Just got new tires (Yakohama Advan Neovas) and now I'm noticing a slight vibration in the steering wheel, occasionally, around 70MPH. I'm debating taking it back to Wheel Works to have the balance checked but am hesitant since I think they screwed up once already. Is it better to just have the balance re-done at a local P shop or is this easy enough that the big national chain should be able to get it right? Also, does this sound like a balance issue if the vibration isn't always there at the same speeds?

Any advice is appreciated!
04 S

 

It sounds like they forgot to balance your tire after mounting. If they have one of the fancy dynamic rotation wheel balancing machines that tells the operator exactly where to place the stick-on weight and how much, it's pretty hard to mess up anything except scraping your rims.

 

Take a look at the weights on the tire. Sometimes the operator will put a large amount of weight in one spot - one large weight. This is what the computer said to do but if the weight is spread out a little bit there is less chance for vibration at higher than the balance speed. It's worth asking them about.