How to Balance Rims

To balance your car's rims, you'll need to have properly balanced tires in addition to correctly balanced wheels. The three components -wheel, tire, rim - are part and parcel of one another, and all three must be in balance for your car to drive, handle and perform properly.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Automobile technician

1. Learn to recognize the telltale signs that your wheels, tires and/or rims are out of balance and in need of correction. If your car pulls to the left or right, your steering wheel won't rest in a straight position or you notice your tires are worn more on one edge than the other, you might have faulty wheel, tire or rim alignment. Also, watch out for poor turn recovery and vehicle shaking at freeway speeds of 50 to 70 mph.

2. Perform an inspection of your rims to see whether they appear out of balance. Rims should rest over your tires in an even proportion. If the space between the tire and the rim varies at any point, your rims may need balancing.

3. Trust a professional to balance your rims, wheels and/or tires. While you might think you can balance your rims yourself by simply removing and reinstalling them, unbalanced rims might be a symptom of a larger problem--unbalanced wheels or tires. Technicians use sophisticated equipment to ensure correct wheel and tire alignment, which won't be readily available to private automobile owners, except at an auto garage.

4. Take your car in for a diagnostic checkup. A technician will mount your car on a balancing machine to find out exactly where the problem is and what is causing it. Corrective action will vary, depending on the nature and severity of the problem, and the repair costs will be commensurate with the parts needed to correct the problem and the amount of labor required.

5. Notice that your car drives smoothly at highway speeds and doesn't pull to the left or right anymore. If the problem recurs within a relatively short period of time, you may need to replace your wheels altogether.

Tips & Warnings

• Continuing to drive your car when your wheels, tires or rims are out of balance can cause damage to your wheels. If left unchecked, you may eventually have to replace the wheels altogether, which will likely cost you several thousand dollars.