Wheel Alignment & Balancing

Surprise · 10th August 2005, 15:15

Did the wheel alignment this morning. Herewith Iam attaching the report for the same. Also the guy changed the front wheels to back and the back one to front. Will this have any impact?

Also would like to know what's wheel balancing?

Xsailor · 10th August 2005, 15:28

Some decent info is available here
http://www.kwik-fit.com/wheel-balancing.asp

PS: It is a good idea to balance your wheel after any puncture and assosiated repairs. Just balancing the wheel-in-question is enough.

Cheers

ananthkamath · 13th August 2005, 17:35

Most cars come with a 0.2-0.3 deg difference in castor between the right and left wheels...This is to take care of the 'crown' or camber of the road.....The car will normally pull very slightly to the right in Indian case(RHD) on a perfectly flat (uncambered) road...

According to the report: -

1) You are running negative camber on the left...For a road car I have never seen negative camber being run...Change to +40 mins on the left and see what happens...As it is now, your left tyre may wear out faster.

2) Your toe-out on the left wheel was 25 mins, which is more than right wheel at 16 mins....That s probably why your car was pulling to the left on a cambered road...If you had driven on the right side of the same road, it would have pulled to the right though not as abruptly...

My suggestion is, go to another one or two alignment places and see if the same settings show up....My money says you will get as many readings as the no. of places you go to...This is my personal experience...On the same day, I went to 3 different places and got 3 different readings...

Try this and come back with the results...Also, pm MPower, he might be able to help...

Surprise · 18th August 2005, 11:26

Quote:

Originally Posted by ananthkamath

1) You are running negative camber on the left...For a road car I have never seen negative camber being run...Change to +40 mins on the left and see what happens...As it is now, your left tyre may wear out faster.

2) Your toe-out on the left wheel was 25 mins, which is more than right wheel at 16 mins....That s probably why your car was pulling to the left on a cambered road...If you had driven on the right side of the same road, it would have pulled to the right though not as abruptly...

My suggestion is, go to another one or two alignment places and see if the same settings show up.

Oops!!!!!

I had kept myself away from actively participating in the forums, hence missed out your post. Thanks for pointing this out. I will take my car to MRF Tyre drome & check it once again. Will update you on this.

Thanks for pointing this out

Puffdamgcdragon · 18th August 2005, 12:57

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rudra Sen

Your friend is right. Check alignment again. If the alignment is ok and car still moves towards left..change the tyres. Put the right one to left. If it's a directional tread pattern, you need to remove the tyre from the rim, change the direction to get the pattern right.

Hope this helps.

Hi,
This reminds me- I've put Ducaro GA on my Baleno. I saw a small arrow on each of the tyres showing the direction of the wheel rotation. Now, the way the tyre shop, after alignment, has put it, I can see the arrow signs on both the left side tyres and on the right side, it's at the reverse(inner)side- can't be seen. Is this fitment correct?

Are the Ducaro GA one direction tyres? what happens if U fit the tyres to rotate in the wrong directioN?

johnjacob · 18th August 2005, 16:31

Quote:

Originally Posted by Puffdamgcdragon

Hi,
This reminds me- I've put Ducaro GA on my Baleno. I saw a small arrow on each of the tyres showing the direction of the wheel rotation. Now, the way the tyre shop, after alignment, has put it, I can see the arrow signs on both the left side tyres and on the right side, it's at the reverse(inner)side- can't be seen. Is this fitment correct?

Are the Ducaro GA one direction tyres? what happens if U fit the tyres to rotate in the wrong directioN?

The Goodyear Ducaro GA appears to be an asymmetrical tyre. On asymmetrical tyres there typically is a marking on the tyre indicating that that side should be on the OUTSIDE. So it seems that your right side tyres are not fitted correctly.

I am not sure what is the impact of fitting an asymmetrical tyre wrongly. My guess is that it should affect only lateral grip (that is, in cornering situations) and should not make any difference to straight lline situations. I am sure the experts can throw more light on this.

cheap_deal · 2nd April 2006, 13:10

i too have a problem with my alignment which was done recently.
the car goes in a straight line only when steering wheel is turned slightly to the left (only then are the tyres pointing straight). can the steering wheel be removed and fixed? or should i do an alignment again at
a different place?
ive attached the alignemnt and wheel balancing reports
also arent a few weights a bit on the heavy side (range frm 30gms-75gms!!)

the tyres seem to be in good shape with no uneven wear and steering wheel has no vibration either at higher speeds, thought it feels a bit uneasy under heavy breaking.

inputs from you guys on what i should get checked would be helpful
thanks

humyum · 15th March 2009, 09:59

My Swift Diesel compelted 5000 km and i thought it was time to get the tyres rotated as it had been a pedal to metal kilometers some of them over smooth roads though.The tyres are 185/70/R14 and the alloys are Swift ZXI alloys.

Asked the tyre guy 'sign' tyres at Mumbai Sion road to rotate them and the tyres being mounted in the front should be checked for balancing also.

Surprisingly in 5000 km the back tyres which were to be mounted in the front had lost its balance and needed to be balanced again.I am surprised HOW ? I thought alloys wheels balancing lasted long.

Also after the rotating was done and i was on my way the ride become bumpier.I could feel the steering go a little up and down.Narrowed it down to faulty balancing and went to another guy for balancing.

To my surprise the balancing done by sign tyres was faulty.Now we put the spare wheel on the front left side and the left side tyre as stepney.

This left side tyre being in the spare had a tyre pressure of 29 when i checked later and the other right tyre had 32 in the front and 31 behind

Before the 5000 km rotating i used to keep 32 in the front and 31 behind too but with the tyres rotated how come this pressure seems high ?

How come the ride is bumpier with this setup after the rotating and before the rotation it used to be perfect ?

Really confused, thinking about puttting the pressure to 30 in all tyres.Is that fine ?

Nikhilb2008 · 15th March 2009, 19:10

First of all, for our roads, 5000kms is the correct interval for balancing. Of course, some people's experience may vary, but on the whole 5k kms is a good interval.

Also, how are you measuring the pressures? If you are using different gauges, then maybe that is to blame. Buy a gauge for yourself and use that only to measure the gauges. Then experiment with a few different settings andf find the most comfortable one.

mithun · 9th July 2009, 10:58

Yesterday, I had a puncture on front left tyre and I changed the tyre myself.

Is there any need for alignment/balancing now ? I had done the alignment check before 2000 KMS.

trrk · 9th July 2009, 13:38

Hi,

Quote:

Originally Posted by mithun

Yesterday, I had a puncture on front left tyre and I changed the tyre myself.

Is there any need for alignment/balancing now ? I had done the alignment check before 2000 KMS.

If you have repaired it and put it back, a balancing would be good, alignment is not needed.

Try driving it at your speeds and if there is no steering vibration, you can refrain from doing the balancing too.

Nikhilb2008 · 9th July 2009, 18:56

Mithun, balancing not required if you had got the spare tyre also balanced when you last got balancing done.

Alignment definitely not required.

Anuj_Mumbai · 17th September 2009, 16:40

Hi Mithun,

You need to do balancing in below two scenarios.
1. While do puncture job, if you had accidently dropped the weights.
2. If the position of the tyre is being changed while fitting tyre back (if it Tubeless tyres, then removing tyre from the wheel and fitting back is not required, hence no question of changing the position).

Hi Everyone,

As far as I know, with all new cars (I am excluding Mercedes) the only adjustment with regards to alignment is done is toe the other two angles viz. Camber and Castor are fix and no adjustment can be done. In most scenario with all new cars there is no need to have these angles get adjusted due type of suspension (unless chassis gets problem).

Anuj

rjalihal · 7th January 2010, 15:09

Hello all,
I have a query regarding wheel alignment. I have a 2002 model Zen which runs on Bridgestone radials (steel rims). No matter how many times i giver her for wheel alignment, after a few days it starts pulling left when the steering wheel is left untouched. I know Bangalore has bad roads, but i am a careful driver. Could anyone please tell me how to rectify this?

Jaggu · 7th January 2010, 15:19

Have you tried rotating the tires and see if the pull goes off? How many kms have the car done, was any suspension job done on it?

10th August 2005, 15:15	#16
Surprise Senior - BHPian Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Chennai Posts: 2,523 Thanked: 454 Times	Did the wheel alignment this morning. Herewith Iam attaching the report for the same. Also the guy changed the front wheels to back and the back one to front. Will this have any impact? Also would like to know what's wheel balancing?
	() Thanks

10th August 2005, 15:28	#17
Xsailor BHPian Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Noida Posts: 128 Thanked: 0 Times	Some decent info is available here http://www.kwik-fit.com/wheel-balancing.asp PS: It is a good idea to balance your wheel after any puncture and assosiated repairs. Just balancing the wheel-in-question is enough. Cheers Last edited by Xsailor : 10th August 2005 at 15:30.
	() Thanks

13th August 2005, 17:35	#18
ananthkamath Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Mangalore Posts: 1,209 Thanked: 80 Times View My Garage	Most cars come with a 0.2-0.3 deg difference in castor between the right and left wheels...This is to take care of the 'crown' or camber of the road.....The car will normally pull very slightly to the right in Indian case(RHD) on a perfectly flat (uncambered) road... According to the report: - 1) You are running negative camber on the left...For a road car I have never seen negative camber being run...Change to +40 mins on the left and see what happens...As it is now, your left tyre may wear out faster. 2) Your toe-out on the left wheel was 25 mins, which is more than right wheel at 16 mins....That s probably why your car was pulling to the left on a cambered road...If you had driven on the right side of the same road, it would have pulled to the right though not as abruptly... My suggestion is, go to another one or two alignment places and see if the same settings show up....My money says you will get as many readings as the no. of places you go to...This is my personal experience...On the same day, I went to 3 different places and got 3 different readings... Try this and come back with the results...Also, pm MPower, he might be able to help... Last edited by ananthkamath : 13th August 2005 at 17:52.
	() Thanks

2nd April 2006, 13:10	#22
cheap_deal BHPian Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: unknown Posts: 465 Thanked: 8 Times	i too have a problem with my alignment which was done recently. the car goes in a straight line only when steering wheel is turned slightly to the left (only then are the tyres pointing straight). can the steering wheel be removed and fixed? or should i do an alignment again at a different place? ive attached the alignemnt and wheel balancing reports also arent a few weights a bit on the heavy side (range frm 30gms-75gms!!) the tyres seem to be in good shape with no uneven wear and steering wheel has no vibration either at higher speeds, thought it feels a bit uneasy under heavy breaking. inputs from you guys on what i should get checked would be helpful thanks
	() Thanks

15th March 2009, 09:59	#23
humyum Senior - BHPian Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Mumbai Posts: 2,752 Thanked: 5,431 Times	Balancing/Tyre pressure/What? Swift My Swift Diesel compelted 5000 km and i thought it was time to get the tyres rotated as it had been a pedal to metal kilometers some of them over smooth roads though.The tyres are 185/70/R14 and the alloys are Swift ZXI alloys. Asked the tyre guy 'sign' tyres at Mumbai Sion road to rotate them and the tyres being mounted in the front should be checked for balancing also. Surprisingly in 5000 km the back tyres which were to be mounted in the front had lost its balance and needed to be balanced again.I am surprised HOW ? I thought alloys wheels balancing lasted long. Also after the rotating was done and i was on my way the ride become bumpier.I could feel the steering go a little up and down.Narrowed it down to faulty balancing and went to another guy for balancing. To my surprise the balancing done by sign tyres was faulty.Now we put the spare wheel on the front left side and the left side tyre as stepney. This left side tyre being in the spare had a tyre pressure of 29 when i checked later and the other right tyre had 32 in the front and 31 behind Before the 5000 km rotating i used to keep 32 in the front and 31 behind too but with the tyres rotated how come this pressure seems high ? How come the ride is bumpier with this setup after the rotating and before the rotation it used to be perfect ? Really confused, thinking about puttting the pressure to 30 in all tyres.Is that fine ?
	() Thanks

15th March 2009, 19:10	#24
Nikhilb2008 Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Bangalore Posts: 5,196 Thanked: 10,138 Times	First of all, for our roads, 5000kms is the correct interval for balancing. Of course, some people's experience may vary, but on the whole 5k kms is a good interval. Also, how are you measuring the pressures? If you are using different gauges, then maybe that is to blame. Buy a gauge for yourself and use that only to measure the gauges. Then experiment with a few different settings andf find the most comfortable one.
	() Thanks

9th July 2009, 10:58	#25
mithun BANNED Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Cochin Posts: 2,195 Thanked: 268 Times	Yesterday, I had a puncture on front left tyre and I changed the tyre myself. Is there any need for alignment/balancing now ? I had done the alignment check before 2000 KMS.
	() Thanks

9th July 2009, 18:56	#27
Nikhilb2008 Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Bangalore Posts: 5,196 Thanked: 10,138 Times	Mithun, balancing not required if you had got the spare tyre also balanced when you last got balancing done. Alignment definitely not required.
	() Thanks

17th September 2009, 16:40	#28
Anuj_Mumbai BHPian Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Mumbai Posts: 57 Thanked: Once	Hi Mithun, You need to do balancing in below two scenarios. 1. While do puncture job, if you had accidently dropped the weights. 2. If the position of the tyre is being changed while fitting tyre back (if it Tubeless tyres, then removing tyre from the wheel and fitting back is not required, hence no question of changing the position). Hi Everyone, As far as I know, with all new cars (I am excluding Mercedes) the only adjustment with regards to alignment is done is toe the other two angles viz. Camber and Castor are fix and no adjustment can be done. In most scenario with all new cars there is no need to have these angles get adjusted due type of suspension (unless chassis gets problem). Anuj
	() Thanks

7th January 2010, 15:09	#29
rjalihal BHPian Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Bangalore Posts: 713 Thanked: 100 Times	Wheel Alignment issue Hello all, I have a query regarding wheel alignment. I have a 2002 model Zen which runs on Bridgestone radials (steel rims). No matter how many times i giver her for wheel alignment, after a few days it starts pulling left when the steering wheel is left untouched. I know Bangalore has bad roads, but i am a careful driver. Could anyone please tell me how to rectify this?
	() Thanks

7th January 2010, 15:19	#30
Jaggu Team-BHP Support Join Date: May 2004 Location: Bangalore Posts: 20,215 Thanked: 15,907 Times	Have you tried rotating the tires and see if the pull goes off? How many kms have the car done, was any suspension job done on it?
	() Thanks