TWong350

iTrader: (8)

I agree with rominl.

Incorrect toe will eat tires quicker that incorrect camber.

toptech

i guess what i meant was that there is no adjustment for camber only. you can adjust rear toe, but this doesnt entirely fix the uneven wear issue. the factory setting for camber on this vehicle was set up for optimal handling not tire wear. when i looked at my GS on the alignment rack yesterday, i couldnt help but think, would it really have been that hard or costly for them to put another set of alignment bolts in the rear? by the way, if you usually carry a lot of weight in the trunk you should align the vehicle with this weight in the trunk to prevent inaccurrate adjustments.

rominl

iTrader: (4)

ask that question in the 2gs forum and you get a total different kind of response. i had a 2gs, and most of us suffer from painful alignment. for some reason the alignment on lexus cars (at least those generations) got knock out of spec so easily. every year it was alignment time for us. some wish the arms aren't adjustable at all.

you just can't have the best of both worlds i guess

JasGS350

iTrader: (7)

Rear camber is definitely adjustable with aftermarket lower control arms. I stated earlier in this post I have the Figs Mega lower rear control arms and toe links lowered on BC Coilovers sitting really low and my alignment is within factory spec, no uneven tire wear.

We need to make sure we are providing accurate information for those that are less educated when it comes to cars. Sites like CL are the only source of information for some.

j0emama

I was just at the dealership today and they showed that my front left tire is getting worn bad on the inside of the front driver side. Is this what is causing my car to pull to the right so badly? (Have had 3 alignments in the year all showing within acceptable degree range).

I had my car lowered about a year ago using F-Sport springs, nothing else. He said that the dealer SHOULD have told me to get a Camber Kit installed to correct this problem. He had recommended me calling the dealer that installed these and b1tching at the service manager for them not telling me.

Looks like I need to replace that tire (as well as the other side even though not nearly as affected). Should I get both front tires replaced, or just the one that is affected? Also, is this most likely the culprit of this problem, and if so how much should I spend TOPS to fix it?

rominl

iTrader: (4)

pull to write side that can be some other problems on the alignment. inside wear it's more of a camber / toe setting. it might not completely go away, but you can minimize it

j0emama

So this is something I can fix with just the camber/toe settings? Or do I need a install a camber kit to fix this (noob on this topic). Aside from the pulling, I need to fix this because it will keep eating my tires up -- I assume I need to replace this tire (do I have to; or should I replace the other front tire as well even tho it looks ok?).

rominl

iTrader: (4)

for your tires, they seem to be directional. why not flip the tires left and right for the front so you have another "new" edge to wear out? i did that to my toyo all the time, got 30k (15k on each edge).

for the alignment, it really depends on your lowering and such. i don't think you can take away uneven inside wear completely, after all you want some camber to help on handling. but i think you can get a bit more even wear. you can get camber kits, but in the end if you want to align it back to factory spec, you will have camber and you will have more inside wear. that's just part of having a performance vehicle.

j0emama

I think I understand... If you were in my shoes what would you recommend me doing? I'm trying not to put anymore unnecessary $$ into my car, but spending a little to save my tires in the long run I'm not opposed to doing either (if the value is there).

If I understand correctly, installing a Camber Kit will help even the wear out but never fix it completely (always leaving more inside wear than normal). I'm assuming best move is just rotating the tires, might even help offset the pull as well...?

rominl

iTrader: (4)

everyone has different priorities and i can only tell you what i think (and did).

i don't really care about camber kits. they are money, time and trouble on install (and uninstall when you sell the car), one more possible to get alignment out of spec (moving parts) though might be unlikely, and most importantly, unless you get to 0 camber which results in silly handling, you want some negative camber which means somewhat uneven wear anyway (matter of severeness).

you can search pictures of my car and see how low my car was. and i was literally riding just on the edge of the tire. it's not a good picture but you can see the wear here, just the edge. the center part of it is basically new (please don't mind the bubble...)



so my criteria? i wanted some good performance tires, has to be directional so i can flip the tires left and right, and reasonable tread wear. i ended up choosing the toyo t1r. of course, i did alignment and put a little more toe in to compensate the inside wear

as mentioned, i got 15k miles on each edge of the tire, so 30k out of a set of tires. really i think that's not bad at all, some factory tires don't even get as many miles.

at least in my situation, i think this plays out better / cheaper / easier than doing any control arms and camber.

but again, that's me. i respect other people for thinking different

j0emama

I appreciate your feedback and thoughts. After mulling over a few options, I'm thinking I might go the same route. I've had these tires on now for about 1.5 yrs (15-20k miles) and figure if I switch sides and get the same wear for the next 15-20k miles I should be in good shape (never really figured them to last more than 20k anyways).

So with my FALKEN FK452 you said I can switch sides/rotate them correct? I would think directional would only be able to be on one side...?

rominl

iTrader: (4)

all you need to make sure is that the tires are directional. that means they can only spin one way. for those tires, what you do is you take the left side tire and put it on the right side, and right to left. that's what i meant by "flip".

for asymmetric tires you are out of luck because they are either outside or inside, so flipping won't help anything at all.

i don't know of any tires that you can only put them on one side.

twylie

iTrader: (3)

Those tires appear to be directional but not asymmetric. You'll have to unmount and remount them on the other side; it's not just as simple as installing them as is on the other side as the tread would be "pointing" in the wrong direction.

j0emama

ok that was actually my next question and where I was getting confused. I can't simply do it myself and flip the wheels out, I have to get them pulled off and remounted.

The wear being on the inside drivers side would now be showing on the outside passenger side and visible from the street. (Would basically look like that tire was bald from the avg. person).

rominl

iTrader: (4)

yes that's correct