BJ's is another major tire retailer in this area, they include lifetime rebalance.
I have purchased tires from them in the past, they rebalance with every rotation if asked to.
http://tires.bjs.com/TireInformation.xhtml?pn=BJsPromise
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Rotate tires without balance?
- Thread starter bw77
- Start date
BJ's is another major tire retailer in this area, they include lifetime rebalance.
I have purchased tires from them in the past, they rebalance with every rotation if asked to.
http://tires.bjs.com/TireInformation.xhtml?pn=BJsPromise
ishiboo
Well-known member
Rough roads/etc. are not going to wear your tires unevenly out of balance. Alignment issues would cause a problem evenly around the circumference of the tire, which would not create a vibration or be fixable by rebalancing.
Unless the tire has turned on the rim (ie flat & fully deflated and it moved,) or you've lost a weight or took a chunk out of your rim, there's not a reason to rebalance them during a rotation.
There may be some variations or it may have worn the tire down to make it actually more concentric then it was out of the mold, so rebalancing may slightly change the weight positions/etc., but unless you feel an issue it's just a very minor adjustment with no practical difference. Even many panic stops over time wouldn't cause a noticeable balance issue, especially with modern day ABS.
If you're using clamp-on weights instead of stick-on weights, there's also a distinct downfall - more spots of corrosion/signs of the wheel weight clamps around your rim for no increase in ride quality or tire longevity.
Unless the tire has turned on the rim (ie flat & fully deflated and it moved,) or you've lost a weight or took a chunk out of your rim, there's not a reason to rebalance them during a rotation.
There may be some variations or it may have worn the tire down to make it actually more concentric then it was out of the mold, so rebalancing may slightly change the weight positions/etc., but unless you feel an issue it's just a very minor adjustment with no practical difference. Even many panic stops over time wouldn't cause a noticeable balance issue, especially with modern day ABS.
If you're using clamp-on weights instead of stick-on weights, there's also a distinct downfall - more spots of corrosion/signs of the wheel weight clamps around your rim for no increase in ride quality or tire longevity.
I'm a lifetime Discount Tire customer as well. While it goes without saying that experiences will vary with franchise stores they do offer lifetime rotation and balancing for free.
I rotate and balance twice a year on my daily driver and once a year on my truck (as I don't drive it as much). The Discount Tire locations in my area have never tried to dissuade me from not balancing. Half the time my tires are balanced fine, but the other half require minor adjustments.
I see no reason not to balance as long as the service is free and the technician knows what he's doing. They won't mess with the balancing unless it is needed.
I rotate and balance twice a year on my daily driver and once a year on my truck (as I don't drive it as much). The Discount Tire locations in my area have never tried to dissuade me from not balancing. Half the time my tires are balanced fine, but the other half require minor adjustments.
I see no reason not to balance as long as the service is free and the technician knows what he's doing. They won't mess with the balancing unless it is needed.
SgtRauksauff
Well-known member
I've got my own balancer, and mounting machine, because I do a lot of racing and go through a lot of tires. I keep an eye on my street tires' treadwear, and when I see the fronts starting to wear down, I rotate front-back, and keep going. since there's SOME event every weekend, it's no extra time, just rotate when taking the race wheels off.
I won't usually check balance unless I notice something funny in the wear of a tire, or if I feel an imbalance, but I tend to go through them fast enough that it's not an issue for me.
Depending on the type of tire you have, and the tread compound, and the type of driving you do, you can have noticeable imbalance (generally, most people won't notice anything less than what a 1oz weight would fix) in as little as 50 miles, or not have to re-balance for the life of the tire.
sure, manufacturing tolerances on tires and wheels have improved, but so have suspensions and steering systems, so you can feel the imbalances much more, especially on a vehicle that has "performance" suspension. If you're driving a 1-ton truck with tall sidewalls and lots of suspension travel, or a land yacht with cushy soft suspension, you're not going to notice the bumps in the road. Yet driving the exact same road in, say, an '85 Corolla with track-tuned suspension, you will get the teeth rattled out of your head, unless you're going over 70mph. (but, that gets into motion ratio and more suspension tech, out of the realm of the tire balancing discussion...)
If you bought tires from the shop along with lifetime balancing/rotating, USE it whenever you want, because it WILL make your tires last longer, and save you money in the long run. Just because you can't FEEL the imbalance, doesn't mean there isn't one, and there goes 1/32nd of tread before you know it. Quite a bit, when you only have 11/32 to start with....
--sarge
I won't usually check balance unless I notice something funny in the wear of a tire, or if I feel an imbalance, but I tend to go through them fast enough that it's not an issue for me.
Depending on the type of tire you have, and the tread compound, and the type of driving you do, you can have noticeable imbalance (generally, most people won't notice anything less than what a 1oz weight would fix) in as little as 50 miles, or not have to re-balance for the life of the tire.
sure, manufacturing tolerances on tires and wheels have improved, but so have suspensions and steering systems, so you can feel the imbalances much more, especially on a vehicle that has "performance" suspension. If you're driving a 1-ton truck with tall sidewalls and lots of suspension travel, or a land yacht with cushy soft suspension, you're not going to notice the bumps in the road. Yet driving the exact same road in, say, an '85 Corolla with track-tuned suspension, you will get the teeth rattled out of your head, unless you're going over 70mph. (but, that gets into motion ratio and more suspension tech, out of the realm of the tire balancing discussion...)
If you bought tires from the shop along with lifetime balancing/rotating, USE it whenever you want, because it WILL make your tires last longer, and save you money in the long run. Just because you can't FEEL the imbalance, doesn't mean there isn't one, and there goes 1/32nd of tread before you know it. Quite a bit, when you only have 11/32 to start with....
--sarge
I see the argument that "if it's free, may as well have it done", but the other side of that coin, especially if your car has something other than steel wheels & hubcaps (oops, I mean wheel covers), is that every time they take the weights off and crimp new ones on they scratch/chip the coating on the fancy wheels - and in time water (road salts for those of us in the rust belt) will get in under there and do quite a number on the finish of those wheels.
Yes, a good tire place will use the specially coated weights, or the stick-on weights and will use extra care when taking off the old ones - but in my travels most places use whatever they have on hand - you'll never know the difference, until your rim finish starts flaking off or discoloring. If I'm paying $800 for the factory to put a fancy set of wheels on there, I'd like to keep them that way for as long as possible.
In my book - if it ain't broke.......
Yes, a good tire place will use the specially coated weights, or the stick-on weights and will use extra care when taking off the old ones - but in my travels most places use whatever they have on hand - you'll never know the difference, until your rim finish starts flaking off or discoloring. If I'm paying $800 for the factory to put a fancy set of wheels on there, I'd like to keep them that way for as long as possible.
In my book - if it ain't broke.......
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