Wheel balancing

Wed 5 Mar 2003 17:12

Wheel balancing - davo

The standard alloy (widish) wheels on my wife's Astra estate wobble from about 60 - 75mph. The tyres are not that old and were balanced on fitting.

Are there different types of balancing machines ie not so good and very good and who has them or what should I ask for when looking around?

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Wed 5 Mar 2003 18:34

Wheel balancing - lauriew

Davo,You could have lost a weight(s).Also the tyres may not be wearing uniformly, so may require rebalancing.
Most wheel balancing machines can be set for "sensivity" to make them more accurate.
You can also have the wheels balanced "on-the-car", this method will balance the wheel, hub and brakedrum altogether.
If you adopt this method, you must ensure that on wheel removal(servicing),they are refitted in the same position.

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Wed 5 Mar 2003 18:38

Wheel balancing - Andrew-T

In my limited experience the recent generation of balancers are magic - provided they are used by a reasonably careful operator. The older machines sometimes had difficulty with alloys which needed special centring pieces. Laurie is right - you may have lost a stick-on weight, if dust was not adequately removed before applying it.

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Wed 5 Mar 2003 18:40

Wheel balancing - Dynamic Dave

They probably wobble a bit because the tyres have now settled down on their wheel rims properly. Not saying for one moment your wife has a heavy right foot, but what can happen is the tyres can slip and rotate around on the rim a little from where they were 1st positioned by the tyre fiter if not driven carefully for the 1st few miles due to the slippery jollop they apply. 9 times out of 10 I've had to go back to the garage a few days later to have mine rebalanced once they've settled down. Fortunately for me they don't charge for this.

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Thu 6 Mar 2003 06:13

Wheel balancing - Godfrey H {P}

Had the same thing happen on an Astra with alloys after the tyres were half worn. Got the wheels rebalanced end of problem.

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Thu 6 Mar 2003 08:07

Wheel balancing - Peter D

Find a trye place that is prepaired to balance the wheel on the inner and outer edge but using stick on weights. This normally leads to weights just on the inside edge and weights just inside the spokes. This method leads to superior balnce than the default middle rim only which only balances for eccentricity and not true dynamic balance. Most machinces can do this but the operator is the problem. Regards Peter

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Thu 6 Mar 2003 10:10

Wheel balancing - Dynamic Dave

the operator is the problem.

You can say that again Peter. Where I usually go for tyres has just recruted some new \"staff!\" The last time I had some new tyres fitted the new guy span the tyres on the balancer, added the necessary weights, then removed and fitted onto car. The older more experienced people there spin the wheels a second time on the balancer just to make sure the balance is perfect. When I politely tried to point this out to the newbie, he said \"they\'ll be fine, no need for a second spin on the balancer\" It took a further 3 times of returning before they finally got it right; and who got it right, yes the old hand who\'s worked there for years.

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Thu 6 Mar 2003 10:35

Wheel balancing - Hairy Hat Man

I must admit that I don't think I could tell if my wheels were not balanced exactly. What symptoms should I look for?

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Thu 6 Mar 2003 10:49

Wheel balancing - Andrew-T

HHM - vibration usually above ~50 mph, felt through the steering for a front wheel, or vaguely from the rear of the car if not. [used to get strange effects from hydrolastic where front and rear were linked? ]

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Thu 6 Mar 2003 12:16

Wheel balancing - davo

Thanks Dave and all, will take care to get the right equipment and firm.

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Tue 11 Mar 2003 15:28

Wheel balancing - davo

Well, I finally got round to taking it in 2 day. National Tyres, stood around with them and chatted it through. Balanced on both sides, perfect. They didn't even charge me, said didn't have time to raise invoice - guess where I'll be getting my next set of tyres!

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