Tire balancing

I’m no balancing expert but all of those seem normal. But of course this doesn’t mean that there couldn’t be something wrong there.

Modern tires and rims have pretty good static balance from the factory and (most of) tires do have their heaviest position marked on them so you can match it to the rim to minimize static imbalance. But since the rim is relatively small and narrow you have to use a lot of weight to correct the dynamic balance.

With the Prius and other normal cars with similar tire size and suspension set up you really shouldn’t feel much difference even if the tires would be only statically balanced. So most likely there is statically wrong balanced tire(s), out of round tire(s), or something else.

 

You might actually find one, being as there are so many other 'experts' on here

When I needed a set of tires "properly" mounted and balanced I started by researching the current 'state of the art' in balancing equipment and then found a shop who used that equipment at the lowest cost.

There may be professional gear beyond the new for 2016 Hunter 'Road Force Elite' GSP9700 (5th Gen), but this is likely the bleeding edge for most tire or repair shops (and quite a few don't have one!!) : Road Force Elite Wheel Balancer | Worlds #1 Wheel Balancing Machine | Hunter Engineering

Next do a search for an "Independent Recommended Installer" at one of those 'buy tires online' websites (there are many), hopefully you can locate an installer that offers the Road Force Elite.

Here is one example, with a local zip for your area : Find Installer

Could also do a cross reference search here : GSP9700 Locator

Next pick the location that best fits your need(s); distance, price, availability, yelp, tire rack rating, etc.. make sure they are balancing with the "Road Force Elite" equipment before committing to having any work done at a given price point. ( pricing pledge here: Tire Tech Information - Tire Rack's Recommended Installers -YMMV, and may only apply to tires purchased through TR and or shipped to that installer)

You may (or not) want to tell them about the existing situation regarding your tires, that way they can remount the tires if needed.

Always be sure to look at (and double check) the cost for extras like, new stems, tire disposal, TPMS service, shop fee % (Wth?), and low profile tires. Different shops will overcharge for services and extras, currently one of my local shops wants $54.50 to balance a single tire, where I only paid $40 to balance all four (4) tires on the best equipment in my area at that time

Now you can be your own expert!!

 

It does seem like the installer failed "Tire Installation 101" and is attempting to correct an out-of-round condition with weights, then had to add more weigh to correct the imbalance.

Are there ANY colored dots on the outside of the sidewall and if so, what color and how close are they to the valve stem on each wheel?

 

I think you weren't listening to what the manager was trying to tell you.

What you are saying about "static" and "dynamic" balance makes no sense.
Tires are balanced rotationally; there is no "side to side" balancing that takes place.
It is good practice to split needed weights above a certain amount to the two sides of the rim.

No doubt that you have a problem there somewhere but it is ***NOT*** due to what you have observed about the placement of the weights.
It just isn't.

 

Oh yes there is! While certainly not as important as it was 30 years ago, when the quality of tires was much more suspect, tires need to be balanced radially (around their circumference) and side-to-side if the deviation is enough to add a weight.

There are cases where weights are ONLY placed on the inner portion of the rim, centered between the beads, this is most common on high-end cars and a few trucks, where edge weights would damage the wheel material or finish. You *can* always place these stick-on weights in the center of the rim, if the side-to-side imbalance is zero or minimal, some installers prefer to do so, as do I.

 

That’s the common/correct way of balancing alloy wheels as people don’t want the weights to be visible and/or damage the finish.

 

The problem with saying that IS:
It is much too easy to read that and think that "balancing" can be used to correct for "out of round" (circumference) and "out of true" (side-to-side) defects and it CAN NOT. Not really.

 

OMG running Integrities for 90,000 miles....the humanity.

I do not doubt for a moment there's a ton of weights on the tires. You probably have bent wheels.
It take very little to bend G2 wheels they are very light and very small. I had 4 bent wheels on mine over the years especially and with you running a hard as a rock Integrity ESPECIALLY if its over filled to 40+ lbs then it will hit like a hammer. Its such a horrible tire you may not have even noticed it had a bent wheel. Alot of tire shops do not routinely check for bent wheels.

The very best way to check for a bent wheel is to put the tire on a back rim put the nuts on and spin the wheel. You will instantly see if its even slightly out of round or bent. Its better than looking for it on a machine.