Can You Balance 35-Inch Tires? Special Considerations Explained!

Balancing tires can be helpful to ensure your tires are working together properly and give you a smooth ride. But can you balance bigger tires, like 35s? Things can happen a little differently with large tires. They feel different and sometimes require a little modification to make them feel just right.

Can you balance 35-inch tires?

35” tires can indeed be balanced, though they are at the upper limit of a tire size that will be most positively affected by doing a tire balance. You might also have a difficult time finding a shop willing to complete a tire balance on a 35”

Let’s dig into what tire balancing is and why some deem it necessary. What difference is made that makes 35” about the largest a tire can go to feel any relief from tire balancing?

We know a thing or two about trucks, SUVs, and big tires. We’ll offer research on the how and why of tire balancing so you know what to do with your 35s.

A quick intro to tire balancing

You’ve surely heard of tire rotations, which involve swapping the tires already on your vehicle into different spots to encourage even wear. Tire balancing has a different intent.

Tire balance involves adding some weight to a tire or two to correct unevenly distributed weight. To “balance” a tire, a small wheel weight is added to the rim of the tire, near the edge of where the tire and rim meet.

Moving the tire around within the rim can also help, in addition to weights in some cases.

Tire balancing sounds weird, why would I need that?

Much like tire rotations, tire balancing can help lead to a better ride. Imbalanced tires can hop up and down excessively which leads to a feeling of vibration. A better-balanced tire will lead to more even movement.

What leads to a need for tire balancing?

Uneven wear, especially on larger tires like a 35” can lead to one tire weighing a few ounces or more than another, which results in uneven movements being sent throughout your vehicle. A tire can have a “heavy spot” where the tread is deeper than the tread on the opposing tire, leading to one tire weighing more than the other. When rotated within their own rim correctly, it’s possible for a technician or at-home enthusiast to make changes to ensure that the tire doesn’t vibrate or wobble at speed.

What causes the wobble? Think about having a deeper tread on one part of the tires than the other – and then compared to another wheel. A small change in how fast one tire is moving compared to the other – and the height at which it rides, is something that can be felt.

Is balancing a 35” tire effective?

The size of the tire does in fact matter a bit when adding balancers to a tire. This is to say that you can balance the tire, you just might not feel the impact as well as you would on a smaller tire.

35” tires are also more often used for off-roading and mudding. This makes the tire balance weights more susceptible to being knocked off or damaged. 

Weights are often adhesive-based, which are at risk of falling off and getting lost. Other common weights clip onto the rim, but can also move under duress and apply weight to the wrong part of the tire.

Locking beads might be more helpful in forcing a tire weight to stay on.

Can my mechanic or local tire shop balance 35” tires?

They should be able to. We’ve heard from some users that shops might complain that balancing a larger tire is too complicated – especially after some use. 

The mechanics aren’t far from the truth, as some tires have more issues with light and heavy spots that require an odd arrangement of weights – and you might have to strive for something not quite perfect. Communicating to a technician that you don’t expect the tires to be perfectly balanced might save you and them some time!

Is there a limit for tire size and balancing?

After 35”, tire balancing can require more intricate weight systems that are not easy to apply, but can be worth it, especially if the vehicle is driven often. More dangerous is the eventual issues of continuous imbalanced driving or tires hopping off their rims due to imbalanced weight issues.

That’s not to say you can’t balance a tire above 35”. You’ll just require more knowledge, more work, and more frequency. 

Given the work often needed to properly maintain a vehicle with over 35” tires, this might just be added to the routine. If moving around heavy 35” tires is your thing, it’s also a great workout.

Unfortunately, larger tires just have more surface area and expose minor imperfections more. You might not get your tires perfectly balanced, but you can certainly try.

How do you balance tires?

We’ll be honest here: the easiest, and really the best way to precisely balance a 35” tire, or any tire for that matter, is to use a balancing machine to tell you where to put the weights on your tires. 

This is a more precise way of measuring where wobble is coming from than using your eyes – and it’s worth it even if you have to pay a service department to balance the wheels for you.

The weights themselves are fairly easy to attach. One of the most important things to do first regardless of whether you are installing an adhesive-based weight or a clip is to clean the outside of the room. Adhesive will stick best to a clean tire, and a clip will get the most proper grip when directly contacting the rim.

Are tire balancers ugly?

Tire balancers used to be more prominent and ugly. Whether adhesive or clipped, tire balancers are now often small enough to hide within the rim and not be noticeable – unless someone is really looking for them.

Of course, homemade tire balancers can be ugly. In a pinch, some will add just anything of about to the outside of a tire in an effort to temporarily get a smoother ride.

Would a good tire brand need balancing less?

Yes and no. Tire balancing comes in part from excessive wear on parts of the tire, so off-roading with rocks at low speed can cause excess wear regardless of the brand

In which situations do I not need tire balancers?

One big question is whether or not you put many miles on a vehicle, or consider if your daily driver. If you can deal with a tire feeling less than amazing when you take your truck off-road, you might just not need balancers. 

If you also take the truck with 35s to the construction site or out on a regular basis, it’s probably worth the comfortable ride to get balancers put on. Thankfully, tire balance issues are less common than they used to be, simply because the tread on many tires has advanced significantly in recent decades so that wear is more even.

Is uneven treadwear covered by warranty?

The answer is generally no. Tire installations for normal tires are meant to be rotated during their lifetime – and stepping up a bit to mud or larger tires often negates warranties to the point where some companies don’t offer a guarantee for their tires.