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I'm looking to change tires at present and shopping around. One of the fast fit chains offers a standard tire balance with every new tire. They also do an option extra "Precision balance upgrade", for which they charge £2.50
Never heard of this before, only seen it at this one place. Anyone heard of it?
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Formula 1 Autocentres - have watched their video on Youtube on the 'precision balancing upgrade', and a) the electronic balancing machine seems no different to those used in any other tyre fitting centre, and b) they describe the balancing as being tailored to the vehicle. They include standard balancing in the cost of their new tyres.
I think this is just another way of increasing their profit margin.
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Agree with Auristocrat, a profit improvement technique.
Would only be worth considering if you had a balancing problem which was proving hard to solve.
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Turn it the other way round dos the tyre handler not balance the wheels properly unless you pay for their super duper all dancing balance system thats the same as everybody elses.Tell them to get stuffed.
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Turn it the other way round dos the tyre handler not balance the wheels properly unless you pay for their super duper all dancing balance system thats the same as everybody elses.Tell them to get stuffed.
Thanks for the replies everyone, I came to the same conclusion but was wondering if I'd missed something.
Michelin are offering cashback deals on tires at present and only do these via certain companies. I'll do some ringing around instead and avoid special balancing.
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New tyres for Berlingo came up in August. Always get them on rear and move rears to front.
Usually get away without re-balancing fronts but they needed it this time. Not only could you feel it in steering but various bits of trim resonated too.
F1 charged £7.50 a side for balance (I'd turned down originally). Well worth going back for.
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Sounds like they are demanding money with menaces - either you pay up or we'll deliberately balance your tyres badly!
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I'm looking to change tires at present and shopping around. One of the fast fit chains offers a standard tire balance with every new tire. They also do an option extra "Precision balance upgrade", for which they charge £2.50
Never heard of this before, only seen it at this one place. Anyone heard of it?
Sounds like a desperate bit of marketing froth. Or are they saying "give us an extra 2.50 or we just won't do the job properly - this would be extortion !
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Like the rip off of getting your tyres filled with Nitrogen. For feks sake, normal air contains mostly nitrogen. Before they fill your tyres with nitrogen do the evacuate all the existing air to ensure that there are no impurities and they are filled with 100% pure nitrogen.
Just because F1 uses it does not mean I want ripping off.
Been using air for 38 years and happy, its all I breath.
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Just because F1 uses it does not mean I want ripping off.
Correct. Pure nitrogen gives a predictable pressure at a given temperature. Thus, if you want to be sure that at n degrees your tyre will be at exactly y psi, it's a must have.
If, on the other hand, you are not driving a Formula 1 car competitively and thus will not notice the odd pound or two of pressure either way.........
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Correct. Pure nitrogen gives a predictable pressure at a given temperature.
So does any gas or mixture of gases!
and, NO, Bobbin, we are not going to consider weak interactions between particles in a gaseous state...
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Correct. Pure nitrogen gives a predictable pressure at a given temperature.
So does any gas or mixture of gases!
and, NO, Bobbin, we are not going to consider weak interactions between particles in a gaseous state...
Wouldn't dream of suggesting it!
It's for moisture removal - air has some water vapour in it and pure nitrogen shouldn't have. Also the fat nitrogen molecules block up all the holes in your tyres. The air components just seep right out. ;-)
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Also the fat nitrogen molecules block up all the holes in your tyres. The air components just seep right out. ;-)
That must be why I have to put air in my tyres a couple of times a year. Takes about 5 minutes with my foot pump.
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Also the fat nitrogen molecules block up all the holes in your tyres. The air components just seep right out. ;-)
Bobbin, agreed that pure nitrogen may not contain moisture, which may help consistency. However, if nitrogen molecules block the holes, then the nitrogen molecules comprising 79% of air should also block the holes, shouldn't they?
If nitrogen can't seep out, but other molecules can, once all the oxygen, CO2, argon, neon etc HAS seeped out, your tyres will be full of nitrogen anyway, won't they?
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Also the fat nitrogen molecules block up all the holes in your tyres. The air components just seep right out. ;-)
Bobbin, agreed that pure nitrogen may not contain moisture, which may help consistency. However, if nitrogen molecules block the holes, then the nitrogen molecules comprising 79% of air should also block the holes, shouldn't they?
If nitrogen can't seep out, but other molecules can, once all the oxygen, CO2, argon, neon etc HAS seeped out, your tyres will be full of nitrogen anyway, won't they?
This was largely a physicist's little joke.......the moisture part is true though.
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We're agreed then that this is largely a profit improving wheeze for tyre shops.
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I'm looking to change tires at present and shopping around. One of the fast fit chains offers a standard tire balance with every new tire. They also do an option extra "Precision balance upgrade", for which they charge £2.50
Never heard of this before, only seen it at this one place. Anyone heard of it?-
usual cowboy con.there is no such athing like taylored wheel balance
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I would have thought the only way to improve on the usual machine would be to do it on the vehicle.
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I would have thought the only way to improve on the usual machine would be to do it on the vehicle.
Way back in the 1960s/1970s (when most cars were rear wheel drive) this was available at some tyre shops - if wheels were unbalanced they tended to bounce off the driving rollers so not really successful unless the wheel was in fair balance to start with. Didn't work on my MkIII Zephyr, anyway.
Nowadays drive shafts might affect the process too?
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Yep - always had to get my 2.0 Capri's front wheels balanced on the car, even then there was always a slight shimmy at 65.
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you can get specialsit wheel balancing, and i have forgotton what its called where the wheel is balanced on its own then the tyre, then the two heaviest parts are mounted appossing one another, this is by far the best and most effective method.
It may even just becalled dynamic balacing
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According to this: www.carbibles.com/tyre_bible_pg2.html The coloured dots on new tyres are an aid to balancing when fitting new tyres (go to coloured dots and stripes).
IIRC wheels are also marked, but I can't find the reference.
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Quite correct. The dot should be lined up with the tyre valve but often the wheels are not checked for balance so defeats the object.
The dynamic balancing is opposing weights to reduce the amount of required wheel weights reducing the chance of inbalance
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