Explaining Wheel Balancing: What It Is and When Your Car Needs It
Driving a car that vibrates and wobbles is not only an uncomfortable experience, but it can also be dangerous. One of the most common causes of vehicle vibrations is unbalanced wheels.
Wheel balancing is an essential maintenance task that ensures the wheels of your car rotate evenly and smoothly. This provides a safe and stable driving experience.
Let’s take a look at why wheel balancing is such an important service.
What is Wheel Balancing?
Whether you are a seasoned car enthusiast or a new driver, understanding wheel balancing will help you keep your car running smoothly and avoid unnecessary wear and tear.
Wheel balancing is the process of ensuring the weight of a wheel and tyre assembly is evenly distributed so that it rotates smoothly without any vibration or wobbling.
When a wheel is unbalanced, it can cause uneven tyre wear, steering wheel vibration, and other issues that can affect your car's handling and performance.
To balance a wheel, a technician will use a special machine to measure the weight distribution of the wheel and then add or remove weight to correct any imbalances.
By ensuring that your wheels are properly balanced, you can improve your car's ride comfort, handling, and safety, and prolong the life of your tyres.
Do Wheel Balancing and Alignment Refer to the Same Thing?
No, wheel balancing and alignment are two different services with different purposes.
As explained before, wheel balancing is the process of evenly distributing small weights to the wheel in order to counterbalance any heavy spots and make sure your wheels rotate smoothly without any vibration or wobbling.
On the other hand, adjusting the angles of the wheels so that they are in line with the ground and parallel to one another is known as wheel alignment. It typically involves adjusting the three main angles of your wheels: camber, caster, and toe. This helps optimise the tyre contact with the road surface, improving steering response, and reducing tyre wear.
What are the Signs My Car Needs a Wheel Balance?
As a wheel rotates during driving, any imbalances in its weight distribution can create periodic forces and torques that affect the axle, resulting in the following symptoms:
- Car disturbances can manifest as both vertical and lateral vibrations.
- Steering wheel oscillations may occur at specific speeds, either fast or slow.
- Uneven or faster-than-normal tread wear.
In other words, when a wheel is not properly balanced, it can create noticeable vibrations and wear on the tyre. These symptoms can be problematic for both the comfort and safety of the driver and passengers, as well as the overall health of the vehicle.
It's important to address any imbalances through wheel balancing to ensure a smooth and safe driving experience.
Book a Wheel Balancing Service with Marks & Wallings
If you experience any issues related to your vehicle's wheel alignment, balancing, or any other mechanical problems, feel free to contact Marks & Wallings by booking our services online or visiting any of our stores to schedule a check-up. Our stores are conveniently located in these locations.
In addition to our expert mechanical services, we offer a wide selection of high-quality tyres and wheels at competitive prices. Ensure that your car is operating safely and efficiently. If you notice that something needs addressing, contact us to make a booking.
If your car’s tyres are damaged, or wearing unevenly, and you're experiencing some of these issues, come into Marks & Wallings at 940-946 Victoria Rd, West Ryde, or give us a call on (02) 9807 1000.
Our qualified and experienced technicians service most makes and models, including Toyotas, Mazdas, Audis and Suzukis. We’ll ensure that your wheels are perfectly aligned and balanced while making routine checks on brakes, steering and suspension.