Hi Everyone.

I have a 1999 Jaguar XK8 and just recently had to have new tires put on. I had Michelin tires on it but they couldn't get those so they put on a new set of Uniroyals. It was driving fine afterwards but when I got on the freeway and took it up to 70mph it started shuddering. I took it back to the shop and they balanced the tires again but the problem still persists. Also the Stability Fail light comes on. Any suggestions?

Best, Stuart.

 

Could be the tires are faulty - Uniroyal is not one of the better tire brands. I have found that in order to achieve the best balancing characteristics on these cars, the tires need to be Hunter road force balanced. Did your shop indeed do that?

 

And there was no sign of these symptoms before the tire change ?

Z

PS ask for a different brand. btw, Tirerack.com shows the Michelin’s as available. What diameter are your wheels ?

 

Then I bought Michelin Sports 4S and the problem disappeared for ever. My Yokohama keep having a flat spot and over 100kh it was insane.

Normally you have a 30 days warranty or trial period, if I was you I will go back to Michelin.

 

Hmm. If the car is new to you and you have repairs on the list that need doing.

Sometimes alignment and suspension items can be so out of wack that tires will wear in a way that adjust to the issue,,, meaning they wear enough in an incorrect way to reduce the amount of adverse symptoms you'll feel in the wheel or in the entire car.

Put on a new set O tires and the disguised problems shows themselves...

How are the upper control arms? The ball joints? The shock mounts and the lower CAs? The shop may have aligned the steering to compensate for worn suspension and steering parts.

Just throwing it out there as a possibility.

 

Stuguitar,
Just got some questions to help identify possible causes:

1. Can you feel the shuddering through the steering wheel? Which may indicate a front wheel....
2. Is it more noticeable when you brake? or corner?
3. Do you think it's coming from the rear wheels or simply too difficult to tell?
4. Are there any other noises or knocks?

 

I'd like to thank everyone on this forum for their help. After trying out all the possible suggestions I had my tire guy find some Michelins and replace the Uniroyals and the problem is gone.

Thanks again.

 

Uniroyal tires are admittedly not the best tire money can buy. However, this episode makes me wonder if the fault can be placed on the brand itself, or, more likely in my view, an individual defective tire.


I completely understand the reluctance to try a new set of the same brand, but it would’ve been instructional to know if another Uniroyal set would have duplicated the fault.

Z

 

There are several tire brands that I refuse to purchase due to various problems with some of their models during the past 30 years or so. They include Goodyear, Pirelli, and Uniroyal. My approach may not be completely fair to ever-changing tire technology within those companies but I have never had issues with Bridgestone, Continental, Dunlop, General, and Yokohama so I stick with those brands. The recent set of Barum Bravuris 5HM tires I installed on my wife's 2006 XK8 will hopefully prove themselves during the next year or two. Because Barum is a subsidiary of Continental, I was willing to roll the dice on them....

I was pro-Michelin back in the 1970s and 1980s but by the 1990s, some of the other tire companies began to produce tires that were every bit as good as Michelin at much better price points. It has been nearly 30 years since I purchased my last set of Michelins....

 

So far I’ve had the all-season versions of Goodyear, Pirelli, and Michelin on my ‘02 XKR.

They all seem to give the same ride, traction, and about the same wear, with the Michelins wearing slightly slower.

More or less my driving is 20% town, 40% highway, and 40% spirited driving on rural 2 lane roads.

I had hoped to pick a clear “winner” from my tire selections, but so far I can’t say one tire manufacturer is much different from the others.

After reading this topic I’m tempted to go with Uniroyal for my next set just out of curiosity.


Z

 

I had Yokohama high end and Toyo Proxes Sport A/S on m’y XK8 2006 Victory Édition and I always have vibration, flat spot for 10km and more and nothing could make the car feel like a luxury car.

i do have Pirelli P7 on my XF-S and they feel great but never like my Michelin Sports 4S on the XK8.

I will stick with those as long I have my XK8 and when ever my Pirelli P7 are finish, I will go for Michelin again for my all year round XF-S.

They are amazing on dry, wet, silent, high speed, cornering,no more flat spot and vibrations. With all the cracks on our Quebec road, I don’t feel them anymore.

 

did you read the code for the stability fail light? If you did what was the code.

 

Interesting, Gus... Quick question. Can/will a "pulsing" on off of the stability control, say in one quadrant, where the other 3 are inactive be possible? Could this be a "thing",,,, in your experience and would it be felt in the drive?

 

Yes on a temporary fault. Depending on the reader you use.

Gus
JagRepair.com - Jaguar Repair Information Resource

 

Your tire problem reminded me of the similar problem I had many years ago with my 1970 Sunbeam Alpine GT. I had the original worn out tires replaced with Coopers I believe. Everything was fine until 55+mph, then the car shuttered so bad, I thought the bonnet would pop! I took it to an alignment specialty shop. Immediately they said my tires were egg shaped. They professed that no tire is perfectly round. They put one on the shaving machine and just let it rotate. I could actually see how the clearance between the tire and the cutting edge would open and close. As much as I hated to leave brand new rubber that I had paid for lying on the floor, he assured me that it would be such a small amount and it would far more make up for it in handling and tire life. He was absolutely right, The car road perfectly smooth after that. He even told me that he had regular customers that when get new tires that are not giving them any problems. they bring them in to be shaved to extend tire life and even better ride.