A steady tremble once Hennef Way opens into dual carriageway is the classic sign of a wheel carrying uneven weight. In Banbury the balancer travels with the fitter and the wheel is put right at the kerb.
Banbury gives a wheel plenty of chances to lose its weights. Roundabout kerbs along the A422 sit proud, the ramps inside Castle Quay are tight enough to scrub a rim, and the lanes out to Bloxham break up at the edges. Nothing registers around Bretch Hill, then the car reaches motorway pace at junction 11 and the steering begins to buzz or the seat starts to shiver.
Because Banbury has no permit zones outside the centre, most of this happens at the kerb outside the house. The car is raised, the wheel comes away and goes onto the balancer carried inside the van, and the reading tells the fitter how much weight belongs on each face of the rim. A confirming spin follows, then the wheel is torqued home. The figure is agreed before anyone sets off.
Kerbside on the Ruscote, Hardwick and Hanwell Fields streets is usually simplest. Banbury Gateway and the Spiceball car parks are flat and lit, and the Horton General surface bays work. Castle Quay's multi-storey headroom is the one spot to avoid.
| Near | Castle Quay shopping centre, Horton General Hospital, Banbury railway station |
|---|---|
| Typical arrival | Around 2 hours, confirmed before we set off |
About wheel balancing nationwide → · Wheel balancing on the Banbury page
One thing balancing cannot do is straighten the way a wheel points. A Banbury car tugging towards the verge on the A361, or shaving the inner edge off a front tyre, needs alignment on a garage rig, which is not equipment any mobile van carries. Vibration that grows with road speed and fades as you slow, in a car that steers true, is the fault weights cure.
Wheel shaking by the time you reach the M40? Balancing done in Banbury.
