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Context: Up until now, I had only one set of rims and 2 sets of tires (summer/winter). Every season change, I went to a shop to install the tires on the same rims. This always included balancing.

This winter, I've purchased a second set of rims with a new set of winter tires. I'm now about to switch back to the summer tires. So, changing would be: take the whole wheels with the winter tires out and put back the other whole wheels with summer tires.

Question: Does the shop need to do the balancing on the summer wheels again before installing them? It was done when the tires were installed on the rim 12 months ago.

Other info:

  • summer rims are aluminum (winter are steel).
  • over the winter (aprox 5 months), I've kept the wheels on a rack looking like this
kioleanu
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2 Answers2

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No, you don't have to balance the summer wheels again.

I have two sets (winter & summer) and swap them over with no issues.

The only time you need to get balancing re-done is when you have new tires fitted (I'm due for two summer this time) or if the weights get knocked off.

Solar Mike
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I will disagree with previous answers, but would also like to add that you would actually feel the answer to this question yourself.

A tyre loses it's tread over mileage and, as it is not a perfectly uniform material, it might need to be rebalanced to compensate for the changes in it's weight distribution. Some cars are known for very sensitive steering feedback, and will simply start shaking slightly if the wheel gets unbalanced over mileage.

As en example - I have a car that is known for being sensitive to wheel balance, with additional stiffening added to the suspension, and the steering wheel will usually start shaking slightly at highway speeds at the end of the season, which is usually around 10000km for me.

If there are no symptomps of that, you are perfecly fine with just swapping them without balancing.

Rachey
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