I'm up to the 4th set of front tires on my 2005 XK8 Coupe with 67K miles! (on the second set of rears). The problem is the alignment (accelerated wear on inner edge) - which Jag service says cannot be adjusted and is "normal" for this car - it's a factory pre-set only?


I'm wondering if this is a faulty factory "pre-set" and somehow can be corrected with a "repair" (other than usual alignment process)??


Anyone have the same experience, or recommendations?


Thanks,


JP


PS: Recently put on a new set of Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3. Great handling , low noise and great ride. And they are non directional. This is a new Michelin design/technology that's getting high marks.

 

JP,

I've moved your question from General Tech Help to XK8/XKR forum as this is a model specific issue.

Members here with the same model will be able to help.

Graham

 

Take the car to an independent alignment shop and make sure they will give you a printout. The toe in can most certainly be adjusted and often is the culprit for tire wear. If the camber is very negative it may be that your car has lowering springs.
Anyway, post the results here and you will get assistance.

 

The rears suffer from a little too much negative camber...but rarely get 'out of spec'. A few of us (me included) have gotten shims installed that brings the camber back in the range and lessens the accelerated tire wear on the inside edge. Proper inflation was the best way I had found to get as even wear across the entire tread profile as possible.

Now, the fronts, you'll find more variables that contribute there. True, 'toe-out' is the worst and most prevalent, and you need to find a shop that knows how to 'load' the front before finally setting it. I recommend a dealer here, they know this particular model's sweet spot on that front alignment...other shops just adjusted it and sent me on my way, with disappointment. Also affecting the inner tire wear is the negative camber gradually increasing due to spring fatigue, upper mount degradation, shocks (others will argue it doesn't, but I disagree), basically any part of the suspension that can allow the nose to get closer to the ground can alter the camber if it starts to drop.

My camber was badly out of spec, and inner tire wear was KILLING me, so I did the upper shock mounts, control arm bushings, shocks, and the spring packer on the bottom of the spring. Now, all is back in the green.