Great question one we often get is from folks who have had their tires “balanced” at another location, yet the steering wheel still shakes. This can be not only frustrating, but can actually damage your car! At 60 miles per hour, an average size tire rotates 850 times per minute. At this speed, slight variations in balance, sidewall stiffness or roundness can cause the wheel to literally slam into the pavement 14 times a second. The ultra-sensitive road feel of today’s vehicles gives drivers a hands-on detection of vibration, a warning of potential problems. Unchecked, excessive wheel vibration can result in expensive damages and unsafe driving conditions. Fortunately we can help, Atlantic Motorcar utilizes a Road Force Vibration Analysis System, one recommended by Mercedes Benz, to properly diagnose and correct tire vibration, the first time, every time.
So let’s talk about why traditional tire “balancers” simply can not find most causes of vibration and problems, we’ll list these below:
Misbalancing – Fully 60% of the balance issues we correct start with recently misbalanced tires – an untrained operator with uncalibrated equipment, and you have improperly balanced tires, despite what the machine is showing. Failure to clean dirt from the wheels, or non-removal old wheel weights are all secondary causes. You have to start with the fundamentals, if they are wrong, nothing else will make it right. You’d be surprised how often this is the case.
Excessive Road Force – A tire which has excessive “road force” or a high spot in the thread, this is perhaps the most common issue after equipment problems, and one which a tire balancer simply can not find. A tire which is truly not round will not roll smoothly down the road, and will ALWAYS vibrate, damaging both the tire, and expensive suspension parts on your car. This is a fault in tire construction, and can usually can only be cured with replacement.
Wheel Runout – A steel or alloy wheel can wobble, or have a “low or high spot” due to manafacurting problems, or road damage. Again, a traditional tire balancer can not find this issue, only a Road Force analysis system can do so. Nor do you want someone guessing when it comes to repair or replacement of expensive alloy wheels. We test, not guess, every time.
Conicity and Radial Tire Pull – This can be one of the more puzzling problems, and unfortunately we frequently see parts replaced needlessly, by shops not equipped with a Road Force System, in an attempt to deal with this problem. You’ll notice it as the car wants to “pull” or steer to the right or left with your hands off the wheel. This is not an alignment issue, and while it can be caused by low air pressure in the tire, the most common cause is something called “Conicity”. Conicity means the tire contact surface is cone shaped, rather than a cylinder, if you’ve ever rolled a cone shaped objet, you know they do not travel in a straight line, but rather in a circle. Likewise tires with conicity want to roll in a circle, causing your call to pull to one side.
In short, today’s cars require high tech equipment for proper service and equipment.
