Help! Need a really good balancing shop in N. VA/DC area...

[yosM45]

I know there are quite few of us that live in the VA/DC area.

Could any of you please recommend a great place to get 20" rims balanced. Possible a place that has a newer hunter machine.

I'm officially moving up on Friday, and would like to balance my wheels before I do the put my BBK on.

I would say Infiniti of Alexandria, but my experience with Infiniti of Tampa has been disappointing.

I had a great rim shop that only focused on selling and balancing 20" or bigger rims here in Tampa. But I can't get back down from GA to get them redone before I move on Wednesday.

thanks in advance guys!

[SteveTheTech]

I work at the dealer in Alexandria and have access to a road force balancer. Are you looking to mount tires and balance or just balance and mount on the car. Are you experiencing a vibration or any problems with them? or just maintenance?

My dealer is offering a discount for Nico members.

[yosM45]

Hey Steve, A buddy of mine borrowed my car and bent two of my rims. I had them both replaced this Saturday. They remounted both tires and rims, but I neglected to drive the car up above 60 to test the balancing due to traffic. Now as were driving up 95 making our way up to DC I noticed that at the higher speeds (68 and up) there is a slight vibration. The shop was already closed and we've officially left Tampa. So I figure I'll get rebalanced when I get up there next week. The road force balancer would be awesome. The tires and wheels were originally mounted at Infiniti of Tampa, but the gentleman at the dealership that was doing the balancing had a hard time balancing the tires. He tried it twice and then admitted that he hadn't really done a lot of 20" rims. So long story short I'll go over to Infiniti of Alexandria. I just want tech does the balancing to be experienced with 20" inch rims.

[Q45tech]

With larger and non oem wheels I always recommend that the wheels ALONE without tires be tested on a standard balancer then the wheels be FIXED by grinding off tiny amounts or adding glued on weights until they are in perfect balance and meet oem axial and radial runout specifications.

THEN one can consider mounting tires and the radial forces they create.

The problem with most aftermarket wheels is it is nearly impossible to get them in spec with the maximum allowable oem weight addition if tires are not perfect in the beginning.

[SteveTheTech]

I have more experience with 20s than I would like to admit too.

These wheels are usually of slightly different construction than the OE wheels and tend to bend and disfigure easier than the stock wheels.

I cannot make you any promises on the integrity of the wheels, however I will give you my word that if you come to my dealer I will do everything in my power to get them to balance out as close to zero grams as humanly possible.

If you do decide to come to Passport please email me and let me know so I can get you taken care of.

[maxnix]

Spin up the wheels by themselves to ensure they meet OEM specifications for run out and balance. The FSM specifications are about 50% too liberal for those who are particular.

Good chance he bent a tension rod also, so don't ignore suspension.

[HolySh*t]

I know there are quite few of us that live in the VA/DC area.

Could any of you please recommend a great place to get 20" rims balanced. Possible a place that has a newer hunter machine.

I'm officially moving up on Friday, and would like to balance my wheels before I do the put my BBK on.

I would say Infiniti of Alexandria, but my experience with Infiniti of Tampa has been disappointing.

I had a great rim shop that only focused on selling and balancing 20" or bigger rims here in Tampa. But I can't get back down from GA to get them redone before I move on Wednesday.

thanks in advance guys!

Auto Effects9600 Baltimore Ave # 4College Park, MD 20740301) 345-1112‎

This place is about 10 min outside of DC near the University of Maryland campus. I always see cars and truckls rolling out of their on big wheels so I'm sure they can.

SteveTheTech,

I think I dropped my white 03 M45 at your dealership this morning. I took it there for my air bag light and something else that happened to my shocks.

Do I have to mention that I am a Nico member before the work begins to get the discount? I havent heard from the service guy yet so I don't know whats going on with my car.

I was so upset to hear that Jeff Tanner is not at Infiniti anymore. I plan on going next door to say hey when I pick my car up.
Modified by HolySh*t at 1:56 PM 6/8/2009

[SteveTheTech]

There are places out there that specialize in giant rims and they have the purpose made machinery for that type of job. Currently most of our equipment is limited to 20" and under wheels. It's just the way things are at this point, we are due for an upgrade in the coming future though. But currently our demand for these types of services does not warrant the initial cost in this type of specialty equipment.

I think I remember seeing one of my colleagues working on a beautiful white M45 today. I did not go over and bother him however. Nice Looking M.

I will talk to Ken tomorrow for you. He joined our team only a short while ago and I do not know if he is aware of this as this is the first time this has come up. There is a first time for everything.

Jeff moved over and a few other things have changed around there but the overall result is positive. The crew they have assembled is the best group I have seen in my time there and they are doing a much better job than before. If there is anything else I can do to help you feel free to email me.