How often do you balance your tires?
 

I'm new to Lexus ownership and was surprised when the Service Adviser recommended that I balance the tires only when there is a vibration. I have always balanced the tires when doing rotations, normally at 5K miles (or the vehicle recommended interval for rotation), as normal maintenace. Looking through the 2014 GS350 Service Manual, there is no mention of tire balancing...only rotations at 10K. Every other info source I find recommends balancing at frequent intervals (3K-6K).

Anyone know why Lexus does not recommend tire balancing at frequent intervals? How often do you balance?

I buy my tires at Discount Tire, and they do excellent work. They rotate my tires free-of-charge every 5,000 miles, which automatically includes re-balancing them on their Hunter GSP9700 Road Force Balancing machine.

You only need to balance your tires once and that's when they are first installed. Unless a wheel weight falls off there is no need to balance it again. Just rotate the tires every 10k as recommended, any more that this is unnecessary. I rotate mine with my oil changes and good to go.

Rotating the tires doesn't affect the balance, because you're just moving the tires/rims from one place on the car to another. And trust me on this, once the tires are balanced, they don't have any idea where they are.

Are you a racer? Then maybe that frequent balancing. Balancing is done when new set of tires is installed. If and when problem develops then another balancing may be required. Not only Lexus, other vehicles are same.

Were you thinking alignment rather than balancing?

The process of rotating the tires of course doesn't affect the balance, but having driven on the tires for 5,000 miles certainly can affect the balance...and most often does affect the balance to some degree that requires re-balancing.

Anytime Discount Tire removes a wheel from a vehicle they will re-balance it. There is a good reason for this! I have Discount Tires rotate the tires on my vehicles every 5,000 miles. Inevitably 2 or 3 of the wheels/tires fail to balance OK and need to be re-balanced, which takes all of 60 seconds' time. This happens regardless of tire brand, size, age, vehicle, etc. The re-balance adjustment my be minor, but nevertheless re-balancing was needed. If you don't believe this, drop by a Discount Tire store and ask one of their employees how often rotated wheels/tires need to be re-balanced. Or better still, drop by and watch any vehicle that is having its tires rotated and see for yourself how many fail to achieve the OK on the balancing machine and need re-balancing...

Not a racer, and alignment is definitely in my maintenance program (learned that the hard way after ruining a good set of tires on my first car). My normal practice was to get the lifetime alignment at Firestone Autocare after getting a new/used vehicle, and then buy the lifetime rotate/balance installation package when installing new tires. My previous vehicles had 5K oil change schedules, so I would get an oil change, rotate/balance, and check the alignment every 5K...peace of mind. I may have to compare Discount Tire for pricing next tire purchase if they include free balance/rotate. I'm still debating whether I can trust Firestone with the GS350...worried about the wheel care (damaging the wheel finish).

Oh, you mean every time check the balance no rebalance, right? I just follow when scheduled service reminder pops up on the dash. Whatever it is over doing is wasteful.
Under doing is as bad.

Couldn't agree more which is one of the reasons why I always buy from Discount (the free balance and rotate). Personally, I always drop it off for an hour or two at Discount to balance, rotate and check pressure every time I do an oil change (5k miles). I too have been surprised to hear 2 or 3 tires were slightly out of balance after just 5k miles.

Discount Tire does include free rotations and they automatically re-balance your wheels/tires for the lifetime of the tire. They also use a brass brush to remove rust and debris from the hub where the wheel fits against it. And, they always use the 'star' pattern when tightening your lug bolts, and they use a manual torque wrench for the final tightening of the lugs. Discount Tire is usually very competitive with their prices, but will gladly match competitive prices if necessary. Lastly, they repair flat tires free-of-charge even if you didn't buy the tires from Discount Tire, which by the way includes balancing. First rate and extremely well run tires stores...

I've never re-balanced a tire, just rotated, and do alignment with new tires, and have never had an issue with uneven wear or tread life. Totally unnecessary especially if they charge you for it. Also rotating every 5k is unnecessary, just do it every 10k with oil changes. Like I said re-balancing the tire is only necessary if a wheel weight falls off, otherwise it will make no real world difference.

I'm not understanding your question.

Every 5,000 miles I have the tires rotated at Discount Tire, and each time the wheels/tires are checked to see if they need re-balancing...and invariably 2 or 3 need to be re-balanced. This is all done free-of-charge by Discount Tire.

We will have to agree to disagree...

Discount Tire: We recommend that you rotate your tires every 6,000-8,000 miles to ensure your tires wear more evenly. By maintaining an even treadwear pattern, you’re also enhancing your tire’s overall wear quality and pattern noise. This essential part of tire maintenance can help lengthen the life of your tires, ultimately helping you to save money. We’ll also balance your tires with our state-of-the-art high-speed computer spin balancing machines. This way you can enjoy a smoother ride, free of steering vibrations.

Tire Rack: Many tire mileage warranties require tire rotation to keep the warranty valid. When should tires be rotated? We recommend that tires be rotated every 3,000 to 5,000 miles even if they don't show signs of wear.

The proof that wheels/tires should be re-balanced when rotated comes from the state-of-the-art Hunter GSP9700 Road Force Wheel/Tire Balancer - when 50% or more of the wheels/tires being rotated require re-balancing.

To add to the confusion, if you get a tire balanced, then pull it off the balancer, rotate it and put it back on, the balance will probably be off again. A tire is balanced in the position it is on the machine. If you want your tire truly balanced, it must be done on the vehicle. Then when the tires are rotated on the car or even on the hub, it must be rebalanced again.
For the most part, a standard spin balance will get your tire balance close enough to not notice any issues.

If you are really concerned, there are internal balancers like BBs, plastic weighted pellets, water etc... that will constantly rebalance the tire. (generally not needed in the small tires we have)

You are adding to the confusion as most of what you posted is wrong, other than the best quality balance can be achieved by balancing the wheel/tire assembly while properly bolted on the vehicle. It is far more expensive to have done this way because it takes longer & requires more training to do properly. Also if you rotate the tires they may need to be rebalanced. unless you often drive at speeds over 85mph there should be no reason to have the tires balanced on the vehicle. If a good quality tire on a undamaged wheel can't be adequately balanced on a calibrated spin balancer you have a problem elsewhere.