Have a low mile (22,250) 2005. Tires look great, except inside edges of both fronts are worn at least twice as much as the rest of the tire. Had it at the dealer and they said this was the way the alignment was set at the factory. Does this make sense? If this is factory, what would I lose in terms of handling if I had the alignment reset to eliminate this uneven wear?

 

did they do an alignment to prevent any further premature wear?

 

There's a really good thread with the correct settings if you search on alignment (and see Brutal's comments). Sounds like it was wrongly aligned. Whether from the factory.... who can tell but irrelevant now.

Or... you have worn suspension in which case that needs fixing.

Make sure you go somewhere really GOOD as there are a lot of adjustable items on the car unlike most nowadays and they do need to be right.

 

I had my alignment done with Brutals specs, car rides great, but I am also getting serious edge wear. Not sure if the car got knocked out of alignment or its the nature of the STR set up.

 

Both my '03 4.2 and my '05 STR have a lot of inside edge wear...

 

I don't know if this will help but I'll take a stab at it. I have a V8 S-Type and don't have any abnormal tire wear issues. It's possible that the "S-Type R" gets a more performance oriented alignment which would probably include some negative camber. Neg. camber will usually cause the inside of the tire to wear a bit quicker. Also the toe has to be dead on or this additional neg. camber will really multiply wear on the inside. My son and I both have cars that we do lots of track with (mines a C6-Z06 Corvette) and we run fairly high degrees of neg. camber, as well as some toe adjustments. Inside front tire wear can be a real issue at some tracks and we keep a very close eye on this. It's a trade-off for performance. I'm not sure if this is the answer but it might be food for thought.

 

After two previous alignments set at 0.0 Total Toe-in during which a set of tires were badly worn on the inside front and back. I just installed a new set of tires and had the alignment done to reflect 0.26 Total Toe-in front and back to reflect the recommendation of Brutal.

We'll see how that works out...

 

yes the original factory setting caused too much inner tie wear so the toe in was increased. They should align it correctly(you have to pay) but keep in mind you need to talk to a tech. if the advisor is unaware of the changes cause they werent around then, or just dont know that would be his/her response. now if the whole service dept incl techs are unaware of the issue and the corrections(including having to still input the correct specs into the alignment machine even if the latest and greatest software is in, vcause its still wrong)
then run away.
Bull27 even with the correct specs I set the toe to the inside of the spec and then check deflection. and if there is too much deflection I have set cars into the red on a static alignment toe setting. See seaandranches pic, that alignment I have NO issue with and thats what mine would look like.
bacardi, no you shouldnt, if I did your alignment you wouldnt, you need to go and get that corrected.
Matty427, nope theyre the same on the r and na

 

Well here is what can go wrong if ya don't stand over the tech doing the alignment. I gave the tech a full sized copy of the alignment I posted above and went over it with him and insisted that no matter what the machine said that is what I wanted.

I left him to do his job. I also point out that my car was lowered and he would have to use blocks to shim the ramps on the lift. He agreed and complied. On and off smooth as silk. Once finished he took the car for a test drive. Upon his return he announced that it drove like a dream. I asked for the printout which he said he hadn't done so I insisted he go do it. He then produced the printout which was in degrees with the exception of the Toe-in which was in inches. He said it was exactly what I asked for so we went back and forth getting nowhere until I asked for the manager. He couldn't transpose so the manager asked me what he would like him to do. I said if ya can't produce the Toe-in in degrees put it back on the lift with the blocks and reset the machine to degrees and lets see what they are. Well guess what the front toe-in was .55 and rear toe-in was .44.

Do it over and I'm gonna stand here and make damn sure it's done the way I want it. Having done that I retreated to the office. The tech lowered the lift and neglected to put blocks in - tore up the passenger side rocker trim and dropped the front bumper and lower valance on the lift edge.

Get the manager as I'm about to smack the Tech and he asks me what would I like him to do about the damage which the Tech reluctantly admits to. I said look at the car what the f*ck do ya think I want ya to do about it. PAY TO GET IT FIXED.

I got a call from the body shop an hour ago should be on the street this afternoon. Rental car for three days and a repair bill of $2,000. The manager choked when I first showed him the estimate and I informed him the bumper was being removed, repaired and completely painted before re-assembly. He suggested his own body shop.

I calmly informed him "it's going to this specialty shop and this is not negotiable and additionally the bumper is being repaired and not replaced saving you money and if he argued anymore we were done talking - take responsibility and write the check either to me or the body shop - choose your poison".

In total this car has now had two previous alignments and two at this shop. A reputable shop I might add.

I also insisted that when they installed my new tires prior to the alignment to hand torque my wheels and re-torque my wheels after 300miles. I had the alignment done after the tire break-in.

Even when you are fussy sh*t happens...

 

Just as an aside,
I've never had a alignment on my 2003 Type-S V8. The tires are at least 4 yrs old, are still in great shape, and show no signs of abnormal wear. My snow tires have 4 winters on them and are marginal so they'll get turfed this year. I'll probably replace the original battery in the fall, only because it's around 9 yrs old. It still had plenty of cranking power last winter even at minus 30 deg.
Who says these cars aren't reliable!

 

lol damn, he didnt even have to change the machine specs really and thats why he screwed up the first time by taking it out of degrees. All you really have to do is go to the new spec toe in on the old spec screen. It will show its in the red under old specs for toe in but it will be correct. This is what i kept telling jaguar back in 03 when we were putting new tires on in front all the time when they had less than 12/12k on them. I looked at the tires and toed in more especially after racking the cars and seeing that according to the alignment specs they were in the green and fine,,,,but the tires say differantly. So i toed them into the red and they quit wearing the insides out. While others were still gettign their customers back with the same issue and looking for worn suspension or other issues. Finally jaguar changed the specs after we sent the enough reports

 

Brutal;
I am about ready. What does your dealership charge? Can I ask for you? My 2005 STR never been aligned since I got it over 40K miles ago. Drives great with just a little pull to the left. Just replaced all 4 tires and got 32K miles out of the old set with only a touch of inner edge wear. I am very impressed with how long the car stays in alignment!
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Do these new alignment specs apply to the 3 liter cars as well or only the STR with the heavier V8?

 

Yes it's the same, look here https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/s...age-faq-34962/ lot's of alignment info, thanks BRUTAL, and your answer is in post #67 ( I think).

 

Sweet!!!! A copy of your Alignment spec sheet is definitely going to be added in my records with "Jag alignment document in the FAQ's" next time I go in for a alignment

Thanks.

 

The main thing i want people to understand(other than "all" spec in alignment machines have incorrect toe specs, 2.5 my and up Stype) is that the shop should always check toe deflction after they set toe before they finallise and tighten everything up. Aka mercedes alignment with pressor bar,(push out with you hands evenly on the insde fronts of both front tires at the same time). This closely simulates what your tires and suspension do when youre driving. It also shows suspension issues you may have missed like bad tie rods, ball joints, wheel bearings, bushings, etc etc.
If they set to the middle or the outside of specs you can still have wornout inner tires because the tires "toe out" while driving. This is why i like a tight total toe of .26 there are even times ive had to toe into the red after checking deflection, but it gave even tire wear across the face of the tires.

 

Should that pushing be done with the weight of the car on or off the wheels?

I don't know anywhere that does such checks

The "toe out" when driving applies to all RWD cars as I recall, due to the pushing from the rear.

 

Its not that its rear drive, its more that the steering rack is behind the axle. Car with racks in front while they still toe out while driving due to that thing we all know as physics, they tend to be less afected. But still so. Its just one of the things i picked up from personal experiance over the years. When you work on not only the same type car day after day. But the "same" customers cars year after yr. You get to see what works and what doesnt. The stype is a big case in point. Back when the car came out they where chewing up tires in front and under the 12/12 warrant, tires in front were replaced and alignments done. Well after you start seeing a pattern of tires chewed up, but alignment is in specs you know there is a problem(or should know) so i began to align the cars with more toe in than spec'd, into the red out of spec. Now the cars i was doing quit wearing the insides of the tires and the cars others did to specs continued to do so. It only to a couple of conversations with jaguar tech line before jaguar finally decided that indeed the toe spec on 2003 and up s type was incorrect and they changed the toe in tolerance specs. This is the only change that was done and all stype regarless of engine are the same spec.. As i have also stated that even a car that has an alignment done and is say in the middle or towards the outside of what many consider a "good in the green" alignment, will wear out the insides of the tire tread. This is because "if" you push out on the insides of the front tires while on the alignment rack with the weight on the tires, you can see how much deflection the tires will see on the road. I dont do this much on cars unless I think I should. Because after doing this so much, you get a feel and know where most all the cars go and how to comphensate for this without having to check every car. Problem is, few people I have ever seen pay attention and I still see techs on the rack look at and alignment and say"well it green and good to go" uh yeah okay. I dont think so adn offer my opinion and what I would change. I never profess to know it all, I dont. But we all here try to work together sand help each other to get better results for a customer. Back on topic now...
No you dont have to push hard, just evenly. Maybe someone could come over here and take a video on post it then i wouldnt have to explain what this is all the time. If a tech has ever properly done a mercedes benz alignment, they should know what benz is looking for by installing a "pressor bar". Its to align the car with the "slack" taken out of the steering and suspension which closely resembles the conditions of driving the car down the road.

 

Thanks!