What is the difference between "wheel balancing" and "wheel alignment" ??How one can know about this while driving?It effect fuel usage??
The difference is how many wheels are pushing/pulling the vehicle along. All wheel will help if you are driving in the snow and on ice a lot, but a front wheel drive helps with this too. Rear-wheel drive pushes you along the road while front wheel pulls. When on slippery terrain (whether it be paved or not) front-wheel is better than rear because of the pulling factor. But, all-wheel drive is a good choice because if one or more of your tires cannot get traction, you are more likely to be able to drive with all-wheel. Again, this only really matters if you're going to be driving in the snow or anything like that. I'm not exactly sure on this, but it seems all-wheel drive would be more of a gas-user because it would be pushing all 4 wheels instead of only 2.
hi ALI well wheel balancing does effect how a car drives as does wheel alignment.( tyre wear is the reason) wheel balancing will be noticeable at certain speeds the tendency to have wobbling steering wheel on a smooth road like a motorway and it will pull the steering wheel in your hands in one direction or the other, now the same is true of the steering alignment as well which can cause an accident. that is why it is difficult to separate which is causing the problem so to have both checked is a good idea at the same time. it also shows where certain parts of the steering and suspension need to parts replaced as they are worn out, failure to have this done usually results in a car accident. so if the steering wheel starts judder in your hands on a smooth road then it is time to have the wheel balancing and wheel alignment checked.
I see the answers so far say an alignment concerns both front tires. As one who performs alignments I'll say it corrects all four wheels. Why do half the job and give the car back to the customer? So here's my answer. As you've read, a wheel balance spins a wheel and tire on a machine checking it for balance. It simulates your wheel on the road. If weights are needed to correct any imbalance it will tell you where and how much to add. Each wheel is checked individually. On a wheel alignment, all four wheel are compared to each other. It corrects features like toe (tires pointed too far in or out), camber (tires leaning too far in or out) and caster (this is harder to explain. It has to do with angular displacement, vertical axis, and suspension).
Wheel Alignment And Balancing
Wheel balancing concerns all 4 wheels. It involves rotating the wheels on a machine to detect, and correct with weights, any wobble caused by one side of a tire being heavier or lighter than the rest. Think of putting a great wad of gum inside a Frisbee and throwing it: it will wobble and misbehave due to being out of balance. If not correct, this can make for quite an unpleasant driving experience. It can alter mileage by causing you to change your driving habit to minimize the wobble. Feeling a shimmy while driving is the usual indicator. Wheel alignment concerns the front wheels. Simplified, it involves adjusting the mounting assemblies for the wheels to get them pointing inward or outward slightly, and not quite perfectly perpendicular to the ground according to specifications worked out by engineers for the model of car. If not correct, this will cause uneven tire wear, shortened tire life, less driver control, poor mileage, and a host of other bad things. Uneven tread wear is the usual indicator for this.
