Did you know that every vehicle should have its tires balanced every 6-7,000 miles?
Wheel balancing services are an important aspect of car maintenance. Even if your tires seem to be doing OK, they’re going to slowly go out of balance due to usage and wear-and-tear on the road. Wheel balancing services are inexpensive, and a good way to help ensure your car gives you a safe ride, year-round.
But what is wheel balancing, and why is it so important? Let’s take a look here!
Wheel Balancing – The Basics
Wheel balancing is what it sounds like – making sure your wheels are properly balanced on their axle so that they have perfectly smooth rotation when spinning. Even very small imbalances can add up to significant vibrations or shimmies on the road, particularly at high speeds.
So, professional garages can take your wheels and balance them. If the wheels are imbalanced, they can add small weights to the tire or rim to balance them out, or potentially adjust how the tire is attached to the rest of the wheel assembly.
The Importance of Wheel Balancing
So why does this matter? Simply put, you want your wheels to be as reliable as possible when driving, especially at high speeds.
When a tire is out of balance, it will tend to vibrate or shimmy. This translates into a rough ride for you, or vibrations coming through the steering wheel. A small amount of vibration isn’t a major problem, but unbalanced wheels tend to become more unbalanced over time. Eventually, they may become unstable enough to start causing traction or control problems.
Also, those vibrations are being transmitted across the suspension, axles, drive shaft, and other critical components. Poorly balanced wheels can potentially cause damage to other systems if they’re in bad enough shape.
All this makes your ride more dangerous, and you don’t want that if you’re going 60MPH!
Is Wheel Balancing the Same as Wheel Alignment or Tire Rotation?
No, although these are common misconceptions.
Wheel alignment is specifically about how your tires are aimed at the road. Properly aligned tires should be perfectly parallel to each other, the car, and the road. If any tire is off center, even by a small amount, it can cause vibrations or problems with the steering.
Tire rotation is about extending the lifespan of your tires. Even when properly balanced and aligned, tires will still tend to wear unevenly if they’re left in the same place for too long. So, tire rotation simply takes your wheels off and moves them to other positions on the car, to spread out the wear.
All three of these services are necessary to get the best drive and the longest life from your tires.
Best Tire Center Proudly Serves Washington State
Whether you’re here for our massive selection of tires from top brands, or if you need wheel maintenance such as wheel balancing services or tire rotation, Best Tire Center is your one-stop shop in Washington state! With numerous locations across the state, there’s a Best Tire Center near you at any time!
