Wheel Balancing

Wheel Balancing on Long Island Roads

The physics of imbalance: a wheel spinning at 60 mph is rotating roughly 800 times per minute on a typical passenger car tire. An imbalance of one ounce at the rim creates a centrifugal force at that speed that is measurable and noticeable - it gets transmitted through the suspension into the steering wheel and seat as a vibration that worsens with speed. At highway speed on the LIE or Meadowbrook Parkway, an out-of-balance wheel can make a car unpleasant or downright unnerving to drive.

The Long Island road network is specifically hard on wheel balance because of the expansion joints on the expressways and the pothole conditions on local roads. A pothole hit at 40 mph can knock a balance weight off the wheel entirely. When that happens, the wheel that was smooth is suddenly vibrating at highway speed. This is why we see many Nassau County customers who had their tires balanced recently but are experiencing vibration again - a single pothole can undo a balance job.

Cupped tire wear is the consequence of ignoring an imbalance for too long. The wavy, scalloped pattern across the tread is caused by the tire bouncing slightly with each rotation rather than maintaining constant contact with the road. By the time you can see or feel the cupping, the tire is damaged in a way that cannot be reversed - the only fix is tire replacement. A balance check is a short service. Catching the imbalance before it cups the tire saves you the cost of new tires. Call (516) 681-0122 or stop by 640 Old Country Road in Garden City, NY.