Tires fitted on the road, a shake ever since
A familiar story at a store on an interstate: a tire failed somewhere on a trip, a replacement was fitted wherever one could be found, and the vehicle has had a vibration ever since. The driver has lived with it for a few hundred miles and wants it gone.
Several things can go wrong with a tire fitted in a hurry, and only one of them is balance.
It was never balanced, or the weight came off. Some emergency fittings are done to get the vehicle moving, not finished properly. A new tire that was not balanced, or one whose weight has since fallen off, shakes at speed.
It is a different tire from the others. A replacement of a different size, construction or wear level can produce a vibration or a pull of its own. Balancing will not fix a mismatch.
It is not seated evenly. A tire mounted in a rush may not have seated uniformly on the rim, which makes the assembly run out of round.
Something else was disturbed. The wheel may have been refitted without correct torque, or the original failure may have damaged the wheel.
What to bring
The tire information from the sidewall, the receipt from wherever it was fitted if you have it, and a description of the vibration: the speed it starts at and where you feel it. The store can then check the balance, how the tire is seated, and whether the replacement matches the rest of the set.
A vibration that survives a correct balance is often the wheel, and wheel refurbishing is at this store. A pull rather than a shake is more often alignment. The national tire and wheel balancing page covers the occasions worth asking for balancing.
Other stores nearby
Springfield and Springdale, AR also balance tires and wheels.
About this store
The Joplin store carries all nine Purcell tire categories and is managed by Travis Reeder.
See the national tire and wheel balancing page for all 51 locations.