Tires are arguably the most critical component on your vehicle, as they are the only contact point between it and the surface you are traveling. Regardless of whether you've got the best off-road tires or all-terrain tires fitted, if they're not in good condition, you could be in a potentially dangerous situation.

We've covered the basics of tire maintenance in previous articles, including checking air pressure, inspecting tires for damage, checking wear levels, and ensuring that your tires are not expired, since tires do have a usable service life of five to seven years. In this article, we will be talking about tire balancing. We will take you through why tires need balancing, the signs of an out-of-balance wheel that indicates you should balance your tires, and a refresher on general tire maintenance tips.

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Why Do Tires Need to be Balanced?

Modern tire construction is incredibly precise and performed to fine tolerances, but tires are flexible components and thus deform all the time. It's near impossible for manufacturers to produce a 100% balanced tire, definitely not at a reasonable price point. This is only compounded when the tire is installed on a rim, as a rim is not likely to be fully balanced as well. Combine the imbalances, and you can experience a wide variety of symptoms, especially at higher speeds. That's why it's always essential to ensure that your tires are in balance once they're installed on the rim.

Signs of an Out-Of-Balance Vehicle

The most common sign of an out-of-balance wheel on a vehicle is a distinctive vibration, often at higher speeds. The specific wheel from which the vibration is emanating can typically be felt by the driver or passengers nearest to it. While a vibration at speed can also be caused by issues with suspension or CV components, an out-of-balance wheel and tire is the most common cause and the easiest to verify and rectify.

Out-of-balance wheels and tires can also result in uneven tire wear, as the wheel is wobbling about when rotating. Typically, at this stage, you can't do much but replace the wheel.

If you are experiencing signs of an unbalanced wheel and tire that wasn't there before, chances are that one of the weights used to balance it has fallen off. Weights may be clipped to the lip or attached to the rim using strong double-sided tape, and thus, they can break and fall off over time.

Knowing When To Balance Your Tires

If you are facing any of the above symptoms, you need to look at balancing your tires. However, you shouldn't wait to experience these before balancing. There are times at which you can easily ensure that your wheels and tires are balanced, saving on time, cost, and ensuring that your vehicle is as safe as possible.

• Whenever you are installing a tire on a rim, the combo must be balanced. This can be when installing new tires, swapping your summer tires for winter ones, or vice versa. This is the best time to ensure proper tire balance, as well as inspect them for damage if they have been used already, as in the case of summer and winter tires being interchanged.
• If you've encountered a tire or wheel-related impact, such as hitting a deep pothole or scraping your rim against a curb, it pays to re-check the balance, as well as thoroughly inspect the wheel and tire for damage.
• When your vehicle is being serviced, the tires and wheels are typically removed from it for brake maintenance, and it's a great time to check their balance. Even if they are found to stil have perfect balance, it's time well spent.
• If you haven't balanced your tires and wheels for over a year, it's best to have them checked, even if your vehicle is driving well and you don't feel any vibrations. Chances are, they will have deviated slightly from perfect balance and require minor weight corrections.
• If you have a spare wheel or multiple spare wheels, ensure that they are checked for balance as well, albeit they can be kept for longer intervals between checks.

General Tire Maintenance Tips

Now that we've covered balancing of wheels and tires, let's have a refresher on general tire maintenance tips. We can't stress these enough, as a blown tire can be life-threatening, primarily if it occurs at freeway speeds. Take a few minutes every week to check your tires, and you won't regret it.

• Always ensure that your tire pressures are correct. Take a pressure reading in the morning, when the vehicle hasn't run for a few hours, and the tires are cold. If a tire's pressure is significantly lower than the others, you may have a puncture that needs addressing.
• Visually inspect your tires for damage, including bumps, cracks, cuts, and foreign objects embedded in the tread or sidewall. Don't try to pull them out, but drive slowly and carefully to a tire repair center if you find anything untoward.
• Check expiry dates on all your tires (including spare wheels), visible as a four-digit code on the sidewall, where the first two digits are the week and the last two, the year of production. If your tires are five to seven years old, it might be best to consider replacements, as tires degrade over time.

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