MeAn_GrEEn

Hey...guys got a problem...I have a 2003 IS300...Since I got the car I have been through 4 sets of tires on the Front of the car..The dealership says there is nothing wrong with the car and they don't know why its wearing..they say it has nothing to do with the alignment!! It is mainly wearing on the inside...i pretty much changing tires every 5000 miles...Please help i have only had the car for a year and half!!! I get it serviced every 3000 miles and check the tire air pressure myself so its not that (allow though thats what the dealer blames it on).. If you have any suggestions please feel free to post your suggestions..Thanks Guy

CarTunerz

Just curious....is your car lowered at all? and are you talking about the stock wheels?
215/45/17 ?

rominl

iTrader: (4)

yeah is your car lowered? from the way you put it, i assume it's stock. if so, something must be wrong coz' 5k miles is very low, unless you drive like a mad man. and you saying that the rears are ok? if they do alignment, tell them to give you a print out of the alignment setup, and all the numbers, so you know for sure it's not out of spec or something

MeAn_GrEEn

Yeah its not lowered...stock ride height....ill ask them for the print out next time....but they keep telling me its not an alignment problem
and yeah the rears are not a problem....as for driving i just drive...this is my cruise car don't use it for anything but that...

MeAn_GrEEn

Oh yeah it is on stock wheels....stock everything

rominl

iTrader: (4)

if they keep on saying that the alignment is not a problem, ask them to tell you what the problem is. tell them you baby your car, and 5k on stock tires are just insane. even my 20s on my lowered gs4 i can have 20k miles on the tires no problem. 5k is like you race every day.

do you have any vibration or shake in the steering wheel when driving (local and freeway)? go straight and let go of the steering wheel and see if you see any movement.

also, when doing alignment, not only check the camber, but ALSO the toe. that can wear out the inside as well

MeAn_GrEEn

Thanks...ill try that...

flipside909

Front toe is definitely important. Tire wear on the IS can be mostly attributed to the stock zeroed out toe (causing inner tire wear) during an alignment. You should ask the alignment tech to set your toe "IN" about 1/16 minimum to 1/8 max.

cuttsad

I had the same problem with a Nissan 350Z that I owned. It was definitely an alignment problem causing the inside of the tires to wear funny. You should have all 3 aspects of the alignment on the front checked, camber, toe, and caster. The problem you are describing sounds like a camber problem, at least from my layman's viewpoint. The camber may be too negative.

flipside909

IS in general don't have camber problems especially w/factory specs.

rominl

iTrader: (4)

yeah that's what i heard too. the camber settings is pretty solid, especially on the stock is300. but the toe can be knocked out quite easily from potholes or so

Beachtyme

iTrader: (1)

The toe is definitely the culprit.

At least 1/16 and 1/8 is actually ideal.

There has been much talk of this problem over at .net

Here's how it works on the front end...

As you get the car up to normal driving speeds (40-60 MPH) the front end suspension toe's out just slightly.

For example hold your two hands out in front of you, thumbs up. Keep them exactly parallel to each other. This would be even or zero toe. As you drive the car the front end toe's out. Move the tips of your fingers slightly away from each other, your car is now toe'd out and the wear will occur on the inside rear edge of the tire.

Move your fingers back in so your hands are again parallel with each other.

Now, move your finger tips towards each other just slightly. You are now toe'd in. This is how your car should be aligned as it is sitting (stationary). When you get the car up to speed, the natural forces of the suspension bring it to even toe and the wear will be much less on the inside rear egde of the tire.

You'd think that the Lexus dealerships would have learned this... The car needs alignment directly from the factory.

rominl

iTrader: (4)

damn talk about an awesome illustration of the problem

chicagoblknazn

Beach is good....brilliant and good.....

mtrappo

i had the same problem when i put on my 18" volks w/ a bigger offset.
i had the front end checked and the toe & camber were both off.
it's fixed now and runs great. i used to have wheel shake at higher speeds & the inside of the tire wore.