Pirelli roll noise

[Hovhaness]

Hello everybody,

My recently bought X100 XKR has a lot of roll noise (pitch varies with wheel speed), which I, being a bit autistic, find very annoying. Is it normal for the Pirelli tires to sound like they have the profile of an off-roading 4x4? And which quieter brand would you recommend? Personally, I feel attracted to Michelin.

Thank you for your ideas!

Regards,
Hans

[BrizzleJag]

I assume that the Pirelli's you are running are P-Zero's and are the correct fit, these should't give you much road noise as they are rated at 72Db. I'm running Bridgestone Potenza's which are rated at 73Db and I get virtually no noise from these in the car. I ran Dunlop SP Sports on my Masserati which were very very good and are rated at only 69Db but I'm not sure if they do a correct fitment for the Jag. I use an excellent independent tyre fitter (Mike Knight Tyres) in Bristol who gives good advice and also checks the correct fitment with the manufacturer. Might but worth finding a good local independent where you are and ask their opinion.

[Zennan101]

Hi,

When I replaced a pair of rear P Zeros with a pair of Dunlop Sport Max on my XK8 the reduction in tyre roar was immediately noticeable. When it comes around to replacing tyres on my XF I will definitely be looking to change away from Pirellis. It may be subjective but I personally think that tyre roar from Pirellis increases as they wear. Brand new they are acceptable but when getting closer to 3mm of tread the noise increases. It would be interesting to know how the noise rating is arrived at. I expect the tests are conducted with new tyres?

Rod

[J44EAG]

Fully agree with Zennan about Pirelli noise.

I`ve always found the Dunlop Mxx good and the same with Avon ZZ5. Not much to choose between them.

Mike K

[Hovhaness]

Thank you very much, gents, for all your advise. I do like the grip of the Pirelli's, which is excellent, but the noise is driving me mental.
I'll go get some advise from an expert on noise levels and tire wear.

Best regards,
Hans

[Hovhaness]

A quick update on the tyres:
I found a good deal with 'tyres on the drive' for a brand new set of Dunlop Sportmaxx's: just over £600, including fitting at home. What do you want to hear first? The good or the bad news?
Good: a lot more grip, smoother ride, no more vibrations over 65mph, increased comfort and about 3-5mpg more economical!
Bad: that horrible roll noise is not gone, so it weren't the tyres. But still I'm happy to having replaced them, as the tyre specialist told me they were 10 (yes, ten!) years old and although thread-wise within the legal limits, hopelessly worn out by any other standard.
The origin of this horrible roll noise will no doubt show when visiting the independent Jaguar specialist on June 6th.

[J44EAG]

Possibly very tired wheel bearings.

That really is the only thing I can think of now that you have new tyres. I`ve always found Dunlop Mxx to be a first rate tyre and reasonably quiet as well.

Mike

[Hovhaness]

Hello gents,

A quick update on the matter, two weeks ago the XKR went to Tom Lenthal for a general check-up. Besides a whole shopping list of small and larger items to tackle, he found out that the terrible road noise came from the rear diff.
Yesterday I dropped off the car for ticking off the first items of that shopping list: rebuild of the rear diff, new engine drive belt, replacing brake fluid, welding of some rust areas around the rear wheels (easily accessible with the rear axle removed), installing headlamp drains, replacing a supercharger hose and re-attaching the rear bumper.
I also ordered a wind deflector, so I hope that that arrives on time to be fitted by Tom too.
And in two weeks I'll throw some more money at her by having some more items done

Greetings,
Hans

[mike020150]

Ah, the technicians at Pirelli can rest once more! The diff output bearings are the usual suspects when the rear starts to get noisy. I am sure the car will sound wonderful once it's fixed. Never mind the money, think of the enjoyment! Mike.

[J44EAG]

Tom and his guys are top operators. He is a modern day copy of John Coombs!

Tom is an agent for Quaife and only one of three outlets that can supply and fit the Quaife LSD which he together with Norman Durban and Quaife developed. Replacement OE diff parts for modern Jaguars are almost none existant and often leads to a new diff unit being installed. The last one I heard of the other day knocked out at £2800, ex Jaguar. Tom`s solution is to just fit a Quaife LSD at around £1800 and be done with the problem. It is cheaper for the customer and he gains an LSD in the process.

On a 350, the diff oil change is at 90k miles. It is probably similar for XK8 and S-type. I had Tom change my 350 diff oil at 80K. What came out was not nice and had little if any lubricating properties left in it. I`ll now be changing diff oil again but at each 50K service occurance. I`m of the opinion that 90k service intervals for the oil, is just far too long a period. Chatting with Tom the other day about diff issues, he too agrees that diff oil changing should occur more frequently than every 90K miles.

As Tom will be having the charger off for replacement of the dreaded valley hose, it is also worth having him change the supercharger oil at the same time. It is only a five minute job with the charger on the bench.....and you could also have him put a 6% pulley on the charger at the same time. That will produce a bit more low down torque. Again it is a quick and easy job with the charger off the car.

Mike K