Everybody makes mistakes! We are only human after all. So it’s no surprise that mistakes often occur in tyre shops up and down the country when balancing wheels, no matter how advanced the balancer.

Of course, having specialist garage equipment that is reliable and features advanced specifications will minimise this risk and make your job easier. It can help to eliminate a few of these points. However, knowing the common issues to look out for is the easiest way to error-proofing your wheel balancing operation.

Tyre Mounting & Wheel Balancing Mistakes

Mounting: Internally clamping a black wheel

No garage wants an unhappy customer.

When clamping a pristine black wheel on a table top tyre changer, be sure to take extra care to avoid bite marks / scratches / removed paint coating.

Rushing when using youR tyre changer will result in the claws grabbing at the wheel quickly and without control. You may think you’re getting a faster turn around but you could be paying the price for reckless inaccuracies.

Balancing: Careless weight placement

If you use a standard wheel balancer, it can be difficult to position knock-on and self-adhesive weights in the correct place for accurate balancing.

The simple answer – get to know the profile of the tyre to perform more accurate weight placement.

Specialist equipment from our range of wheel balancers provide a more reliable solution to continuous balancing – some of our machines come equipped with lasers for perfect placement.

Mounting: TPMS Damage

We know it sounds simple and is often down to the user not paying attention, but TPMS damage often occurs when mounting the wheel to a tyre changer. It is easy to locate the position of the TPMS on the tyre, unfortunately, this is commonly overlooked and can then cause further issues for your garage and the customer.

Simply check the location of TPMS before mounting the tyre – easy as that!

Balancing: Failure to even consider centering the wheel

Never miss the critical steps when balancing!

As one of the most commonly overlooked steps to wheel balancing, centering the wheel is the critical first step. Ensuring the wheel is centred when balancing, helps to emulate the same conditions when it is on the vehicle.

Mounting: Bead not properly placed on the mount head

Unsurprisingly the biggest cause for issues and/or damage to the tyre when changing the tyre is the misplacement of the bead on the mount head.

Again, absolute concentration to avoid human error is a must to escape the risk of damage to the tyre. Many fitters cause issues by not making sure the placement is correct, meaning the bead is prevented from climbing over the mount head.

Balancing: Not centering the wheel correctly on the balancer

Usually, the back side of the wheel is used for centering the wheel on a balancer; however many fitters insist on front coning, as that is what they have always done. This is the main cause of inaccurate centering.

Worn equipment and the residing cones can sometimes cause the tyre to be off centre on the balancer, so it is always important to ensure your equipment is in perfect working condition.

Want to explore our specialist garage equipment with features to avoid these issues? Check out our packages online or for more information, get in touch on 01527 883 580 to discuss in more detail.