|
Despite appearances, no tire is completely round and smooth. Every tire has heavy spots that cause an imbalance in the wheel assembly. When you drive, these heavy spots are pulled outward by the centrifugal force of the wheel's rotation, making your vehicle vibrate or shimmy.
This shimmy or vibration is one of the most common signs that your wheels are out of balance. You'll generally start to notice the effects at about 45 km/h, and the vibration will become more pronounced as your speed increases. If you feel this vibration most strongly though the steering wheel, that indicates a front wheel is out of balance. If it's through the driver's seat, that means your rear wheels are out of balance.
In addition to being annoying this vibration or shimmy also creates:
- safety issues by increasing driver stress and fatigue
- unnecessary wear on your shocks, struts and other suspension components
- uneven tire wear, which shortens the useful life of your tires
- increased fuel consumption, because your engine must work harder to overcome this additional force
|
|
At Coast Tire & Auto Service, our technicians will place your tires on a computerized wheel-balancing machine to locate any static or dynamic imbalances in your wheels. This machine uses centrifugal force, (duplicating the spinning effect that occurs when you drive), to pinpoint any heavy spots. It then calculates exactly how much weight is required to neutralize the imbalance, and indicates precisely where the weight should be placed.
|
Static
|
|
Dynamic
|
|
 |
|
 |
|
Static imbalance occurs when there is a heavy spot on either side of the tire's horizontal centreline. This prevents your tire from rolling smoothly, causing an up-and-down vibration.
|
|
Dynamic imbalance occurs when you have heavy spots to either side of your wheel's vertical centreline. This produces a side-to-side shimmy when you drive.
|
| |
Once our technicians fix the appropriate weight in the indicated position, they will then re-test your wheels to make sure they are properly balanced. This process ensures that your wheel balancing is completed with the greatest accuracy in the shortest time possible.
|
