Wheel Balancing vs. Wheel Alignment

As part of regular vehicle maintenance, Thomasville, GA drivers should keep their wheels balanced and aligned. Usually, the wear and tear that happens to your wheels is gradual, and so you may not even realize just how bumpy and uneven your drives are. Fortunately, the service center here at Dale Earnhardt Jr Buick GMC is here to help. Learn more about wheel balancing vs. wheel alignment here, and when your tires need servicing, you can make an appointment online.

What is Wheel Balancing?

While wheel alignment and balancing are both important, wheel balancing has some noteworthy differences. Over time, wheels lose their balance, and unbalanced wheels can cause your steering wheel to shake or vibrate. When tires are unbalanced, they develop uneven levels of wear because one part of the tire is heavier than another. With properly balanced wheels, driving around Crawfordville is smooth sailing. Wheel balancing extends tire life, improves traction, and minimizes tire bounce. You should have your wheels balanced when you go in for a tire rotation, roughly every 5,000-6,000 miles or every six months.

What is Wheel Alignment?

When it comes to learning about wheel alignment and balancing, you’ll find wheel alignment is done on a case-by-case basis. When you get your wheels aligned at Dale Earnhardt Jr Buick GMC, our service technicians will ensure the tires are perpendicular to the road and parallel to each other.

When wheels are out of alignment, this can cause unnecessary, excessive, uneven tread, and wear and tear. You could also experience steering issues on your Panama City drives, so it’s important to check your alignment once you begin to detect an issue. Wheels that are not properly aligned can also cause vehicle pulling and drifting.

How to Fix Unbalanced and Unaligned Tires

Balancing wheels is done by clamping weights strategically around the insides of each wheel until the weight is distributed equally around all parts of each wheel.

To correct unaligned tires, mechanics will measure the camber, toe, and caster of each tire. Changing the way your tires tilt to the outside, inside, front, and back, makes your car drive smoother and helps to conserve fuel.

Get Your Wheels Balanced and Aligned at Dale Earnhardt Jr Buick GMC

Now that you know about wheel balancing vs. wheel alignment, trust the skilled service team at our Tallahassee service center to get the job done. With plenty of new and used vehicles to choose from, Dale Earnhardt Jr Buick GMC is your local source for vehicle sales and service. Contact us to learn more today!