Tire re-balance
 

Question for the pros.

Do we need to re-balance the tires say every 2-3 year? even though there is absolutely no vibration or uneven wear/tear pattern on the tires?

In other words, if the tires were perfectly balanced when they mounted on the wheels, all we have to do is rotate them every 7k mile or so, is this right?

Thanks.
steve

No No No It is best to rebalance the tires when you rotate them.

If everthing looks and feels OK, I woudn't have them rebalanced. Doesn't "hurt" anything, but doesn't really matter that much.
Gilly

Rebalance?
 

I ran my original tires to 55000 miles with no rebalance. I had no problems, so I avoided dealing with those special Mercedes weights.
I bought Michelin cross terrain's (great, so far), but the warranty requires rebalance every 4000 miles, so I've had it done.

I've got the cross terrain also, with 23k so far so good, the tire dealer I purchased them from doesn't want to rebalance them if the tires are not worn unevenly and/or having drivability issues. I guess I will keep up with the rotation and be done with it. Thanks everyone.

Personally I "rotate" the tires by installing winter tires for winter, and all seasons for rest of the year. When I reinstall tires, I move them front to back (and visa versa). I never rebalance unless I get a repair or hit something that "removes" a weight (happens rarely). So far the tires wear flat and even, so I must be ok seems to me.

My ML's first pair of tires got rotated about every 10K miles. There was no unusual wear over their service life. In fact I tossed them while they still had good tread at about 30K miles. My 2nd set of tires have a bit over 20K miles on them and have neither been rotated or rebalanced. They ride as new. Folks at the dealership told me many times that the ML is remarkably well balanced and easy on tires. Mine sees mostly hiway miles, but I have to agree. Anyone have excessive wear on the fronts or rears of theirs?

You should not have to rebalance any tire/wheel unless you are:

1) correcting a poorly-balanced first effort
2) drag racing your ML at the strip running 4psi on the rears and doing burnouts prior to staging, and
3) suffered severe tire/rim damage (i.e., bent, curb rash), in which case, you probably have to replace one or the other, so a balance would be necessary.

Don't use it as a crutch to in an attempt to solve (or mask) other possible suspension-related ailments, either...