The simple answer, no. Having your tires balanced is ensuring that they are inflated to the optimal tire pressure the manufacture designed them to be set at, alignment on the other hand is ensuring that the frame of your vehicle is straightened out to remove the chances of your vehicle pulling or drifting off the road, along with a dangerous string of after effects.

Wheel alignment and wheel balancing are separate services, but they are commonly confused for one another. Both are important and very necessary for enhancing the life and performance of your tires and vehicle. Wheel balancing should be performed more frequently, while a wheel alignment should not be needed as often.

Why would I balance my tires but not get an alignment?

It is important to get your tires balanced and rotated. This is just good maintenance on your vehicle, especially if you have a two-wheel or front wheel drive vehicle. Balancing and rotating your tires helps the tires wear at an even rate and ensures that your tires, once balanced, won’t be prone to popping due to uneven wearing or rubbing against the rim.

Having your vehicle aligned is also proper care and maintenance of your vehicle, it is always better to give proper maintenance instead of letting a small problem turn into a big one and expensive one! The frame of your car will, over time, start to slip out of alignment on its own. It happens when you are going over speed bumps too fast, hitting potholes, off roading, driving with uneven tires, the list continues. We, at Beyer Motor Works, advice that drivers have their vehicle aligned once a year to avoid an expensive fix later to your frame or axis. 

What is the difference of services?

Sadly, it is inevitable, wheels lose balance over time, so performing a balancing service is necessary. As your tires tread wears, sometimes that can cause the weight distribution to change. Eventually, this leads to your tires being imbalanced. When you have your wheels balancing, our technicians will use a calibrated spin balancer. Inadequately balanced tires will be adjusted to the proper balance. This service is typically performed when tires are rotated on the vehicle, which is usually every 5-6,000 miles or every six months.

Now, wheel alignment is sometimes referred to as “front end alignment”. During this service, our technicians will regulate the angle of your car’s wheels to the position to the manufacturer’s specification. The entire service will include a tire tread check, an inspection of the toe, camber, and caster. Once the evaluation is complete, our technicians will perform all the necessary adjustments are made. Most tire manufacturers recommend having your alignment checked every 10,000 miles. You should also have it checked if you notice the vehicle pulling to one side, or if the vehicle has recently been in a collision.

If you have any questions or would like to schedule your tire balancing or alignment service with us at Beyer Motor Works, give us call today!