force of 50 kg is exerted on the wheel and suspension. In other words, eight times per second, one side of the wheel hits the asphalt 2–5% harder. At the same moment, a force of 50 kg with a frequency of 8 Hz acts on the suspension. Over time, the frequency of these vibrations approaches the vibration frequency of the entire suspension, which causes a destructive resonance effect.

The imbalance of each wheel is individual, but the rotation speed of all four is the same. Because of this, the suspension becomes even looser - increasing pressure is placed on it from four different sides with the same frequency.

Minor defects in the road surface do not affect the situation so much, because they evenly wear down the tire tread. The lack of balance contributes to “spot” wear, which only increases the imbalance.

Timely balancing, of course, will not solve all problems with tire wear, but it will significantly extend the service life of both the tires and other parts of the vehicle structure. The cost of this service is low, and this operation takes little time, so it can confidently be called a profitable investment.

In many countries, wheel balancing is already included in the list of mandatory operations when undergoing a vehicle technical inspection. Practice confirms that this is a necessary manipulation, so there is no reason to doubt its feasibility.

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Types of wheel balancing

The following types of balancing are distinguished:

• produced on a machine, the wheels are removed;
• produced by car or finished;
• automatic (can be powder or bead).

Balancing is also divided into static and dynamic.

1. Static

Static imbalance is a situation where weight is unevenly distributed along the axis of rotation. The higher the speed on the road, the more strongly the wheel hits the heavier side and the higher the static imbalance.

To avoid this phenomenon, static balancing is carried out. This operation can be performed at any tire shop. It is carried out as follows: the wheel is installed on a machine, where the automation will calculate the degree of imbalance during rotation. This determines exactly where to place the weight to equalize the weight.

There are two types of cargo:

• stamped ones are attached to the edge of the disk using a bracket, used on cast and stamped disks;
• self-adhesive (universal) are attached to the inside of the disk.

Balancing is carried out using both types, but when operating a car in winter, it is recommended to install padded weights. Self-adhesive ones do not hold well on the wheel rim in cold weather - due to temperature changes, the linear dimensions of the disk change, and the adhesive tape comes off over time.

The load can come off both while moving and when washing the car, when the jet hits the disk. With all these disadvantages, why do you need to balance your car wheels using self-adhesive weights? The answer to this question is easy: not all types of disks can be equipped with padded weights.

2. Dynamic

This type of balancing is not carried out in all auto repair shops. This requires modern equipment, which not all tire service points can boast of yet. Most of them have old devices that are not suitable for this manipulation.

Dynamic imbalance occurs during movement when a shift occurs relative to the plane of rotation. This phenomenon is more noticeable on wheels with a wider profile. Dynamic balancing is precisely designed to level out this phenomenon.

3. Finish

It is advisable to do the final balancing after static and dynamic balancing. For this operation you need a special balancing stand, which is only available in large tire centers. The procedure itself consists of accelerating the wheels of a car suspended above the stand to 90 km/h. The computer measures the indicators and the program produces the result: an indication of the locations and weight of the loads that need to be installed.

4. Automatic

This type of balancing is only performed on trucks and buses. The technology is that special granules are poured into the wheel. For these purposes, small beads or sand are used. The latter has an abrasive effect, so it is used less often. Thanks to centrifugal force, particles are evenly distributed over the inner surface of the tire during rotation, thereby achieving balance.

This method is not applicable to passenger cars, because there are difficulties in calculating the number of pellets for balancing. The weight of the wheels also increases after such manipulations, which is critical in the case of passenger vehicles.

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When is wheel balancing needed?

Balancing is necessary every time you change tires, when winter or summer tires are installed on the same rim. You can avoid seasonal balancing, but to do this you need to have two sets of wheels, not tires: for the warm and cold seasons.

Is it really worth ordering balancing every season?

Manufacturers recommend carrying out this procedure every 15,000 km of vehicle mileage. If you drive less per year, then, following this logic, you don’t have to waste time on balancing.

But this is a formal recommendation that does not take into account the specific features of your car. Watch the behavior of the car: if you don’t feel any vibrations in the steering wheel, then balancing is not required. If you change your wheels yourself twice a year, we recommend the following scheme. After installing the new seasonal kit, run the car for a couple of days. Minor tire deformations that occur during storage should disappear during this time. After this, check whether the machine vibrates at different speeds. If not, then balancing is not needed yet.

It is important to remember that balancing is the operation of moving the center of mass of the wheel to its geometric center on the axis of rotation. It is performed by a car service employee: special weights are attached to the disk in places determined by the program.

Balance is influenced by many factors: even a patch in the place of a rubber puncture or a harness in the tire tread. The disc can also become deformed on the road if it gets into a hole. And in this case, it is likely that the load installed in the service will shift. Try to avoid hitting the wheel rim to avoid this. Let us remind you that self-adhesive weights can also fall off when washing the car.

If you drive an aggressive car, like to take turns, brake and accelerate sharply, then your car's tires are subject to much more uneven wear, which also leads to imbalance. Hard jumps over speed bumps and collisions with curbs also spoil the overall picture - they disrupt the geometry of the wheels, and, consequently, the distribution of forces acting on them.

All of these factors can lead to an unscheduled visit to the tire shop for re-balancing. When driving quietly around the city, it is not so critical to achieve ideal values, especially since zero imbalance can only be achieved with expensive modern equipment, which is not available everywhere. But the higher your average speed, the more accurate the balancing must be, since this is where destructive forces begin to act.

After all of the above, the question “Why do you need to balance your car wheels?” is unlikely to arise, so we will focus on the recommendations when it needs to be done:

• during seasonal tire replacement (operation in summer and winter);
• after minor troubles on the road: hitting a curb, a hard speed bump, falling into a hole or hatch, etc.;
• upon reaching 15,000 km as required by the manufacturer;
• before traveling to remote places where there is no service station available;
• Every 7,000 - 8,000 km, if you drive aggressively.

Let us also mention a few rules for carrying out balancing work:

1. Previously installed weights are removed before the procedure.
2. The disk must be cleaned of dirt both from the outside and from the inside. If dirt remains, then we can assume that there was no balancing - a piece of dirt that fell off around the bend will again change the application of forces.
3. It is necessary to install the tire onto the rim efficiently and completely. Otherwise, the work will be done in vain.
4. It is also better to install plastic caps before starting measurements, since their absence will reduce the quality of work.

The condition of your car's wheels is a safety issue not only for you, but also for other road users.

Why do you need wheel balancing and is it possible to save money on it?

A number of planned procedures seem to some motorists to be a waste of money and they are looking for an opportunity to save money. However, sometimes this desire results in much larger expenses for repairs.

When changing wheels, tire mechanics usually ask whether the owner wants to do balancing. What kind of procedure is this and how important it is for a comfortable ride, helps to understand the automotive expert, captain of the GazRaid Sport racing team Vyacheslav Subbotin .

Vibrations harm equipment

The tire is not homogeneous and its mass is distributed unevenly along the wheel rim. There are small seals somewhere that were formed during molding at the factory. The result is rubber sagging, uneven layer joints and other defects in the structure, which weigh down one side of the tire by several grams. After installing such a tire, an imbalance is almost always observed. When rotating, the wheel beats, that is, vibrations occur, which are noticeable with increasing speed. These vibrations affect ride comfort and affect the handling of the car.

Wheel vibrations begin as soon as the car starts moving. But at low speeds they are damped by silent blocks and become noticeable to humans only after a certain speed, when the vibrations of the wheel begin to resonate in frequency and amplitude with the structural elements. Vibrations in the steering wheel usually appear at 40 km/h. As speed increases, they are reflected in the pedals. At 60-80 km/h, due to an unbalanced wheel, the trim panels and seats shake, and the pulsation is clearly transmitted to the back. Moreover, its frequency passes through certain peaks, at which the rattling of things in the glove box or trunk is heard. This means that resonance has appeared on the car body. Then, as the speed increases, the shaking may disappear, since the resonance effect stops, but when the driving speed decreases, the vibrations return again.

In general, such shaking does not benefit the car. The tread on vibrating wheels wears unevenly. Barely noticeable grooves form on it, which then grow and also increase the beating. Vibrations gradually break down shock absorbers, loosen suspension parts, and negatively affect rubber joints, silent blocks and other hinges. In addition, vibrations negatively affect the steering structure, as well as rotating engine and transmission parts. Vibrations slowly undermine their performance, wear of rubbing parts increases, and the fastenings of the engine cooling system pipes become loose.

As a result, after several months of driving with unbalanced wheels, a malfunction of one of the components may occur, not to mention cracked rubber-metal joints in the suspension.

How to balance and how often?

The wheels are balanced on a special stand in a tire workshop using weights made of zinc or lead weighing from 5 to 100 grams. The device itself spins the wheel and selects the weight and location of the compensating weight. Craftsmen glue them or put them on the rim of the disc and hammer them in with a hammer in the places where the tire fits.

The larger the wheel, the more difficult it is to balance. However, during this decade, many factories have undergone re-equipment and are already capable of producing rollers of even a twentieth radius with good accuracy. Therefore, when buying a wheel, you should ask where the tire was made and when the plant opened. If these are old domestic production facilities with old equipment, then it will be more difficult to balance a tire produced there than one manufactured at a newly built Russian enterprise of some famous foreign brand.

In addition, you cannot balance a wheel if large stones are stuck in the tread. When they fall out, the center of mass will shift and the wheel will start to beat again.

In general, wheel balancing must be done after each tire installation. In addition, over time, weights can fall off, leading to imbalance. Therefore, as soon as unwanted vibrations are felt in the car, you can return to the tire shop and repeat the balancing procedure again.