Should I Balance My New Tires?

mike-s wrote:

JIMNLIN wrote:
One of my truck tire dealers will not balance a tire, used in a trailer position, on a machine but if asked to do so will balance a tire on a trailer only with the old spin the tire/wheel/hub assy on the trailer....then match marks them. That way when the wheels are removed for bearing/brake service they stay clocked in balance position.

Yep. Unless the brake hubs are balanced separately, doing just the tires/wheels can make things better or worse. You can also make things better or worse simply based on how the hub/wheel are clocked.

Find a shop with one of these, and mark a stud and wheel hole so they always get clocked the same.

So you don't balance the wheels/tires on your car either? Many shops balance tires off the vehicle, so what's the difference. I do agree that balancing on the vehicle is best, but sometimes that simply isn't done.