Update:
I just returned from the shop and after 2 hours of re-mounting all four tires and “road force balancing”, the car is as smooth as silk again. I took it on the interstate and ran it up to speed (75-100 just for a few moments) and at normal speeds on the way home and everything was perfect,
Thanks to everyone for the great input and thanks again to George for the great link.

 

Thats great, glad it worked out for ya!

 

Glad it worked out for you as well...

I was actually talking to a good friend of mine who has a shop who was talking to a hunter rep, who was talking about how road force balancing may be heading the way of the dodo bird, and that the next gen balancers will use lasers to measure everything, and balance truer with less weight.

Instead of balancing with an inner and outer weight, they use weight along the center line of the wheel. Sounds like pretty interesting stuff.

George

 

Wonder how many independent shops will be willing to scrap their road force units and pony up for the cost of the laser-balancing units? Around here, even the best independent shops are often slow to move to newer technology due to the cost. Especially if they are still amortizing the purchase of their current equipment....

 

Jon,

I'm guessing not many. By the way, the alignment on my 2005 S-Type is still dead on after over a year since I bought it. It's the only car I've had that runs as straight as it does. When the time comes I'll go back to the Jag dealer to have it done again as they seem to have the right specs and equipment. It may be a bit more expensive but it seems worth it in my opinion.

Mike

 

Mike,

What does your dealership charge for an alignment?

Our car has also held its alignment well. It was aligned when the new Hankook tires were installed by the dealership just prior to us purchasing it in December 2008, then again in May 2009 when I had the rear tie-rod boots and stabilizer links replaced under the factory warranty, then again in August 2009 while undergoing repairs from the 8/3/09 accident when I got plowed by the Geico driver in the Ford truck. All three alignments were performed by the local dealership that tends to charge double for everything compared to the dealership in Greensboro, 70 miles away from me. Since I didn't pay for any of these alignments, it will be interesting to compare costs once new tire-buying time rolls around....

I've kept Brutal's recommended S-Type alignment specs from a couple of weeks ago and when I next have an alignment done, I'm taking my document with me and asking for those specs to be followed....

 

$140. That's their normal price. If you do $500 in repairs, then it's thrown in for free. That is the dealer closest to me.

Mike

 

Probably not many is right...

Look at how many "Road force" Balancers (which cost 15k) v/s conventional dynamic balancers which cost 2-3k are out there. As always the dealers, and huge chains will be the early adopters. The most interesting part of the laser balancers is that instead of using an inner and outer weight, and just balancing on two planes, they actually calculate on an infinite number of planes and tell you exactly where across the width of the wheel to place a a weight. The 2 plane design is a compromise where you have to offset the weight on one plane with an opposing weight on another plane.

Apparently as the OEM's spec bigger wheels and lower profile tires, cars are becoming much more sensitive to wheel balance issues... Hence more focus on the technology.

George

 

Just give me good ol' 16-inch wheels on all of our vehicles from now on and I'll be a happy man with no worries about wheel-and-tire issues....

 

Where would you like them delivered?

 

Just hang on to 'em. When I need 'em, I'll call. If the phone doesn't ring, it's me....

 

I just had my S-Type in for a vibration and howling noise. Since it was still under warranty, I wanted to eliminate a bad front wheel bearing as the cause. The front wheel bearing and suspension all checked out so then I had the tires road force balanced and an alignment done. The car is now much smoother and quieter. Any residual noise I attribute to the Hankook tires the dealer installed when I bought the car. I'm guessing the directional tread pattern causes the noise. When it comes time to replace them I will be looking at either Yokohamas or Dunlops.

 

Yup... Just dumped my directional tires as well. One week into it and much smoother and quieter. Ahhhh...

 

Mike,

How many miles on your set of Hankooks? Our set now has about 34,200 miles on them, along with just over 3/32 of remaining tread. All four tires have worn evenly showing no signs of misalignment. They are not much noisier than they were when new. They have never hydroplaned. But the problem is that as a 50,000-mile warrantied tire, they are a joke. I have cared for them with weekly pressure checks and rotation at every oil & filter change (just like all the tires on all of our vehicles). They see mostly highway cruiser duty. But let's face it, they're cheap and they won't come close to delivering their warrantied mileage even with the best of care....

I spoke with my Discount Tire buddy this past Saturday morning. He quoted me a good deal on a set of Dunlop SP Sport Signatures, $560 out-the-door. His quote for a set of Yokohama Avid ENVigors was $700 out-the-door. I told him that I'm going to try to run these Hankooks into early 2011 and then I'll come see him to get the Dunlops. Annual inspection on the car is due next month. The fading Hankooks should pass inspection one more time, but you just never know....

 

Jon,

Mine have about 18K miles on them so they should be good for another two years or so. My car does a mix of in-town and highway driving so I'm guessing 50K might a bit optimistic. The other thing I noticed is that I tend to push it a bit on back roads, much more so than when drove the late Great White Whale or my current Audi A6. Dynamically, the S-Type is real close to a full-on sports sedan whereas the Audi is more like a conventional family car. Softer, but not as capable.