Is balancing done on the Tyre or the Wheel?!

antodeco

Hi folks,

Just wondering is the balancing done on the tyre or the wheel?!

Reason I ask, I got new wheels last August, but the balancing keeps slipping out. Has been redone 3 times. I know that the tyres are a cheap make, and Ive been thinking of getting Toyo Proxies tr-1's. Should this resolve the balancing issue, or could the wheel itself still cause an issue?!

On a seperate note, would a wider tyre affect acceleration/top speed?

Thanks

macshadow

It's done on the wheel.I think it's done as the tyre wears.
Maybe the weights keep falling off but unlikely.maybe it's the cheap tyres.

Anan1

Balancing is done by attaching weights to the wheel. Is the balancing ok when you get it done and then it goes over time?

Assuming you don't change the overall radius of the tyres, acceleration will not be affected at lower speeds. Wider tyres do incur an areodynamic penalty, so top speed and high-speed acceleration will be reduced, although not by much.

Avns1s

antodeco wrote:

Hi folks,

Just wondering is the balancing done on the tyre or the wheel?!

Reason I ask, I got new wheels last August, but the balancing keeps slipping out. Has been redone 3 times. I know that the tyres are a cheap make, and Ive been thinking of getting Toyo Proxies tr-1's. Should this resolve the balancing issue, or could the wheel itself still cause an issue?!

On a seperate note, would a wider tyre affect acceleration/top speed?

Thanks

Are the weights being lost from the wheels? Usually, shouldn't go out that much. It should definitely be enough to get the wheels balanced when new and possibly midlife. Also make sure they are balanced again if you get a puncture repaired.

antodeco

The weights have been replaced every time. It doesn't fix it. Apparently the weights keep slipping. I notice the effect straight away (so its not over time)

Ill be changing the wheel from a 215/45/17 to a 235/40/17, so im hoping the slight decrease in radius will offset the wider tyre. Thanks for clearing that up for me.

antodeco

Actually just thinking there, only the front tyres have been rebalanced each time. (re-done for free by where i got the wheels). It might be the rear wheels. Its a FWD.

macshadow

were the weights put on the front or back of wheels?
sorry i mean inside or outside?

sundodger5

To answer the original question. balancing is done to both the tyre and wheel together. You are ballancing the entire assembly.
tyres are not perfectly "round" that is they have sections that are heavier like the seam of the tyre. also wheels are marginally heavier where the valve is and over time they get damaged by potholes etc.
You should have all wheels balanced. you may not be able to feel them out at the rear but they will still be causing undue stress to suspension components wheel bearings etc.
if you can feel a vibration through the car (or more like the seat of your pants)it may be the wheels are badly out on the back. note it is rare for them to be this badly out.
if it is the front you will normally feel vibration start to kick in at around 60mph. it usually dies away at ""ahem"" higher speeds.
they should not keep going out of balance unless it is spitting the weights off and if they are fitted to the wheel properly this should not happen.

crosstownk

Balance weights are added to the wheel - but both the wheel and tyre are balanced as one unit. The idea is that the whole rotating mass is evenly balanced across its circumference. When a wheel and tyre are out of balance, uneven centrifugal forces wreak havoc and cause a shuddering sensation as the heavier side tries to pull away from the centre more so than the lighter side.

If you drive hard it is more likely that you will need rebalancing more often as tyres tend to wear in more uneven fashion than a car driven easy. But most wheel and tyre sets can go the full life of the tyre without any need for rebalancing.

Front wheel imbalance is usually noticed as a shake or shudder through the steering. Rear wheel imbalance is noticed as a shake or shudder through the car itself.

EDIT : Sundodger, you got there before me!

antodeco

Thanks for the replies. It only seems to kick in around 90Kmh, and does go away at around 110kmh. Strange thing I noticed a few weeks ago though, I had the car in Germany and the vibrations kicked in again at around 180Kmh. Luckily Im rarely over there, so as long as I do "motorway" speeds, its fairly comfortable. Theres around 1000km done a week on the tyres, and theyve taken a fair few wacks from glorious country roads. The last pothole I hit seemed to fix it tho!! Just must remember to hit an odd number of potholes!!