I had my tires balanced when I put them on around 10,000 miles ago. Recently I've started to notice some vibration through the steering wheel whenever I go over 70mph....anything under that is smooth as can be.

I'm assuming that I need to have my tires balanced again. I've never had to do that before on any of my other cars...usulaly you balance them once, and then they are good to go through the life of the tire.

How often do you guys have to balance your tires?

 

Suggestion: Before you spend the money on a balance job, pull the wheels and check them for any foreign objects that may be stuck to the inside of the rim. It can happen.
On the other hand if you just now had it up to that speed and it started shaking then yea, high speed balance is best done with a road force balancer.

 

Since we switch to winter tires every year they get balanced yearly. Vibration can be caused by things other than out of balance tires fyi.

 

I get them balanced every time I put on new tires. After that, not unless a
new vibration occurs, or I notice missing weights (has happened once with
stick-on ones).

 

As others said...balanced when installed, then check for a problem if one is felt. Foreign object attached? Wheel weight "escaped"? Etc.

 

I would start looking at alignment moreso than balance. Also I balance them each time they are rotated - no extra charge.

A;

 

+1



-Luccia

 

How would an alignment issue (toe-in) cause a vibration issue at highway speeds (over 70mph). I can check it again, but the last time I checked my toe-in it was set right at 1/8" toe.

 

Yup...
Buy a quality tire...
And it should be good for "life" unless you abuse it...
Cheap tires...different story...
Do check for rocks or a missing weight...
But with low profile tires... Seems folks bend rims almost yearly.

 

Even if not excessive, it could cause uneven wear.... So loss of rubber throws off the balance.
Biggest thing is to have an alignment that matches YOUR driving style...if wear is good, I'd look at the rim for bends or weightloss..and do the typical balljoint/bushing check too...
A big pothole could DAMMAGE a casing, resulting in a bulge, or even bend the rim...
You have too look...
To just assume it is due to balance is to oversimplify... Most common. Yes.