Tire Balancing question

Got some new shoes for my 09 and I'm having a vibration in the steering wheel from roughly about 63-75mph. It will smooth out around 80.(of course I always obey the laws of the road). I had the tires mounted and balanced at a local tire shop that I use for the wife's SUV. They spin balanced the wheels but I don't know if they balanced them correctly.

Tires and rims are brand new.

After reading the other board and reading so much about "Hunter Road Force" balancing, I'm wondering if I should have them re-balanced. Is anyone familiar with the HRF balancing? I'm up in Mckinney so I'm open for suggestions if there's a tire shop I can use. Not a fan of Discount Tire.


I'm riding on stock suspension, 17lb Motegi rims, 235/40/17 NITTO NT05's

Thanks

Make them balance the tires again.

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Originally Posted by sammm

Make them balance the tires again.

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+1

Thanks! I was thinking the same thing but I got to wrapped up reading about all these other balancing methods and got sidetracked. One more question. I noticed they put flat weights on the inside of the rims on the front but on the back they put flat weights inside the rims and then a rim clip weight as well. When I was leaving, he made a point to tell me which ones to put on the front(no clip weight) and which to put on the back. If the direction is correct why would it matter which tires went on front or back?

^Makes them tough to rotate if they are specifically front & rear. Sounds like they are without a clue.

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Originally Posted by sammm

^Makes them tough to rotate if they are specifically front & rear. Sounds like they are without a clue.

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Exactly! They are just left and right, not front and backs. I'm going to get another tech to do it.

If a wheel/tire is hard to balance or out of true, they generally recommend putting the offender on the rear because you can feel an imbalance easier in the front (through the steering wheel).

The rims were fresh out of the box and the tires had never been mounted. They charged me $60 to mount and balance. If there was any issue with them being unable to balance, they should have said something.

Bet it was just a poorly trained tech.

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Originally Posted by POS Racing

Bet it was just a poorly trained tech.

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*******Update*******

Took the car back in and had them balanced again. This time I stood there and watched and made sure the machine cam up Zero when done. They were clearly out of balance. None of the tires came up to zero before they were re done.

Took her back out and hit some highway speeds. Much much better. I know the rougher ride is due to my tire selection but the original problem has been resolved.

Thanks!!

I'd check the air pressures, if they can't run the balancing machine I'd question their ability to read numbers on a pressure gauge..... Just sayin...... ;-)

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Originally Posted by POS Racing

I'd check the air pressures

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Good call...and, if they mounted them on the car, check lug torque.

Tire pressure..damn didn't even think about that. ::Censor::

Speaking of tire pressure. I was using the recommended 29 psi all the way around but that was on stock 205/45/17 then I went up to 215/45/17 on stock rims and stayed at 29 psi. Now I'm on 235/40/17 and custom wheels. Should I maintain 29 psi or increase the pressure? I was thinking 30 psi all the way around since the tire is larger.

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Originally Posted by titanescape

Tire pressure..damn didn't even think about that. ::Censor::

Speaking of tire pressure. I was using the recommended 29 psi all the way around but that was on stock 205/45/17 then I went up to 215/45/17 on stock rims and stayed at 29 psi. Now I'm on 235/40/17 and custom wheels. Should I maintain 29 psi or increase the pressure? I was thinking 30 psi all the way around since the tire is larger.

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No, 29psi is not good. The volume of the 235s is quite a bit larger than the 215s. You will need to increase the tire pressure to account for the increased volume as they are underinflated at 29psi. It may take some trial and error to find the "right pressure". You may need to go as high as 34-36 psi but I would start lower, say 31-32psi, and then dial it in.

B.

Thanks for the info. I will get it sorted out today.

Besides, air and a good tire gauge are cheap. Just start "high", experiment with various pressures on the way down, and pick the one you like the best.

Are volume of air and pressure of air different considerations? Lots of things like tire width versus rim width and tire carcass and sidewall stiffness factor in also .

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Originally Posted by cwisenheimer

Besides, air and a good tire gauge are cheap. Just start "high", experiment with various pressures on the way down, and pick the one you like the best.

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Too high is as bad as too low. Tires won't wear evenly.

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Originally Posted by sammm

Too high is as bad as too low. Tires won't wear evenly.

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True. I didn't say to leave it there.

Well, well checked out the tires and the pressures are as follow: LF 42 psi, RF 42.5 psi, LR 40 psi, RR 38 psi. I'm going to drop them all to 32 psi and start from there. I bought a digital checker so I can get spot on. I thought they'd at least all be the same...wow

Dang!

Makes me wonder about your hangup with DT? I know they're not all the same, but my local DT in Granbury does an outstanding job with balancing, pressure and lug torque. They're downright meticulous.

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Originally Posted by hornetball

Dang!

Makes me wonder about your hangup with DT? I know they're not all the same, but my local DT in Granbury does an outstanding job with balancing, pressure and lug torque. They're downright meticulous.

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It's not that they don't do good work. The wait times are ridiculous. Every time I go to them it takes damn near 2 hrs to get something done. The other option is leaving my car and coming back. I have to do a lot of my stuff on my lunch hour and I just don't have the time.

Just another story of clueless mechanics. Sorry it happened to you. My friend used to have a w124 Mercedes and the mechanic his dad took it to charged them $500 to install a cheap Chinese alternator and starter. The wiring was done with the twist and tape method. Charged them $1200 to install a $150 oil pan replacement kit. When it came around to time for shocks, they wanted $1500 and I gave in and did it myself for $250, price for new KYBs included. It's just ridiculous some people out there. The problem is that 95% of the world views their car as a tool exclusively and never look under their hood until their car breaks down or won't start. I'll try to figure out an equation for tire pressures tomorrow.


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