My 2005 XK8 has a vibration at all speeds in the steering wheel that feels like going over rumble strips. I had new tires put on along with balance and alignment to no effect. Could it be front strut mounts or some other suspension related issue. Thanks.

 

After wheel balance, the next most likely reason is worn wheel bearings, which, coincidentally, are a known weakness on the XK8. It can often be felt with the wheel on the ground if you push and pull it in and out across opposite sides by grabbing the tyre. Any play is bad.

Richard

 

Year ago I bought my 03 XKR with 87K. Within a couple of weeks after fighting a TERRIBLE handling/driving issue I had new Continentals mounted on the 20's frt and rear. I found it took 100+ miles to wear them in and find driving a great experience. 1 quirk of the Conti's is when parked in my garage (on cement) for 2-3 days they are cold and will take a few miles to heat up to "operating temps". The vibrations go away and its smooth driving. It's common with "performance" tires. Might try this and see if it gives you the results I have.

 

Always a good idea to have your tires Hunter Road Force Balanced with these cars....

 

If everything else is perfect, a worn upper mount can cause this. Have seen it a few times and experiencing it now. The test is if one is on very smooth asphalt surface, does the problem stop. The rebounding of washboard surfaces causes the momentary loss of grip which produces the steering feedback. Note that everything else must be fine, or else this is not a reliable test.