Couldnt agree with you more thump186.....bottom line is this.....if that was your car....would you want me to do a sh*tty job on it? I thinks not....
Customer service is 99% of the reason why you get return customers......everything else is meaningless.....i can pay more for things at one place if i know everytime i come in im going to get it done right and they are going to take care of me
Ok now i have since day one, long family line of mechs, known how crucial tire balance is, christ my brother raced stock cars, Kind of odd to see a 10" rim with huge ass racing tires Litereally fully balanced. Everyone told him Balancing a dirt tire makes no damn difference, And he responded, " You need to understand that with a balanced tire all 360 degrees of this tire will make a contact patch when in rotation with the ground, instead of 300 or 290 or 320. If a tire unbalanced on the road has a habit of vibrating, schimmeing, or worst Hopping, than an unbalanced tire will also have teh same effect in the dirt, which means you have less control of traction and handling,... Dip****"
Now my shadow has a vibration just after take off and when accelerating hard, The tires are balanced?...
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I agree. I usually rebalance and rotate the tires with every oil change, 3000 miles. I also purchase a lifetime alignment policy, available at some tire stores in SoCal, and get a realignment every other rebalance/rotation. Got picky about that as I originally come from northwest snow country (plenty of pot holes). The one other thing to remember about out of balance tires and out of alignment steering it that it does put extra stress on the steering/suspension components, which leads to extra wear. Preventative maintenance is all about addressing issues before they become a problem.
Good post, keep in mind however that if a tire's "road force" is excessive it will cause vibrations also. (The balance may be perfect)
"Road force" is the amount of pressure the tire excerts against the road. As the tire rotates it may have certain areas in the tread that'll be uneven compared to other areas. This could be due to a faulty tire, or flat spots. However, I've seen new tires have excessive road force.
Typical road force should not exceed 14lbs.
Read more here: http://www.gsp9700.com/pub/features/how.cfm
No, I don't work for Hunter. But this is, I believe, the only machine that'll measure road force.
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you are right that tires may be balanced and change under load conditions and the hunter machines are a great balancer. Now on the other hand not every shop is going to have a road force balance (due to the cost of the mschine)and the only method they have is a computer balancer which will usally offer dynamic, static ect.... A good quality ride and handling can be achieved with a little time and care when balancing. proper load and speed rating can also change the feel of a tire.
For those of you who go muddin or off-roading, sometimes mud can dry to the back of your rim and cause wheel vibration, the mud acts as a weight and can throw the tire off balance...its happened to me many of times
If you can see threads you are long over due for new tires. If the tires wear on the sides then you overflate them. If they are worn in the center you over inflated them.
RE: why tire balance is critical
