So you brought your car in for a standard oil change and a little brake repair, only to be told that your wheels were unbalanced. Now what? What does having an unbalanced wheel even mean? If you haven’t been noticing a little wobble in your wheel when you drive, then the imbalance might not be too bad, but over time a great deal of damage can be done to your tires, their bearings, your shocks, and more. Unless you want to take your chances with your suspension system and tire quality, it’s best to get repairs done as soon as possible. These are the three questions you should ask a specialist before you have them perform rim mounting and balancing.
How will I know if I need rim mounting and balancing in the future?
Hopefully, the specialist will do more than just say that you should give him a call to check for you. There are signs that a tire may be unbalanced, and the specialist should be able to educate you on what to look for. For example, when travelling at highway speeds (upwards of 50 mph) you may feel your car vibrating, or just the wheel vibrating. Also, certain wear patterns are indicative of unbalanced wheels. This wear will most commonly occur on the outer and inner portions of the tire.
Are my rims really awful looking?
You may have become desensitized to the appearance of your rims. However, a rim specialist will have a good idea of which scratches and uneven portions are worth fixing. Depending on the condition of your rims, they might recommend rim painting, rim refinishing, or rim straightening to restore a respectable appearance to your wheels.
Can you take care of that ding in the car door?
After your rims are looking almost like new, you may start to notice other imperfections in your car. Some specialists are able to do minor autobody repair in addition to rim mounting and balancing. It never hurts to ask, especially if the specialist can work on location, saving you a trip to an autobody repair shop.
Rim repair is not something that everyone is familiar with, but you will discover that working with a specialist is not much different than any other autobody or repair experience. Just remember to ask these three questions so that you can understand wheel rim maintenance a little bit better, and get your car looking like it belongs to someone with at least a little driving experience. Read this website for more information.
