6 Symptoms of Unbalanced Wheels

Have you ever experienced a shaky or bumpy ride while driving? If so, you may be dealing with unbalanced wheels. A wheel imbalance occurs when the weight distribution of a tire and wheel assembly is uneven, causing the wheel to spin unevenly and generate vibrations that can be felt throughout the vehicle.

This makes for an uncomfortable ride and can lead to more serious problems like tire wear, steering issues, and even accidents.

Proper tire maintenance can keep you safe on the road and extend the life of your tires. Continue reading below to find out more about the signs of unbalanced wheels.

Your Car Is Leaning to One Side

If you notice your vehicle pulling to one side, have your wheels checked for balance to prevent further damage to your tires and suspension system. Whether you’ve just had new tires installed or have done tire rotations recently, you still need to balance the tires.

Your car might be pulling to the left or to the right due to:

• Installation of new tires,
• Replacement of winter with summer tires and vice versa,
• Rotation of the tires
• Worn-out or unaligned wheel balancing machine, in which case you need to purchase a new wheel balancer.

You Notice More Tire Wear on One Tire

Inspecting your tire treads regularly will help you see whether all of the tires have been worn and torn equally. In other words, unbalanced tires can be the result of uneven wear and tear on one of the tires.

A couple of reasons why one (or more) of your tires are worn more than the rest is having issues with the steering or the wheels. When your tires are worn unevenly, there are greater chances for a flat tire while driving. Unusual tire wear can happen both on the inside and outside of the tire.

It’s Difficult to Steer Your Car

Unbalanced tires can affect your driving experience. More importantly, they can impede the function of the steering wheel. By making it harder to steer the car, unbalanced tires are also delaying the response time, which can put you in a dangerous position on the road.

To put it bluntly, unbalanced tires and steering issues are a hellish combo that leads to accidents.

You Feel Unusual Vibrations

Vibration is probably the most common sign of faulty tires. Experienced drivers will notice unusual vibration faster than rookie drivers. In that context, drivers might feel vibrations from the steering wheel, the seat, or the floor, depending on which tire is out of balance. The more out of balance your tires are, the greater the vibrations.

How prominent the vibration is will depend on the condition of the road and your driving speed. In a nutshell, the minute you notice your car, the car floor, the steering wheel, or other parts vibrating, take it to the shop ASAP.

It Takes More Fuel to Drive Your Car

Another important aspect of unbalanced tires is lousy fuel economy. If you happen to notice your car consumes more fuel per MPG, it might be time to have your tires checked. Unbalanced tires, combined with fast driving, tend to lead to inefficient tire movements and elevated fuel consumption.

When you notice you’ve just topped off the gas tank and need to refill it again after some time driving, your tires are probably out of balance.

There’s an Apparent Wear-and-Tear in the Shocks and Bearings

Besides wasting precious energy, unbalanced tires can also lead to more stress on your car's springs, bearings, shocks, and other vital components.

When your tires are improperly balanced, the assembly parts of the car take on a whole lot of pressure that causes them to stop functioning sooner than expected.

JMC Equipment: Equip Your Business With an Array of Reliable Tools

If you know about the common signs of unbalanced wheels, then you need wheel balancers – and we at JMC Equipment have the right solution for you. We also offer general auto body tools, tube and pipe benders, PPE, motorcycle equipment, and more.

Our store is family-owned, and we don’t offer you anything we wouldn’t buy ourselves. We know times are tough, so we’re extending suitable financing options for our clients.

Get in touch to find out more about our tire equipment and tools.