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I am in Connecticut. On my 2010 Nissan Maxima, I have been strolling along with my Continental ExtremeContact DWS. When I first got the tires, it was balanced by a non-Hunter tire shop. The ride is just slightly bumpy -- I can feel the tires vibrating at highway speeds.
After some research, I started learning about how the Maxima is very finicky about balancing and that people remedy by taking it to a shop that has the Hunter Roadforce GSP9700 balancer.
When I am looking at shops who use this machine, should I look for one that has "StraightTrak" (see link here from Hunter's site)? Or can I get away with one that doesn't use StraightTrak?What about RoadForce "Touch"? I ask because most shops that utilize StraightTrak and/or Touch are dealerships and that means paying an arm and a leg for the service.
Also, are there any concerns about taking my Continental DWS to a shop that primarily sells/services a different brand? Many of the shops that carry a Hunter machine here specialize in Firestone or Goodyear. I'd assume that they'd want to push their brand-specific product on me.........?
The Bridgestone Blizzaks i bought last year were balanced at the Firestone right in your town. The balance job was flawless. I wouldn't stress over this.
The Bridgestone Blizzaks i bought last year were balanced at the Firestone right in your town. The balance job was flawless. I wouldn't stress over this.
I follow a Nissan-enthusiast forum and the Maxima is extremely sensitive (for whatever reason) to tire balancing, hence the question.
I follow a Nissan-enthusiast forum and the Maxima is extremely sensitive (for whatever reason) to tire balancing, hence the question.
..as is the Corvette, and some late-model Cadillacs, and the 4th generation Subaru Outback, and some other late models.
That is why more and more dealerships have added Hunter Roadforce GSP9700 balancing machines.
Even the auto shops at my county's vocational schools have added this superior equipment.
What is really ironic is that so many tire shops don't have it!
In answer to the OP's question, I think that just the "basic" 9700 machine should be good enough.
Just to show you how this issue can be persistent until you get proper balancing, I had a flat a few months ago, and I went to the closest tire shop for repair. Because they do the correct type of puncture repair (from the inside, which necessitates de-mounting the tire from the rim), I had to pay for them to rebalance the tire after the repair. I took the car out on the highway the next day and had a VERY obvious imbalance at speeds of 65 & above.
I took the car back, and they re-did the balance, w/o charge. Back onto the highway I went, and found that, while the imbalance was not as bad as it was before, it was still there.
So, back to the tire shop again, where they admitted that their machine might need to be re-calibrated. They called me a few days later to say that the machine had been recalibrated, and that I should bring it back again. I did, and it was no better than it was after their second attempt at balancing the tire.
Because the car was due for service in a couple of weeks, I just gritted my teeth and waited until then, as I knew that the dealership has the Hunter 9700 machine.
Yes, I paid more for the balancing at the dealership, but it was done correctly the first time, and--to be honest with you--I just couldn't stand going back to the tire shop for them to make a 4th attempt at balancing the tire.
..as is the Corvette, and some late-model Cadillacs, and the 4th generation Subaru Outback, and some other late models.
That is why more and more dealerships have added Hunter Roadforce GSP9700 balancing machines.
Even the auto shops at my county's vocational schools have added this superior equipment. What is really ironic is that so many tire shops don't have it!
In answer to the OP's question, I think that just the "basic" 9700 machine should be good enough.
Just to show you how this issue can be persistent until you get proper balancing, I had a flat a few months ago, and I went to the closest tire shop for repair. Because they do the correct type of puncture repair (from the inside, which necessitates de-mounting the tire from the rim), I had to pay for them to rebalance the tire after the repair. I took the car out on the highway the next day and had a VERY obvious imbalance at speeds of 65 & above.
I took the car back, and they re-did the balance, w/o charge. Back onto the highway I went, and found that, while the imbalance was not as bad as it was before, it was still there.
So, back to the tire shop again, where they admitted that their machine might need to be re-calibrated. They called me a few days later to say that the machine had been recalibrated, and that I should bring it back again. I did, and it was no better than it was after their second attempt at balancing the tire.
Because the car was due for service in a couple of weeks, I just gritted my teeth and waited until then, as I knew that the dealership has the Hunter 9700 machine.
Yes, I paid more for the balancing at the dealership, but it was done correctly the first time, and--to be honest with you--I just couldn't stand going back to the tire shop for them to make a 4th attempt at balancing the tire.
It's funny you say that, as my research into Hunter Roadforce prompted that same question in my own mind.
As I was running a search for local shops that utilizes Hunter Roadforce, it does seem that many (even popular ones) do not use it. I wonder if the shop just don't want to invest the money into getting the machine (whether it's the Basic version, StraightTrak, or StraightTrak with Touch). Why bother if the average clientele drives an average car and/or doesn't notice the imbalance?
Do you have any advice about whether I should check out the few tire shops that do have Hunter Roadforce? My concern is that those shops are branded with Goodyear or Bridgestone/Firestone. I don't know how "honest" they will be with regard to doing the balance job, since I assume they'll want to talk my Continental's down in an effort to push their own product.
To clarify a few things... The Hunter system all uses the same type of machine and the same specs. The "Touch" models simply have a touch screen interface, vs a connected computer right next to it, so it doesn't matter at all.
Straight Trak can be helpful if you have an alignment problem where the car pulls slightly and no alignment can seem to fix it. However, that's pretty rare for an alignment to not be able to eliminate something like that.
The standard road force balancing will tell you if your tires/wheels are out of round/ have runout. If that's the case, and the vehicle seems to pull no matter what you do with the alignment, it's pretty obvious you need to repair a wheel, so Straight Trak isn't exactly necessary either. It helps, but the standard machine will do just fine.
One more thing... I recently took my car in to be RF balanced at the local Firestone, rather than driving the 30 min to Porsche. Two of the wheels came back with weights on, and two of them had no weights on them whatsoever. I questioned the service manager, because the chances of two wheel/tire combos not needing ANY weight adjustment is about like winning the lottery.
He agreed with me, and went to talk with the tech, and came back and said nope, they both balanced out. Now, sure enough, the car felt like crap. One of the wheels at least was clearly unbalanced.
Bit the bullet and headed to the dealership to have them do it properly, and sure enough, it came back with weights on all four wheels and none of the vibration/shimmy I was feeling.
So, make sure the shop you take it to knows what they are doing. Most of them have no clue.
Do you have any advice about whether I should check out the few tire shops that do have Hunter Roadforce? My concern is that those shops are branded with Goodyear or Bridgestone/Firestone. I don't know how "honest" they will be with regard to doing the balance job, since I assume they'll want to talk my Continental's down in an effort to push their own product.
I have had tires of other brands repaired and balanced at Goodyear shops, and I never heard a word suggesting that I should replace my Yokohama, or Michelin, or Continental tires with Goodyear products. Will you have the same positive experience? I can't say for sure, but I doubt if they would purposely screw-up your balancing.
Incidentally, when it is time to replace your tires, I strongly suggest that you opt for Michelins instead of Continentals. When I changed over to Michelin Defenders, my Outback felt like a totally changed vehicle due to the incredible improvements in ride, noise level, handling, resistance to hydroplaning, and fuel economy. I hadn't thought that the OEM Contis were bad until I felt the improvement with the Michelins.
I can’t comment on the “Straight Track” but as of this year I am firm believer in the “Road Force” balancing. I had been chasing vibrations for a long time in a particular vehicle and finally narrowed it down to the tires that had been conventionally balanced 3 or 4 times in only 20k miles. I took it to a shop for the RF balancing and sure enough I had a couple tires out of round, one of which was so bad they could not compensate for the defect. From now on I will use it for all my wheels, especially new tires so I have understanding of what shape they are in from the factory, as was my case with the bad tires.
As McKinney pointed out, these are not conventional systems and require a skilled tech. Use Hunter’s website and locate the machines, then narrow it down from there. Stay away from chains. I found an indy import shop that did a good amount of high end work, their quote was very reasonable so it was a no brainer.
BMWs are also picky about balancing - I couldn't get mine balanced properly as it still vibrates at highway speeds even after RF balancing (and 3 other regular balances). One of the wheels is simply out of round. When they spun it while on a lift, you could even see it.
Incidentally, when it is time to replace your tires, I strongly suggest that you opt for Michelins instead of Continentals. When I changed over to Michelin Defenders, my Outback felt like a totally changed vehicle due to the incredible improvements in ride, noise level, handling, resistance to hydroplaning, and fuel economy. I hadn't thought that the OEM Contis were bad until I felt the improvement with the Michelins.
Actually, the Conti's were NOT OEM. I normally have preference toward Michelin, but Continental's "ExtremeContact DWS" tires are rated for Ultra High Performance vehicles and are known to be fantastic for all-season driving with winter-tire-like grip for snowy conditions without excessive road noise.
I had looked into Michelin's All-Season (A/S) Sport Plus tires, but they weren't quite as good with snowy conditions.
Are the Conti's the perfect set of tires? No. But for work commutes and daily everyday driving, it fits my needs very well.
I had also previously owned the Michelin Pilot Super Summer Sport's (which are noticibly more fun to drive with much better handling), but those (and most Summer) tires are atrocious with even light snow flurries.
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