Is Wheel Balancing Safe?
3 Answers
It is not entirely safe and reliable. Here is an introduction about wheel balancing: 1. Reasons: Due to manufacturing reasons, the mass distribution of the wheel assembly may not be perfectly uniform. When the car wheels rotate at high speeds, this can lead to dynamic imbalance, causing symptoms such as wheel vibration and steering wheel shaking during driving. 2. Advantages: Enhances driving comfort, reduces fuel consumption, extends tire lifespan, ensures straight-line stability, decreases wear on chassis suspension components, and improves driving safety. 3. Disadvantages: After replacing new tires or repairing collision damage, issues may arise such as uneven tire wear on one side, excessive heaviness or floating sensation in the steering wheel while driving, and the car pulling to the left or right when driving straight.
Having worked in auto repair for so many years, wheel balancing is like giving tires a health check-up. I always get it done when fitting new tires—as long as the technician is skilled, the process is perfectly safe. The key lies in the details: the wheel rim must be wiped spotless before attaching the balance weights, and the lead weights must be hammered snugly into place. Otherwise, the steering wheel will shake like crazy once you hit 80 km/h. Last month, I even saw a roadside shop cutting corners by skipping the balancer calibration, only for the weights to fly off on the highway and scratch the rims. My advice? Choose a shop with a dynamic balancer, and after the job, ask the technician to take you for a test drive—only when the steering feels steady at 100 km/h can you call it truly done right.
Last week, I took my car for a wheel dynamic balance service. It's actually quite similar to the principle of adding counterweights when fitting glasses. The mechanic mounted the tires on the machine, spun them a few times, and the computer immediately showed which side was lighter. Then he just stuck a few small silver counterweights on, and it was done. The whole process took only 20 minutes and didn't affect the wheel structure at all. But ladies, pay attention to three things: the counterweights must be made of mercury-free eco-friendly materials to avoid environmental pollution; after installation, ask the mechanic to manually tug each weight to ensure they're securely attached; and most importantly, check the tire pressure. My neighbor didn't recheck the tire pressure after balancing last time, and the car still felt unstable at high speeds.