Re: Balancing tires

["Christopher Morgan" <cmorgan02@sprynet.com>]

> From: S. Joseph Mann <joem@pswtech.com>
> should I trust my dealer, who sells Audi, VW, Jaguar, Toyota, Cadillac
and Olds, to
> balance my tires properly??

They'll probably do a good job.  It's really not that hard to balance
wheels.
The problem that Kevin was referring to was wheel weight placement on
aftermarket rims that either don't have a lip to use clip-on weights or
shouldn't have weights on the outside for cosmetic reasons.  All the
computer balancers I've seen have a switch to change it between static and
dynamic modes.  With most aftermarket rims the balancer should be set to
static.  After it spins the wheel, the balancer gives one amount of weight
and where it should be placed radially on the rim.  It is up to the tech to
place it on the inside, outside, or anywhere in between.  This is a
compromise between looks and optimal balancing.  With most stock wheels,
the balancer should be set to dynamic.  This way the balancer indicates
where and how much weight goes on the outside and where and how much weight
goes on the inside.  This compensates for both a hop and a wobble
imbalance, and it is "better" the way.  What the tire guys who are
boneheads don't realize is that most people who bought megadollar rims
don't like having ugly stick-on weights hanging on to the outside edge of
them.  All they have to do is set the switch to static and put the weights
on the inside.

- -Chris