This morning I heard an ad on the radio that got me thinking. Can "Ernie's Tire Emporium" do a front-end alignment on my 2005 S-Type 3.0 when I get tires replaced or are there special tools involved?

Thanks.

Eric

 

Any good alignment shop can align just about any vehicle, but that doesn't mean you'll drive away with a decent alignment on each and every car. There's a lot of "art" along with the "science" behind alignments. While the book may tell the tech to put the specs exactly in the middle of a certain range, an experienced tech may know that some cars' alignments set up better if the specs are pushed further out one way or another within the listed ranges.

Familiarity with the make and model along with its suspension tendencies goes a long way towards getting an alignment right, especially on a relatively uncommon car....

 

Good points Jon, I found out that the hard way on my XK8, found that the dealer and a 'british' car specialist knows the sweet spot on my car. But, the suspension on the s-type is considerably different, and if I had one (s-type), i'd try it with a 'chain' tire store once to see if they could get it right. I do ask for their best tech if I go that route though, in case that matters. Once, the manager re-did the alignment himself after he test drove it and found it to drift a little to the right after his tech finished up. I appreciated that.

 

Funny thing this came up. I know there is / are issues with the S having premature inside tire wear. So, my car started to do it on the fresh tires. I had the dealer do an alignment soon after I bought it. It didn't pull, but the steering wheel was off center. They fixed it. I got new tires, but silly me, didn't get it aligned. Here is where the funny part comes in. I had a local Firestone shop that has good techs and a decent price on a "lifetime" alignment. I had that on the Honda and would get an alignment twice a year. Once for the summer tires and once for the winter...all with my little "lifetime" card. It was great and they always did a very good job. So I called them about the S. The person that answered connected me with the shop manager who explained to me that their system told them that my car had adjustments that they couldn't do correctly... I thought, hmmmm, payback for all the freebies in the past???? Well, I called another chain, Conrads, and they too told me they couldn't do it but steered me to a specialist shop that should. I have not taken it there yet, but plan to after talking with them. The dealer wants $190 to do another alignment and this shop charges $119, and that is all they do, alignments. So, beware of the chain stores that say "sure, we can do it..$49.95". Just my 2cents.

 

I would recommend going to either a dealer or a Jag specialist. There is a TSB out that has the revised alignment specs. Not sure "Ernie" would know or have the specs. Also, the technicians experienced with Jaguars may know what settings work best by experience as mentioned earlier.

Mike

 

well, there ya go...s-types are just as finicky as the xks. I didn't know that.

 

Hi h2oboy,

The cars or the owners?

Mike

 

Thanks. I'll file this information away.

Eric