I am so pleased with myself and my Jag again.

Over the last 12 months the car had developed a road roar so bad it was driving me nuts. The wah, wahh, wahh sound when stopping, the deminished ride quality and negitive comments from friends were making me think bad thoughts about my XJR.

One of my friends was even convinced the front hub bearings were on their way out.

So I replaced 2 of the worn down Pirelli Summer High Performance tires with Pirelli Four Season P6s on the front. The problem is 90% cured and the magic is back. Will replace the other 2 as required. The cost was a heart attack but what the hell.

 

Glad to hear your problems are gone! Go out and enjoy it now.

 

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Yeah well Pirellis do that, if you asked me I would tell you right away =)

 

nice to hear it was an easy fix, sorry the wallet was dinged though!

 

Glad , you fixed the problem that easy w/o any mechanical issues

 

I think that was a pretty obvious fix. Usually those noises come from the tires!

Glad you fixed it, though!

 

The fix wasn't quite as obvious, at least to me, as meets the eye. I knew I could fix the problem with 4 new tires and $1400, inclusive of tax, state fees, etc. However, the issue was a bit more complex.

My problem was 2 relitively new Falken Summer Hi Perf. tires on the front and 2 well worn Pirelli P0 Asimetricos Summer Hi Perf. on the rear. The "roar" was the same no matter how we positioned the tires. Moreover, the ride of the car really got to me old back after 5 to 12 hrs. Additionally, taking the car north in the Winter with these Summer Hi Perf. tires was a bad move -twice. Some people learn slower than others.

So, how to fix the roar, improve the ride, gain some traction in the cold and not replace the complete tire set unless I had to. My tire store told me that 4 season tires are quieter and ride better than Summer Hi Perf. tires. Top name brand 4 season tires, available in my size, came down to Pirelli and Michelin. Michelins were $700 the pair. Pirellis were $500 the pair. Solution--- replace the 2 old Pirellis with 4 season P6 Pirellis, see if the roar went away and if it didn't-- replace the Falkens as well.

My tire guys, good as they are, guaranted to cure the roar only with a set of 4 new tires. As it turned out the roar went away with only 2 new tires , which was the main issue, so I did not have to spend another $700 to replace the Falkens. The cold traction and ride issue is 50% solved. I will deal with that when the Falcons ware out.

So "now you know the rest of the story" as Paul Harvey used to say.

PS: I forgot to mention that we flopped the Falkens on their wheels and switched sides with them. Tire dealed says that prevents noise build up as they wear. We'll see.

 

I've tried Falcon's on two cars, including my XJ8; within 10,000 miles the roar was so bad my wife even complained... that should tell you how bad it was. I've had the P6s in the past and loved them. Great tire.

 

I would love to see some future posts on your performance on your P6's. My experience with P6's was poor wear and quickly became the noisiest tire I have ever owned, although my Proxes are coming in a close second!

 

Be glad to keep you guys posted on how the P6s work out but be warned, I only drive about 10,000 miles a year.
I really don't understand what it is about this car (350) that makes it so sensitive to tires. I've had a number of Jags over the years and never experienced this.

 

I have the P6's on my XJ8 and they are the noisiest tires I have ever experienced! I can't wait to get rid of them, but they won't wear out. A friend with an XJ8 replaced his with the Hankook V12's and his car is so quiet now. I'm going to replace mine with the Hankooks very soon because the P6's are 7 years old now.

 

I got interested in the Hankook V12 myself but then discovered they did not make an all season varient. I just have to have some 4 season capability as I go north 2 or 3 times a year, usually in Winter. Also , the ride quality of 4 season tires appeal to me.

Otherwise, I hear nothing but good about this V12 evo. They are priced right too.

I certainly hope I made the right decission re these P 6s as I must live with them for a long time, given the cost.

By the way guys. Don't forget the tire flop and left to right switch trick with your noisy tires. My dealer says it sometimes works 100%.

 

It occurs to me in researching tires throughout these forums that you can get adamant testimonials for or against noise in nearly any brand of tire out there. So be it. You pay your money and hope for the best.

What I really would like to know is:
Has anybody out there found tire roar relief by flopping unidirectional tires on the wheel and moving the wheel to the opposite side of the car?

My tire guy postulates that given the width of XJ wheels with support available only on the extreme outside edge that the tires are subject to unusuall stress that over time accounts for the roar. Something like "the inner styucture of the tire "takes a set" that sooner or later results in excessive noise. He recommends periodic "tire flopping".

I am completely unqualified to form an opinion on this which begs the question: do we have members out there who have experience with this "tire flopping" subject?

 

When you say Falcons, do you mean Falkens? Those are probably the noisiest tires I've ever had.

I suppose for an XJR, the priority is more performance than noise comfort, but for touring tires, I have had a great experience with Yoko Avid Touring S tires. I wonder if they are available on XJ sizes!

 

By the way, where on earth are you guys paying $1200-1400 for a set of tires?!

 

The Hankook V4 has a great all season rating too. We just don't get much snow/ice here. And if we do, I just grab my Snuggie and settle in on the couch until its gone.

 

I was hoping a really authoritive voice would tune in re this road roar issue and the questions I posed. That not being the case I will relate what I have been able to gather from the net and various tire company web sites.

1. Once road roar has started there is little you can do about it except change out the tires.

2.Summer high performance tires, regardless of brand, are more prone to the condition. They are usually wide, low profile and unidirectional.

3.Preventive maintenance in the form of wheel allignment, tire ballancing and perodic rotation is very important. Rotation may include flipping unidirectional tires on the wheel.

4. Minute uneven ware variation, such as but not limited to cupping, is the main offender.

5.You can get empassioned testimonials, pro and con, on any tire you care to choose regarding tire roar.

Feel free to add to this info if you care to but please no more brand discussions. It just confuses me.

 

I have the Hancook V12 on my XJR and they are very quiet, stick very well on the road and great in wet conditions but their is one problem, they don't last very long. Mine were gone after only 14,000km, couldn't even make two summers with them.

 

I can't recall a tire that gets more positive press than your Hancook V12s. The combo of price and performance seems unmatched. I was sold on them myself but I had to have 4 season capability and they didn't come that way. Anyway,I was after a better ride and lower exposure to road noise so I was intent on avoiding the Summer Hi Perf. tires.

Bummer re your milage. Thats a new one for me.