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[yslee]

I have had multiple tires replaced for my cars from the dealers and local tire shops. When the dealer balances the tires, the ride is smooth (perfect), just like how it was when I first purchased the cars. Of course it's much more expensive. But when I have it balanced from other tire shops, the balancing is never right. There's always been vibrations in the steering wheel or the car due to imperfect balancing. I had to return the cars to get the tires rebalanced. After they do it the 2nd time, the ride is better...but not perfect. I've tried 3 tire shops/mechanics but to no avail. Recently purchased 19"M6 reps and had the tires (General UHP) mounted and balanced in a tire shop (Allied Tires), replacing my stock 189 runflats. I expected a smoother ride, but the ride was actually worse. There was a very slight vibration at 60-70mph on the steering wheel. At 80mph, the ride was smoother with almost no vibration. The funny thing was after a long road trip, I noticed that vibration at 70mph was occasional and not all the time. I'm thinking of taking it back to get it rebalanced.
3 questions:
1. Do dealers use better tire balancing equipment?
2. Is it worth +$100 to get it balanced from a dealer as opposed to local tire shop that gives me free lifetime balancing?
3. If the vibration is very slight, will the tire balance itself out after wear?

I would appreciate it if you guys give me some input.

[VMRWheels]

Originally Posted by yslee

I have had multiple tires replaced for my cars from the dealers and local tire shops. When the dealer balances the tires, the ride is smooth (perfect), just like how it was when I first purchased the cars. Of course it's much more expensive. But when I have it balanced from other tire shops, the balancing is never right. There's always been vibrations in the steering wheel or the car due to imperfect balancing. I had to return the cars to get the tires rebalanced. After they do it the 2nd time, the ride is better...but not perfect. I've tried 3 tire shops/mechanics but to no avail. Recently purchased 19"M6 reps and had the tires (General UHP) mounted and balanced in a tire shop (Allied Tires), replacing my stock 189 runflats. I expected a smoother ride, but the ride was actually worse. There was a very slight vibration at 60-70mph on the steering wheel. At 80mph, the ride was smoother with almost no vibration. The funny thing was after a long road trip, I noticed that vibration at 70mph was occasional and not all the time. I'm thinking of taking it back to get it rebalanced.
3 questions:
1. Do dealers use better tire balancing equipment?
2. Is it worth +$100 to get it balanced from a dealer as opposed to local tire shop that gives me free lifetime balancing?
3. If the vibration is very slight, will the tire balance itself out after wear?

I would appreciate it if you guys give me some input.

1. Dealerships are more often than not equipped with wheel balancing machines that are able road force balance the wheel and tire. Some places call this "ride matching". What the machine is able to do to is measure the feedback the tire will exhibit under loaded conditions. Based on these measurements, the machine will let the technician know if the tire needs to be rotated around the rim to produce a better feedback.

2. A service's worth is subjective to your idea of a perfectly balanced wheel. However, $100 for just balancing seems to be on the high side, but then again it is the dealership. A shop that has a machine capable of road force balancing may not charge as much.

3. The tire may balance itself out, but this is not guaranteed. If anything, tires tend wear themselves out of balance.

[VMRWheels]

To add to our reply, we posted some technical information in a different thread regards to wheel balancers. Below is an illustration explaining the balancing procedure on a road force machine. These can explain the differences between different shops. Most machines out there do not have "road force" and more often than not, shops who have road force machines turn off this feature due to the amount of time it takes.



The hunter road force machine runs around $15k depending on the options and accessories. Some of the cheaper balancing machines out there cost $2-3k, much different in overhead.

Lastly, when you road force balance a wheel/tire assembly, sometimes you need to mount/dismount a few times to get it right. This extra labor translates to extra cost.

Its definitely good to take a look at and understand the type of equipment different shops use. Having a German car definitely calls for higher maintenance when it comes to these things. Hope this helps

[yslee]

thanks for the input