A shimmy in the steering wheel around highway speed that fades in a turn is usually a balance problem, not alignment. Detroit Tire Shop checks every wheel on a road force machine — spinning the tire under load against a roller — and matches the tire's high spot to the wheel's low spot before it leaves the bay.
Most shops balance a tire by spinning it in the air and adding weight until it stops wobbling. That catches a static imbalance but misses radial force variation — a tire that's balanced fine but still stiffer on one side, which shows up as the same shimmy at speed. Road force testing puts the tire under a loaded roller to find that variation, then the wheel gets rotated against the tire until the two round out against each other, or the tire gets swapped for one that will.
Current hours: Mon–Sat 9:00 AM – 8:00 PM, Sun Open 24 hours.
What's the difference between a regular balance and road force balancing?
A standard balance machine spins the wheel and tire in the air and tells you where to add weight. It says nothing about how round the tire actually is under load. A road force machine presses a roller against the spinning tire to simulate the road, measures how much the force varies as it turns, and can pinpoint whether the problem is the tire, the wheel, or how they're mounted together.
When does a car actually need it?
Every new tire gets road force tested here as part of the install — it's not an upsell, it's how the machine is used. Beyond that, it's the right call after a pothole hit, after a repaired tire goes back on the car, or when a car has already been 'balanced' somewhere else and still shakes at speed.
Either way, the wheel doesn't go back on the car until the road force numbers even out — that's the point of having the machine rather than eyeballing a static spin.
- New tire installs
- After a pothole or curb strike
- A repaired tire going back into service
- Vibration that survived a balance somewhere else
How do I know it's a balance issue and not something else?
Balance problems fade in a turn and get worse the faster you go; a bent wheel usually vibrates even at a stop, especially through the brake pedal, and a bad alignment pulls the car to one side rather than shaking it. If it's not obvious from the symptoms, road force testing on the car usually settles the question outright.
Does a road force balance cost more than a regular one?
At Detroit Tire Shop it's part of the standard tire service, not a separate line item to ask for. Call (313) 631-1567 to confirm what a specific visit involves before coming in.
Can I request it if another shop already balanced my tires?
Yes — a car that's still shaking after a balance elsewhere is one of the more common reasons customers come in specifically for the road force machine. Current listed hours: Mon–Sat 9:00 AM – 8:00 PM, Sun Open 24 hours. Call before visiting to confirm availability.