Install & Balancing

Tire installation and wheel balancing

Jang Mobile Tire Service mounts and balances tires across Oshawa and Durham Region. Balancing corrects the weight distribution around each wheel so the set runs smoothly at highway speed instead of vibrating through the wheel. Call 437-788-3377 to arrange fitting where the vehicle is parked.

Call 437-788-3377 Request a quote

A technician fitting measuring equipment to the rear wheel of a car raised on a ramp to check the balance

Key facts

What balancing does: Corrects small weight differences around a wheel so it does not vibrate at speed. Every newly mounted tire needs it.
Phone: 437-788-3377
Symptoms it fixes: A steering wheel that shakes at highway speed, or a vibration through the seat that grows with speed.
What it does not fix: Alignment problems. Balancing stops vibration; it does not stop a car pulling to one side or wearing one tread edge.
What it costs: Call for a quote, priced per wheel.

What the visit includes

Tires mounted onto the rims without damaging the bead or the wheel face
Each wheel balanced and corrective weights fitted
Valve stems checked, and replaced where they are perished
Pressures set cold to the door placard figure
Lug nuts torqued to specification in a star pattern

What to have ready

The wheels or the vehicle accessible on level ground
The wheel lock key if the vehicle has locking nuts
Any note of which corner a vibration is coming from, if you have noticed one

Why does a new tire need balancing at all?

No tire is perfectly uniform, and neither is any wheel. The difference is small — often a matter of grams — but a wheel turning around eight hundred times a minute at highway speed turns a few grams of imbalance into a vibration you can feel through the steering wheel and the floor. Balancing finds where that heavy spot sits and counteracts it with small weights on the rim. It is the difference between a new set feeling right and a new set feeling worse than the one it replaced.

What is the difference between balancing and alignment?

They fix different complaints and are often confused. Balancing addresses vibration: a shake that appears at a particular speed and gets worse as you accelerate. Alignment addresses direction and wear: a car that pulls to one side, a steering wheel that sits off-centre on a straight road, or tires wearing faster on one edge than the other. A newly mounted tire always needs balancing. Alignment is a separate job that needs a vehicle on a rack, which is not mobile work.

How often should wheels be rebalanced?

Whenever a tire is newly mounted, and again if a vibration appears that was not there before. Balance is not permanent — hitting a pothole hard enough can throw a wheel out, and wheel weights do occasionally come off, particularly on the stick-on weights used inside alloy rims. Around Durham Region the winter freeze-thaw cycle is hard on road surfaces, so a vibration appearing in early spring is common and usually a balance issue rather than anything more serious.

Common questions

Can wheel balancing be done at my house?

Yes. Jang Mobile Tire Service carries the equipment to the vehicle, so balancing happens where the car is parked in Oshawa or anywhere across Durham Region rather than at a shop. What the job needs is level ground and enough space to work around the vehicle. Call 437-788-3377 to arrange it.

Why does my steering wheel shake at 100 km/h?

A shake that appears in a particular speed range and worsens with speed is usually a wheel out of balance, often after a pothole or a lost wheel weight. A shake felt mainly through the seat rather than the steering wheel more often points to a rear wheel. Either is worth checking early, because an unbalanced wheel wears the tire unevenly as well as being unpleasant.

Do I need new valve stems with new tires?

Usually worth doing, because rubber valve stems perish with age and heat, and a stem that fails deflates a brand-new tire. Replacing them while the tire is already off the rim costs very little; replacing one afterwards means dismounting the tire again. Jang Mobile Tire Service checks the stems during fitting and will tell you when they should be changed.