What’s Wheel Balancing?
Car wheel balancing
A high-speed rotating object has centrifugal force. When the mass of an object deviates, the object cannot rotate properly. When the mass of an object changes at a point, the mass at a relative position needs to be adjusted to rebalance the rotation.
The car tire balancing (also known as wheel balancing) is the correction of uneven wheel weight distribution. There are certain weight errors due to workmanship, density, and many other reasons. These errors are negligible at rest, but once rotated, the resulting centrifugal force increases exponentially.
Therefore, wheel dynamic balancing is the adjustment of wheel mass distribution. Car balancing of wheels should be performed on professional apparatus where the machine rotates the tire and wheel assembly to measure the imbalance and professional balances the wheel with counterweights to achieve a properly balanced wheel and tire assembly.
Wheel Balancer KT-B700
What affects tire balance?
● Problems with the vehicle itself
The vehicle's suspension system may distribute weight unevenly across the tires, which needs to be addressed when rebalancing the wheels.
● Personal Driving Habits
Certain driving habits can cause a small amount of weight to be lost from a tire.
● Uneven road surfaces
Frequent driving on uneven roads can cause weights fixed to the rims of your tires to come loose or fall off, which can also throw your tires out of balance. These impacts can also cause your wheels to be out of alignment, resulting in uneven tire wear, which can likewise lead to unbalanced tires.
● Tire Pressure
Underinflated tires change the way the tread rubber contacts the road, and even short-term use of underinflated tires can cause them to wear abnormally, which can cause them to become unbalanced.
Why do car tires need to be balanced?
When car repairers recommend wheel balance adjustments, many people don't know why they want to do this.
● Reducing Tire Wear
Tire wear is one of the reasons why regular tire replacement is recommended. This uneven wear can also lead to weight differences around the circumference of the tire. The maintenance technician resolves these weight differences through professional operations.
● Better driving experience
Car tire balancing balances the tires and wheel components, resulting in a smoother ride.
● Preventing tire imbalances from causing an accident
All tires, even new ones, need to be balanced. This helps to ensure our driving safety.
● Balancing tires regularly
Protecting your tires should be considered part of your maintenance routine, helping them to last longer and reducing the cost of tire replacements and expensive repairs.
Is it safe to drive with unbalanced wheels?
If a professional auto mechanic insists on balancing a car's tires, they do so for a reason：unbalanced tires have an effect on both the vehicle and driver.
● For the car
Significant vibrations
When your tires are in an unbalanced condition, vibrations are more pronounced throughout the vehicle.
Car damage
Out-of-balance car tires can damage different parts of your vehicle to varying degrees. For example, driving on tires that are not properly balanced can put excessive stress on your shocks, bearings and wheel components.
Increased costs
The faster you drive, the more out-of-balance your tires will affect your driving performance, further reducing your fuel efficiency and increasing your fuel costs.
● For the driver
Under normal circumstances, driving with a wheel out of balance can feel a bit of annoying vibration. If you become distracted by the vibration, it can lead to serious problems. If you notice a negative impact on your driving ability, you should fix the problem as soon as possible.
Safe driving requires drivers to think about themselves and others, and using unbalanced tires for extended periods of time is irresponsible to yourself and others.
Signs of wheel imbalance
● Continuous vibration of car chassis
The earliest sign of tire imbalance is usually a vibration in the car. The vibration may not make the vehicle impossible to drive, but the shaking of the steering wheel will make you uncomfortable.
To solve this problem, you may need to wheel alignment and balance or rotate the tires.
● Uneven tire wear
Wheel wear is the most intuitive sign you can observe. You may notice that your tires are worn on one side in a different way or more severely, which may cause more serious problems.
Don't over-consider the wheel balancing cost, please make a car wheel balancing adjustment as soon as possible.
● Higher fuel costs
If you notice that you are refueling more frequently, the cause may be in your car's tires.
Unbalanced tires can cause your vehicle to run less efficiently and increase your fuel costs.
● Long-term damage to the car
The vibration of the entire car wheel assembly can cause varying degrees of damage to your vehicle. These vibrations can cause objects to loosen and may cause additional wear on other components. Your vehicle will be more difficult to maneuver in bad weather conditions.
● Have an accident or hit a hard object
If you have ever hit a hard object or had an accident that has damaged the chassis of a car. If you are not sure whether your car is damaged, perform a vehicle inspection.
● Replace with new tires
Even if you haven't noticed any of the above signs of tire imbalance, check to see if your tires need to be rebalanced when replacing new tires.
Wheel Balancer KT-B760
Car wheel balancing service
When should you get your wheels balanced?
To prevent unbalanced tires from causing more serious problems, you need to include tire balance in your regular inspections.
If your car has no obvious symptoms, it is usually recommended to check it every 5,000 to 7,500 miles or every 2 years.
Wheel balancing machine
A wheel balancer is a device used by dedicated personnel in auto repair shops to check tires balance.
Car wheel balancing machine is particularly suitable for high-volume commercial tire dealers and truck fleets.
Unlike most cheap brand balancing machines on the market, they are just standard balancers with larger mounting cones.
Conclusion
Keeping all four tires properly balanced will help you stay safe on the road and prevent unnecessary damage to other parts of the car. Consult a professional repairer, they will provide you with the best tips about auto repair for you.
The wheel balancer is indispensable to check whether the wheels are balanced. Katool is a professional automobile wheel balancer manufacturer and supplier, providing real high-quality wheel balancers. Driving safety is extremely important. If you want to perform an inspection or want to add tire equipment to your repair shop, we will be very pleased that you will contact us.