Inside Edge Of Front Tyres Is Heavily Worn

[Moore200]

Hi Folks,

When I bought my Lexus IS200 8 weeks ago I checked the tyres, but obviously not very well... In a car park yesterday I had parked with full lock and noticed that both front tyres had worn down to the cloth on the inside 2 inches of the tyre. The rest of the tyre has ~4mm tread left.

I'm assuming that the camber is out, and I've read a few threads on this topic which blame the geometry/camber.

My garage has quoted £30 for a full wheel alignment (once I've replaced the tyres). My question is: is this wheel alignment going to solve the problem, or is it something more complex than just the camber. I've seen a thread suggesting that this work should cost £80-100 from WIM.... Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Cheers

[Paul2002]

In my experience, having owned a IS200 Sport and a IS300, the best person that will help you is Tony Bones at Wheels In Motion. It's well worth the trip up there to get your IS200 sorted. Best if you let them put the tyres on too, fantastic machine they've got!

Not only will they help with the tyre wear but it will totally transform the handling of your car, no more tramlining or nervousness at speed.

[sparkystav]

Go to WIM!

Well worth every penny!

[lexuslloyd]

Go to WIM!

Well worth every penny!

im seriously considering it myself, any idea how much ?

[Parthiban]

As above definitely worth the trip to WIM if it's not too far, you definitely need a full geo, an "alignment" won't sort it.

It's roughly £100 I think for the geo, can't remember the exact price.

[04AAA]

This is interesting.

I was aware of this potential issue when I purchased my IS300 and gave the tyres a close inspection, 4 of them anyway. ;) The two fronts looked nearly new, so maybe hiding a problem the off-side rear looked even wear but the nearside rear did have slightly uneven wear.

It is obviously a problem I need to keep an eye on. How rapidly does it develop, what sort of mileage?

Also I don't understand why there is only one location in the country capable of performing the "full geo" this is inconvenient for those of us too far away to make use of WIM.

[Sixusel]

Went about a month ago guys know their stuff and worth every penny the one caveat I will add, I was told their system is geared to correcting OEM geometry issues, if your cars suspension has been upgraded with aftermarket products like mine has then it will be best endeavours on their part. If you have a quick look at their website you'll see the IS's they have previously worked on, cost is about £111 all in.

[Parthiban]

It is obviously a problem I need to keep an eye on. How rapidly does it develop, what sort of mileage?

Also I don't understand why there is only one location in the country capable of performing the "full geo" this is inconvenient for those of us too far away to make use of WIM.

Depends how bad the problem is, if it's bad then in some cases people have eaten the insides of their tyres in a few thousand miles. Best to keep a close eye on it, I agree that new tyres on the front could be an indicator that the last ones were worn and replaced before sale.

The problem is that Lexus OEM settings for the IS are wrong, and cause this wear. This is why people were getting their cars geo'd at Lexus and still having the same problem (me included a few years ago). I believe they have recently adjusted the settings, but not sure how effective it has been.

Tony @ WIM developed his own settings for the IS which cured the problem. They're actually expanding and have a number of approved centres around the country now where you can go and trust that you will get the same service. Best to get in contact with them and find out where is best for you (although from Berkshire WIM themselves are probably not too far as they're in Chesham near Amersham).

[Moore200]

Thanks for the advice - it looks like WIM is the way to go.

On a related note, I'm taking the IS200 in for a cam belt change on Wednesday (as well as the wheel alignment) - total cost for cam belt change is £248 all in! Given what I've read on the forum this sounds like a pretty good deal. For those who are interested it's Total Motor Care in Sandwich, KENT.

[Swindon Andy]

There are quite a few full geo centres around now, but they are only as good as the technician. Best to go to recommended places.

One I can put forward is Budget Motorist Centre in London, a very careful and exact setup whenever I've been.

However if there are better settings than stock, you'd better take the details with you wherever you go.

[D6NGR]

is there anyone good in manchester to do this as my lexus is suffering the same problem and also it is abit of a drive to london from manchester!!

[DaveEdin]

WIM (Wheels in Motion) are pretty much the de facto "best place" to go to for wheel alignment/geo setups etc - and they're expanding their network just now. Take a look here, looks like a fair few around the Manchester area...

[lexynik]

I had mine done twice at wim,must of been bad days !! all problems eventually corrected at lexus brighton with revised settings - car drove better then ever after lexus were finished

[Parthiban]

I had mine done twice at wim,must of been bad days !! all problems eventually corrected at lexus brighton with revised settings - car drove better then ever after lexus were finished

That's odd, was it Tony who did your car?

[lexynik]

It was but the comment was more aimed at praising the settings lexus set my car to which are the later ones then the detriment of others - also i think its easier to pop back to a place which is local to you to fine tune or tweak any settings which you are not happy with

[mutly]

Hi, i have problems with slight pull and snatching over bumps/dips in the road, I did a search for wheels in motion ended up on a site called blackboots, has anyone heard of them? They are offering the same type of thing the closest one to me is a garage at christchurch called the christchurch tyre company, or should i just try the Lexus dealer in poole?

[SHAHZ]

Hi, i have problems with slight pull and snatching over bumps/dips in the road, I did a search for wheels in motion ended up on a site called blackboots, has anyone heard of them? They are offering the same type of thing the closest one to me is a garage at christchurch called the christchurch tyre company, or should i just try the Lexus dealer in poole?

Blackboots is part of WIM B)

[Moore200]

Just returned home after having my full geometry done at one of WIM/Blackboots' approved centres (STS Tyre Pros in Canterbury). After the technician took my measurments he called Tony at WIM/Blackboots who instructed which settings to apply to the car. I spoke to both Tony and the guys at STS today to arrange it and everyone was extremely helpful. Total cost £111. The proof will be in the tyre life though, but STS have encouraged me to come back in 3 months for a free check up to ensure everything is still OK.

The blackboots website is really good, and you can arrange to buy tyres and geometry at the same time and have it all done at an approved centre. The tyre price on there is very reasonable!

Having spoken to a few people about this, I believe the issue with inside tyre wear is as follows: The IS200 is set up to be very sporty - unfortunately this results in heavy inside tyre wear, as the set-up favours road holding in the corners! As most people don't require this level of performance the wheels need to be adjusted to favour normal road conditions, resulting in more even tyre wear. Apparently the ideal option would be to adjust the castors, but as this isn't possible on the IS200 you have to over-compensate by adjusting the camber to outside factory spec... The specification developed by WIM does just that.

I'll update on how my tyres fare on over the next few months.

[Parthiban]

Glad it worked out for you, let us know how you get on. How does the car feel after the geo? I was amazed the first time I had it done as to how much better the car felt through the corners :)

[mutly]

Hi, i have problems with slight pull and snatching over bumps/dips in the road, I did a search for wheels in motion ended up on a site called blackboots, has anyone heard of them? They are offering the same type of thing the closest one to me is a garage at christchurch called the christchurch tyre company, or should i just try the Lexus dealer in poole?

Blackboots is part of WIM B)

so will the garage in Christchurch have the same 35K machine they use in the main WIM workshop?

[atce4]

On a related note, I'm taking the IS200 in for a cam belt change on Wednesday (as well as the wheel alignment) - total cost for cam belt change is £248 all in! Given what I've read on the forum this sounds like a pretty good deal. For those who are interested it's Total Motor Care in Sandwich, KENT.

£248 sounds good for a cambelt change - does it include replacement of both the idler pulley and tensioner?

If financies allow it's also worth getting the water pump replaced at the same time if it hasn't been already, pump is around £100 to buy - could well save you some money in the future.

[martman]

I took my IS200 to WIM in Jan 2010 and now suffering worn inners again (approx 9000 mls) i think i have a problem with the camber lock, does anyone know if there is a fix for this? notices that blackboots are now local so will gove them a visit i think. No issues with WIM as the car was transformed after Tony weaved his magic, tyre wear was perfect for several months but recently i have noticed the inners wearing again, i am sure that the camber has slipped. this seems to be something that has happened before and tony actually said that the locks were loose when he looked at mine.