The best way to ensure that you enjoy a safe ride and responsive handling on Minnetonka-area roads, is important to keep up to date with your automotive tire maintenance and service. Along with regular tire rotations, wheel alignment and balancing will help improve ride quality and safety, as well as prolong the life of your tires. Learn more about wheel balancing vs. wheel alignment in this guide from the experts in the Motorwerks MINI service center, and if your vehicle is in need of wheel balancing or alignment, schedule an appointment with us in Golden Valley today!
What is Wheel Balancing Service?
Wheel balancing is a specialized service that balances the weight of a tire and wheel assembly so that it turns evenly at high speeds. Balancing requires putting a mounted wheel and tire on a balancer, which centers the wheel and spins it to determine where the balancing weights should go. Over the course of daily driving in the St Louis Park area, the wheels on your vehicle will eventually get out of balance. This can lead to problems such as:
- Shaking or vibrating in the steering wheel
- Uneven tread wear
- Steering and handling issues
With wheel balancing service at Motorwerks MINI, you can count on improved traction and even tread wear, which will extend the life of your tires. It is recommended that you have the wheels balanced with each tire rotation.
What is Wheel Alignment Service?
What’s the difference between wheel alignment vs. balance? Wheel alignment service consists of adjusting the wheels so that the tires are perpendicular to the road and parallel to each other. This enhances your safety while improving handling and control on the Minneapolis roads. While wheel alignment isn’t a part of your routine maintenance schedule, it is still something that should be done every two or three years.
Wheels typically become misaligned as the result of a collision, running over a pothole, or hitting a curb. If your wheels are out of alignment, you will likely experience:
- Increased wear and tear on tires
- Misaligned steering wheel when driving straight
- Noise from the steering wheel
- Vehicle pulling to the right or left
Wheel Alignment vs. Balance: Which Do You Need?
Now that you have an idea of the difference between wheel balancing vs. wheel alignment, it should be easier for you to determine which service you need. If your car pulls to the right or left as you drive along Golden Valley streets, then you should schedule a wheel alignment at Motorwerks MINI. If your steering wheel vibrates under normal driving conditions, a wheel balancing service may be required. In either case, you can depend on the certified technicians at Motorwerks MINI to quickly diagnose the problem and get you safely back on the road with as little downtime as possible.
Schedule Wheel Alignment and Balancing at Motorwerks MINI
The service team at Motorwerks MINI is here to handle all of your MINI Cooper maintenance and service needs. If you’d like to know more about wheel alignment vs. balance or if you want to find out how much wheel alignment and balancing costs, contact our service center. Meanwhile, take a look at our current service specials and coupons to see how much you can save on your next MINI Cooper service.
