Tool Review: Ranger DST30P Wheel Balancer

In an automotive repair shop, technicians require certain tools and equipment to be able to operate. For Thomas Stevens, owner of Powerhouse Performance, the Ranger DST30P Wheel Balancer is part of that necessary equipment. At Powerhouse Performance, Stevens and his team offer wheel/tire services, making the balancer essential equipment in his shop.

“This is a necessity when I'm doing mounting and balancing [of wheels]. You have to balance the wheel every time you mount a new tire, so, [the Ranger wheel balancer is] more of a necessity than a want,” he says.

Upon arrival, the wheel balancer was removed from the pallet and taken out of its box. Stevens said set-up was as easy as plugging it into the wall, zeroing the machine out, and taking a look at the instruction manual to properly adjust all the settings. He was pleased with how self-explanatory and easy to use the balancer was after setup.

In comparison to other wheel balancers Stevens and his team have used in the past, he says the Ranger DST30P is one of the most budget-friendly he has found.

“You can [go to] another manufacturer and spend two, three, four times as much … [but] I don’t feel that one of those super high-dollar balancers is going to make it easier [to balance wheels],” he says. “There’s some knowledge that goes into making this thing work the way it does.”

Stevens appreciates that this tire changer is easy to use and allows experienced technicians at his shop to rotate a tire and make it balance out “better” and “cleaner” just as accurately as if using a more expensive model.

“It’s perfect for what it is,” Stevens says.

Overall, there are no features Stevens didn’t like, but in the future, he says he would like to see a larger top tray. With all the wheels and tires Stevens and his team do in a week, he says they run through a lot of wheel weights and having a bit more storage on top would be beneficial. Though he does note, storage is not too much of an issue as the wheel balancer does have storage trays on the side.

For the price point and ease of use, Stevens says the Ranger DST30P Wheel Balancer is worth buying 100 times over.