The tires are no doubt an important part of your car. That's because without them, your vehicle won't move, leaving you without a way to get around Miami, Hollywood, or Miami Beach.
Therefore, you'll want to maintain the health and longevity of your tires, which can be done in various ways. This includes tire balancing and aligning the tires. While these types of maintenance sound interchangeable, they actually do different things.
We'll go over the difference between tire balance and alignment below, so you'll know what to expect when you need service at Audi North Miami.
What's a Tire Balance?
Getting balanced tires involves applying weights to the inside and outside of each rim. The tire gets mounted onto a tire balancing machine. Then, the wheel is spun while vibration measurements get taken, to find stiffer spots on the tire. This will tell the tech how much weight to add and where on the wheel to add it.
If there's an imbalance, the technician will either add weights accordingly, or they'll move the tire on the wheel and then rebalance.
There are three types of tire balancing:
- Static
- Dynamic
- Road-force
With Static balancing, weights are added across one line of the tire. Dynamic balancing is when weights are spread across the tire, side-to-side and up and down. Then, Road-force balancing is when a machine with a large roller attached to it presses on the tire, applying the estimated weight of the automobile.
Explaining a Tire Alignment
A tire alignment, or wheel alignment, is usually needed to fix three issues: camber, toe, and caster...
- Camber: inward or outward angle of a tire when viewed from the front of the car. If you have too much inward or outward tilt, then you have negative or positive camber, respectively.
- Toe: how your tires are angled inward or outward when looked at from above. Toe in is when the tires are pointing in toward the car and toe out is when they're pointing away from the car.
- Caster: angle of the steering axis when seen from the side of your vehicle. Positive caster is when the steering axis tilts toward the driver. Negative caster, on the other hand, is when the steering axis points toward the front of the automobile.
Tire Balancing & Aligning: The Difference
As you can see, keeping your tires balanced and aligned is an important part of vehicle ownership. In general, tire balancing is the more common maintenance. Tires will need balancing as the tread wears down, creating an imbalanced weight distribution across them. This may cause your vehicle to shake. Many technicians will balance tires during a rotation.
Tire alignment, on the other hand, is when the angle your wheels are facing has become nonaligned. This will often manifest in your car veering to one side as you drive. This occurs over time if you drive on a lot of bumpy roads. It can also happen after a collision.
When to Have Your Tires Balanced
Your tires will probably need to be balanced every 6,000 miles or so. But it's important to not ignore signs that the weight distribution of your tires is unbalanced.
There are a number of reasons why you may need a tire balance. One of them is if you feel a vibration in the seat or steering wheel when traveling between 60 and 70 MPH.
Additionally, when a tire rolls down a road, rubber starts to wear off, resulting in the tire becoming unbalanced again. That's why whenever you get the tires rotated, the tires should be checked and rebalanced, if needed. At the very least, they should be balanced every two years, or every year if you often drive on rough roads.
Tire balancing is much more of a common repair, and it'll have to be performed regularly. Think of it as a sort of calibration. This is why it's performed at the same time as a tire rotation-they're similar repairs of equal importance.
When to Have Your Tires Aligned
Having your tires aligned is less of a frequent issue, but you should still have the alignment checked somewhat regularly. This is to prevent premature and uneven tire wear. Otherwise, you may need to replace your tires sooner rather than later, which could get costly.
In general, you'll likely need to have your tires aligned every 10,000 miles or about once a year. You may not notice any dramatic misalignment because alignment changes very slowly, but you shouldn't wait for it to become an emergency.
Alignment check-ups are like eye exams. You need them every year or so and the changes may be hard to detect, but you should still have it checked regularly. If you notice any unusual wear patterns, or your vehicle starts pulling to one side when you're driving, then you may want to align the tires as soon as possible.
Schedule a Tire Balance or Alignment Today
Even though a balance and alignment differ, they're both crucial to having long-lasting tires. It's always important to have regular tire service performed on your vehicle. Neglecting regular tire service can result in a vehicle that handles poorly, and the problem might get worse as time goes on.
If your vehicle isn't handling properly, your tires may be unbalanced or unaligned. To have tire balancing or aligning tires done near Miami, Hollywood, or Miami Beach, don't wait. Schedule service at Audi North Miami today!
