Should I Balance My New Tires?

fj12ryder wrote:

wilber1 wrote:
How do you know it isn't balanced? Even if it isn't, why would you add to your problems by adding another unbalanced component that could exaggerate any imbalance? There is more mass and a lot longer arm (radius) to a wheel and tire than a drum. The outside surface of a 235/80R16 ST tire is traveling over 2.5 times faster than the outside surface of a 12" drum.

And probably 2 or 3 times as much mass moving out there too.

Drums are heavy but kinetic energy increases as the square of speed. A 2 oz imbalance at the surface of a 31 inch diameter wheel will have the same effect as a 12.5 oz imbalance on the surface of a 12 inch drum. When you balance a wheel and tire, you are balancing the whole assembly regardless of where you put the weight.