Out-of-balance tyres cause a car to vibrate at certain speeds. This can lead to premature, irregular tyre wear, as well as unnecessary wear to your vehicle's suspension. Make sure your tyres are balanced when they are mounted on wheels for the first time or when they are remounted after repair. Tyre balance should be checked at the first sign of a vibration.

The best way to explain tyre balancing is to begin to explain what a lack of balance is. When a tyre is mounted onto the wheel, two slightly imperfect units are joined to form an assembly. The chances of this assembly having absolutely precise weight distribution about its radial and lateral centres are virtually impossible.

Usually wheel can present two types of imbalance: Static imbalance and dynamic imbalance.

Static Imbalance: Occurs when there is a heavy or light spot in the tyre. In this case the tyre does not roll evenly and the tyre and wheel undergo an up-and-down motion.

Dynamic Imbalance: Occurs when there is unequal weight on one or both sides of the tyre/wheel assembly's lateral centreline. Dynamic Imbalance can cause a side-to-side wobble or wheel shimmy.

Most assemblies have both types of imbalance, and require dynamic balancing to create even weight distribution. To balance the wheel, the technician mounts it on a balancing machine, which spins the wheel to locate the heavier parts of the assembly. The balancing system then directs a technician to place counter weights on the rim's surface to offset the imbalance.