Wheel balancing mid tyre life?

[d215yq]

Is it normal to have to balance tyres mid life? I'm starting to get vibrations through steering wheel at 65-70mph. All 4 Tyres are 2,5 yrs old/50k miles, still have 4.5-5mm (rears and fronts are pretty much the same). The way I drive I'd expect another 35k out of them.

Is it worth rebalancing them (25Eur for front 2 which sounds a rip off but is best price I can get) or just replacing them as they are likely out of shape, etc (100Eur for front 2). Should I worry about the rear's too?

I've never had to rebalanced wheels before

 

[EmilysDad]

Have you just not lost a weight?

 

[LostKiwi]

Its not unheard of to have to rebalance at midlife.
The reason tyres need balancing at all is due to variations in density throughout the carcass so any wear will obviously change the distribution of weight in the carcass too. Normally its quite small changes but on occasion it can require rebalancing. Especially true for cheap chinese tyres.

 

[umblecumbuz]

That's a subjective decision, really.

Only you can determine if the vibration level is more palatable than forking out €25.

Presume you've already confirmed that the vibration is tyre related.
Vibration can of course do other damage.

 

[John Laidlaw]

50k miles and you’ve still 4.5mm tread....sorcery I say
Worth rebalancing you will, as you say get another 35k miles out of them!

 

[d215yq]

Presume you've already confirmed that the vibration is tyre related.
Vibration can of course do other damage.

I've no idea if it's tyres or not but at this speed I thought it the most likely and certainly the cheapest thing to try. I'm happy to get it balanced if it is likely to work and not just need tyres anyway as they are oval shaped or in other ways shot. The tyres are cheap and an unrecognised brand too so wondering whether to replace them (though I would just get another cheap tyre as I have never, ever bought a recognised brand and never, ever had a problem)...seems a shame to waste them though if they just need a balance.

My other W124s delivered 50k miles on a set and then they were shot because they never wore evenly/were feathered, etc despite a few alignments etc. I picked up this one without history and have never aligned it or anything, even after a tie rod was replaced and it wears perfect on all four tyres - not sure how. My driving is almost exclusively constant speed A roads or Motorways and I have never ever had the tyres lose traction either braking cornering or accelerating in any of my W124s (except in snow) so maybe that is also why they last a fair few miles.

 

[Botus]

Its not unheard of to have to rebalance at midlife.
The reason tyres need balancing at all is due to variations in density throughout the carcass so any wear will obviously change the distribution of weight in the carcass too. Normally its quite small changes but on occasion it can require rebalancing. Especially true for cheap chinese tyres.

agree with this post.... don't forget it may not have been done well the first time.... and a weight falling off is quite common too

 

[bembo449]

also worn suspension bushes can cause vibrations on some cars so its not forced to be the tyres at fault

 

[d215yq]

also worn suspension bushes can cause vibrations on some cars so its not forced to be the tyres at fault

What suspension bushes are there on the front? The ball joints were done 2 years ago, any others to check on the suspension or do you mean the tie rods/steering assembly

 

[EmilysDad]

What suspension bushes are there on the front? The ball joints were done 2 years ago, any others to check on the suspension or do you mean the tie rods/steering assembly

I don't know the specifics of your car .... find the ball joints & then look at the other end of the arm they're fastened to, there'll be a bush at the car end.

 

[LostKiwi]

Inner end of both the top suspension arm and lower suspension arm on both sides have bushes.

 

[d215yq]

Thanks for the ideas, is it easy to check without a ramp?...I did (stupidly) take it to a place to look over after the MOT got an advisory of "steering system worn" and they said it was all old but fine, which they always say here even if it isn't. I haven't spent any money on it for nearly two years other than oil change and fuses so its probably going to need some suspension or something soon.

I assume bushes could explain it being wandery too in winds...I assume also unlike a ball joint they can't fail and the wheel fall off, just will get less precise handling/ more vibrations over time?

 

[LostKiwi]

I assume also unlike a ball joint they can't fail and the wheel fall off, just will get less precise handling/ more vibrations over time?

Yes and will often knock on bumps.
Also check the steering balljoints aren't worn (as opposed to top and bottom arm balljoints).

All the bushes are easily checked by taking the weight off the suspension and moving the joint with a prybar looking for excess movement.

 

[vtaylor78]

You say they are “Cheap” tyres , but 5mm left after 50K miles is remarkable!
What brand are they ?

 

[d215yq]

You say they are “Cheap” tyres , but 5mm left after 50K miles is remarkable!
What brand are they ?

Kingstar, I don't think they're the cheapest but are not a premium brand. To be honest, I've always got that sort of mileage in my W124s on all tyres, maybe 40k in the estate. It's just before they had to be replaced as the tyres always had 5mm on 70% and then 1mm on the inside or something like that whereas this they are perfectly even.

That said I also get mpg figures people find hard to believe too. I generally don't drive in cities, there's no real "traffic" here and it's motorways or A roads with motorway type junctions so no stopping. Tomorrow I've got a 200 mile trip and once I've done the half mile to the dual carriageway I'll need to brake/not be in 5th gear twice (two roundabouts) until I'm half a mile from my destination ...well maybe will use 4th gear to overtake a lorry or something but you get the picture