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Tire Balancing??! Car guys, get in here please!

blueta2

New member
When you get tires balanced, do the wheel weights need to be changed every time or can tire balancing be done just on the machine?

My summer tires never get removed from their mags (have winters with crappy rims) and took my car in to get the summer tires put back on and balanced and I noticed they didn't change the weights on the wheels. The dealer told me the weights don't have to be changed every time if they balance well in the machine.
Is that true?
 
yeah I know, And I knew this and the dealer was trying to tell me as long as the tires balance in the machine, no need for new weights.
I called the manager at the dealer today and told him to expect me tomorrow.
I am sooooooooooo pissed!

Would having unbalanced tires cause warping to the mag at all? If lets say driven for 2 weeks with unbalanced ?
 
blueta2 said:
yeah I know, And I knew this and the dealer was trying to tell me as long as the tires balance in the machine, no need for new weights.
I called the manager at the dealer today and told him to expect me tomorrow.
I am sooooooooooo pissed!

Would having unbalanced tires cause warping to the mag at all? If lets say driven for 2 weeks with unbalanced ?

Hawt when babes "pretend" not to understand cars. :)
 
Unbalanced tires will not cause damage to the wheel. It can and will cause damage to the tire, steering components, and possible suspension problems. It all depends on how many miles you put on the tires since the last balancing. Most of the time new lead is needed and added. But if you have not put many miles on the tires the machine may not of noticed much of a change.

Who knows, see what they say when you go in. Good luck with it.
 
JeepMonkey said:
Unbalanced tires will not cause damage to the wheel. It can and will cause damage to the tire, steering components, and possible suspension problems. It all depends on how many miles you put on the tires since the last balancing. Most of the time new lead is needed and added. But if you have not put many miles on the tires the machine may not of noticed much of a change.

Who knows, see what they say when you go in. Good luck with it.


Ok because I went to another dealer (the ones who told me the tires were never balanced from the other dealer that apparently did the balancing) and they said my two front mags were damaged. I went into the shop and saw them damaged. I never EVER hit a damn thing to get them damaged!

I put about 6000 miles on them since my last balancing.

Thanks for the luck and the input :-)
 
I use to be a tire installer.
It is possible to put your tire on the computer and have it come back OK and not need weight.

HOWEVER
Normally when we put the tire on the machine or even before....we take the weights off. I mean you are paying to have the wheel balanced so why should I care if it is already balanced.

I am not going to check if it is already balanced. I am going to take the old weights off, put your tire on the machine and let the machine tell me where the weights have to go. Even if they go where the old ones were, what do I care? I'm just giving you what you paid for.

Your dealer may not have had the proper weights for your special rims, maybe he only had the standard weights for steel wheels and not the ones for soft mags.
 
if the tires are never removed from the rims; why should there be a need for rebalancing?
 
what a waste of time it would be if we checked every wheel to see if it was already balanced. screw that. pop off the old weight and balance the rim fuck it is already on the machine and I'm already charging for balancing.
 
heavy_duty said:
I use to be a tire installer.
It is possible to put your tire on the computer and have it come back OK and not need weight.

HOWEVER
Normally when we put the tire on the machine or even before....we take the weights off. I mean you are paying to have the wheel balanced so why should I care if it is already balanced.

I am not going to check if it is already balanced. I am going to take the old weights off, put your tire on the machine and let the machine tell me where the weights have to go. Even if they go where the old ones were, what do I care? I'm just giving you what you paid for.

Your dealer may not have had the proper weights for your special rims, maybe he only had the standard weights for steel wheels and not the ones for soft mags.

Wow, I won the lottery with you......thanks!

The mags were not special. And the dealer has these weights.
Ok so weights off and balance and no way would they put the old weights back on right?
 
Tires?

Shit.. you need to get your radiator and muffler balanced.. that's where it really counts.
 
Sounds like you're getting sucker information from both dealers.

Unbalanced tires will not damage the wheels.

If you have wheel damage, it's more likely to be from the use of improper clip-on lead weights on an alloy wheel. Or a road hazard.

If the summer tires never went out of balance, then when the first dealer put them on the balancing machine, they COULD have come up needing the same weights as before, hence no change.

Don't overreact.
 
nope no way, once the weight is taken off it is now garbage they are never reused. the wrench we used to take the weights off sort of wrecks them as they come off.

blueta2 said:
Wow, I won the lottery with you......thanks!

The mags were not special. And the dealer has these weights.
Ok so weights off and balance and no way would they put the old weights back on right?
 
what tire guy has time to check your wheel with the old weights on?
she's is already paying so give her new weights.

if it does not need any weight she is not going to pay less.



Mr. dB said:
Sounds like you're getting sucker information from both dealers.

Unbalanced tires will not damage the wheels.

If you have wheel damage, it's more likely to be from the use of improper clip-on lead weights on an alloy wheel. Or a road hazard.

If the summer tires never went out of balance, then when the first dealer put them on the balancing machine, they COULD have come up needing the same weights as before, hence no change.

Don't overreact.
 
heavy_duty said:
nope no way, once the weight is taken off it is now garbage they are never reused. the wrench we used to take the weights off sort of wrecks them as they come off.


So there is no possibilty that they just put on my summer tires/mags and just put on the machine and the machine showed all were balanced and they would not change the weights!
In that case, why did they charge me $25 for balancing. Would they not have just charged for tire installation?
 
Mr. dB said:
Sounds like you're getting sucker information from both dealers.

Unbalanced tires will not damage the wheels.

If you have wheel damage, it's more likely to be from the use of improper clip-on lead weights on an alloy wheel. Or a road hazard.

If the summer tires never went out of balance, then when the first dealer put them on the balancing machine, they COULD have come up needing the same weights as before, hence no change.

Don't overreact.

well I am upset b/c when I brought my car to this new dealer. I went in to get summers put on, balance and alignment. I drove out, and my steering was wobbling all over.
I went back and they said it was my tires that were fucked up but they couldn't tell me why they were fucked up. They had my car in for 90 mins and could not find the problem!I was pissed, so took my car to my original dealer.
Original dealer who told me the wheel were never balanced b/c the weights were not changed.
They also found the problen with the steering wobbling. It took them ALL OF 60 secs to find the problem with the steering. They said my two front mag were damaged. They were not damaged when I brought them in to the new dealer for a SIMPLE tire change and alignment.
I am CONVINCED this dealer took my good mags off and put two defective mags on.

So yeah I was TICKED
 
it is possible that they check the balance before they remove the old weight. but that can double the guys time and makes no sense unless you're in a really small not busy town LOL


blueta2 said:
So there is no possibilty that they just put on my summer tires/mags and just put on the machine and the machine showed all were balanced and they would not change the weights!
In that case, why did they charge me $25 for balancing. Would they not have just charged for tire installation?
 
are these factory mags or after market?
how old are the mags.
Toronto roads fuck up mag wheels every day. you dont have to run into a curb to damage a rim.
 
heavy_duty said:
it is possible that they check the balance before they remove the old weight. but that can double the guys time and makes no sense unless you're in a really small not busy town LOL


hmmmm a good point I will bring with me when I ATTACK and kill this dealer tomorrow.
When I kill him, I will leave a mark that says HD ;-)

Thanks so much for this info........really appreciate it!
 
i still don't follow the "logic" here..........

if your "summer" tires/rims were in balance when you took them off for the winter, why should they not be still in balance?

seems to me like you are paying for balancing that is not needed.
 
Next time let a man handle this stuff

while you cook him a nice warm meal in return for his superior knowledge.
 
It is always worth checking.
I know for me, I'm anal about my tires and wheels so when I swap out summer/winter I always balance.

You could check all 4 of your tires right now and I bet one of them it not 100% balanced. (if they are 6 months or older)

rnch said:
i still don't follow the "logic" here..........

if your "summer" tires/rims were in balance when you took them off for the winter, why should they not be still in balance?

seems to me like you are paying for balancing that is not needed.
 
heavy_duty said:
It is always worth checking.
I know for me, I'm anal about my tires and wheels so when I swap out summer/winter I always balance.

You could check all 4 of your tires right now and I bet one of them it not 100% balanced. (if they are 6 months or older)

same here. I always want to make sure my tires are balance and wheels aligned. I have a high performance car and need it to drive like BUTTAH!
 
heavy_duty said:
It is always worth checking.
I know for me, I'm anal about my tires and wheels so when I swap out summer/winter I always balance.

You could check all 4 of your tires right now and I bet one of them it not 100% balanced. (if they are 6 months or older)

same here. I always want to make sure my tires are balance and wheels aligned. I have a high performance car and need it to drive like BUTTAH!

I'll be going back to the first dealer today to spread my wrath
 
alien amp pharm said:
Next time let a man handle this stuff

while you cook him a nice warm meal in return for his superior knowledge.


and that's the sad part, I bet if I were a guy, this would not have happened. Well I'll tell ya, they played with the wrong gal!
 
when i bring my car in for anything i watch them like a hawk and make sure they know it too. then again im 6'2" 285 so im a bit more intimidating. but keep an eye on them. dont go to the "waiting" room like they want you to. i stand right there right outside the garage if there is no window to watch from and make sure they do what i ask and they dont mess shit up and say it was broken and they found it on inspection. first the dealler fucks you on the deal then fucks you some more in the shop. btw i NEVER bring my car to a dealer for service.
 
blueta2 said:
and that's the sad part, I bet if I were a guy, this would not have happened. Well I'll tell ya, they played with the wrong gal!
That's not true - I know plenty of guys you have gotten fucked over by a shady car mechanic.
 
bigmann245 said:
when i bring my car in for anything i watch them like a hawk and make sure they know it too. then again im 6'2" 285 so im a bit more intimidating. but keep an eye on them. dont go to the "waiting" room like they want you to. i stand right there right outside the garage if there is no window to watch from and make sure they do what i ask and they dont mess shit up and say it was broken and they found it on inspection. first the dealler fucks you on the deal then fucks you some more in the shop. btw i NEVER bring my car to a dealer for service.


You know, I used to do this with my other car.
Since I have no time to stand there b/c I leave the car then go to work, this is not always possible.
But I agree...my sister was fucked over many times by many volvo dealerships and eventually she just stayed and watched all the work.
I brought it to the dealer b/c I figured my car is new and how hard can it be to put summer tires on and do a friggin balance/alignment!
 
blueta2 said:
You know, I used to do this with my other car.
Since I have no time to stand there b/c I leave the car then go to work, this is not always possible.
But I agree...my sister was fucked over many times by many volvo dealerships and eventually she just stayed and watched all the work.
I brought it to the dealer b/c I figured my car is new and how hard can it be to put summer tires on and do a friggin balance/alignment!


they saw you coming.....jk
 
reno240 said:
That's not true - I know plenty of guys you have gotten fucked over by a shady car mechanic.

you're right, but they think women are easier targets.

Once when I owned a GM (yes not proud of it), I went to the dealer with a problem. I went with my boyfriend (at the time) and when the service mananger came to talk to me, he addresses my boyfriend to explain what was wrong with my car. This joker new it was my car cause I had dealt with him many times before.
NO JOKE, I leaned forward, turned his head (by his chin) with my hand and had him look at me and said "hey there, nice to meet you. It's my car, not his'
ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh I was so mad!
 
blueta2 said:
you're right, but they think women are easier targets.

Once when I owned a GM (yes not proud of it), I went to the dealer with a problem. I went with my boyfriend (at the time) and when the service mananger came to talk to me, he addresses my boyfriend to explain what was wrong with my car. This joker new it was my car cause I had dealt with him many times before.
NO JOKE, I leaned forward, turned his head (by his chin) with my hand and had him look at me and said "hey there, nice to meet you. It's my car, not his'
ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh I was so mad!



you touched a machanic?????? ewwwwwww
 
if you put 'em back on the car and it doesn't shake doing 75 mph....then they are ok! why spend 40-50 bucks when u don't need to?
 
rnch said:
if you put 'em back on the car and it doesn't shake doing 75 mph....then they are ok! why spend 40-50 bucks when u don't need to?


some balance issues arent that noticeable but still will cause damage down the road. why not spend $20 now rather then $200 later on new tires or steering components?
 
balancing all 4 wheels cost only 20 dollars there? bargain!!
 
bigmann245 said:
i get it for free when i put it in for an alignment check.
iffin' i had a dirty mind i'd comment on this..... :evil:
 
rnch said:
iffin' i had a dirty mind i'd comment on this..... :evil:


oh come on, all men's minds are dirty ;-)

You know the part that is pissing me off REALLY is, how the HELL did my mags both become bent out of shape when these wheels where stored all winter and they were fine when I took them off in October?
I drove out from the dealer with the car like this?
In my heart I really feel they switched my mags and took my good ones.
No other explaination!
 
blueta2 said:
oh come on, all men's minds are dirty ;-)

You know the part that is pissing me off REALLY is, how the HELL did my mags both become bent out of shape when these wheels where stored all winter and they were fine when I took them off in October?
I drove out from the dealer with the car like this?
In my heart I really feel they switched my mags and took my good ones.
No other explaination!


the bad thing is, no proof. its gonna end up being your word against his
 
blueta2 said:
oh come on, all men's minds are dirty ;-)

You know the part that is pissing me off REALLY is, how the HELL did my mags both become bent out of shape when these wheels where stored all winter and they were fine when I took them off in October?
I drove out from the dealer with the car like this?
In my heart I really feel they switched my mags and took my good ones.
No other explaination!
another reason not to have tires/rims balanced until u notice the car shaking...lol
 
When the tires are replaced they aren't perfectly round or molded, so the balance will change every time.
 
bigmann245 said:
the bad thing is, no proof. its gonna end up being your word against his


you're right, I have no proof, but why didn't the mechanic notice the warped mags when he "apparently" did the balance and or alignment and when/if he took it for a road test.
When I went back to have them check the shaking, 90 mins later, well they said they could not see what was wrong?????????? Suspicious!
But yet the other dealer found the problem in 90 secs flat!
I am out $650 for two new mags now.......I am not a happy gal!
 
rnch said:
another reason not to have tires/rims balanced until u notice the car shaking...lol


well if my car was older, maybe, but not a newer car.
I think the $25 is worth the balancing 2 x a yr no?
 
blueta2 said:
When you get tires balanced, do the wheel weights need to be changed every time or can tire balancing be done just on the machine?

My summer tires never get removed from their mags (have winters with crappy rims) and took my car in to get the summer tires put back on and balanced and I noticed they didn't change the weights on the wheels. The dealer told me the weights don't have to be changed every time if they balance well in the machine.
Is that true?

as long as they're still in balance when they spin them, there's absolutely no need to change the weights. . .
 
blueta2 said:
you're right, I have no proof, but why didn't the mechanic notice the warped mags when he "apparently" did the balance and or alignment and when/if he took it for a road test.
When I went back to have them check the shaking, 90 mins later, well they said they could not see what was wrong?????????? Suspicious!
But yet the other dealer found the problem in 90 secs flat!
I am out $650 for two new mags now.......I am not a happy gal!



yes, very fishy.... i hate machanics. i mean we pay $80 an hour for labor and it doesnt include parts at all. and you cant bring them a part and ask them to install it because then they dont make any money off selling you a higher priced same part.
 
digimon7068 said:
as long as they're still in balance when they spin them, there's absolutely no need to change the weights. . .


ok, but then should not charge for balancing then right?
 
blueta2 said:
ok, but then should not charge for balancing then right?

they put them on the machine and spun them, right?? it's a service. . .there's a charge. . .that's what they do for a living :whatever:
 
bigmann245 said:
yes, very fishy.... i hate machanics. i mean we pay $80 an hour for labor and it doesnt include parts at all. and you cant bring them a part and ask them to install it because then they dont make any money off selling you a higher priced same part.

Well as we know, dealers only make money from service and not selling cars.
Someone will pay for what's happened to my car, and it won't be me!
 
some of you got it all wrong. (remember I use to change tires at CTC)

If I am a shop owner (my brother is btw) I am not going to put your wheel on the balancing machine for free. Do you guys get that?

If I stick a little weight on or not you are going to get charged for balancing. The little weights are worth nothing compared to the labour of me putting your vehicle on the hoist, taking off all the lug nuts and then putting your wheel on my very expensive machine.
 
heavy_duty said:
some of you got it all wrong. (remember I use to change tires at CTC)

If I am a shop owner (my brother is btw) I am not going to put your wheel on the balancing machine for free. Do you guys get that?

If I stick a little weight on or not you are going to get charged for balancing. The little weights are worth nothing compared to the labour of me putting your vehicle on the hoist, taking off all the lug nuts and then putting your wheel on my very expensive machine.


this is the insight I am taking with me to the dealer today. This is logical to me!
 
CMarc said:
Would you do an alignment w/out balancing tires?



thats why when i get my wheels aligned i get them to balance them for free along with it. and yes i watch them like a hawk and make sure the weights come off before balancing.
 
heavy_duty said:
blue

what was the total bill to take the snows off and balance and install the summers???

$25 for balance and $40 to put tires on. $100 for the alignment.
$650 for the rims they stoled ;-)
 
you probably drove over a curb while putting make-up on.
 
digimon7068 said:
i know. . .but they spin wheels first and if they're still in balance, they don't take the weights off. . .


the proper way is to take the old weights off then spin and add new ones. the cost isnt in the weights its in the labor doing the balance
 
bigmann245 said:
the proper way is to take the old weights off then spin and add new ones. the cost isnt in the weights its in the labor doing the balance

agreed. . .that's what i told her. . .it's a service. . .that's how the tire guy makes a living. . .weights are dirt cheap. . .that said, i have two tire guy clients and they don't take the weights off everytime they spin your tires. . .as long as nothing else has changed (i.e., all you did was take off the winter wheels and put on the summer wheels. . .you didn't get new tires) the wheel should still be in balance. . .unless one of the weights fell off. . .
 
LOL you don't do an alignment 2x a year.
My truck is 4 years old and has never required a wheel alignment.
What the hell kind of pot holes are you driving in?
I drive daily on North America's busiest highway and some nasty city driving as well. 25,000 miles a year.

bigmann245 said:
thats why when i get my wheels aligned i get them to balance them for free along with it. and yes i watch them like a hawk and make sure the weights come off before balancing.
 
blueta2 said:
I understand only cats and make-up........oh yeah and how to make a mean ovaltine

wheels.jpg
 
For what she paid and what you describe there is no profit for the shop.
no sense in spinning them twice, takes too long. At our shop we only did that on our own vehicles or if we were trying to look busy because we did not want to empty the garbage or do dumb odd jobs. She lives in a city not a 10,000 population hick bumfuck town.

digimon7068 said:
i know. . .but they spin wheels first and if they're still in balance, they don't take the weights off. . .
 
what enticed you to ask for a line up? was something feeling funny in the front end? or did they have a deal on? did they do a front wheel alingnment or four wheel?

blueta2 said:
It's not brand brand new. I have 52, 0000 klms on the car
 
side note:
we had a deadly snow day this winter in Toronto. I took the day off and took the girls for a fun day.

I drove my wifes 4x4 into a curb pretty bad at about 20kph and she has no ABS brakes. Scratched the factory alloy wheel but did not fuck up the alignment or balance.
 
heavy_duty said:
side note:
we had a deadly snow day this winter in Toronto. I took the day off and took the girls for a fun day.

I drove my wifes 4x4 into a curb pretty bad at about 20kph and she has no ABS brakes. Scratched the factory alloy wheel but did not fuck up the alignment or balance.

Bingo.....slid into a cur last Dec. I however did not have my good mags on at the time.
Also when I got an alignment last April (2006) my steering was nice and tight. The steering gets odd after the winter tires are removed.
So unless there is some pulling, I should not get an alignment?
 
yah, like drive down the 401 at regular speed and take your hands off the wheel.
don't do it in the middle lane though as they always have pull. (because of what the big trucks do to the highway)

so in the right lane at 100 there should not be much pull, only a slight drift maybe.
 
heavy_duty said:
also do you rotate the tires every 10K? or say every 2nd oil change?

Yes every 10 k. I'm very uptight with my car and take care of her better than I take care of me.

HD, thanks for all your help. I am off now to the dealer and I hope it turns out in my favor. I'm ready to crack some skulls!
 
heavy_duty said:
For what she paid and what you describe there is no profit for the shop.
no sense in spinning them twice, takes too long. At our shop we only did that on our own vehicles or if we were trying to look busy because we did not want to empty the garbage or do dumb odd jobs. She lives in a city not a 10,000 population hick bumfuck town.

when they take off the winter wheels and put on the summer wheels, they spin them. . .to make sure they're still in balance. . .in case they threw a weight during the prior season's use. . .don't know about you, but it makes perfect sense to me. . .and my hick bumfuck town was pittsburgh :rolleyes:
 
digi I was not saying you're from a hick town not sure why you read that.

All I'm saying and have been saying through this is that it makes no sense to just spin them on the balancer you might as well just take off the old weights and balance them then charge the customer. the tech does not and should not care if the wheels are already balanced. the friggin customer is paying you to balance them and expects to see new shiny weights even if they are placed where the old ones were.

logic or not, you way adds an extra step to the process.



I have no doubt that your shop does it your way.
 
heavy_duty said:
digi I was not saying you're from a hick town not sure why you read that.

All I'm saying and have been saying through this is that it makes no sense to just spin them on the balancer you might as well just take off the old weights and balance them then charge the customer. the tech does not and should not care if the wheels are already balanced. the friggin customer is paying you to balance them and expects to see new shiny weights even if they are placed where the old ones were.

logic or not, you way adds an extra step to the process.



I have no doubt that your shop does it your way.

i have aadd :)
 
i'm still shaking my collective head at people who spend good money to have tires/rims balanced when nothing is shaking or vibrating when driving down the road.

where were you when i was trying to sell cars for a living? :FRlol:
 
rnch said:
i'm still shaking my collective head at people who spend good money to have tires/rims balanced when nothing is shaking or vibrating when driving down the road.

where were you when i was trying to sell cars for a living? :FRlol:

personally. . .i don't do a damn thing with my wheels/tires till the tires are shot and i need new ones. . .we have an xterra, a suburban and a cj, they all have bfg at's and i get at least 50k out of a set of tires. . .
 
digimon7068 said:
personally. . .i don't do a damn thing with my wheels/tires till the tires are shot and i need new ones. . .we have an xterra, a suburban and a cj, they all have bfg at's and i get at least 50k out of a set of tires. . .
"you must spread some karma around before......"
 
rnch said:
"you must spread some karma around before......"

all of our vehicles spend sometime off road, so i usually do get an alignment when i get new tires. . .other than that i just check the pressure once in a while and run'em till they're used up. . .
 
When you were selling cars we were not buying them because ours were very well maintained :FRlol:

rnch said:
i'm still shaking my collective head at people who spend good money to have tires/rims balanced when nothing is shaking or vibrating when driving down the road.

where were you when i was trying to sell cars for a living? :FRlol:
 
The shit we have to contend with on our highways in Toronto our tires last about as long as a fuggin NASCAR tire:xeye:

digimon7068 said:
all of our vehicles spend sometime off road, so i usually do get an alignment when i get new tires. . .other than that i just check the pressure once in a while and run'em till they're used up. . .
 
Ok I'm back from the dealer and here's the update.
I went to the first dealer and told him there was no way my tires were balanced and aligned since if they were, the mechanic would have noticed the two front mags were bent. I also told the service manager that I believe the mags were changed or damaged at their shop since my mags were immaculate when I brought them in.
He agreed with everything I said and asked what I wanted.
I told him I wanted the $200 back I paid on the original bill and for him to pay 1/2 of my new mags I had to get at the other dealer. The result, he gave me my $200 back and took the two bent mags back and will get them fixed at no charge.
The little guy (gal) wins!
Hip Hip Hooray!!

Thanks so all for your input (including my b/f), it came in handy in my argument with these dudes!
 
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