Alignment/camber Problem...please Help!

[ahoff0696]

the car was bought in february, with tires only a few months old. the front tires have already worn enough to show metal wires, and they are low profile on larger than stock rims. however, the steering also feels faulty and an alignment helped the problem, but didnt really fix it since the problem is still happening. one of the front wheels is tilted out, and the mechanic was saying the camber was messed up, and another alignment will just waste time and money. he said camber plates should be put on the car, thinking it was lowered, but its not. he also says toyotas/lexus' have never had adjustable camber/camber plates, so aftermarket ones are needed to fix my problem. does anyone have any clue what i need to do to fix the issue? i tried to describe the problem as much as i can

thanks

[sccastsracer]

the car was bought in february, with tires only a few months old. the front tires have already worn enough to show metal wires, and they are low profile on larger than stock rims. however, the steering also feels faulty and an alignment helped the problem, but didnt really fix it since the problem is still happening. one of the front wheels is tilted out, and the mechanic was saying the camber was messed up, and another alignment will just waste time and money. he said camber plates should be put on the car, thinking it was lowered, but its not. he also says toyotas/lexus' have never had adjustable camber/camber plates, so aftermarket ones are needed to fix my problem. does anyone have any clue what i need to do to fix the issue? i tried to describe the problem as much as i can

thanks

I bought one the very first IS300's to be sold in Houston. As long as the alignment is within specs...you WILL get inside tread wear. That IS normal for the handling characteristics of the car. As the tech said, there are no camber plates available. Just be VERY sure that the car has not been wrecked and the tech aligns to SPEC! The toe setting on front & back is also very critical to premature tire wear...go to well know & GOOD alignment shop known for good & honest alignments & watch from a little distance ...some tech that are jerks will lean / hang on car to make the spec "appear correct" on your "printout sheet that they SHOULD give you for your records...they are lazy & either don't feel like doing it right or don't know how...I was a GM Tech for 18 years & Lexus tech for 3..so I DO KNOW the tricks! LOL! Just be aware that no matter what ..inside, front tire wear is to be expected. It SHOULD NOT be to bad though. Make sure to rotate your tires front to back & back to front about every 7,000 liles or so. You SHOULD be able to get pretty good mileage from GOOD quality tires & stock rims....or rims with the same "offset" as original. I think I put 28k on mine first ones. The Goodyear Eagle GSD-3 is a GREAT tire on the IS! Having had mine for over 6.5 years...I have see, read & tried many tire. A 225/45/17 is a perfect size. Even the 215/40or45/17 is as good. AIR PRESSURE is also critical! 33lbs!

I SCCA Solo Autocross mine and use Falken Azenis 615's ...there is no better street legal tire that can compare...period! I would enjoy a set of the Falkens for the daily use, but I like the GSD-3's because of their UNMATCHED rain capabilities. I drive from Houston to AUstin, TX. & San Antonio, TX. regularly, pulling my 8x4 bed / 12'long trailer with my tool chest, race tires & 99% of the time I also have my TaG USA Spring Racing Kart on the trailer too. WIth GSD-3's I do not hesitate one instant to drive 80+ in the rain. Those tires are AMAZING in the rain. I also use them (if needed) when I must race in the rain, if there is any puddling...if no puddling I use the Falkins.

My alignment will scare you....I run -2.85 camber in the front, 1/16th toe and in the rear -2.35 camber & 0 toe. Of course I race mine & other than trips to race tracks & working for myself..I don't put a lot of miles on the car...I only have about 63k on it after more than 6.5 years. I also have Hotchkis sway bars & Hotchkis lowering springs and adjustable sway bar links..& a few other small items.....class rules you know!

[Tango]

the car was bought in february, with tires only a few months old. the front tires have already worn enough to show metal wires, and they are low profile on larger than stock rims. however, the steering also feels faulty and an alignment helped the problem, but didnt really fix it since the problem is still happening. one of the front wheels is tilted out, and the mechanic was saying the camber was messed up, and another alignment will just waste time and money. he said camber plates should be put on the car, thinking it was lowered, but its not. he also says toyotas/lexus' have never had adjustable camber/camber plates, so aftermarket ones are needed to fix my problem. does anyone have any clue what i need to do to fix the issue? i tried to describe the problem as much as i can

thanks

Sorry to hear of your problem but the Lexus standard settings have been proven to be incorrect. Here in the UK we had the same problems with inner tyre wear on the IS 200 & 300 until one of the LOC UK members who happens to be a geometry specialist, worked out the correct settings for the car. Believe me, not only have the revised settings recovered the geometry and stopped the undue and uneven tire wear, but the car drives a whole lot better as a result.

If you want the new settings please contact Tony at http://www.wheels-inmotion.co.uk/forum and I'm sure he'll pm them to you. Hundreds of first generation UK IS models have been reset, so it's been totally proven. However, Lexus have not learnt the lesson and the second generation IS is known to suffer from the same problem. Unfortunately the later model only has toe adjustment so recovery is not so easy.

[eddiea1]

the car was bought in february, with tires only a few months old. the front tires have already worn enough to show metal wires, and they are low profile on larger than stock rims. however, the steering also feels faulty and an alignment helped the problem, but didnt really fix it since the problem is still happening. one of the front wheels is tilted out, and the mechanic was saying the camber was messed up, and another alignment will just waste time and money. he said camber plates should be put on the car, thinking it was lowered, but its not. he also says toyotas/lexus' have never had adjustable camber/camber plates, so aftermarket ones are needed to fix my problem. does anyone have any clue what i need to do to fix the issue? i tried to describe the problem as much as i can

thanks

Sorry to hear of your problem but the Lexus standard settings have been proven to be incorrect. Here in the UK we had the same problems with inner tyre wear on the IS 200 & 300 until one of the LOC UK members who happens to be a geometry specialist, worked out the correct settings for the car. Believe me, not only have the revised settings recovered the geometry and stopped the undue and uneven tire wear, but the car drives a whole lot better as a result.

If you want the new settings please contact Tony at http://www.wheels-inmotion.co.uk/forum and I'm sure he'll pm them to you. Hundreds of first generation UK IS models have been reset, so it's been totally proven. However, Lexus have not learnt the lesson and the second generation IS is known to suffer from the same problem. Unfortunately the later model only has toe adjustment so recovery is not so easy.

Yeah I can vouch for Tony's geometry settings on my 2003 IS300. My first set of tires wore out on the insides but when I went to Wheels In Motion and had a new set of tires and the new (at the time experimental) geometry proposed by Tony back in 2004 the car's handling was transformed. Since then I have been back to Wheels in Motion for regular checkups and the handling of the car is more precise and the inside wear problem has been taken care of.

[Sblotzer]

What was tonys specs or geometry for your is300?