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Wheel Alignment (or Lack Of It.....)


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Hi,

I have owned my 2002 IS200 Sport since March 2005 and am really pleased with it. I regularly read the posts here and have gained much information and useful tips. I also went Gold a while back which hopefully will help early next year with my 60K service due!

Anyway the point of my first ever post. My Bridgestone Potenza front tyres were in a terrible state after only 8000 miles with excessive wear on the insides of the tyres. They were in good condition when I purchased the car. So today I have forked out £240 for two new tyres and an alignment check. In the words of the technician who did the check - "these are way out mate". The appropriate adjustments were made and bought back into the normal tolerences. All except the rear nearside that is.

Despite maximum adjustment it does not meet the min/max specs. This, I am told, could be due to something being bent. I have not hit any major potholes that would cause this and I drive over speed ramps etc like I could be going backwards! To my knowledge the vehicle has not been involved in any accidents requiring major repair. So on my way home I called in to Lexus Bristol. I know things like this are not covered by my Used Car warranty but I am sure it was probably sold to me in this condition or at least well on the way. They have agreed as a goodwill gesture to pay for their own geometry check which is being done this Thursday. What will happen after that we will have to wait and see I suppose but I will be well annoyed if they tell me something is bent and expect me to foot probably a hefty bill!

So there it is my first post! I wish it was on a more positive note but I would be interested in any members views on my predicament.

I have scanned a copy of the alignment report which can be viewed here -

http://batharsenal.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/images/Wheel.jpg

Cheers.

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hi and welcome,

as i am sure you have read the tyre wear on the IS is a major prob for quite a lot of people, I can only suggest to have a look thru the wheels section of this forum where i am sure you will find many posts along the lines of this.

Also I would make 100% sure to have a chat with Tony from "Wheels in Motion" he is the sites resident expert in the geometry of the IS and no doubt he will be along posting in this topic shortly. ( in fact he has a post a bit below this one - click on "todays active posts" to see it.)

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I used to get through bridgestone potenzas on a type r in no time. They are very grippy but didnt last too long. Could be a factor too.

hi and welcome,

as i am sure you have read the tyre wear on the IS is a major prob for quite a lot of people,  I can only suggest to have a look thru the wheels section of this forum where i am sure you will find many posts along the lines of this.

Also I would make 100% sure to have a chat with Tony from "Wheels in Motion"  he is the sites resident expert in the geometry of the IS and no doubt he will be along posting in this topic shortly.  ( in fact he has a  post a bit below this one - click on "todays active  posts"  to see it.)

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Welcome to LOC... to explain like most clubs (but better) we are a collaboration of skills offering a wealth of information and help when needed...... 'now your worried' :D .. don't be! but there is some problems with that print.

It was not a full geometry, every area on the print you see ( _ _ _ _ ) then that was an angle not measured...... you payed for a 'full geometry' demand it in full!

The rear Camber position other than they made it worse is of NO concern at all, other than it must be symmetrical

a 1.02 and a 0.14

needs to read

1.02 and 1.02

And as i say there is a desperate need to realize the Castor and the Secondary angles positions...... don't forget we are LOC and advice is free....... :D

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Thanks guys for the comments. I will peruse the Wheels section for comments on tyres. Possibly seek to fit something else when these Potenzas are done with.

Thanks to Tony for the reassuring comments on my rear camber position. I am just a little curious as to why it does not meet the tolerences when fully adjusted. Oh and the figure was worse after the adjustments because of the rear toe adjustments apparently. But when you look they are worse as well. Strange..............

Anyways it is into Lexus Bristol tomorrow for thier geometry check. I will post the results.

Cheers.

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Thanks guys for the comments. I will peruse the Wheels section for comments on tyres. Possibly seek to fit something else when these Potenzas are done with.

Thanks to Tony for the reassuring comments on my rear camber position. I am just a little curious as to why it does not meet the tolerences when fully adjusted. Oh and the figure was worse after the adjustments because of the rear toe adjustments apparently. But when you look they are worse as well. Strange..............

Anyways it is into Lexus Bristol tomorrow for thier geometry check. I will post the results.

Cheers.

please do! what you need is the osr to read 1 degree 19'

or there abouts and all the Secondary angles measured.

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Hi,

As promised here is a copy of the Geometry report as done at Lexus Bristol today.

http://batharsenal.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/images/Wheel1.jpg

I did request the secondary angles to be measured and there are some extra figures that were not in my check done at ProTyre. Still some boxes empty though - still I wasn't paying for it though (though they did try to charge us for it!) Any comments Tony on the Lexus report?

Cheers.

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Hi,

As promised here is a copy of the Geometry report as done at Lexus Bristol today.

http://batharsenal.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/images/Wheel1.jpg

I did request the secondary angles to be measured and there are some extra figures that were not in my check done at ProTyre. Still some boxes empty though - still I wasn't paying for it though (though they did try to charge us for it!) Any comments Tony on the Lexus report?

Cheers.

Is the car pulling or lazy out of corners.... answer this then i will comment on the report.

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The car is not noticeably pulling and doesn't appear lazy out of corners (I think I know what you mean).

I would say that since these adjustments have been made this week the car does seem to be handling better. At times before it seemed to be on rails sometimes. I put it down at the time to the road surface I was on.

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The car is not noticeably pulling and doesn't appear lazy out of corners (I think I know what you mean).

I would say that since these adjustments have been made this week the car does seem to be handling better. At times before it seemed to be on rails sometimes. I put it down at the time to the road surface I was on.

Then all is fine :D .... there is a massive discrepancy on the report that i wanted to be 'operator error' seemingly it is (TFFT)..the final report in full is satisfactory...enjoy :driving:

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Tony,

Many thanks for your comments/observations regarding my tribulations this week. It is reassuring that us Lexus owners can query almost anything on here and someone invariably suggests, assists or advises.

Like I said at the start of this post I am delighted with my Sport and in general with the service from Lexus. The only thing that is slightly irritating is the service department of my local dealer trying to intimate that 'sorry your used warranty does not cover that.............' Having said that all my problems have been resolved eventually to my satisfaction.

Anyway thanks guys, see you in eight months time with my next post!!

Cheers.

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