Why is wheel balancing necessary?
Not every motorist knows and understands the purpose for which balancing is needed. It is carried out in order to equally distribute the entire mass relative to the center of the wheel. With proper balancing, the car's wheels will not vibrate much, thereby providing you with comfort. While driving on the road surface, you will not feel any imperfections or irregularities in the road. The condition and appearance of the tires is greatly affected by imbalance. Without balancing, the bearing on the hub may lose its functionality. The price of wheel balancing is significantly lower than the price of suspension repair. Few motorists perform balancing of only 1 pair of wheels, arguing that only the driving ones need this process. This opinion is completely wrong; four wheels of vehicles need to be adjusted. There are not many varieties of wheel balancing, namely:
1. Automatic.
2. By means of a machine
3. Finish.
Most car owners know only a few types:
· static;
· dynamic.
In what cases is it necessary to perform wheel balancing?
Balancing is necessary when you:
- “Changed shoes” to new tires and at each re-adjustment;
- We bought new wheels;
- We fell into a hole at speed. After falling into a hole, the geometry of the disk is disrupted, the center of gravity of the wheel shifts accordingly and an imbalance occurs;
- While driving, you feel a strong vibration of the steering wheel in the cabin, which is transmitted from the wheels to the body and chassis;
- You have discovered uneven tire wear (uneven wear is often caused by poor wheel alignment);
- We drove more than 15-20 thousand km in our car.
I recommend: Critical tire wear: what is it, why is it dangerous and how to prevent it?
A well-balanced wheel makes driving a car comfortable; you do not feel any vibration (provided the road is smooth). In addition to comfort, wheel balancing allows you to extend the life of your tires, as well as avoid costly repairs to the suspension or its individual parts. Wheel imbalance and runout lead to deterioration of wheel adhesion to the road, as a result, vehicle controllability and road stability are significantly reduced. If you do not pay attention in time to the imbalance of the wheels and the constant deterioration of the driving performance of the car, one “fine” day you can lose control over driving the car, you can only guess about the consequences...
Important fact: Balancing, as mentioned above, affects the life of the wheel bearing. Think about it, with an imbalance of 20 grams, wheels with a radius of 14 inches at a speed of 100 km/h, the wheel bearing, as well as the entire suspension, feel a load equal to the blows of a 3-kilogram sledgehammer, which hits with a frequency of about 800 times per minute!
Modern service stations are equipped with special equipment that automatically determines the degree of wheel imbalance, after which a tire specialist eliminates dynamic or static wheel imbalance by installing compensating weights on the wheel rim.
Static wheel balancing
When imbalance occurs, the wheel will not contain equal mass distribution along the axis of rotation over a specified area. During the trip, the area to which the maximum load is directed will be vigorously tapped on the road surface. The imbalance may increase if vehicles drive at high speeds. It is for this reason that static balancing was invented. Every auto repair shop that deals with tire fitting processes can do it. A wheel is installed on a special machine, and it begins to rotate. Thanks to electronics, it is possible to establish and calculate the imbalance; it determines the place where the load needs to be placed. Every tire shop worker can balance wheels without much difficulty.
How is a wheel balanced?
In tire workshops, specialists eliminate dynamic wheel imbalance - when its weight is unevenly distributed across its width. Craftsmen install compensating weights on both sides of the disc rim in certain places. The procedure is carried out on a special balancing machine, which automatically determines the locations for installing the weights, thanks to a computer in which the wheel parameters are entered. The type of weights that will be used depends on the type of disc - they can be made of zinc or lead and vary in weight - from 5 to 100 grams.
The imbalance of the front wheels is usually more pronounced than the imbalance of the rear wheels, which becomes noticeable only at speeds above 120 km/h - the car begins to vibrate strongly
Weights can be padded or adhesive. The first ones are used mainly for balancing wheels with stamped disks - they are attached to the edge of the disk from the inside and outside. And adhesive ones are used for wheels with cast and forged disks - they are placed inside the disk from the edge, and closer to the spokes. At the same time, experts agree that padded weights are more practical than adhesive ones, since the latter is adversely affected by sudden temperature changes and cold. Due to these factors, the load may lose its adhesive properties and fall off. This can also happen during washing due to strong water pressure.
Loads
Automatic wheel balancing
This type of balancing is done exclusively on buses, as well as on trucks. A third-party load is also attached to the wheels, say:
1. Special granules.
2. Sand.
During the rotation of the wheel, under the influence of forces, the substance leans against the center, resulting in automatic balancing. This method is no longer used on simple vehicles, because it is difficult to know how much material needs to be filled.
Types of wheel imbalance.
Static.
Occurs due to problems with the axes of rotation and inertia: if the axis of rotation is parallel to the axis of inertia, and the center of gravity is located outside the axis of rotation.
In this case, when putting the wheel on a rotating axle, several pendulum movements of the wheel will be observed. And it will stop in a position where the center of gravity will be at the lowest point of the wheel.
Dynamic.
It is also associated with the problems of the axes of rotation and inertia: if the axis of inertia intersects the axis of rotation at a certain angle, and the center of gravity is located on the axis of rotation.
This imbalance can only be noticed when the wheel itself rotates. And only specialists can fix it - at a tire service.
Final wheel balancing
This type is performed after both dynamic and static balancing. An exceptionally special device is placed under vehicles. In order for the electronics to carry out the calculations, it is necessary to accelerate the wheels of the vehicle to a speed of 80, but not more than 90 km. At the end of this process, the electronics will indicate the place where the auxiliary weights should be placed. When changing wheels, this process is necessary for the car.
What is wheel balancing and why is it needed?
Any tire fitting of car wheels must be completed with wheel balancing. But not everyone knows what it is and why wheel balancing is needed. This procedure distributes mass evenly around the center of rotation and minimizes vibration. The fact is that even new wheels and tires do not have an ideal shape and weight distribution. During the installation of the tire, a pressure of 4-5 atmospheres is applied inside the disk so that the tire beads take their place on the disk. After this, the wheel must be spun on a balancing machine to identify the location and magnitude of the imbalance.
If this is not done, then you can drive on such wheels, but not for long and not fast. Otherwise, the car suspension begins to experience additional stress, which significantly reduces the service life of its parts. The imbalance can be compared to hitting a wheel with a sledgehammer. And these impacts will be transmitted to all suspension parts, and the ride comfort in such a car will significantly deteriorate. Not to mention the fact that fuel consumption will increase.
Wheel vibration makes the load on the tread uneven and for this reason tire wear increases. At the same time, the grip of the wheel on the road deteriorates, which leads to an increase in braking distance and deterioration in controllability. And the higher the speed, the stronger the vibration will be. Therefore, the desire to save money on a simple and inexpensive procedure can result in serious damage and significant expenses.
There are static and dynamic imbalances. Static imbalance occurs when the axis of inertia is parallel to the axis of rotation. In this case, the center of gravity does not lie on the axis of rotation at all. If the wheel is spun, it will stop when the heaviest part of the wheel is at the bottom. Dynamic imbalance occurs when the axis of inertia is located at an angle to the axis of rotation. In this case, the center of gravity is located on the axis of rotation.
Experts recommend balancing wheels at least once every six months or every five to seven thousand kilometers. During this time, the old balance is disrupted. Fans of sports driving and low-profile tires need to do this procedure even more often. Since the load on the wheels on such machines will be much greater. Before starting balancing, the wheel must be cleaned of dirt and old weights removed.
The quality of balancing depends not only on the equipment, but also on the qualifications of the operator who performs this procedure. Therefore, you should not apply for such a service to the first workshop you come across. Even if there is high-quality equipment there. After all, almost any wheel can be reset to zero. But only an experienced specialist will be able to say that there is no point in balancing the wheel, but it’s time to change it.
There is an interstate GOST 4754-97 “Pneumatic tires for passenger cars, their trailers, light trucks and especially low-capacity buses. Technical conditions", which was introduced in 1999. If new tires or wheels cannot be balanced without violating this GOST, this is grounds for returning the goods.
Correct wheel balancing
To perform proper balancing, you need to adhere to certain standards, such as:
1. It is necessary to free the surface of the discs from foreign contamination. When balancing a roughing wheel, you can mistakenly sort the mass. At such a moment, there is a possibility of balancing in vain.
2. Having collected the used weights, you can begin new balancing.
3. A cap made of plastic material can also affect the balanced wheel. For this reason, it is recommended to remove them.
What does wheel balancing affect?
First of all, the comfort of driving a car directly depends on balancing - unbalanced wheels cause vibration, which is not only unpleasant for the driver and passengers, but also accelerates the wear of tires, wheels and suspension elements. It follows from this that the correct operation of the suspension also depends on balancing. Otherwise, the car loses stability at high speed, and this can lead to an emergency.
The essence of balancing is to evenly distribute the mass of the wheel relative to its center. This procedure reduces vibration to a minimum and prevents rapid wear of tires and wheels.
Intervals between balancing
Any professional, in his own way, advises balancing vehicle wheels. In some sources you can find information that the process needs to be done after 10,000 km. When you feel the steering wheel vibrating and jerking slightly, take your vehicle to a workshop immediately, thereby reducing the likelihood of a breakdown in the future. It is regularly recommended to inspect the wheels; by doing this, you will preserve the suspension of your vehicle. The price for balancing varies, it all depends on its type and the equipment that will be used.
Negative consequences resulting from vibration caused by imbalance
Damage to the car suspension The action of unaccounted loads on the load-bearing parts and suspension mechanisms of the car causes accelerated wear. For example, bearings in hubs are significantly damaged. And a bearing failure can lead to the wheel losing motion, which increases the likelihood of a traffic accident with serious consequences.
Decreased traction Wheel vibration transmitted to the tires reduces the effectiveness of traction because the contact patch becomes inconsistent and unstable. This leads to an increase in braking distance and deterioration in vehicle control, which, in turn, also reduces traffic safety.
Increased (incorrect) wear Vibratory mechanical load on the tire tread causes rapid and uneven wear. This not only reduces its performance (traction, comfort), but also leads to more frequent tire replacements.
Reduced comfort Increased wheel vibration when driving, especially transmitted to the steering wheel, causes discomfort for the driver. It is also possible that an uneven hum may appear when the vehicle moves.
Balancing accuracy.
It is almost impossible to achieve perfect wheel balancing, since it is influenced not only by accuracy and attention when carrying out work, but also by tires and rims. Consequently, balancing depends not so much on the master, but on the parts themselves and their quality. Moreover, the balance is influenced to a greater extent by the tire, since it is located farthest from the axis of rotation.
This is why slight deviations are allowed regarding balancing. On the territory of the Russian Federation, they must comply with GOST, which establishes the maximum permissible values of statistical and dynamic imbalances (each wheel has its own, so exact figures are not given in this article). To learn how to do wheel balancing yourself, follow the link.
