Expert Tire Balancing in Blue Springs
Smooth-rolling tires and car wheels can make the difference between a vibration-free driving experience or a shaky one. If the car tire and wheel tolerances are not examined, corrected, nor allowed to “stack up” rather than “cancel out” each other, tire vibration exists and you’ll experience a shaky ride, especially while driving at higher speeds like highway driving. Tire balancing is a necessary service, and crucial to maintaining your car.
What Causes a Car to Shake While Driving?
Tires are made up of internal beads, body plies and belts that are encased in rubber, assembled and cured. Alloy car wheels are cast, cooled and machined. And even though they both are built to tight tolerances, there is bound to be some unavoidable weight imbalances in the tire during the manufacturing process. Tire balancing can correct these issues and give you a smoother ride.
A typical car tire mounted on an alloy wheel weighs about 40 pounds. If the tire and car wheel combination isn’t balanced with add-on weights, being off even an ounce or two can cause vibration at highway speeds. Heavier tire and wheel combinations, especially those used on light trucks, require more weights to maintain the same low percentage of imbalance.
McCorkendale Auto Service Offers Tire Balancing to Fix Vibrations
At George McCorkendale Auto Service, Inc. we use the Hunter Engineering GSP9700 Vibration Control System to evaluate and eliminate nearly all possible car wheel- and tire-related vibration causes.
The Vibration Control System includes a “road force measurement system” to detect causes of vibration that are not related to tire balance alone. This system utilizes a “road roller” which applies up to 1,400 pounds of force against both the wheel and tire to measure their combined uniformity. This simulated road force test helps verify if the assembly is “round” when rolling under load.
Our Vibration Control System can also measure lateral and radial rim runout (out of roundness or side-to-side movement) to identify and separate wheel runout from tire runout. The system then calculates the contributions of the car wheel and the tire to a potential vibration so that one of our experienced mechanics can fix the car’s vibration problem.
If the car wheel and tire are at the edge of acceptable tolerances, we have the technology to align the high point of the tire with the low spot of the rim. This helps maximize the ride quality by minimizing the effects of tire force variation and rim runout. If a car wheel or tire is found to be out of tolerance, it is replaced with another wheel or tire that is within tolerance.
Enjoy a Smoother Ride Today
Say goodbye to bumpy car commutes and hello to a more enjoyable drive in your car. With expert tire balancing from the professionals at George McCorkendale Auto Service of Blue Springs, you and your passengers will enjoy a bounce-free ride, every time you are in your car. Schedule an Appointment, or give us a call.
Proudly serving Blue Springs and the Kansas City areas.