Is this tire weight acceptable? Frustration with Discount Tire..

[AZ4runner08]

I wanted to post a picture of this to get your opinions. Is this tire weight acceptable? I feel its not and going back in the morning to push this issue to get resolved. I bought a brand new set of Goodyear Duratracs and have had them for about 8000 miles or so. I had a shake before and took in to be balanced, and I suspect they put the one that they can't get balanced correctly on the back to hide the issue. Yesterday I had them rotated and now I have a shake in the front again, enough where the steering wheel shakes back and forth a bit around 50-60 MPH range but goes away above 70. So I took it back today and asked them to just balance the front tires to see if they can get it resolved. They guy told me they were both off about an ounce (whatever that means) and said I am good to go now. Sure enough the steering wheel still shakes at the same speed and I am not happy considering I spent about a $1000. I know its the tires because I have brand new brakes all around including rotors, the alignment was just done recently, and most importantly when I took it in yesterday before the rotation it did not shake in the front until after the rotation. Plus the tires I replaced were smooth as butter. I am not going to accept any excuses and I am going to push them until they either get it riding smooth or replace the tire that they can't get right. I really suspect one of the tires is bad or can't be balanced correctly, and they just don't care. They are quick to do what they need to do and get you out of the store so let me know what you guys think. I had these same tires on a 3rd generation and had no issue what so ever, they were smooth for the entire course of 50,000 miles before I sold the truck.

 

[t-man]

That weight doesn't look seated to me. Also, if you keep having problems order some Tire Beads and ditch the weights. From people I know they work flawlessly and never can become unbalanced again. Make sure you get the Ceramic beads if you decide to do it.

 

[Redpoint23]

Used to work at discount for 4 years. It's the correct weight for the lip on our wheels. It should say AL on the face of the weight. The tech just didn't seat it correctly. Take a hammer and hit the weight at a downward 45* angle where it goes between the bead of the tire and the wheel (if that makes sense) the weight only looks like a .75-1.0oz so if it falls off it shouldn't really make a noticeable difference. This weights can be a PITA to get on if you don't know what you're doing. Worse case just take it back for a rebalance. It'll be free regardless

 

[RPS13]

Just seat the weight with a hammer like was said.

Check your steering component play, as worn inner or outer tie rods will cause the same shaking at a given speed range as an unbalanced wheel. Typically the unbalanced wheel is over a broader range if it's really noticeable (like say 45-75 mph), while a worn suspension component typically has a narrow window (like 62-68 mph). I chased my tail with an M3 I once owned that had vibration on the highway - turned out the inner tire rods had just enough where to where it was hard to see when shaking things, but sure enough they had about 0.0005" of play when I got them off. Enough to give quite the shake.


If you have over 100k mi on original steering components, chances are at least one component is pretty well worn.

 

[AZ4runner08]

I could have just seated the weight with a hammer but that doesn't solve the shake that I was experiencing. I went back and pushed discount and they had one of their "best" techs try to balance again and its rolling as smooth as ever. They should train all of their staff so customers don't get the shaft. When I need my wheels balanced again I will ask for this tech by name. Long story short don't settle for crappy work....

 

[Martinjmpr]

Sounds like it worked out OK.

Nice thing about DT is that at least around here you can't swing a dead cat without hitting 5 of them. Seriously there are 2 DT franchises within a mile of my house and I pass by 2 more on my way to work.

So if one DT franchise can't get it right you could always take it to a different one. :shrug:

I've been very happy with DT and I'm already shopping for my next set of tires, just have to get the wheels painted.

 

[Atlanta_man]

They do a good job, eventually. Took four visits to two different DT's to fix my slow leak a couple years ago...

 

[Buckles]

Sounds like it worked out OK.

Nice thing about DT is that at least around here you can't swing a dead cat without hitting 5 of them. Seriously there are 2 DT franchises within a mile of my house and I pass by 2 more on my way to work.

So if one DT franchise can't get it right you could always take it to a different one. :shrug:

I've been very happy with DT and I'm already shopping for my next set of tires, just have to get the wheels painted.

More than likely their machine was just out of calibration the last time you took it in. It happens, but they fix it for free. Discount tire has always been good with their customer service.

 

[AZ4runner08]

I have to agree that you have to find one store that takes good care of you. I have eliminated at least 5 different ones now and stick with this particular store even though its out of the way. However I was in there late on the first balance and it was a rush to get done. Plus they gave me the blank stare over checking the torque on the wheel spacers, and this is after my last visit them telling me "yeah no problem, we have no problem checking the torque just ask us and give us the specs". So I now will request this tech by name with no exceptions, will call ahead so I can set an appointment with him. But my pressure got the job done correctly, the truck is driving like a dream. I finally got my rear rotors and pads replaced and its like night and day.......I am loving my truck right now even though I know I need to dump another chunk of cash on it to get my timing belt and water pump done soon. :cheers: