Mike in Atlanta

How much better is "high speed on-car tire balancing"? I understand the premise.....it spins the wheel/tire faster than normal balancing machines, and being on-car would factor in any balance deviations in the hub........

BUT, does it really make that much difference?

Here in Atlanta, a specialty tire shop does it for $15 per tire over the cost of regular off-car balancing.

TubeDriver

Is that a good idea with a torsen LSD?

SC_Highlander

It's a downright BAD idea!!! Especially if one wheel is still on the ground and the other is getting spun!

Mike in Atlanta

Let's not get silly, here. How would you even do that on an S?? (spin balance one rear with the other still on the ground). This is arguably the best high performance tire shop in Atlanta, with all the top equipment. They know what they are doing, and are not going to recommend anything that would damage the differential or anything else.

Back to reality, the question is, does the high speed on-car balancing provide noticeably different results (worth an extra $15 per tire), or is it a nice extra that really isn't necessary?

s2kjones

You are talking about Butler tire. Yes, they are very good at what they do.

As far as the high speed on car balance, a lot of Atlanta members swear by it. I never can keep tires on my car long enough to justify the cost.

S2KANDRE

if you drive over 100mph more than the average person, i say go do it, and tell us what kind of results you see

CrazyPhuD

Who do you trust more....Honda who designed the car or some wheel shop...In the Helm Manual it explicitly states to avoid on car wheel balancers...Do so at your own risk....

Mike in Atlanta

With respect to the Helm Manual, I would assume it refers to the rear axle only.

I inquired about how the on-car balancing works; for a non-drive axle, the machine spins and reads the tires. For a drive axle, the car spins the tires and the machine just reads it (both tires are read at the same time with the car elevated).

Since the car engine is spinning the tires, and the tires are not restricted, I would assume this is how the process is accomplished without harming the differential.

On further inquiry as to how much better it is than standard spin balancing, he said that is probably not as beneficial on a stock set-up (like mine) as it would be with after market wheels, different than stock offsets, tires, etc. He said that the SUVs running 21" wheels are an extreme example of it being necessary to do on-car balancing.

So while it sounds safe, it doesn't sound like it will make a noticeable difference in my situation. (for the record, I have found that several S2000 owners in the Atlanta area use this shop and swear by this on-car balancing and have experienced no harm to their differentials)