Guideline on Buying Tires Wheel Balancing and the Performance of Your Car | Page 6

How Wheel Balancing and Alignment Improves
the Performance of Your Car
Wheel balancing and alignment are part of the routine maintenance procedures that need to be
done periodically on all vehicles. As long as your car is in use, it’s inevitable that the wheels
will become imbalanced at some point. Indeed, even the best tires are never exactly the same
weight all around. Your tires will have slight weight imbalances or slight deviations in
roundness (radial and lateral runout) at certain places. For instance, the valve stem hole
subtracts a small amount of weight from that part of the wheel. Meanwhile, day-to-day tread
wear causes cumulative changes in the weight distribution of the wheel assembly. In fact, your
tires are no longer the same after the first mile of driving after leaving the factory.
At high speeds, even small weight imbalances can translate to considerable imbalances in
centrifugal forces that cause your wheel to spin in a heavy and uneven motion. This results in
perceptible vibrations and uneven wear and damage on your wheels. That is why it’s
imperative to have your wheels balanced periodically. Leading tire manufacturers recommend
having your wheels balanced every 3,000-6,000 miles (5,000-10,000Km) of driving. Wheel
balancing is also recommended after rotating your tires. Rotating your tires can prolong their
lifespan and avoid a premature visit to your tire shop.