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My car should be stock height as I never lowered it. Speaking of lowering, my family noticed the same thing the last time we parked next to a 4GS. Immediately they said why is our car so low compared to this one? I was like good question, idk. At that time I didn't even have my aftermarket wheels on. I wonder if the previous owner had modified the suspension.
Looking at this picture of your car with stock OEM 18" wheels (before you changed to aftermarket 20" wheels) it sure looks like your car has not been lowered.
Looking at this picture of your car with stock OEM 18" wheels (before you changed to aftermarket 20" wheels) it sure looks like your car has not been lowered.
I couldn't get pics this morning as I left when it was still dark out and didn't get home this evening until after sun down. I think I'm all stock but I will look over everything this weekend as my work schedule for tomorrow looks just like today's. Looking back at pics I found on my phone of my car (when it had stock wheels) I didn't see any camber issues but then again the pics weren't looking at my wheels dead on.
So I recently got my Vossen CV4's in 20x9 all the way around installed. On Monday I took my car in to get an alignment. The shop that I went to said that they will try their best to align my car as they have no specs to go off of now that I have aftermarket wheels on. Is this true or were they giving me BS?
Originally Posted by Sevn86
Does anyone know what the specs should be for an alignment on a 20x9 wheel with 38 offset front and rear? I have Vossen CV4's btw.
Sevn86 - Did you buy your Vossen CV4 wheels new or used? If you bought them new, did you get the proper offset to fit the car without modifying the fenders? If you bought them used, did the previous owner have the rear fenders pulled/rolled?
I'm thinking a 38mm offset probably requires that the rear fenders be pulled/rolled for them to fit properly. I just always assumed you bought wheels that would fit your car, and I never paid much attention to the offset. I suggest that you ask Vossen about this - they should know...or ask some of the guys here that are very familiar with what offsets fit without fender modifications.
After reading your original post again I'm wondering if the 38mm offset prevented the guy aligning your car from getting the camber setting anywhere close to specs without the tires rubbing your fenders. Therefore he told you he would 'try his best' - [likely] meaning that he would have to align the rear with a lot of extra negative camber so the tires don't rub.
The more I think about your situation, the more I think you may have bought wheels with offset that requires your fenders to be pulled/rolled for them to fit with a decent alignment. In other words - if you were to align your unmodified car per the Lexus specifications with stock wheels (or measure off the hubs) and then tried to install the rear wheels, they would rub.
Maybe the guy that aligned your car tried to explain this to you, or maybe not. I'm guessing he did try his best to align your car so you could drive it without the tires rubbing, but had to give it a lot of negative camber because of the wheel offset and stock fenders. Just a thought...
Sevn86 - Did you buy your Vossen CV4 wheels new or used? If you bought them new, did you get the proper offset to fit the car without modifying the fenders? If you bought them used, did the previous owner have the rear fenders pulled/rolled?
I'm thinking a 38mm offset probably requires that the rear fenders be pulled/rolled for them to fit properly. I just always assumed you bought wheels that would fit your car, and I never paid much attention to the offset. I suggest that you ask Vossen about this - they should know...or ask some of the guys here that are very familiar with what offsets fit without fender modifications.
After reading your original post again I'm wondering if the 38mm offset prevented the guy aligning your car from getting the camber setting anywhere close to specs without the tires rubbing your fenders. Therefore he told you he would 'try his best' - [likely] meaning that he would have to align the rear with a lot of extra negative camber so the tires don't rub.
The more I think about your situation, the more I think you may have bought wheels with offset that requires your fenders to be pulled/rolled for them to fit with a decent alignment. In other words - if you were to align your unmodified car per the Lexus specifications with stock wheels (or measure off the hubs) and then tried to install the rear wheels, they would rub.
Maybe the guy that aligned your car tried to explain this to you, or maybe not. I'm guessing he did try his best to align your car so you could drive it without the tires rubbing, but had to give it a lot of negative camber because of the wheel offset and stock fenders. Just a thought...
I ordered my wheels brand new through a well known authorized Vossen dealer here in Houston. I had them call Vossen to make sure they ordered the correct offset. Now that you mention it, I have a very good feeling my fenders will look like bacon if I get the proper alignment done, as my wheels will rub against the fenders. Now I'm wondering who's at fault. Vossen or the dealer who ordered them. I wanted a square set up for rotation purposes but it seems like I now have bigger issues at hand. I don't want to roll my fenders. Plus the reason why I'm staying stock height is because I usually have 3-4 ppl with me at all times. The car already lowers it self super low with us all In it.
The mechanic guy was telling me he doesn't have factory specs for 20" wheels for my car and would try his best to do the alignment. I was like then how will you align my car. He said he will try but it's hard to do an alignment without the specs he needs to set it to.
With your car not being lowered I just don't understand why it could not be aligned to specs.
The recent new picture of your car (below) shows a lot of wheel gap, so it's not like the car was slammed and the tires would rub. I doubt there is any way your tires could rub with that much wheel gap clearance. Plus, [at least in this picture of the side of your car] your right rear wheel/tire looks perfectly normal.
Maybe this entire issue is just an optical illusion (especially looking at a picture below), which falsely gives the 'perception' that there is a large negative camber on both the rear wheels when there is really not. The picture of the left rear appears to have more negative camber than the right rear, but since it is a picture it's really hard to tell for sure. (A slightly tilted camera and/or a slightly shifted camera angle could definitely give the false perception that an object that should be practically vertical is leaning.) Of course, you are able to look at them in-person... And, if it this is only an optical illusion, that does not explain the comments from the alignment guy...with the exception that maybe he doesn't understand that wheel size does not affect alignment on a non-lowered car as long as there is enough clearance so the tires don't rub.
With your car not being lowered I just don't understand why it could not be aligned to specs.
The recent new picture of your car (below) shows a lot of wheel gap, so it's not like the car was slammed and the tires would rub. I doubt there is any way your tires could rub with that much wheel gap clearance. Plus, [at least in this picture of the side of your car] your right rear wheel/tire looks perfectly normal.
Maybe this entire issue is just an optical illusion (especially looking at a picture below), which falsely gives the 'perception' that there is a large negative camber on both the rear wheels when there is really not. The picture of the left rear appears to have more negative camber than the right rear, but since it is a picture it's really hard to tell for sure. (A slightly tilted camera and/or a slightly shifted camera angle could definitely give the false perception that an object that should be practically vertical is leaning.) Of course, you are able to look at them in-person... And, if it this is only an optical illusion, that does not explain the comments from the alignment guy...with the exception that maybe he doesn't understand that wheel size does not affect alignment on a non-lowered car as long as there is enough clearance so the tires don't rub.
I agree from a far everything looks normal but I'm sure it's not an optical illusion. I have an appointment set tomorrow to see another alignment shop so they can do another alignment. As for the first alignment dude, I had him do an alignment for me in May on my RX350 and now my tires are feathering. I made a trip down to Discount tire and the tech there pointed out that my tires are feathering. I asked why they were and he said major reason would be a bad alignment job. I wonder if this guy knows what he's doing. All I know is I'm never going back to him. Sucks I found out too late from the DT tech. Wish I had taken my RX in sooner for the rotations and I wouldn't have taken my GS to the same guy to do my alignment.
As for rubbing, once there are five ppl in my car, the car sits pretty low. So I'm hoping I don't have any fender rubbing issues in the rear once a correct alignment is done.
I agree from a far everything looks normal but I'm sure it's not an optical illusion. I have an appointment set tomorrow to see another alignment shop so they can do another alignment. As for the first alignment dude, I had him do an alignment for me in May on my RX350 and now my tires are feathering. I made a trip down to Discount tire and the tech there pointed out that my tires are feathering. I asked why they were and he said major reason would be a bad alignment job. I wonder if this guy knows what he's doing. All I know is I'm never going back to him. Sucks I found out too late from the DT tech. Wish I had taken my RX in sooner for the rotations and I wouldn't have taken my GS to the same guy to do my alignment.
As for rubbing, once there are five ppl in my car, the car sits pretty low. So I'm hoping I don't have any fender rubbing issues in the rear once a correct alignment is done.
I use an alignment guy that I've known for years at Brakes Plus who has been doing alignments for decades. He is very particular and he allows me to watch him, which I like. He is so particular that if there is a breeze blowing he'll close the bay door so the breeze doesn't affect his alignment equipment.
If you don't already have a different alignment guy in mind that you feel comfortable with and comes recommended by a friend (or he is known to have a long history of aligning cars at the same shop), I would go to your local Lexus dealership. They most definitely know how to align the car...
Make sure you get the alignment printout of 'before' and 'after'. It will be interesting to see what the camber was on the rear.
I use an alignment guy that I've known for years at Brakes Plus who has been doing alignments for decades. He is very particular and he allows me to watch him, which I like. He is so particular that if there is a breeze blowing he'll close the bay door so the breeze doesn't affect his alignment equipment.
If you don't already have a different alignment guy in mind that you feel comfortable with and comes recommended by a friend (or he is known to have a long history of aligning cars at the same shop), I would go to your local Lexus dealership. They most definitely know how to align the car...
Make sure you get the alignment printout of 'before' and 'after'. It will be interesting to see what the camber was on the rear.
Yeah that's the plan. I called my local Lexus dealership and they quoted me $169 for a 4 wheel alignment. I'll post up the before and after report.
So I just got back from getting my alignment done and here are the before and after results. One thing I noticed as I was driving away was, the car now drives straight with no hands on the wheel. Super happy about that. Also I ended up getting the lifetime alignment warranty and I can get my alignment checked for free whenever I want. Plus if an alignment is needed it's only $2.70 doc fee from now on for life.
It's no wonder the car wanted to go in a large circle when you let go of the steering wheel! Your previous alignment guy didn't do you any favors in wearing out your tires and making the car hard to drive straight.
But, why did they not bring the left front camber within specs (green)...and not bring the rear camber within specs (green)? Your rear camber was not changed...and that was what you thought looked weird.
Like I said before, not all shop can align a GS. It takes a special person and equipment to align this car. Even my dealer can't stop my car from going straight into a curb when I let go of the wheel and they had the car all day!
My local guy did it in less than 30 mins while I ate cheeseburger at McD across the street. The specs came out perfect and car drives straight with no hands.
It's no wonder the car wanted to go in a large circle when you let go of the steering wheel! Your previous alignment guy didn't do you any favors in wearing out your tires and making the car hard to drive straight.
But, why did they not bring the left front camber within specs (green)...and not bring the rear camber within specs (green)? Your rear camber was not changed...and that was what you thought looked weird.
Was this alignment done at your Lexus dealership?
Yeah it drives much better now. I'm no longer fighting with it to go straight.
I was told there was no way for him to adjust them. He said I would need camber adjustment arms or whatever there called. Do you think he could have adjusted it, or do you think he just wanted me to buy extra parts? He did mention that if I put my OEM wheels on that it would probably all be in check and everything would be green.
This was completed at a Brake Check location about 10 mins from my house. The Lexus dealer wanted $169 plus taxes and fees for an alignment so I didn't go to them.
I'm gonna go back and see if they will atleast adjust the front left camber and bring it into the green and why caster was yellow on the left before and now it's red.
10-28-15 | 08:14 PM
And he did it right the first time. 
