WHEEL BALANCING IN BRACKLEY, NORTHAMPTONSHIRE

Wheel balancing is a valuable service that is necessary for the consistent performance and efficiency of your car. There are several things that can cause a car’s wheels to lose balance, with lost wheel weights caused by sudden impacts or damaged suspension components being among the most common reasons.

WHAT IS WHEEL BALANCING?

Wheel balancing ensures that the weight of the wheel and tyre is even around the axle and is achieved by placing tiny offsetting weights at specific points around the wheel. If you notice uneven tyre wear or tyre ‘wobble’ at 40 – 50mph, it is likely that your wheels need re-balancing.
Wheel balancing involves matching the combined weight of the wheel and tyre so that it is even on the axle ensuring that it rotates efficiently at high speeds. This is done by counter-balancing the weight bias by placing tiny weights at specific points around the wheel.
We recommend having your wheels checked or balanced every 10,000 miles or after suffering an impact from a kerb or pothole.

WHAT ARE THE SYMPTOMS OF IMBALANCED WHEELS?

An imbalanced wheel can cause several changes to your car’s characteristics, most of which are easy to spot. These changes can include:
  • Increased wear to suspension components & tyres
  • Vibration through the steering wheel (most commonly at motorway speeds)
  • Increased fuel consumption
  • Reduced ride comfort
  • Increased braking distance
  • Changes to steering sensitivity

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF WHEEL BALANCING IN BRACKLEY?

The main benefit of having correctly balanced wheels is that your tyres with be performing as efficiently as possible. If your tyres are not correctly balanced this can lead to more serious and far more expensive, vehicle issues in the long run.
One of the first issues you will find is your steering wheel starts to vibrate at certain speeds. This can potentially make it more difficult to keep control of your vehicle and provide an uncomfortable ride for the vehicle occupants.
If your tyres are unbalanced you may also notice uneven tyre wear, which may result in you having to replace your tyres a lot sooner than you need to. This can also cause a drops fuel economy; however, this may be less noticeable.
If the wheels of your vehicle are left unbalanced for a long period of time, the stress on the wheel bearings and suspension system can cause them to wear more quickly. Which could result in a much more expensive problem to fix.

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN WHEEL ALIGNMENT AND WHEEL BALANCING?

There is often some confusion between these two services as they sound similar and both support the long-term health of your tyres. However, these two services are very different.
In simple terms, wheel balancing ensures that the distribution of weight around the wheel is equal, a tyre fitter will add tiny weights to counter any imbalances to ensure the tyre rotates efficiently and evenly. Wheel alignment however looks at the position of the wheels in relation to the road and each other. This helps ensure your vehicle drives in a straight line and are in the optimum position.