Is it a Wheel Balance Lottery, lack of Balance machine calibration or have I missed something?

[NickT]

I've just had to buy a new tyre for my faithful commuting 04 Astra Diesel as the front right hand tyre was down to the treadwear indicators.

The other tyre is a Dunlop with 4mm left.

 

My spare had a brand new Yokohama S306 on from 6 months before.

 

I decided to buy a new Yokohama S306 with same tread pattern on and have them on as a matching pair on the front of the car.

The tread patterns on both tyres are a perfect match.

 

As noted on the forum I watched and made sure that the fitters put the yellow polo mint sized marker in line with the tyre valve and watched them balance the wheels. When the tyre spun, the wheel and the tyre did not precess and everything looked perfectly round.

He stuck the stick-on type balance weights on then spun it up again. He stuck some smaller 5g weights on then spun it up again so it showed OK on the machine.

 

I took the car for a spin down 'a private road' and at 88mph the front wheels vibrated.

 

I am loathed to keep taking the car back and forth with the Wheel Balance lottery as I just don't have time during the week (12+ hour days) and the tyre place is not open tomorrow.

 

Would this vibration occur due to the wheel alignment maybe being slightly out or is it more than likely that the balance machines are just not calibrated often enough these days.

 

I feel like buying my own tyre balancing machine !

I wish Tony's place was closer, my tyres woes would be over.

 

Tomorrow I will rotate the tyres front to back to see if it changes anything. Hope so

 

NickT

 

ps Are these static wheel balancing machines any good for the avverage domestic car user like me who just wants vibration free wheels?

 

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[Tony]

It's a nationwide failure in the fast fit industry... Personally i feel the main reason is the calibration. The machines are meant to be calibrated daily and i honestly feel this doesn't happen.

 

The static balancers are ok, i used them for years, but they only measure in a single plane so can be fiddly if you want to hide the weights.

[NickT]

So it is a Wheel Balance Lottery out there then !

 

I am at the point where I am not bothered about the weights being hidden anymore, rather than I have a vibration free drive !

 

Is there a special way of using the static balancers or is it a case of:

 

Put balancer on a flat surface and ensure bullseye is central.

Put wheel on top

Lay down balance weight near rim until bullseye is central again

Permanently fix weights in place

Double check balance

 

?

 

Cheers

 

NickT

[Tony]

So it is a Wheel Balance Lottery out there then !

 

I am at the point where I am not bothered about the weights being hidden anymore, rather than I have a vibration free drive !

 

Is there a special way of using the static balancers or is it a case of:

 

Put balancer on a flat surface and ensure bullseye is central.

Put wheel on top

Lay down balance weight near rim until bullseye is central again

Permanently fix weights in place

Double check balance

 

?

 

Cheers

 

NickT

 

It is a lottery..... wim's not exactly in the headlines but i dealt with two cars last week that had nothing more than balance problems.

 

The reason they contact me is they have just had the wheels balanced so they think the problem must be the Geometry.

 

Your method for the balancer is correct other then you can use the inner dish to apply the weights as well, you just mirror the position found on the front face.