Wheel balancing offers a great way to keep your ride smooth, enhance gas mileage, and extend the life of your tires. With that understood, let’s talk about cost. With such a variability in pricing, how do you know what you should be paying?
We will outline the typical price for a 4-wheel balance so you can learn about the different factors that go into the pricing, allowing you to be informed when your technician tries to sell you on this mileage-enhancing service the next time you are in for maintenance.
What Is Wheel Balancing?
Tire or wheel balancing is a process used to counteract uneven heavy spots on a car’s wheel/tire combination. When balancing a wheel, the wheel is weighted so that it offsets the “function of inherent inconsistencies” used by the tire while also including the wheel.
The weight is added in such a way as to create a “balance” under which no part of the tire/wheel combination is heavier than any other part.
Tire balancing is usually performed with a piece of specialty equipment called a balancing machine. A balancing machine spins a tire/wheel combination at high speeds while measuring irregularities in weight/form.
The computer in the balancing machine uses a sequence of mathematics to determine specifically where additional weight should be located.
Weight is added to the wheels in one of two ways. The first, and most common way to add weight in the tire balancing process, is standard hammer-on wheel weights. The alternative is stick weights, which are also used in the same way, except these weights attach to the inner diameter of the wheel using adhesion to retain the weight.
Static vs Dynamic Balancing
There are two major types of tire balancing procedures, one of which is static in nature, while the other is dynamic.
- Static balancing refers to balancing that occurs on a single plane of reference, or centrally through the middle axis of the hub itself.
- Meanwhile, dynamic balancing relates to three individual planes, thereby compensating for runout from any angle.
Currently, dynamic balancing is the only truly acceptable way of balancing a tire to any degree of accuracy. The idea of static balancing is now viewed as antiquated in nature and falls short of the industry standard.
How Much Does Wheel Balancing Cost?
The average wheel balancing cost ranges between $60 -$120 for all four wheels on your car. However, a general average cost is $10 to $30 per wheel depending on the make and model of your vehicle and what the service provider charges.
Typically, wheel balancing services from car dealers will be at a higher price than those of a tire shop (Discount Tire, Le Schwab, etc.), Costco, alignment shops, or independent auto repair shops.
For example, most tire shop chains will charge about $15 per wheel to balance your four wheels, compared to the dealership price of between $20 – $30 per wheel based on the make and model of your vehicle.
Also, various vehicle service stations provide the same balancing for your four wheels at a cost – a total of about $3 – $12 per wheel or tire. A complete wheel balancing takes into account tire mounting and tire rotation. Tire mounting is placing the tire on the wheel, while tire rotation is changing the respective locations of individual tires on the vehicle.
For instance, for the four wheels of one tire, some automotive repair stations charge an average of $40 for balancing, $20 for mounting, and $12 for rotation. Which is a total of $72, or they will provide a package deal for $48, which includes wheel rotation, tire mounting, wheel balancing, and a new valve stem for all four tires.
Often, tire repair shops and dealership service departments run specials and discount coupon offers for car owners. You should look for them and take advantage of that to reduce your car maintenance costs significantly.
I suggest you service your car at one or two shops only as many of them provide coupons on a periodic basis to their loyal customers. Some tire stores and auto repair shops also try to entice new customers to come in by providing coupon offers upon sign up.
You can use the offers to reduce the cost of the car maintenance, including wheel balancing.
Next time you feel an odd vibration through your car’s steering wheel regardless of the speed you’re going, wheel balancing is usually what is needed to feel normal again.
Briefly, the tire has unevenly balanced mass and causes a constant vibration which transfers to the steering wheel through the suspension system causing the steering shake.
Wheel Balancing cost by Location
The cost of wheel balancing can vary when comparing high-cost metropolitan areas to rural areas. The biggest influence on wheel balancing prices will be your location of residence.
Major Metro Areas: $70 – $150
Major metropolitan areas such as New York City, Los Angeles, and Chicago are going to have the highest rates, especially if you are closer to the metropolitan area and city. They also have some of the highest specialty and dealer rates in the country and charge between $25 – $35 per wheel. With so many repair options and the cost of convenience, prices tend to be higher.
Mid-Sized Cities: $60 – $120
Mid-sized urban areas (Atlanta, Denver, Austin) have way more variation in costs. Discount tire shops may offer rates as low as $15 per wheel, while certain dealerships or tire specialty shops may charge upwards of $30 per wheel.
Small Towns: $40 – $80
Rural and very small towns will have the lowest wheel balancing rates. In small towns, customers can have a wheel balanced for around $10 – $20 per wheel at general repair shops. They have lower overhead, which allows more flexibility in pricing.
Coastal Areas: $60 – $110
After controlling for metropolitan area, coastal geographical areas like California and the Northeast still carry a premium cost. With a much higher cost of living and larger population, they can charge higher rates to meet the high demand for balancing.
Central U.S.: $50 – $75
Meanwhile, in the Midwest, South, and Central Plains, you’ll have the cheapest wheel balancing rates. Lower population density translates to more competitive (less gouging) pricing to attract business, especially people from hundreds of miles away.
The price you pay will always depend on numerous factors, but clearly location is larger one. Whatever you end up paying is not just based on what shop you go to, you should always call around and ask for quotes, since often times there are cheaper options available, even in the most expensive places, if you are willing to look for them.
Just keep going to different shops until you find one with competitive prices and reliable service.
When Is Wheel Balancing Needed?
The first indicator that you need to get your wheels balanced is after you put new tires on, and new tires are mounted on your wheels. In addition to this, wheel balancing is required any time wheels are changed; for example, if you change stock wheels to aftermarket wheels.
If you ever notice your steering wheel shaking abnormally, you’ll likely need to balance your wheels. There is a chance that one of the weights is missing on your wheel, or it could totally different; it doesn’t matter, wheel balancing will not hurt even if it’s just for diagnostic purposes.
How Do Wheels Get Balanced?
There are a few different kinds of equipment and weights that shops use for wheel balancing. Knowing some of the common methods, will give you a better understanding of the process.
Bubble Balancers
Bubble wheel balancers, which are still used today, have built-in levels that allow it to measure the balance as the tire spins through a level process.
As the bubble finder turns, as an example, the technician adjusts the weight as needed in order to keep the bubble centered. This process is a much more time consuming as compared to the computerized balancers.
Computerized Balancers
With modern computerized balancers, the machine spins the wheel and works with fancy electronic sensors to get the exact amount and the actual location that the weights will be placed during the process of balancing the wheel.
The wheel-balancing machine spins the wheel for approximately 10-15 seconds to determine balance as it rotates. A certified mechanic can see the location of the weights, so they can accurately place the weights, ensuring an optimized rotating wheel on the road.
Stick-On Weights
The most common weights put on tires are sticky weights, which are glued to the inner or outer part of the wheel rim. The weights come in various shapes and sizes to help make a specific balance. Stick-on weights are easy to apply, but they can come off over time.
Clip-On Weights
There are also clip-on weights, which are clipped to the flange of the wheel rim, using a durable steel clip to hold them.
These traditional types of weights went out of favor because of corrosion problems, but they will attach securely to the wheel rim for better balancing than standard sticky weights.
However, if they are not carefully installed, the clippings can cause minor damage to the wheel.
What Happens When Tires Are Unbalanced?
Unbalanced tires have several symptoms that can, in turn, lead to unneeded wear on your vehicle as: uneven wear on tires, vibrations in wheel, poor gas mileage, and many others.
Along with wheel alignments, tire balancing is a form of necessary tire maintenance. Unbalanced tires can show symptoms that are similar to a bad wheel alignment.
How Long Does Tire Balancing Take?
In any case, it typically only takes about 1 hour to get a car’s tires balanced. But the time needed to perform this task can vary greatly based on the exact tire size and type of tire to get balanced.
Small tires with hammer-on weights take very little time to balance. However, heavier tires that use sticky weights will take relatively longer, given the heavier tire’s weight distribution.
Also, keep in mind the additional wait time of prospective shops, at the time you are taking the vehicle. You can get lucky and find a shop that is less busy, but many tire shops that offer such service will often take 1-2 hours before service even starts (time to get a bay and a registered technician).
Can Tire Balancing Be Done At Home?
In some cases, a person could balance out their tire at home without a tire balancing machine.
Commonly, at home trees can balance out their tires properly using a bubble blancer (like this), or similar tool that can be purchased cheaply at discount tool stores such as Harbor Freight, or, online at places such as Amazon.com.
While this type of balancing can be utilized most of the time, it is important to remember this balancing is sighed only, and not a dynamic measurement.
Perhaps, for some, the value of simplicity in taking their car in for balancing outweighs the perceived monetary savings of providing this basic tire maintenance themselves. Especially considering the number of shops which offer “lifetime” rotation and balance for a small justified fee.
What Can Happen If You Don’t Balance?
Getting your tires balanced is critical for a number of reasons, including those associated with premature wear on tires.
Tires that are balanced poorly, as described about, will usually vibrate significantly and will result being skewed across a paved surface while tires are rolling. Over time, this resulted in irregular, choppy treadwear, which will cause a tire’s lifespan to be lowered much further in the long run.
Unbalanced tires will also make it difficult to achieve the best way to have ride comfort. As discussed, an unbalanced tire will tend to vibrate excessively, and as a result, some of this vibration will be transferred into the fulfillment of a vehicle’s comfort response by causing vibration to the vehicle’s chassis.
These vibrations will then ne further transferred from vertical travel through the steering wheel and or driver seat or take suspension (struts/and or shocks), depending on the vehicle’s overall comfort design.