Tag Archives: Tires

Aligned at Crest Cadillac

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Ran by Crest Cadillac this morning at 7 AM for a suspension alignment for my 2008 Cadillac STS-V.  Alignment is something that does not HAVE to be done at the dealer, but Crest makes it easy to get in and out and on with my day.

2008 STS-V Suspension Alignment before, spec, and after

I went in with the expectation that the current alignment was okay, but after my recent tire issue I wanted to be sure.  The alignment report shows the car as a STS base model, but Cadillac only issued one alignment spec for the STS.

I scheduled ahead of time online with Crest, and they emailed and called to confirm.  I asked for a 7 am start, and my Service Advisor Gene met me as soon as the door opened.  It took just over an hour for the alignment, so I enjoyed the Customer Lounge, and wandered out and looked at the new Cadillacs.

Line of new CTS-Vs waiting for Happy Cadillac Owners

Based on the inner-edge wear on the original Pirellis I thought if anything was off in the alignment it would be the camber.  The alignment results show that the camber was in spec, but the Toe-In was off slightly left front and right rear.  Normally one might expect a saw-tooth wear pattern across the tread if the toe-in is off.

I have read other owners experienced a similar wear pattern with the Pirelli runflats, so I am not certain what to conclude.  I’ll keep an eye on the wear pattern for the new tires and we’ll see.  In the mean time, I’ll keep enjoying the STS-V.

Tires: Going for the Spare

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I like my Cadillacs as touring cars.  Cadillac models  make terrific road trip cars since they are comfortable to travel over long distances, yet offer terrific performance.

 

2008 STS-V wheels on a Test Drive V

Because of my recent tire issue I recognize I am sensitive on this topic, and perhaps old-fashioned, but I would like to have a spare tire in the trunk for when you just have to have a spare.  My 2008 Cadillac STS-V does not have a spare; it came with runflat tires instead.  This seemed news to the roadside assistance people, who although they were happy to come put on the spare for me were not all that much help other than to offer to tow the car.   I happened to be alone on a Sunday morning that day, but if I had been on vacation with my Wife it would be been a bigger deal.

The front wheels on the V are 18″ x 8.5″ x 51mm offset; the rears are 19″ x 9″ x 56mm offset.  The front tires are 255/45-18 and the rears are 275/40-19.   The OEM wheels are made by Speedline, and are nice wheels.

The wheels are different sizes front to back, and all the tires are directional, which means they have to be mounted to rotate in a specific direction.  So the right front can’t be put on the left front without remounting the tire on the wheel.  This is perhaps the root of the issue with having a spare, and why the car came with the runflats.

My first thought was since the outer diameter of the 255/45-18 and the 275/40-19 are very similar, just put the 18s on all the way around the STS-V, front and back.    Then purchase a spare wheel/tire, and put it in the trunk, along with a jack, etc.  So plan A would require 3 new 18″ wheels and 3 new tires.

The directional spare tire/wheel 50% of the time would be on ‘wrong’, but would do to get us to the next stop or two until we could get a proper tire mounted.

Next I think plan B is to consider that the front and rears ARE almost the same outer diameter.  So if a front wheel/tire will mount on the rear, then the same spare could also work for getting to the next stop or two.  There is a difference in offset between the fronts and rears, and wheel width, but I will have to examine on the V for fitment.    This would also impact ‘plan A’, since it is possible that a front wheel/tire won’t work on the rear at all.

BUT if a front wheel/tire will work on the back, then a front spare wheel/tire would work as a spare for all corners, and plan B can be to just get one 18″ wheel/tire combo, put it in the trunk with jack and wrench and mark it done at less out of pocket.  That would satisfy my sense of frequently not needed versus like to have.  The tire pressure monitoring system won’t like ANY of this, but that can be sorted out.

 

With help from TexasJim, Re-Tired

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Sunday after my tire incident the STS-V had been towed to Frank Kent Cadillac in Fort Worth (60 miles from home).

Sunday night TexasJim called to volunteer to join the STS-V at Frank Kent, which is his regular Dealer, and make sure they knew it was there, etc.  I hated to infringe on Jim’s time but the best thing to do when someone offers to help and you need help is say “yes!”

Jim arrived over at Frank Kent as soon as they opened, and discussed the situation.  They said nothing for it but new tires.  Jim trimmed the errant tread off the tire, then carefully drove it over to Discount Tire.  We had previously discussed this as an option.  He arrived there before they opened, but waited with the STS-V for them to open and serve the coffee.

Jim got me on the phone and we discussed options with the Discount Tire.  I had in mind some Hankook tires, but they would not arrive until Wed/Thurs, so we picked some Continental tires they had in stock.  Jim stayed with the Cadillac until the tires got on, and until I finally got through rush hour traffic to the tire place.  I dropped Jim back at Frank Kent, and ran home to my other appointments.

Jim’s help was terrific and instrumental in helping things along.  Thanks Jim!