What happens if wheel balancing is not done properly?
2 Answers
Without wheel balancing, the vehicle's tires will exhibit rhythmic bouncing during driving, which translates to steering wheel vibration in the cockpit. Wheel balancing primarily serves the following purposes: 1. Enhances driving comfort; 2. Reduces fuel consumption; 3. Extends tire service life; 4. Ensures straight-line stability of the vehicle; 5. Reduces wear on chassis suspension components; 6. Improves driving safety. Additional information: When car wheels rotate at high speeds, they develop dynamic imbalance, causing wheel wobbling and steering wheel vibration during driving. To prevent or eliminate this phenomenon, weights are added to the wheels under dynamic conditions to correct the balance of all edge sections. This correction process is commonly known as wheel balancing.
Once on the highway, I noticed the steering wheel shaking like a phone vibration, especially when the speed exceeded 80 km/h—the entire driver's seat was trembling, and even the perfume bottle on the dashboard was dancing. This kind of vibration is most damaging to the suspension system; the ball joints and bushings can develop play within just a few months. Even worse, it causes uneven tire wear—new tires develop wave-like patterns after just 30,000 km, looking as if they've been chewed by a dog when viewed from the side. The mechanic said long-term imbalance can also cause bearings to fail prematurely, and the wheel alignment data starts to drift erratically. Doing the math, it ends up costing way more than regular wheel balancing. Now, I never skip balancing when changing tires—small savings prevent big expenses.
