Whats the difference between a tire balance and a tire alignment?

Question

I had my two front tires replaced and now my ride isnt smooth like it was before. Also, when I am making sharp turns it makes a intermittent rubbing noise. Should I have a tire alignment done or a tire balance?

Answer 1

Start by taking it back where you had the tires replaced, and see if there is some problem with the tires themselves.

Balancing a tire means you look for a heavy spot, and add a weight to the light side so it rotates smoothly.

Alignment is making sure it doesn't toe in or out and steers correctly.

Balancing should come automatically with new tires.

Answer 2

If you are getting a rubbing noise, that is neither balance or alignment. You have a worn part in your suspension, or there is something out of adjustment (like a fender liner) which rubs on the tires, or the tires are actually one size too large and they are rubbing the fender liner when they are turned all the way to the left or the right. Alignment makes sure that your car tracks straight without pulling to the left or right and without wearing the tires unevenly. Balance is to prevent a violent shaking in the tires when you are traveling at highway speeds. No tire is so perfect that it doesn't have a slightly heavier spot somewhere on the tire. Counterweights are applied during balancing to prevent the shaking. Rubbing noises are almost always a sign of loose or worn suspension or body parts or damage that was not fixed right before. Sometimes alignment shops don't check for all that stuff. You might need to visit a body shop with frame measuring and alignment equipment. They are far more likely to diagnose the problem correctly.

Answer 3

The rubbing noise you are hearing is probably caused by having the wrong sized tires either to wide or to tall. The balance of a wheel is done to reduce vibration of the wheel on the road. It has nothing to do with steering. As far as the alignment that you spoke of. This is done to correctly align the tire to the road. They adjust the caster and camber of each from wheel in order to create a solid path on the road. I would ask if the right tires were installed that seems to be the major problem. Then go from there. The tires you chose if cheap will make your ride not as smooth the cheaper the tire the crapier the ride. If they are the same that you had before then there may be a problem.

Answer 4

Balance: The tires are spun by themselves to make sure they don't roll poorly (at an Extreem would be an Egg shapped tire due to the tire weighing to much on one side) Little weights are added to your rim to balance out the imperfections in weight distribution when the tire/rim is made. (this is done when you install new tires) Alignment: Makes sure that all four tires (wheels actualy) are pointing the same direction (and the same direction as the frame of the car) when you are driving down the street. Out of alignment causes (CAN cause) car to "turn' when holding the steering wheel straight. BOTH are safety issues and can cause your tires to wear out faster. When your car is shaking it is because your tires are bouncing and as such some of that time they are not actualy in touch with the ground (or not very well) as such you have less control of the car Yep sounds like you should get both. But the problem is most likely Alignment Balancing about $5-10 per wheel Alignment: $100.00 + Both can be done at your local tire store

Answer 5

it probably was smooth because your tire pressure in your old tires were low??

rubbing? did they put the right size?

you should do both.....

at high speeds if your steering wheel shakes- get a balance

if at anytime your steering wheel is off center(looks like your turning when going straight) or when your driving and let go of the wheel the car pulls to a direction then a - alignment is needed...

An out-of-balance tire and wheel assembly:
• Degrades ride quality and driver comfort.
• Shortens the life of tires, bearings, shock absorber, and other suspension components.

Vibration is the most noticeable effect of imbalance.
• It is dependent on vehicle speed and may be felt in the steering wheel, seats or floor board.
• It often first becomes apparent between 40 and 45 mph and changes in magnitude with greater speeds.

Why Four Wheel Alignment?
Reduced Tire Wear
Improper alignment is a major cause of premature tire wear. Over the years, a properly aligned vehicle can add thousands of miles to tire life.

Better Gas Mileage
Gas mileage increases as rolling resistance decreases. Total alignment sets all four wheel parallel which, along with proper inflation, minimizes rolling resistance.

Improved Handling
Does your car pull to one side? Does the steering wheel vibrate? Do you constantly have to move the steering wheel to keep your car traveling straight ahead? Many handling problems can be corrected by total alignment. With all the system components aligned properly, road shock is more efficiently absorbed for a smoother ride.

Safer Driving
A suspension system inspection is part of our alignment procedure. This allows us to spot worn parts before they cause costly problems

Answer 6

Balancing provides the wheel / tire combination spins and balances perfectly. All vibration is gone.

Wheel alignment ( tires are not aligned) is measuring instrumentation is connected to the wheels a laser points to a series of numbers that reads: Caster, camber and toe ( in or out). Same applies to the rear of a car if it has an independent rear suspension.

Explanation of tow: If you could draw a center line straight across the circumference and that line continues down the road and the lines finally meat each other that is called "toe in" The opposite is true if the tires toe out as the lines forward never meet.

Caster is a measurement from the top center of the strut or ball joint to the center if the tire patch on the ground. cars have some degree of positive caster or the line slants forward at the bottom.

Camber is the distance at the top of one rim to the other rim top. If the tops are closer together is known as negative camber. If the rims are farther apart at the top than the bottom that is positive camber.

Answer 7

Tire balance keeps the tires in balance in relationship to the rim. Wheel alignment is the factory specs when the car was built that you want to adjust the car to. The wheel alignment is the proper angles where the suspension and tires work together to make the tires wear evenly and drive in a straight line. Thrust angles, caster, camber and toe adjustments all need to be in proper alignment to keep the tires on the road in a safe manner. The car will drive staright and tire life is increased. This should be done annually to insure proper tire life. Air pressure plays a big part in tire wear and road pull.
good luck and i hope i didnt confuse you....

Answer 8

Balance will cause a shake usually over 45 mph; alignment causes your tires to wear unevenly. One may make the others' problem exaggerated but not cause it. Tire pressure causes a poor ride if it is too high. Rubbing noise may be the new tires grabbing the road the way your old ones couldn't. New tires work differently as they are new and not worn out. If they aren't satisfactory, your dealer may trade them in on better ones, check with them. If your new ones are low-profile tires that look good, they rarely ride as well as standard tires; you end up trading ride characteristics for cosmetics.

Answer 9

Balancing tires is to prevent "thumping". It is possible that one tire is still out of balance. If you feel vibration in the steering wheel, one or more tires are out of balance. And alignment is usually done when shocks or struts are replaced. When driving, does the car pull one way? If so make certain that air pressures are equal. If it still pulls, you might need an alignment.

Answer 10

You balance tires separately and align the wheels relative to each other. Alignment is the wheel-to-body relation, it prevents wondering of the car to the sides while driving, prevents tire wear. Balancing makes your steering not to vibrate at high speed.