Just had a wheel done and the weights dont seem right to me, they used tape weights as told, but they are right up next to the spokes not on the inside lip of the wheel, infact there is a row of 9 weights inbetween 2 of the spokes and obviously this just looks way ott. Is this normal or is the garage a bunch of idiots and i can go back n kick off?
Tried uploading a pic but it wasnt working so cant show you but you should be able to imaging what i mean.

 

Can't say that I've seen weights placed there before, more than that afraid I can't help. Have you noticed any imbalance that you didn't have before?

 

balance id fine, its just that you can see them and it looks totally out of place/shite

 

It's normal I'm afraid. Does look naff though..

 

It is right!

They balance across the depth of the wheel as well as the circumference depending on where the wheel is out.

Last time I had this turned out the wheel was ed after being kerbed by the previous owner but not enough to make it obvious until you try to balance it!

 

A lot of tyres are marked from the factor as to the heavy spot. I can't remember off hand if the mark should be by the valve, or opposite it. Anyway, if the fitter pays no attention to this, you end up needing more weights than if the tyre was positioned carefully. Most fitters can't be bothered getting it right, but if one wheels well out, and the wheel itself is fine (they can be checked), then it's worth complaining so it's aligned right. It's a bigger issue with the 'road legal slick' type tyres, as they've more handmade and tend to vary a bit more.

-Brian.

 

Good point!

 

This prompted a quick trip out to the garage to check mine.

This is one of the tyres on my car, untouched from new:

There's a red mark on the tyre, but it's nowhere near the valve / opposite the valve.. All the wheels / tyres are similar.

This is a spare set of wheels / tyres I have:

there's a blue dot right next to the valve.


Are these the marks you were referring to, Brian?

 

Yup, they look like the marks. They seem to come in various colours - as well as red and blue, yellow seems quite common.

-Brian.

 

So are tyre fitters supposed to align the tyre marks with the valves then??? Or athe marks purely to indicate where balancers should go?