enginyr

Thats wierd how one tire has more wear than the other, yet your alignment is perfect....Hmmm.......

///MDex

Well, not perfect obviously, but I never experienced any pulling, or jerking while on flat, level, smooth pavement - nothing that would throw up a red flag.

FWIW, I positioned these 2 to show some of the more affected areas...

jberger

Not Really,
The right side (Passenger) will always wear first because of the condition of the road on that side. Trucks cause that portion of the roadway to deteriorate first. The left side is smoother so the components last longer.

The alignment is probably correct on the table, just not on the road. I'd assume that the upper links (or GS equivient) are worn and cannot hold the camber/caster at speed. That explains why it looks fine on the table, but wears out on the road.

Bigger tires only magnify the issues, due to changes in construction, loading and caster/camber. If you make dramatic changes to the tire/wheel sizes, you've got much less margin of error in the suspension components. They've got to be perfect to achieve the same benefits as a marginal component using 16" tires.

Flammers take note: I'm not saying the suspension is marginal, only that the parts will wear producing a marginal result.

So you've got 3 real issues here:
1) Suspension Components that need to be changed. I'm not sure which ones, but something is wearing out and needs to be replaced, probably every 30-40K miles. If people would start posting the milage on the cars and when the problem started to happen, I think you would find none occur with less than 25K miles.

2) Suspension Specifications, if you are running larger rims and tires, you probably need to recalibrate the specs to fit those changes. L-tuned may already have the preliminary numbers for bigger combos.

3) Tires.
Just becuase they look cool, doesn't mean they are built to suit the task. The GS is HEAVY, really HEAVY, you need a tire that is constructed to take the weight and loading. Michelin is probably the best constructed tire for the task. What works on a small or lightwieght auto is not going to hold up to the beating of the GS.

888GS430

Same thing happened to my oem Bridgestones!!! After 24k miles w\L-tuned suspension. The installer even alligned the car after installation but last mo. the service guy showed me the exact picture. I hurriedly bought new rubbers. Had it alligned again & now all adjustments are maxed out accdg. to the tech. Now I got my new Rims I'm so concerned about the wear.

///MDex

Thanks for the input jberger

Purchsed ~37kmi
Now ~47kmi

I think I remember another CL member posting he had a newer 430 that was demonstrating similar wear charateristics. The GS just made be a beast to get to hold alignment.

1.) I'll have (and me) the shop look at the components when they've got it up on the lift this weekend.

2.) Stock wheels and tires

3.) Considered Michs, but they are not rated that highly by more than one source, and the BSS03s are. I'm sure they are good tires - I've owned MXVs bfore and they did well.

Another CL member, local and good friend, has the BSS03s, *with a similar suspension setup and aggregate milage* , has had them mounted, balanced, and aligned, and has had not one problem -

so my theory is that the alignment is the primary culprit. Also key, he doesn't have to get an alignment every week.

What this says to me, is that the suspension should be able to hold an alignment.

You do make valid points though, and again, you input is appreciated

888GS430

Thank God ! I'm not alone on this issue re:tire wearing out unevenly!!! I have L-tuned susp. w\ stck 17" & now in a couple of days I'll be putting in 18x9.5r 18x8.5f. I don't know what to do! One mechanic suggested to put the stock struts w\the ltuned springs. Those l-tuned struts here are only stock struts in Europe anyway. The thing is I don't know if that set up will improve anything or worsen the situation. worst case is just installing my stock suspension back. I've been dealing w\this for over a year now. The best thing that ever happend to me is finding CLUB LEXUS!! I hope w\everyone's help we can resolve this very expensive and frustating problem.

TXSTYLE

iTrader: (1)

I feel your pain bro'! And you know what really hurts is to see all that friggin tread on the rest of the tire! :eek: Although when I went up to 19's a short while ago, my 18's were not quite as bad, but still, it's like the rest of tire could have gone a good 10k miles or so! :eek:

TXSTYLE

iTrader: (1)

Dude! You were able to squeeze well over 20k on the factory Bridges???????????!!! Those buttery tire barely will last 12 - 15k! And that's if you're driving like Ms. Daisy! I hurriedly replaced my factory tires I believe I got @ 12k before they were pretty sad.
I then switched to my tried and true NT555's twice before my currently now Toyo Proxes T1-S. And boy, whew, I can't say enough good things about these tires!

GSPOWER

I just found out I have the same problem. I bought my Yok AVS dBs about 12k ago and now the inside is completely worn. Looking at it from the outside shows barely any wear.

enginyr

What tire do you think is better between the Toyo T1's or the Bridgestone S03...Heard so many good things about both of them.

TXSTYLE

iTrader: (1)

Yet another victim..................

Guys like I said, I am going to have an allignment at every oil change! "I will have satisfaction!"

TXSTYLE

iTrader: (1)

The new S-03 is definitely right up there in the top 3 or 4 tires you could ever buy. I was seriously considering them, but leaned towards the Toyo's due to previous experience and articles such as this:
Your high performance car deserves the very finest high performance tyre - the Proxes T1-S. Thanks to a silica-enriched rubber compound, the Proxes T1-S gives simply extraordinary wet weather grip, and is equally outstanding in the dry.
Designed with the aid of Toyo’s super-sophisticated DSOC II computer programme, the Proxes T1-S’s aggressively styled tread pattern isn’t just decorative - its wide, V-shaped grooves get right to the heart of the tyre’s contact patch to disperse water with extreme efficiency. And the tread design also contributes to the T1-S’s remarkable stability and predictability when you’re pushing your car and tyres to the limit.

Don’t worry though - ride comfort, low noise and long life are also a part of the Proxes T1-S’s remarkable package of abilities. That’s how you know it’s a Toyo.

TXSTYLE

iTrader: (1)

Here's a shot of the S-03! Physically looking, nothing special, but it has been declared even better than the S-02! And that tire is a legend! :eek:

drmanny3

Hi all. I am the guy who first? asked the group for some input about inside wear. I now have about 4,000 miles on my tires since last aligning the tires. I used a tire wear guage to check for uneven wear. I am running about 6/32 on the inside while I am about 6.5/32 on the outside. I think that is pretty good. I found that I was about 8/32 in the center. Whick suggests that I am underinflated. I checked with my guage and found all four tires to be at 35 lbs. I raised the pressure to 37 lbs. and will wait to see if that evens out the wear.

So, what have I learned? The last place I took my car to was the lexus dealer in Ventura CA. I told them that the car had elbach springs and that I needed someone who know what they were doing. I got the shop supervisor. Remember at Tustin Lexus the shop supervisor was the guy who gave me so much grief and tire wear. Well, I talked to this guy after the alignment and he acknowledged that once the springs are changed you need to compensate for that fact when you set the alignment. It kind of makes since. Maybe think of it like if you had 4 adults in the car during your alignment. That would cause the car to drop in height. That would affect the alignment especially if you then drove off without the extra weight. The book calls for a car with 1/2 tank full of gas and no one in the car.

Ok, so what! Well It seems thus far that my tires are not wearing on the inside to the extent that they did before. By the way the lexus dealer in Ventura charged me $117 for the alignment versus $150 at Tustin Lexus.

I will keep you all posted as to what happens. I think Lexus needs to come up with new specs for cars that have the L-Tuned (Eibach) springs. What do you all think???

TXSTYLE

iTrader: (1)

No Question drmanny! I doubt it will happen. But thanks to people like us taking the time to do this research, we will solve or at least greatly help in this "expensive & troubling" issue! I too am in the process of monitoring my preesure and getting an allignment every 3 - 5,000 miles. I will post my results as soon as I go in for the next one. I am however trying to get a "very accurate" number for tire pressure as far as L-Tuned & 19's with such low profiles (my setup) are concerned.