When tires are manufactured, there is typically a high or low spot in the construction. These high and low spots create a heavy spot or spots. Heavy spots cause a vibration in the axle that holds the wheel and leads to a vibration throughout the whole car. For this reason, most tire shops balance all new tires and any used tire that is removed from the rim. Balancing the tire involves spinning the tire on a machine and hammering a weight on the rim to counter the heavy spot(s) in the tire.
Remove any old wheel weights from the rim using the back of the wheel weight hammer to grab the weights and pull them off.
Mount the tire and rim assembly on the wheel balancing machine and input the necessary measurements into the machine. This process varies greatly between machines, so refer to your machine's instruction manual for the exact process.
Spin the wheel and tire assembly, using the balancing machine. Refer to your instruction manual for the exact process.
Read the balancing machine's screen; it informs you where to put each weight.
Locate the area on the tire that the machine says needs weight. Place the wheel weight on the rim so the clasp is over the rim's lip, where the rim and tire come together. Lightly tap the wheel weight until the clasp seats around the lip.
Repeat Step 4 for the other side of the tire, if necessary. Not all tires will require a weight on both sides.
Remove the wheel and tire from the balancing machine.
