Steering wheel wobble at speed, a lost weight or a fresh puncture repair? We balance wheels at your home, work or kerbside with the balancer carried in our van.
Yes. Rescue Tyres balances wheels wherever your car is parked. The fitter brings tyre fitting and wheel balancing equipment to the car, so a wheel that shakes at speed, a tyre that has just been repaired or a wheel that has lost a weight can be put right on your driveway, at the kerb or in a work car park, with no garage trip.
Wheel balancing evens out the weight around a wheel and tyre so the assembly spins smoothly. In Continental's words, the goal is to distribute weight equally around the entire circumference of the tyre.
No tyre and wheel are perfectly even. The rubber can be fractionally thicker in one place, the valve adds weight at one point, and the rim itself is rarely exactly uniform. At higher speed that heavy spot is flung outward on every revolution, and a tiny difference becomes a real force. Continental gives an example: a weight difference of just 10 grams results in a force of 2.5 kg at 60 mph.
The classic sign is a shake through the steering wheel that appears at motorway and dual carriageway speeds and may ease if you go faster or slower. Continental notes that steering wheel vibration, especially between 50 and 70 mph, is often caused by unbalanced tyres.
A wheel that is out of balance does not roll evenly, and over time that shows in the tread. Continental lists uneven wear, often on one side or in specific areas, as a symptom. Patchy wear can also come from worn suspension, so we look at the whole picture before blaming the balance.
A vibration that begins soon after a tyre was fitted, repaired or swapped is a strong hint. So is one that begins after a hard pothole or kerb strike, which can knock a weight off. A clean patch on the rim where a weight used to sit confirms it.
Vibration has other causes too. Our guide to steering wheel vibration walks through them.
Whenever the tyre and wheel have been separated, and whenever the balance may have been knocked out. Continental recommends balancing when you buy new tyres, rims or wheels, when tyres are rotated, when a tyre is repaired and when the car hits a large pothole.
Static balancing corrects weight around the wheel. Dynamic balancing also corrects weight across its width, with weights on both sides of the rim.
Static imbalance is a single heavy spot around the wheel, which tends to make it hop as it turns. Continental describes static balancing as placing a small weight 180 degrees across from the heavy point, and it suits slight imbalances. On its own it cannot correct weight that is uneven across the width of the tyre.
Dynamic imbalance happens when the weight is uneven across the width of the wheel as well as around it, so the wheel wobbles from side to side. Dynamic balancing uses a spinning computer balancer that, as Continental puts it, measures the tyre on all three axes. This is how our van-mounted balancer works.
The balancer lives in the van, so the wheel goes to the machine instead of the car going to a garage.
Tell us the car, the symptom and where it is parked. We confirm the price and give you an arrival time on the call. If it sounds like alignment rather than balance, we say so now.
At the car we look at the tread, sidewalls, rims and pressures. A bulge, a bent rim or a damaged tyre will not be cured by weights, and we tell you before any work starts.
The wheel comes off, old weights are removed and the rim is cleaned. It is centred on the balancer with a cone or adaptor, its dimensions are entered, and it is spun to measure the imbalance.
Weights go where the machine shows, then a second spin confirms the reading. The wheel is refitted, the nuts are tightened and the pressures are set.
No. Balancing corrects the weight around a wheel. Alignment, as Continental explains, adjusts the angles of your vehicle's wheels. They cure different symptoms, and Rescue Tyres does balancing, not alignment.
Vibration or wobble through the steering wheel at speed, a shake that started after tyre work or a lost weight, and patchy wear caused by a wheel that does not roll evenly. This is the job our van is equipped for.
A car that pulls to one side on a flat road, a steering wheel that sits off centre when you drive straight, and tyres wearing on one edge. Those point to wheel angles, which is suspension work we do not offer.
If a wheel balances correctly and the vibration remains, the cause is elsewhere: a bent rim, a tyre with internal damage, or worn steering or suspension parts that need a garage. We will not keep rebalancing a wheel that is already in balance.
If your car drifts rather than shakes, read our explainer on balancing vs alignment.
Yes, where the tyres allow it. Tyre rotation moves tyres between positions so they wear more evenly, and because the wheels are already off for balancing, the two jobs sit together naturally. Michelin explains that tyres on the drive axle wear the fastest, and suggests rotating roughly every 8,000 to 10,000 km, which is about 5,000 to 6,000 miles. Your handbook has the final word on the interval and the pattern.
Not every set can be rotated freely. Michelin notes that directional and asymmetric tyres can only be used in one direction of travel, and cars with different sizes front and rear cannot swap tyres between axles. Our tyre rotation guide has the patterns by drivetrain.
"Good communication, excellent work and takes the initiative. Happy to go the extra mile, highly recommended if you're in a tyre-related bit of bother!"
"Good and reliable service in all conditions."
"Faultless experience. Great communication, attitude and service."
Sources: Continental Tyres on balancing tyres; Michelin on tyre rotation.
We work from one base at Brent Cross, London NW2. The nearest London boroughs are a couple of miles away, while Birmingham and the West Midlands are roughly 80 to 110 miles. Distance decides whether we can take a job and when, so call and we will tell you whether we can help. The arrival time is given on the call.
New tyres fitted and balanced at your home, work or kerbside, with no garage trip.
Mobile tyre fitting →Permanent repairs to BS AU 159 where the damage allows, rebalanced before refitting.
Puncture repair →Budget, mid-range and premium tyres sourced to your size, including run-flat, SUV, van and EV.
Browse tyres →Lost the key? We remove the locking nut so the wheel can come off for balancing.
Locking wheel nut removal →Call or WhatsApp 07473 720871, or book online. The price is confirmed on the call before any work.
