Balancing
Why is tire balancing even necessary?
First things first : It has become common to speak of “balancing tires” – although that is actually not entirely correct.
In the car workshop or at the tire dealer, you always have a wheel balanced – that is, your car tire that is mounted on a rim.
Wheel = tire + rim. But we don’t want to be more papal than the pope, so we stick to the expression “balancing tires”.
Sometimes car tires don’t run as smoothly as they appear at first glance: the weight of the tire and rim is almost never as evenly distributed around the center (central axis) as one would like.
Causes of Tire imbalance
According to Techpally, This unequal distribution is called imbalance and has two main causes: Firstly, the valve weighs a few grams, so that there is more weight at this point on the tire than on the opposite side.
On the other hand, a tire never wears out completely evenly – hard braking maneuvers and (rapid) cornering contribute significantly to uneven wear.
This means that there is not the same amount of rubber in all parts of the tire – this different weight distribution also leads to an imbalance.
Tire imbalance: The steering wheel wobbling and the consequential costs
The reason why even small differences of a few grams in the weight distribution of a car tire is a problem is physics, says tech pally boss
If a mass moves very quickly in a circle, strong forces are at work.
Anyone who has ever flown off the rotating carousel on the playground probably knows the effect well.
Impact of car Tire imbalance
While a tire imbalance is hardly noticeable at low speeds, it has a negative impact at higher speeds, says Techpally editor.
At 100 km/h on a country road, an imbalance of 10 grams has the same effect as two and a half kilograms – that’s already 250 times as much.
On the Autobahn at a speed of 200 km/h, this becomes approx. ten kilograms – i.e. 1,000 times as much.
At least now it becomes clear why balancing tires of any brand is so important – especially for cars and motorcycles that are driven at very high speeds .
An unbalanced tire not only causes the steering wheel to wobble, but can also cause damage to various components of the vehicle, which can lead to high repair costs: wheel bearings, wheel suspension and the steering gear are subjected to excessive stress due to the vibrations of the unbalance, and the tire tread wears out faster and unevenly.
Balancing alloy wheels and other tips
According to businesspally, Anyone who attaches great importance to the appearance of their (aluminium) rims should try to speak directly to the mechanic before he starts balancing.
There are very good and experienced fitters who, despite the time pressure in the workshops, can be persuaded to balance in a way that is as gentle on the rims as possible (adhesive weights instead of clip weights) and visually appealing.
With a little more assembly time and experience, it is often possible for fitters to get by with fewer or better/differently distributed balancing weights.
In the case of motorcycle tires in particular, a good mechanic can manage with significantly lower weights than the balancing machine specifies by repeatedly deflating and twisting the tire on the rim.
Tire fitters are usually not millionaires – a donation for the coffee fund is always good.