Changing a tire: do I have to have it balanced every time?
Created: 09/21/2022, 16:30
By: Simon Mones
New tires must first be balanced.
But how does it look afterwards?
Is it necessary to balance the tires every time you change a tire?
If you don't have all-weather tires on your car, you have to change tires twice a year.
Depending on the season, either summer or winter tires are fitted.
Both tires have one thing in common: they have to be balanced to prevent damage to the car.
But how often does that have to happen?
On this point, opinions differ.
Many drivers have their tires rebalanced every time they are changed, while others only use this service when new tires are fitted to the vehicle.
However, it is advisable to have the tires balanced once a year or at the latest when changing tires.
New tires are always balanced.
But what about changing tires?
© Shotshop/Imago
Changing a tire: do I have to have it balanced every time?
But even before that, it can make sense to remove an imbalance, especially if one of these scenarios occurs:
When the steering wheel starts to wobble at high speeds.
If uneven tire wear is detected
If one or more balancing weights are lost.
If tires have been stored for a long time or improperly.
Changing tires: how does balancing work?
But why do the car wheels have to be balanced at all?
The answer is relatively simple: Contact with potholes or obstacles can deform the tires.
The center of gravity of the tire and rim shifts unequally around the axle.
In combination with the centrifugal force that occurs at high speeds, the wheel begins to vibrate and the steering wheel begins to wobble.
In addition to impairing driving comfort, an imbalance can also lead to damage to the vehicle.
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There are two methods of balancing tires.
As a rule, the stationary method is used.
To do this, the wheels are clamped in a special balancing machine and set in rotation.
Sensors are then used to determine whether there is an imbalance.
The second method is electronic fine balancing.
This procedure checks the rotation of the wheel while it is mounted on the vehicle.
In this way it can be ruled out that the imbalance from minor irregularities in add-on parts such as the brake drum or the wheel hub will cause an imbalance.
Tire change: Weights come from the inside of the rim
If an imbalance is detected in the tire during one of the two methods, this is compensated for by small weights.
These are usually clamped or glued to the inside of the rim.
In exceptional cases, these can also be mounted on the outside if there is a risk that the weights would rub against the brake disc cover due to a small distance to the brake system.