How many times do I attempt to get my tires rebalanced

Got new Mickey Thompson Baja Boss A/T in the stock size (SUV).

Things were fine for a day or so. And then out of balance.

Got them re-balanced this morning. All was well for a few hours.

Again, they are out of balance.

I lowered the air pressure and it sort of helped, but I’m facing another half hour drive…do I get them rebalanced or do I give up and go KO2?

 

Take it to a different tire shop and make sure these steps are followed:

https://www.4runners.com/threads/the-official-guide-to-balancing-your-tires.28872/

 

Supposedly that’s the machine they use, it’s part of their marketing.

I will print out those steps and bring them with me.

 

Make sure you get the run-out numbers of each tire.

If they're above 20, that's your problem.......its a bad tire.

Ask for a new one.

 

Will do. I think they are great tires - would hate to have to give up on them.

 

So all four tires were showing that they were in balance and no issues.

Ended up swapping them out for some KO2s. Waiting for the work to get done now.

 

KO2's have been known to have balancing issues.

 

Drive home, everything seemed fine up to and including freeway speeds - 30 mins of driving in total.

I’ll know more over the rest of the week.

 

It's very rare. I know a bunch of people who use them, and have personally used them without any issues.

 

ATs are notorious for balancing issues especially in front.

K02 itself is a mixed bag ( based on user reviews - not mine personally)

Michelin ATs maybe ( just throwing a wild guess)

I have the Yokohama G96B - Smooth everywhere ( I don't off-road)

 

What’s funny is that I’ve run Super Swampers on my old Cherokee back in the day and never had a balancing issue despite them being as close to tractor tires as you can buy.

I view ATs as a compromise given that I probably won’t off-road as much as I’d like to given the amount of time it takes just to get there. Still, once I’m off road, I need more grip than the stock tires deliver.

 

One of the reasons I’m hesitant on buying these is I’ve read that they do have balancing issues but can get dialed in. Recommended to rebalance every oil change. I’m now considering the Toyo Open Country RT Trail. I have KO2s and those were also a pain to balance and keep balanced. I have to rebalance every time I change the oil.

 

Given the roads around here, I should probably get an alignment every time I change the oil!

 

Hopefully the KO2s work out better for you. My first set was balance once when originally mounted. I’m on my 2nd set with no issues as of yet.

I’ve had really good luck with alignment too. I’ve only had one after I lifted. And that includes plenty of rough back roads, gravel, and off-road putzing around at Tigerton. That said, I’m pretty gentle with it, and I don’t drive too many urban/potholed roads-which are arguably tougher on a vehicle than gentle off-roading lol

 

Did the shop let you swap them out free?

 

I have owned probably 10 sets of A/T tires across 1997 Chevy Blazer, 2011 Tacoma, and now my 4Runner. Not one of those sets on any of these vehicles have ever required me to rebalance tires. Yet, I come across these threads constantly of tires that just won't balance. I've even got the same set (285) that the OP has and got them balanced with no problems.

Am I lucky? Not noticing tires that won't balance and in reality I'm just vibrating down the road like a Harley at idle? What gives because these threads are #4 on the list of most common 4Runners.com topics

 

I find it curious too. I've never had a set of ATs that wouldn't balance and have never had to re-balance a set.

 

Same. Four sets of KO2s (2 Tundras and 2 sets on my 4Runner) Never an issue and never any re-balances. I'd like to add that they were all balanced using a Hunter Road
Force Elite by a tech who knows how to use it. It's got to play in there somewhere.

 

I have aftermarket wheels, could be the wheels as well. Never taken the time to see if maybe the wheels were bad. After 3 tries I did finally get the KO2s dialed in but for me not worth the hassle, I’ll be trying a different brand when it comes time to replace in about 5000 miles or less.

 

I dunno, had IROC wheels on my Blazer and Toyo A/T's. If the shop can balance those first try I'd say anything is possible haha

 

Curious what the OP's PSI was, and E load?

Looks like ill be sticking with my Duratracs in C load, very similar tread patten as the Baja's but they balance well and deal with the wide range of I have weather here.

Yeah, that's partly why I didn't get them. Tread pattern is super old too, but they are a great reliable tire.

 

Yes - after I paid the difference in price, naturally.

 

That's really weird. I've never had to rebalance any of my tires except when I lost weights.

 

I would guess that non-stock wheels are at play and/or worn components.

I'm strange because I didn't even have 500 miles before I swapped tires and I kept the stock wheels.

I believe the Bajas may have been E - didn't think to check stupidly enough, but one of the tire guys mentioned they were E load.

I might be willing to try them if I go up a tire size, but for now, I'll be sticking with the KO2 until the day comes where I need new tires. If they had the 275s on hand, I would have probably tried those, but I went with something they had in inventory.

 

It's a real phenomenon.

My stock tires did it.

When i switched tires, it stopped.

 

A company that does testing for the company I work for has a small fleet of maybe 10 vehicles and they were running KO2’s but switched to Nitto’s due to the issues they kept having with balancing.

 

Yep, over the years I've had more than a few wheels go "out of round" and had to replace. Pot holes can destroy a wheel without you even noticing.

 

I would agree, but I have 2 sets of aftermarket wheels, and neither of them are expensive. I did try getting a rebalance at discount tire once after I lost wheel weights, but they could not balance them. I ended up getting them balanced at an off-road shop and they have been perfect, except when I get a clump of mud stuck in one of them.

Also, I swapped mine at 1300 miles, but that was only 18 days after I bought it.

 

Which off-road shop? I’ll have to keep them in mind next time.

Only went with Discount Tire due to them being a dealer for Mickey Thompsons.

 

Performance off-road, in Waukesha. I haven't been there in awhile, but they did good work when I used them.

The owner has a Tacoma trophy truck, but it's always half disassembled when I stop by.