balancing tyres

homeless student

i recently moved my 2 front wheels to the back and vise versa, just bought the car and the back tyres were better than the front so i moved the to the front. just wondering should i get the wheels balanced now?

Cheensbo

is there a wobble/vibration when driving?

Usually the sweet spot for this is circa 100kmh... but it varies

if yes, get em balanced, costs nothing very very little
if no, dont

homeless student

Cheensbo wrote: »

is there a wobble/vibration when driving?

Usually the sweet spot for this is circa 100kmh... but it varies

if yes, get em balanced, costs nothing


if no, dont

i noticed a bit of a vibration one day, yes

costs nothing?

Neilw

Cheensbo wrote: »

is there a wobble/vibration when driving?

Usually the sweet spot for this is circa 100kmh... but it varies

if yes, get em balanced, costs nothing
if no, dont

I don't know anywhere that would balance a pair of wheels for nothing.

homeless student

Neilw wrote: »

I don't know anywhere that would balance a pair of wheels for nothing.

st vincent de paul?

Cheensbo

fcuk sake,

ok 5e a wheel.

biko

Balancing a tyre means that the tyre in itself is perfectly weighted.
Moving the tyre to a new location doesn't change that.

If you have a shudder at speed it can be either that the tyre(s) isn't balanced right or alignment is off (or other things) so take car to a shop and ask for alignment including balancing of wheels (usually done anyway). Cost 40/50 euro.

Neilw

Cheensbo wrote: »

fcuk sake,

ok 5e a wheel.

So a tenner per axle, hardly nothing is it

Voodoomelon

biko wrote: »

Balancing a tyre means that the tyre in itself is perfectly weighted.
Moving the tyre to a new location doesn't change that.

Huh?
Tyres don't get balanced, wheels and tyres combined do. If a tyre is moved to a different wheel, or even reapplied to the same wheel in a different position, it should be balanced again.

Cheensbo

Neilw wrote: »

So a tenner per axle, hardly nothing is it

I can do mine for nothing, does that count? :rolleyes:

Neilw

Cheensbo wrote: »

I can do mine for nothing, does that count? :rolleyes:

Nope :pac:

homeless student

Cheensbo wrote: »

I can do mine for nothing, does that count? :rolleyes:

only if you do mine for nothing;)

biko

Voodoomelon wrote: »

Huh?
Tyres don't get balanced, wheels and tyres combined do. If a tyre is moved to a different wheel, or even reapplied to the same wheel in a different position, it should be balanced again.

Yeah, I assume the OP meant they shifted the tyre including the wheel.
It doesn't make sense to only shift the rubber back to front but alloys/steel wheel remains in position.

homeless student

biko wrote: »

Yeah, I assume the OP meant they shifted the tyre including the wheel.
It doesn't make sense to only shift the rubber back to front but alloys/steel wheel remains in position.

yes i moved the wheels with the tyres attached

joujoujou

It's a good thing to have wheels balanced at least twice a year. Some recommends even 4 times, but I balance mine twice.

Wheel bearings are happy and last much longer.

dgt

The suspension, bushes and drivetrain won't be happy. If I was on a computer I could link pics of an extreme case of what unbalanced tyres did to a van car I got....

Get them balanced and put your mind at rest

homeless student

dgt wrote: »

The suspension, bushes and drivetrain won't be happy. If I was on a computer I could link pics of an extreme case of what unbalanced tyres did to a van car I got....

Get them balanced and put your mind at rest

will do, do you only have to get the front wheels balanced? any need for getting the aligned?

bazz26

If there is a vibration from the steering wheel at about 80kph or above then get the wheels balanced properly again.

El Kabong!

If you are driving a front wheel drive car, which I suspect you are, then it is recommended that the best 2 tyres are placed on the rear wheels.

Neilw

El Kabong! wrote: »

If you are driving a front wheel drive car, which I suspect you are, then it is recommended that the best 2 tyres are placed on the rear wheels.

That kind of talk doesn't go down well here

homeless student

El Kabong! wrote: »

If you are driving a front wheel drive car, which I suspect you are, then it is recommended that the best 2 tyres are placed on the rear wheels.

really? why? yes its front wheel drive as far as i know

homeless student

bazz26 wrote: »

If there is a vibration from the steering wheel at about 80kph or above then get the wheels balanced properly again.

have noticed vibration only once sine they were changed a few weeks ago

Nissan doctor

A lot of less reputable places will only bother balancing the front wheels on cars so of an owner then decides to swop the fronts to back the front wheels will then not be balanced so they will likely have a vibration.

I would see no need for having the balancing done 2 or even 4 times a year, once done, there should be no need to have it done again until the tyres are replaced again unless you are the type that is prone to hitting potholes/kerbs etc.

visual

Any time I get all tyres replaced I have to insist all wheels are balanced as most places will fob you off with just front being balanced. Never found I needed rebalancing unless the tyre was taken off the rim to repair a puncture

joujoujou

Nissan doctor wrote: »

[...]
I would see no need for having the balancing done 2 or even 4 times a year, once done, there should be no need to have it done again until the tyres are replaced again unless you are the type that is prone to hitting potholes/kerbs etc.

Try NOT to hit a pothole in this country. :P



BTW - my wheels balanced yesterday (previously balanced 6 months ago), result:

-wheel #1: 0g, 0g (this confirm your opinion),
-wheel #2: 10g, 20g (this not).

CiniO

I've notices it as well few years back when I moved to Ireland that many garages don't bother balancing rear wheels. I even encountered garage which wouldn't balance any wheel as they just purely didn't have the machine. Garage man said that if I don't drive too fast I'll be grand. If laugh could kill, he'd be dead.

But the best one was guy trying to sell me a tyre.
I went on to garage selling tyres with flat tyre (with nail) from cinquecento to get it fixed/patched. Tyre size 155/65/R13.
Guy said that he doesn't really patch tyres as it's dangerous, but he can sell me new one at good price. Only thing is that he doesn't have 155/65, but he has 155/70. It's very little difference and when fitted to the rear I'll be grand.
Again - I left quicker than I arrived there, but that made me wonder how backwards West of Ireland was in relation to motoring comparing to rest of Europe. And that was only 6 years ago.

CiniO

El Kabong! wrote: »

If you are driving a front wheel drive car, which I suspect you are, then it is recommended that the best 2 tyres are placed on the rear wheels.

It depends on circumstances and driver's skills.

Nissan doctor

joujoujou wrote: »

Try NOT to hit a pothole in this country. :P



BTW - my wheels balanced yesterday (previously balanced 6 months ago), result:

-wheel #1: 0g, 0g (this confirm your opinion),
-wheel #2: 10g, 20g (this not).

Could I take a guess that wheel #1 was the drivers side and wheel #2 the passenger side?

I see used to see it in work all them time, some people almost consider bending alloys, damaging tyres and knocking wheel alignment/balancing off as 'normal' just because we live in Ireland! :rolleyes:

joujoujou

Nissan doctor wrote: »

Could I take a guess that wheel #1 was the drivers side and wheel #2 the passenger side?

I didn't notice that, but I'm in the garden right now, so lifted my a*s off the chair and checked it for you - you're right, and I'm actually not surprised at all.

Nissan doctor wrote: »

I see used to see it in work all them time, some people almost consider bending alloys, damaging tyres and knocking wheel alignment/balancing off as 'normal' just because we live in Ireland! :rolleyes:

Not only Ireland. It's considered as something normal in many other Third World countries as well.

And that's the reason why I kept my wheels on factory size (14") - maybe it would be possible to go 15", but any bigger dimension would only get me into trouble, as rural roads I drive every day are in very poor condition.

dgt

homeless student wrote: »

will do, do you only have to get the front wheels balanced? any need for getting the aligned?

Best to balance the whole lot, for peace of mind. Or you could end up with a mess similar to this (extreme case)

Unless there's uneven wear in any of the tyres, I don't see the need for aligning, unless new steering/suspension parts were put in

derry

I bought my 2L 1993 Toyota Carina and it came with oversize alloys .I went straight down to local scrap yard and put on the normal 14 inch steel wheels
I lost attention in Europe mainland RHD in LHD country on long corner doing about 40kph with high curbs drifted onto curb and clipped it blew the Tyre out but steel wheel wasn't bent or fractured like alloys do .Bought new tyre got car balaced and on my way
Was going through one of these huge car parks in France in rainy night slowly 15kph I didn't see this large dividing Curb 18 inches high they had in the bays and went over it and got stuck wedged on it .Out with the car jack got the car off and the right wheel metal yet again no damage and the undercarriage OK too. With oversize alloys the alloy would have broken and its hard to find the same alloys when you look for one they want to sell 4 of them .Also oversize often effects bearing and stays and other things not worth the hassle . I seen too many friends get big bills for oversize wheels doing something to wear out part much sooner. Car is booked into a balance with the brake service next week
I had another curb clip on heavy rainy day going down steep hill slowly 20kph must have been fuel on the road car drifted across road and clipped curb I got out checked everything brakes suspension etc . Wheel was bent slightly and was bumpy egg shaped but didn't want to change wheel in heavy rain so got home 10 miles away going slowly 25mph and changed wheel and replaced tyre. Got new wheel and wheel balance

Give me standard steel wheels any day

I would always put the best tryes on the front tyres even if it is rear wheel drive .I have had some rear wheel drift in the past and its more easy to control than any front wheel loss of grip as that is nasty

Best rule is replace tyres early i always do i prefer deep threads and when it 4 mm i often change them .If there is evidence of damage I replace them .

I get tracking and balance done once a year or if i clipped something and in three years clipped one curb per year

Derry

challengemaster

derry wrote: »

Give me standard steel wheels any day

I get tracking and balance done once a year or if i clipped something and in three years clipped one curb per year

I'd suggest you learn to drive a bit better and stop hitting things. Alloys aren't a problem for people who don't drive into things on a regular basis.

sean1141

challengemaster wrote: »

I'd suggest you learn to drive a bit better and stop hitting things. Alloys aren't a problem for people who don't drive into things on a regular basis.

I have had alloys on every car I owned over the last 11 years(90% back road driving). I only ever damaged one once and was in a massive pothole that was sumerged in water after a heavy weekends rain. Of course being a monday morning and being late for work didn't help:D
It wasn't there on the friday and it was not on a strech of road prone for potholes..

El Kabong!

CiniO wrote: »

It depends on circumstances and driver's skills.

Of course, but the general position has been adopted by most/all manufacturers.

For the OP:

http://www.michelinman.com/mediabin/Approved/Michelin/Visuals/Digital/Two_Tire_Poster_Michelin_042009.pdf

biko

homeless student wrote: »

really? why? yes its front wheel drive as far as i know

Yeah unfortunately most people make the same mistake. They put the best grip tyres on the front (I've seen many very experienced tyre people do this too, for instance Francis in Clonboo who I often use).

However this isn't good practice. The best grip should be on the rear, for front drive or rear drive cars.

The simple reason to always fit the newer tyres on the rear is that you don't want the rear to lose grip first in the wet.
It's better to lose grip in the front as you can counter that earlier and better.

mickdw

biko wrote: »

Yeah unfortunately most people make the same mistake. They put the best grip tyres on the front (I've seen many very experienced tyre people do this too, for instance Francis in Clonboo who I often use).

However this isn't good practice. The best grip should be on the e cars.

The simple reason to always fit the newer tyres on the rear is that you don't want the rear to lose grip first in the wet.
It's better to lose grip in the front as you can counter that earlier and better.

I know there is a recommendation to do this but I dont agree. Firstly, I personally like a positive front end, getting the front into a bend is a good start for me and in wet conditions I would tend to not lean on the rear end anywhere near to the limit of grip, even driving relatively fast. Nothing more frightening than having no front end when you hit a bend.
All that is personal preference however my second point I feel is valid for all. The front tyres hit the water first and ad such disperse most water with the rears following through substantially less water.

joujoujou

mickdw wrote: »

[...] The front tyres hit the water first and ad such disperse most water with the rears following through substantially less water.

Only if you drive perfectly straight ahead. :P