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I just took my car yesterday for a 5th time to get the wheels balanced since I had the rims (only about 4 months now)...this time, I took it to a different place to get it done...here I talk to the tech doing the balancing and he said that the way the other place was balancing my wheels was way off...they did what they call counterbalancing which tricks the balancer into thinking the wheels are balanced instead of dynamic balancing...the tech said the tread on the tire is still in good condition, but it is feathered now....so you could say I am royally pissed since I have been taking it to the other place, looking to get my money back from them since they charge $50 a pop....ARGGGHHHHH!


2Hottie [IMG]i/expressions/face-icon-small-mad.gif[/IMG]

 
Rep Power: 417

uh.. this isn't good news for me....
i thought you got it fixed already...
what place did you take it to this time?
and will the feathered tread eventually even out?
what are the advantages of counterbalancing? whats the whole point of it?
but ya definitely get your money back, b*tching and being annoying helps. i went back to the place i got my wheels from and he gave me $20 and told me to take it to a different place to get them balanced. i know balancing costs more but its better then nothing.

 
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Well, I thought they were fixed too. I just went to this one place about a month ago to have em rebalanced after I rotated the tires. Then, they worked perfectly for about 3 weeks, then I started noticing a vibration again. So, this time I took it to NTB. Turn out half my problem was my lug nuts, some were double threaded, others were shorter, so I got all new lug nuts and instantly noticed a difference. Anyways, I spoke with the guy while he was balancing my tires. He stated that counterbalancing tricks the balancer into thinking the wheels are balanced. It may work, but my impression of counterbalancing is that it is a temporary fix, which makes sense to me....that is why it was vibrating soon after I had them rebalanced. The guy said that the way he was doing it was dynamic balancing, putting a string of weights inside the wheel and a weight on the lip of the wheel. I actually researched this, it's legit on Tire Rack & Discount Tire's websites. My wheels still vibrate a bit, but its because of the uneven tire wear. He said that should wear back to normal tread wear in a while. I know its not the balancing because I watched him do it and he said the balancing was dead on. SO the vibration can be due to uneven tread wear...but they are getting better as I drive more and more. Hope my experience helps ya'll...


2Hottie

p.s...I will be getting my money back from the other place...gotta go tell em

 
Rep Power: 417

the place i took mine too, they only placed it on one spot inside the wheel, didn't place it on the lip or anything like that. but ya where NTB(what does it stand for?). and also where else have you taken your car to? just so that i could be careful not to take it to them. i was thinking about an american tire or discount tire but isnt that one of the places you took your car too?

oh and one thing the guy mentioned was i have to get it balanced ON THE CAR. but where would i take it to? not too many places do this and i would think they charge an arm and leg. and when you rotate your tires it wont be balanced again would it cause it was only balanced to that one hub... so ya thats why i just want to get it spin/dynamically balanced...

damn i dont get why its so hard to get something as easy as getting new rims. i'm thinking is it our cars that are messed up or is it the places were taking it to that have no idea what they're doing... but then how come other people arent having any problems... damn this is so frustrating at times. but ya good luck to you, hopefully it wont vibrate anymore...

 
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NTB stands for National Tire & Battery...they are affiliated with Sears I think. The place I did take mine to was a local place called Auto Addictions. They only have one store and its by me, so you care safe on that one. I have never heard of them balancing them while they are on the car, but like ya said, it would be touchy when you rotated your tires since they were balanced for that hub. Not to mention, who is to say the tires are balanced with a half a tank of gas and when you then fill up the tank, the car might ride differently. It does sound expensive though. I think dynamic balancing would be a lasting fix for vibrating wheels. I agree, it is totally frustrating for me as well as my bank account since I could be spending my money on something much better for the car than just simple maintenance. It sucks...but best of luck to you..I think the commercial tire dealers do a more honest job than some little tire place since the bigger ones will be under scrutiny of the public..good luck bud!! Hopefully it all works out for ya...


2Hottie

 
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mine shakes a little.....only sometimes though...on the thruway!

 
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Yeah, mine does too but that is because it has to wear evenly again...I just have to be patient!


2Hottie

 
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Everytime mine shakes, sears has to balance em for free. $30.00 = lifetime balance

 
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someone said american tires has lifetime balancing for 25 but i called n they're asking $60 here. hopefully sears isn't the same.

 
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Yeah, my lifetime balancing was like $15 a tire @ National Tire & Battery...well worth it....


2Hottie