General Information

Imbalanced tires can cause premature wear and increased stress on all steering and suspension parts.

There are two types of wheel and tire balancing: static balancing and dynamic balancing.

Static Unbalance Correction:

Static balancing assures an equal distribution of weight around the wheel/tire. Assemblies that are statically unbalanced cause a bouncing action called tramp. This condition may cause vibration on smooth roads at highway speeds resulting in decreased riding comfort to the driver and passengers. In severe conditions, excessive static imbalance can also decrease traction due to loss of tire-to-road contact. Statically imbalanced tires can develop a cupping wear condition if the imbalance is not corrected.

Dynamic Unbalance Correction:

Dynamic balancing assures equal distribution of weight on each side of the wheel centerline, preventing the wheel from shaking from side-to-side and exhibiting a condition known as shimmy.

The two common methods of wheel balancing are off-vehicle balancing and on-vehicle balancing, sometimes referred to as finish balancing.

Off-vehicle balancing provides static and dynamic balancing and is more commonly used than the on-vehicle method.

On-vehicle balancing also provides static balancing and is sometimes helpful in stubborn cases where the wheels, brake rotors and drums, and/or hubs need to be balanced as a unit.

On-vehicle balancing is also known as finish balancing since the wheel and tire assemblies are balanced with an off-vehicle balancer prior to implementing the on-vehicle balancing method. This finish balancing method compensates for any imbalance conditions of rotating parts, such as brake rotors or wheel hubs. Be sure to evaluate wheel bearing condition and hub lateral runout prior to attempting any finish balancing procedures.