How important is road force balancing? My local tire retailer is quoting close to Tire Rack on a winter tire/wheel package, to include free seasonal swaps, but does not have a Road Force Balancer.

 

Discount tire does it for free if you purchase tires from them with all the road hazard stuff or just purchase the road hazard warranty. It may not be a big deal for factory wheels compared to aftermarket rims. I would look at your wheels to see if there are excessive amount of balancing weights on them. If so, the tire/rim might need to be adjusted to limit the amount of balancing weights. I would even road force balance if you notice vibrations as you get to higher mph if a regular balance doesn't seem to help. It wouldn't hurt to do both road force and regular balance once to make sure.

I have aftermarket rims on all three vehicles and do road force when I put new rubber and regular balance from that point forward.

 

My discount tires charges for road force balance. I have never had it done as I have never had a problem. I can see the cases where it might be more desirable.