In winter, clean the wheels before blaming the balance
A vibration that appears in the middle of winter is often not a balance problem at all. It is snow, ice or packed mud stuck to the inside of a wheel.
A wheel is balanced to within a fraction of an ounce. A clump of frozen slush clinging inside the rim can weigh far more than that, and it sits exactly where it does the most harm. The result feels like a badly balanced tire: a shake at speed that was not there last week.
The test is simple. Rinse or let the wheels thaw out completely, then drive at the speed where the shake appeared. If it is gone, the balance was never the problem.
When it really is balance
If the vibration survives clean wheels, book a balance. A few occasions call for one in any case:
- The seasonal changeover. Swapping between winter and summer tires, or remounting tires on different wheels, is the moment to balance.
- New tires. Every new fitting is balanced.
- A lost weight. A clean patch on the rim where a weight used to be is a sign one has come off.
Check pressures cold against the specification first, too, since a cold snap drops them and a tire well off spec changes how the assembly behaves.
When it is something else
A pull, or a vibration at every speed, is alignment or a worn part. One that outlives a balance is often the wheel, and wheel refurbishing is at this store. The national tire and wheel balancing page covers the other occasions worth asking for it.
About this store
The Reno store carries all nine Purcell tire categories and is managed by Fred Sinfellow.
See the national tire and wheel balancing page for all 51 locations.