A balance does not last the life of the tire
Most drivers think of balancing as something that happens once, when a tire is fitted. The tire is balanced, the weights go on, and the job is done for good.
In practice the balance drifts as the tire wears. Tread does not always wear evenly around the tire, particularly on a pickup with aggressive all-terrain tread or a truck that does a mix of highway and gravel. Rubber leaves one part of the tire faster than another, and the weights that were correct on day one gradually stop matching the tire they are attached to.
The vibration that results comes on slowly. A tire that was smooth when it was fitted can be noticeably rough half way through its life, and because the change was gradual, the driver often accepts it as normal.
The easy fix: balance at rotation
Rotating tires moves them to a different position on the vehicle, which is already a reason to look at them. Rebalancing at the same visit catches the drift before it shows up as a vibration, and before it starts wearing the tread into an uneven pattern of its own.
A few other occasions are worth a balance too:
- Every new fitting.
- After a tire repair, which can change the weight at one point.
- When a weight has fallen off, leaving a clean patch on the rim.
- When a smooth vehicle slowly becomes a rough one.
When it is something else
A pull is alignment, done here for pickups as well as for trucks and trailers. A vibration that survives a balance is often the wheel itself, and wheel refurbishing is at this store. The national tire and wheel balancing page covers the other occasions to ask for it.
Other stores nearby
Ogden also balances tires and wheels, and so does Twin Falls, ID.
About this store
The Tremonton store carries all nine Purcell tire categories and is managed by Ryan Smith.
See the national tire and wheel balancing page for all 51 locations.