• From: Sacramento
  • Registered: 2010-08-09
  • Posts: 1,665

Re: Do you balance the wheels/tires on your lemon?

I use a big board on the roof and carefully position the tires on either side of the car - they balance pretty well there.

  • From: Iowa
  • Registered: 2010-04-20
  • Posts: 2,660

Re: Do you balance the wheels/tires on your lemon?

We balance our wheels.  I think it depends on the size of the wheels/tires vs the size/weight of the car, and whether your road racing or just auto-x also.

I can feel a shudder in our steering wheel if our tires aren't balanced, and I don't like that.

In my Miata I can even feel a shudder if I get a build up of tire debris on my rims.

I've never not balanced wheels/tires, so it's interesting to see what others are saying.

Hmmm....

LemonAid - Changing kids lives one lap at a time.
  • From: Boulder, CO
  • Registered: 2010-11-12
  • Posts: 602

Re: Do you balance the wheels/tires on your lemon?

I wish I could, but 3 lug wheels with no center hole seem to be like kryptonite to the wheel balancers around here.  So even for my road cars there's no balancing.  sad

-Victor
  • From: Sacramento
  • Registered: 2010-08-09
  • Posts: 1,665

Re: Do you balance the wheels/tires on your lemon?

Unbalanced race tires feel exactly the same as flat-spotted race tires, and they add extra wear/load to the shocks.
So if you have bad shocks and a tendency towards locking the brakes - don't balance.

  • From: CT
  • Registered: 2010-09-20
  • Posts: 258

Re: Do you balance the wheels/tires on your lemon?

crazymike wrote:

Unbalanced race tires feel exactly the same as flat-spotted race tires, and they add extra wear/load to the shocks.
So if you have bad shocks and a tendency towards locking the brakes - don't balance.

Soooooo who out there doesn't have bad rear shocks and doesn't tend to lock the rear brakes because those equally bad front shocks send the nose into the ground under hard braking?

Maximum Efforts Motorsports
Mid-Engine Chevette
S-10 incoming...
  • From: Sacramento
  • Registered: 2010-08-09
  • Posts: 1,665

Re: Do you balance the wheels/tires on your lemon?

I only lock the fronts. About every fourth lap.
The rears don't seem to have any brake at all.
and the shocks are equally horrid on all  four, but not blown
...So I only need to balance the rears.