Frequency of Tire Rebalancing?

[The Critic]

I understand it is a good idea to have new tires rebalanced at the first tire rotation as tires often "slip" after installation due to the wet lube, which causes the tires to go out of balance. But thereafter, how often should you have the tires rebalanced?

CapriRacer? Anyone?

 

[JHZR2]

I routinely get 70k out of tires, and never have them rebalanced. Dont know that it is an issue. Of course if someone takes a newly mounted tire and mashes the go pedal at the first light, this is plausible. Otherwise???

Good data point, but I wonder if this "best practice" is overkill, or if folks have actually seen a need to do it.

Very interesting question...

 

[simple_gifts]

Quote:

I routinely get 70k out of tires, and never have them rebalanced.


+1; Additionally the only rotation they have ever gotten is by the forward motion of the car.

 

[The Critic]

Originally Posted By: JHZR2
I routinely get 70k out of tires, and never have them rebalanced. Dont know that it is an issue. Of course if someone takes a newly mounted tire and mashes the go pedal at the first light, this is plausible. Otherwise???

Good data point, but I wonder if this "best practice" is overkill, or if folks have actually seen a need to do it.

Very interesting question...


Depending on the vehicle and the aspect ratio of the tire, it is definitely possible for a tire be more than an ounce out of balance and still not notice a vibration.

On my Saturn, my steering wheel has a noticeable vibration at speeds over 60 mph. I had the tires rebalanced at Sam's Club about 10,000 miles to fix the problem, but the wheel rebalance did not fix it. Replacing a lower engine mount fixed the problem for a while, but then the problem came back.

America's Tire says they will rebalance the tires for me at no charge even though I did not purchase the tires there, so perhaps I will give them a shot. They use the Hunter DSP9600 balancer, which may be better than the older Coats equipment used by Sam's Club.

 

[ajchien]

FWIW, my local tire shop recommends rotation every 6-8k, and a rebalance every other rotation. Since they provide me with free rotations, i take it into them every 5k (corresponding to my OCI), so i "presume" they're rebalancing every 10k.

 

[Y_K]

from my apst taxi experience: rotation every 4k miles and rebalance whenever they wobble at 65+ mph on the fron tend. Gave the best and safe longevity

 

[wallyuwl]

Originally Posted By: ajchien
FWIW, my local tire shop recommends rotation every 6-8k, and a rebalance every other rotation. Since they provide me with free rotations, i take it into them every 5k (corresponding to my OCI), so i "presume" they're rebalancing every 10k.


I also get a balancing every other rotation, and I rotate about every six thousdand miles (also corresponding with oil changes).

If the balancing isn't on the work order, don't assume they are doing it every other rotation. Your tire shop probably has thousands of customers, they might not check what they did last time you brought it in before doing the work. When you want a balance, ask for it.

 

[Papa Bear]

Originally Posted By: ajchien
FWIW, my local tire shop recommends rotation every 6-8k, and a rebalance every other rotation. Since they provide me with free rotations, i take it into them every 5k (corresponding to my OCI), so i "presume" they're rebalancing every 10k.


If they don't charge for a balance I doubt they are doing it ...

 

[SteveSRT8]

we run 3500 Savanas for 60-70k miles on a set of Michelin LTX M/S without any balancing.

Some vehicles require rotations. I own others that do not.

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8
Some vehicles require rotations.

Which vehicles specifically require rotations?

I thought the purpose of the rotation is to have more uniform treadwear front vs rear. But there is no requirement per se to do it.

 

[SteveSRT8]

Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8
Some vehicles require rotations.

Which vehicles specifically require rotations?

I thought the purpose of the rotation is to have more uniform treadwear front vs rear. But there is no requirement per se to do it.


Indeed. I am one of the proponents of NOT rotating if you can get away with it. IMO it wastes time and opens up too many other 'can-o-worms'.

But I would think most wrong wheel drive cars require it.

 

[Ramblin Fever]

I own 3 trucks, and I can honestly say my tires last a LOT longer if I do the rotations for sure, generally every 6k on my 2 lighter trucks, on my cummins diesel, they get rotated every 3k.....if I don't do this, the tires for sure wear faster.

I think heavy trucks in general, i..e the diesel, just run out the tread faster anyways.

As far as balancing; my tacoma doesn't seem to care; however my diesel will most definitely have a tire or two that needs rebalanced every time, doesn't matter the brand of tire, and I do NOT drive that truck like a race car....my trucks have to last me a long time so I baby them off the line as much as I can.

My rodeo's front end is very sensitive, even though it's built like a tank, or overbuilt, is another choice of words, but I can always tell when a tire is out of balance on that truck.

Bridgestone Revo's were the tires on both trucks that had the least amount of need to rebalance; yokohama's were the worst in the fact they needed very frequent rebalancing.

 

[cos]

I have my tires rebalanced once/yr. Even when they seemed smooth before they are always a bit smoother afterwards unless the balancer isn't calibrated. I'm very picky about tire PSI, wheel lug torque, alignment and wheel balacing - I like a very smooth hwy ride. Luckily Discount Tire includes annual rebalacing when you purchase from them.

 

[Kestas]

Now that I have my own static wheel balancer, I save on balancing, plus I now appreciate how tires can get out of balance over time. I'm pretty happy with my home setup. The wheels are nice and smooth through all the speeds I drive.

 

[saberz]

Kestas, if you don't mind my asking how much was the static one?

I see some ranging from 1k up to 14k.

 

[eljefino]

I've needed rebalancing for my saturn, these cars are picky for some reason, like a real tight front end. Sometimes profesionally with a dynamic balancer; I only have static.

I have a bubble static balancer which is enough for everything else but not always the saturn.

Some kumho 732s I just took out of service wore themselves out of balance. Can see on the tread depth.

A good static balancer is already on your car, jack up the rear of your FWD car if you have drum brakes (low drag) and mount the tire with all the lug nuts and spin it a la "wheel of fortune". If it stops in the same place every time you need to add weight at 12 o'clock. My replacement for that unbalanced and worn-out kumho balanced with this method; .75 oz was too much so I backed down to .25 oz, demonstrating the sensitivity of the equipment.

If you have all discs (eg critic) you can take the caliper off and hang it out of the way. Takes time but... not money.

 

[Kestas]

$11.50 bought locally off eBay!

It's a Snap-On model built some time before 1954. Must've been state-of-the-art for its time. It even came with a lifetime supply of lead weights. Basically you mount the wheel vertically on the supplied axle-and-cone assembly, and the wheel rotates until the heaviest part of the wheel is at the bottom. Add weights as needed. Sensitivity is within less than 0.25 oz.

For some unknown reason, it was sold by ladies that ran a gift shop. All the other ladies there couldn't understand who would pay money for such an old dusty contraption, that - according to them - should be trashed!

I've seen new versions of this device that work off this principle for about $100. It seems to be marketed to the motorcycle crowd.