LanceK

I am about to mount my Hoosiers for auto-x and was wondering if it's necessary to balance the tires considering the relatively low speeds?

I won't be using the tires on the track or street.

MJones

It would be a good idea, you may get into speeds of 70+, we do in PCA Zone8

Palting

Lance,

You've been sounding like you really like to get into the track and autocross. I would highly recommend getting a separate set of wheels for track/autocross use. Dismounting/mounting tires, re-balancing even if only for the street tires after a re-mount will eventually cost you more than a set of used wheels.

I am, of course, assuming you don't have a second set of wheels. Otherwise, why would you not balance the second set with the track tires? We do hit mid to upper range and accasionally redline of the RPM on 2nd gear routinely during autocross..

LanceK

Palting...yes this is on a dedicated set of wheels.

The reason why I want to know about the balancing is because I have a friend who can mount the tires but doesn't have a tire balancer. I figured why not save a few bucks if I don't have to absolutely have the tires balanced just for auto-x. Even when reaching redline in 2nd gear, I'm thinking that I may never feel the difference since it's so brief?

Good observation, I an getting into the auto-x and track stuff. It's just as bad as the mod bug...

jetskied

Balance them. Vibration from unballance wheels can lead to a car going out of alignment which will cause more problems down the road. If you had the dollars for an extra set of tire you could afford the $30 to ballance them.