I took my MINI in and had the rear tires replaced. They did something weird. The port side (where steering wheel is): they REMOVED the weight clip, there is nothing on it.
On starboard side: they put TWO weight clips. I don't get this at all. If the weight is that lopsided, isn't that going to mess up the distribution a bit? And while we're on this, why does MINI refuse to make wheels with dents inside so the weights can be glued in. They just look freaking UGLY.

Can anyone explain why they did this? It makes no sense. If the wheels are so far "off" why shift all the weights to the right? If I take it to the dealer, are they going to charge me just to move the clips over? Does anyone have a MINI with TWO weights on one wheel? If i can reduce it to one, I'd rather do it that way. Those things make the wheel look like it has bandages on it. I wish they were never invented. My parents' cars both have aluminum wheels and neither use these things.

 

tires aren't always perfectly balanced and neither are rims. the weights help fix it. without the weights, your tires would spin with a slight wobble and would not wear evenly.

 

If the wheels aren't balanced, they'll vibrate at some speed. Usually around 70-80. If you feel a vibration which is strong at a certain speed (like 75), but goes away a few mph either way, that's probably tire balance. Each wheel tire combination needs to be balanced individually, so if you changed the tires, the weights should have changed.

My tire shop uses stick on weights (something like ) on the inside of the wheels where you don't see them.

 

On my 2004 MCS with the type 84 wheels there is considerable variation in the number of weights on each wheel, but my installers are always able to use the taped/glue weights that are 'inside' and not visible from the outside.

 

If you get the wobble at speed, take them back in and have them remounted on the rims and balanced again. No, it is not that unusual to have differing amounts of weights when correctly balanced, but better quality tires often have a mark where the valve stem is supposed to line up which reduces the amount of weights needed to balance.

Oh, it is fair to ask for the stick on weights, but do your tire guy a favor and thoroughly clean the rims - inside and out - just before taking them in so they won't have trouble sticking.

 

What they did was completely normal. The procedure is: remove all weights... mount new tire... rebalance and add new weights as needed until balanced. A good balance machine can measure whether the weights should go on the inside or outside edge of the rim.

 

+1

 

Ask the tire co. to remove the clip on weights and use stick on.

 

Nothing strange here.....the tec mounted and balanced the tires....
Different shops use different techniques for mounting weights....

 

I NEVER let them use clip on weights on outside, besides from being ugly it scratches the rim and if clear coated like mine will start to corrode.

 

What crappy assed shop used clip on weights? Those are for steel wheels, not any sort of alloy wheels.

 

Since nobody else caught this, I will say it. The balancing of a tire has nothing to do between wheels (aka shifting them left to right). Balancing is done per wheel to prevent each one from being out of balance when they put new rubber on. It simply eliminates vibrations from tire manufacturing issues. So, it is possible for one to have no weights and the other to have some as each one will be different.

As for the type they used, some shops prefer one over the other.

 

Had to reread the OP question twice more, and you are right - he was asking about side to side weighting on the car and not the wheels themselves. So in case the OP is still wondering (why they are weighting one side of the car over the other), that is not what wheel balancing is for. The wheel spins, and the weight is not always evenly distributed on the wheel which will make it wobble if you do not correct it with these very lightweight add-ons, either sticky or clip on type.

Good catch

 

Corner weighting to the quarter ounce?

"And while we're on this, why does MINI refuse to make wheels with dents inside so the weights can be glued in."

My 16" factory twin-spokes have weights clipped by the factory to the inside lip of the wheel. They can not be placed on the outside.