No. However, you always should. The valve stem is the small
nipple-like fixture that protrudes from your wheel that allows air to be filled. This is not made by tire manufacturers and does not come supplied with the tires.
Valve stems deteriorate because they fit through the wheel. The wheel is attached to the brakes. Naturally, when the brakes get hot (as they are designed to do), they get the wheel hot. The supple rubber seal of the valve stem will, over time, become brittle from the heat and normal deterioration of rubber. Eventually, when the rubber becomes brittle, the valve stem will begin to leak air, causing a flat or low tire. When tires are changed, the process of deflating and inflating the tires can cause already deteriorated valve stems to leak. If valve stems are not replaced and one or more stems does not leak immediately, it would be rare for any of the valve stems not to leak by the end of the life of the next set of tires. It would be a false economy to save about $10.00 and risk even one inconvenient flat tire, much less four!
Computerized Wheel Balancing.
Wheel balancing is the process of mounting a tire and wheel assembly
to a computerized balancing machine, it "feels" the heavy spots in a tire to "balance"
it for static imbalance (up and down) and dynamic imbalance (side to side).
Tire manufacturers are certainly building better tires with less inherent imbalance than
in the past. However, cars are also much more sensitive to minor imbalance, making it
necessary, now more than ever, to accurately balance tires upon installation and regularly
as the tires wear down. Affordable Tire and Brake will rotate and re-balance the tires
purchased free of charge for the life of the tires!
Driving on tires that are out of balance is not only uncomfortable, but will cause the tires to develop flat spots, permanently damaging the tires.
Other shops may also charge additional fees for mounting or disposal of the old tires - Affordable Tire and Brake does not.
