When Does Your Shop Need to Balance Customer Tires?
Tire balancing describes the process of ensuring wheels on a vehicle are identical in weight on each side of an axle. Verifying wheel assemblies are balanced is crucial for smoothening rotation, eliminating vibrations and enhancing the way a customer’s automobile handles on the road.
Deciding when to balance tires is easier with a trusted team by your side. CEMB-USA is here to tell you everything you need to know to prolong the life of your customers’ wheels and tires entering your shop or garage.
How Does Tire Balancing Work?
Balancing a tire requires a systematic approach. Remove all tires from a vehicle and evaluate under static (stationary) and dynamic (moving) conditions. You must use specialized machines and confirm the customer’s wheel weight is evenly distributed.
Small metal weights are added or removed from automotive wheels to create a sense of balance across the front and rear axles.
Signs of Unbalanced Tires
If your customers experience any of the issues below, their vehicle is likely due for tire balancing service:
- Limited handling control: Drivers commonly report a loss of handling when tires are off-balance.
- Reduced fuel economy: Unbalanced tires cannot rotate in sync, resulting in fuel waste.
- Jeopardized ride comfort: Cars may start squeaking or bouncing when they need tire balancing.
- Premature tire wear: Tires needing balancing service usually wear along the sidewall and tread quickly.
- Steering wobble: A telltale sign of unbalanced tires is the steering wheel shaking and an inability to drive straight.
- Floor vibrations: When tires require attention, it can feel like the floor of a car, truck or SUV is rattling.
Tire Balancing Frequency
You may be curious about how often to balance tires. The answer to this question will vary depending on a customer’s driving habits and the condition of the roads they use. Factors such as hauling heavy loads, driving at high speeds and running over potholes frequently can throw off tire balance.
Mechanics should balance and assess tires after customers drive between 5,000 and 7,000 miles. This time frame often aligns with oil change intervals, making tire service easy to remember and suggest to your customer base. Special equipment is necessary for accurate tire balancing.
Tires do need to be balanced when rotated. Balancing tires after you install replacements for a customer, a driver hits a curb or someone gets in a minor collision can extend the life of tires and tread.
Trust CEMB-USA for Professional Wheel Balancers
At CEMB-USA, we sell Italian-made machines for automotive garages and dealerships. Confidently work on cars, trucks, SUVs and motorcycles in the USA using a selection from our catalog. Whether you need diagnostic support, fast-operating equipment, compact balancers or motorcycle-focused machines, we can help you.
Look through our offerings today and contact us with questions or to purchase a wheel balancer.
