What does this wear pattern tell you about my alignment?

2000 XJ8
83,000 miles
225/60ZR-1698W tire size
Michelin Pilot Sport A/S Plus 45,000 mile tread life warranty
Installed @ 59,000 miles so, now ~ 24k miles on the tires.
Check CTP monthly & keep @ 32F/34R
Rotate & spin balance every 6,000 miles. (free @ Discount tire when buy tires there)
Measure tread using tread depth gage (not penny or quarter

I think my gage measures 1/32 less than actual since when new, I measured 10/32 everywhere & Michelin claims 11/32 on this tire. But it is consistent so, it is the difference between inside, center & outside I’m concerned with now.

These tires have prominent center grooves. I will attach a stock photo - NOT a photo of MY tire) Measured 4 spots per tire this week I will list in this order; outside edge, outside center groove, inside center groove & inside edge.

LF: 4/32, 5/32, 5/32, 5/32
LR: 3/32, 6/32, 6/32, 4/32

RF: 3/32, 6/32, 5/32, 6/32
RR: 3/32, 6/32, 6/32, 4/32

(Keep in mind the actual #s are 1/32 more than I listed due to my gage)

I felt across the treads for “feathering” but felt fairly uniform/smooth to me.
HOW TO READ TIRE WEAR

I suspect my Jag is out of alignment. Do you agree?
I hope no worn suspension parts.

I bought the tires @ Discount Tire (I’m in Arizona) but they do not do alignments & recommended 2 shops, both seem highly rated & say then do 4 wheel alignments on my 2000 XJ8 & will give me report. One charges $60 & the other $84. I check with Jaguar Dealer & they charge $179.95.

Is it worth paying more than double to have this done @ Jaguar? Is the alignment tricky or difficult so the other shops are unlikely to do it correctly? If I’m told I have worn part & that is why the tire wear is uneven, I will not know if it is true & must take them at their word. I feel no problems when driving.

I think tire tread warranty is void if there is more than a 2/32 difference between different spots, inner, center, outer, etc. This tire is no longer made in my size so any warranty by Micheline would require special handling & Michelin had told me they would pay “some money” towards another brand... if tire warranty applied to me.

Thanks!

 

Great attention to detail!

Yes, I would say that the front end would benefit from an alignment. You are getting inside wear that is common on these cars. The readings from the rear tell me that even at 34psi you are under inflated.

There is no mystery in front end alignment but the rear alignment takes shims that only the dealer is going to have. The key to a perfect alignment is the experience and capabilities of the tech doing the work. Today's computer alignment equipment is excellent and takes a lot of potential issues out of the hands of the tech. Several professionals on this forum have said that front toe should be adjusted with manual pressure applied to spread the tires out to reflect the normal rolling force trying to do the same. That is not covered in the HUNTER manual.

As far as indy vs dealer, they both are probably going to have similar equipment and the difference is going to be in the skills of the tech. See if you can talk to the techs involved and ask the above questions of them and make a decision at that point.

 

Above is not completely correct. Only the rear camber needs shims (if change is required).
The rear toe-in can be set as normal.

 

Guessing the first figure is a mistype and you meant Rrear. Looks like under inflated rears and a toe in issue on the front. What pressures are you running? How many miles on the tires? How is the balance?

Our local Jag dealer is running a special for $170 to align, balance and rotate -- if your dealer is doing that for the quoted price, I would do that. I have had alignments done by Sears (~$60) when tires bought and the "best" independent alignment shop (~$80) four months ago, and seeing toe in wear up front after 8000 miles: 3500 after the last alignment was at speeds over 70 mph on long trips. I will try the dealer next.

Found running 34 fronts and 36 rears gives better ride, control and wear; but I suspect that is highly dependent on the tire design. (Cooper C4s).

For what it is worth!

 

Oops! I did have a typo when typing my handwritten data here. RR was the last measurement I took. I’ve corrected it in my post:

LF: 4/32, 5/32, 5/32, 5/32
LR: 3/32, 6/32, 6/32, 4/32

RF: 3/32, 6/32, 5/32, 6/32
RR: 3/32, 6/32, 6/32, 4/32

So, on both Rear tires, both inside & outside edges are wearing faster than center.
On Front tires, just the outside edges are wearing faster.

Jhartz, I run 32 F & 34 R COLD. I never used the lower comfort recommended pressure listed in manual & underside or of center console lid. I have 24,000 miles on these tires. I rotate & spin balance every 6,000 miles @ Discount Tire where I purchased these. Every time I insist on spin balance & ask them if they had to move/change the weights & last time, as always, they DID make an adjustment. Last rotation was 76174 miles. (b4 that was 70,174 miles) So, less than 4K since last rotation. (I did have a leak in LR tire repaired & rebalanced 1-30-2015 @ 77, 469 miles.) You ask: “how is the balance?” I don’t FEEL any problem & assume that they balance the tires correctly each time I have them rotated & I always insist that they balance them since they tend to want to skip it or do it every other time.

Test point, I might be able to talk to the techs @ the independent shops but, I am certain I will not be able to @ the dealer. Maybe if I insist, by phone when I am with the service advisor. All the techs are in a separate building ½ mile away & even the service advisors only speak to them via phone or email. Penske has a huge complex for many high end manufacturers who all share a HUGE, air conditioned garage.
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So, if only the dealer has shims which may be needed for the rear alignment (just camber as per ericjansen) then neither of the independent shops can actually do a proper 4 wheel alignment!

I’m leaning towards having the dealer do the alignment.

Thanks for the replies!

 

These is no use in discussing the unknown.
The 4 wheel allignment procedure is a matter of measure, analyse, adjust if necessary, and check.

You really first need to know what your present situation is, which settings are ok, and which are outside the box.
In the meantime, with info on this forum, you can try to determine the more optimum settings within the Jaguar approved "green range", and such things as spreading the fronts during the adjusting.

For the rear, your camber might be slightly out of the approved settings due to aging suspension, but the toe is more important to prevent wear. Rear camber can be lower on your list for now until you know the actual values.
Then, there is no black magic to wheel allignment, also not for a x308, and I figured a wheel shop does it way more often then the dealer, hence more experience. The price advantage comes as an extra ...

 

Ericjansen,

Depends upon what exactly you mean by “Unknown.”

There is a point in me posting/discussing this issue bc while there may be things unknown to me, they may be known to others with much more experience & expertise. BTW, If I had the equipment & skill to do a 4 wheel alignment myself, I would have already done so.

 

I was referring to the fact that right now, you dont know the actual settings of the car.
I meant that only by doing the first phase of a wheel allignment procedure (the check), you will know how good or bad it is, and what is out of range.
As long as you dont even know if your rear camber is off, why to make it a decisive factor for a dealer selection?
My mare advise it to go by the facts ..

 

I have no uneven tread wear & no alignment problem.
I will update this post to possibly help others in the future.
Got the alignment checked for free! Didn’t need an alignment per tech. How’s that for being honest!

I attach my alignment check results.

For years I measured my tread only in the 2 center grooves. Some months ago I was told by Discount tire that you need to measure in several places across the width of the tire. I (wrongly) assumed the 2 edge measurements s/b right @ the edge of the tread almost on the curve. Today, I was informed that even new tires do not have the full 10 or 11 32nds at that edge spot & to measure farther in. So I did.

Measured 4 spots per tire (& this time not so close to the edge) I will list in this order; outside edge, outside center groove, inside center groove & inside edge. Note: I changed the listed tire order compared to 1st post.

LF: 4/32, 5/32, 5/32, 4.5/32
RF: 6/32, 5.5/32, 5/32, 4.5/32

LR: 5/32, 5/32, 5/32, 4.5/32
RR: 4.5/32, 5/32, 5/32, 4.5/32

(Keep in mind the actual #s are 1/32 more than I listed due to my gage)

I can pick different spots & easily get +/- 0.5/32
These tread depth gages are not very accurate & the tire may also have variances in tread depth even in the same center groove if you just move 4 inches in the direction of that groove. Even if very careful to hold gage at same exact angle to your eye.