Keep in mind that balancing isn't going to fix a current issue. Balancing is essentially preventative maintenance, as you are trying to match the weight of the tire and the wheel. You also have to take into consideration things like proper tire rotation and overall tire care, same for wheel condition. Are you avoiding potholes, never curbing your wheels when parking, etc? If you drive pretty recklessly and don't care, you probably already buy the cheapest oil and filter when doing an oil change. Might as well just balance them enough to say you did it. But since you're here on a forum asking, I can make an educated guess that you probably would do routine maintenance, and you probably buy mid or top shelf parts for your cars, including the oil. So below is my take.
IMO, despite my best efforts to support the small businesses, I would choose a shop that updates their equipment regularly. When you look in the shop and see their tire mounting and balancing equipment, which is well worn/dirty/questionable if it even works, I'd steer away. And road force is always going to be the best choice, but I'd base that on how much you drive your vehicle. On every vehicle I own that gets driven regularly, I always road force. That's just me though.
My gauge:
- Road force balancing - you can drive down the road and your beer won't foam at all.
- Regular balancing - depending on the age of the equipment used, you might never feel a difference between static balancing and road force. Your beer may foam a little or a lot too, depending again on equipment.
