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The mkiv Supra Owners Club

Do rear wheels need balancing?


jackso11
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I just had my rear tyres switched to a different set and the garage didn't balance the wheels. When I asked them to do it they said its not needed on the rears, only the front wheels need balancing.

 

I did a quick search on my iphone while I was there and it seems some people say they do need balancing and some say they don't. The guy in the garage said he worked at quik-fit for over 10 years and they balanced rears only to charge more money and its not needed.

 

Is this right? or should I go back and make them balance them?

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Cant believe any proper mechanic would advise not to balance the rears lol

 

 

 

Just read he's an ex quick fit fitter ( you cant get better than a quick fit fitter ) pmsl

 

 

Did they torque your wheels up or just use an air gun ?

 

I'd be going somewhere else if it was my car.

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We are in the trade. Rear wheels do need balancing on all vehicles. The inbalance from the rear wheels will be transmitted through the cahssis/steering accordingly to how bad the imabalance is. Some people don't really notice it, some people do. The more specialist your car is, the more evident unbalanced wheels will become via vibrations etc.

 

Also, wheel weights are not cheap these days, they qre quite costly so it would not surprise me if some outlets try to cut corners even further.

 

If the staff insist the wheels do not need balancing, I'd just call them a bunch of cowboys and go elsewhere.

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went back to the tyre place, kicked off, they tried to charge me again for balancing the rears. After a bit of shouting I had them balanced for free.

 

The guy that actually ended up balancing them said 'sometimes we do balance rears and sometimes we don't' !!

 

City Tyres near bethnal green station, lots of yellow signs outside with all their prices on, don't go there.

 

I only went there because I thought a small tyre place would be better than a chain like kwik-fit

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Just check out any good tyre place and they will tell you rear balnce is essential, not optional. Coppied this for here: http://www.tyreplus.co.uk/tyre-tips.asp

 

"Why do we balance wheels?

 

If your wheels and tyres are not properly balanced the result could be uncomfortable driving and higher vehicle running costs. Your steering wheel may begin to ‘wobble’ at certain speeds and, as the vehicle speed increases, so can the vibrations, causing your steering wheel to ‘wobble’ more violently.

 

An imbalance in the wheel and tyre assembly may also cause premature wear of suspension and steering components, rotating parts, including your tyres. So it is vitally important for cost effective smooth driving, that both the front and rear wheels and tyres are kept in balance.

 

Wheel balancing machines identify the point to fit a counter weight in order to smooth out the vibrations that occur when joining a wheel and tyre unit together. As a result of wheel balancing, you should notice a smoother ride and better wear from your tyres, saving you time and money."

I think certain type of tyre wear are caused by out of balance wheels (scalloping???) I know I have had some wheels, front and rear rebalanced several time before the end of the usable life of the tyre.

 

Well done for sticking to your requirement, can't have been easy with all five of them telling you it is not required.

Edited by Terminator (see edit history)
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You do need to balance the rears although i'd say it's up to you if you can be bothered. depends how much you notice and vibrations really.

 

When i bought my supra the steering was so shakey from the unbalanced wheels on the front. i then got them to swap the front's to the back so i could drive normally again. i don't really notice much from the unbalanced rear wheels but i really should get it done.

 

Peter

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  • 6 months later...

Slight thread ressurection - Going to be getting my wheels balanced next week, I have the choice of kwik fit or Hi-Q. £5.50 / £6.00 per wheel respectively.

 

Do the weights go on the outside or can they be put somewhere more discreet so they dont look out of place?

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Unfortunately for the wheel to effectively balanced they need to go where they need to go.

 

If you hide them elsewhere, you just end up having to add more weight. Decent wheels should be pretty close to being balanced anyways.... But they should ALWAYS be balanced.

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:p

Cant believe any proper mechanic would advise not to balance the rears lol

 

 

 

Just read he's an ex quick fit fitter ( you cant get better than a quick fit fitter ) pmsl

 

 

Did they torque your wheels up or just use an air gun ?

 

I'd be going somewhere else if it was my car.

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Slight thread ressurection - Going to be getting my wheels balanced next week, I have the choice of kwik fit or Hi-Q. £5.50 / £6.00 per wheel respectively.

 

Do the weights go on the outside or can they be put somewhere more discreet so they dont look out of place?

 

if the weights cant go on the outside of the wheel they will need to use interior adheisive weights. these will need to go as close to the edge of the wheel as possible . if you see a guy just stick a lump of weight in the middle of the wheel, ask him to take them off and take it somewhere els.

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if the weights cant go on the outside of the wheel they will need to use interior adheisive weights. these will need to go as close to the edge of the wheel as possible . if you see a guy just stick a lump of weight in the middle of the wheel, ask him to take them off and take it somewhere els.

 

If you have nice alloy wheels you only want stick on weights where ever they go, knock ons will destroy your outer lip if used as they will cut into the alloy and through the laquer.

 

Ive always had mine done on the inside of the rim with no problems and thats on large 19" wheels

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