Have you ever noticed your car shaking once it gets up past 60mph? Or does your car pull to the left or right? A common misconception is that tire balancing is the solution to both of these problems. But aligning and balancing are two different services and we’ll tell you the difference! And if you purchase one of our quality cheap tires in Rochester, NY you recieve free installation, mounting, and balancing.  

Tire Balancing

The most obvious sign your tires are out of balance is the shaking/vibration in your steering wheel once you hit 60mph. So what causes your tire to become out of balance?

  • Hitting potholes

  • Breaking too hard causing flat areas

  • Wear and tear on front end ball joints, tie rods etc.

  • Snow, Ice, and mud build up

On the inside of the wheel there are weights start out evenly distributed, but due to some rough unintentional treatment, they become unbalanced. Once unbalanced, then you usually feel the shaking in your steering wheel. Treadwear will happen faster, which ultimately means you have to replace your tires more often than you would prefer. If this is the case, Hooper’s Tire Outlet has you covered as we provide the best quality cheap tires in Rochester, NY.

Wheel Alignment

A wheel alignment is usually necessary after 10,00 miles or if you have one of these indicators.

  • Inside or outside wear on tires

  • Car pulling/drifting to one side

  • Uneven wear of ball joints, tie rods, or a replaced suspension

The same causes for tire unbalance apply to wheels being knocked off alignment, which brings confusion to the everyday driver on what service they actually need.

During wheel alignment, your technician will adjust the angle of your car’s wheels to the manufacturer’s factory specifications. Service also includes toe, camber and caster checks which are major components for measuring wheel orientation. These three terms are good know the next time you have maintenance with your tires.

Camber - The inward or outward angle of the tire when looking at the tire from the front of the car.

Toe - Determining the toe alignment can be easily described like this! Look down at your feet, and angle your toes in, then out. We do the same for tires using a birds eye view! Both toe-in and toe-out alignment need adjustments.

Caster - The caster angle is the angle of your steering axis, which helps stable and balance your steering. There are positive and negative caster’s, positive has the axis tilted towards the driver while negative points towards your front bumper.

So the big difference between tire balancing and wheel alignment is the problem that you experience. If you have a shaky steering wheel, tire balancing will fix your problem. And if you’re car seems to be drifting or pulling, a wheel alignment appointment is in order. At Hooper’s Tire Outlet we sell quality cheap tires in Rochester, NY and offer free tire balancing with any installation!