Wheel Alinement

[Tony-Bones]

Trust me i'm not trying to educate the world nor am i god when it comes to chassis or suspension calibration plus i have my own operation to run but i am an instructor in my field for the biggest fast-fit empires in the EU and the ignorance scares me!

Years ago i acknowledged my best way to help is in places like this and try to offer a smattering of knowledge so you the reader can expect more and know what to expect and why.

In this dreadful climate money matters to us all and as we know tyres are not cheap so a p$ss poor geometry will cost you eventually when the front tyres are duffed in 5k.

As said the stock IS200/ 300/ SC has chassis issues due to Lexus's belligerent reluctance to offer a solution, in truth they left the solution to late opening the door to liability and litigation that could cost millions.... Well i did offer a proven solution and the datum is available here in the clubs knowledge base.

What i find now since the IS is getting mature more owners lean toward modifying the car, albeit lowering of turbo or whatever, this realm is dangerous when it comes to calibrating the chassis in order to compliment the modifications. Sadly few fast-fit outlets will understand your needs and as said de-tune the modifications and set the chassis to stock settings, that is a whole world of hurt.

[Tony-Bones]

Tony, I remember a post you made many moons ago about the tendancy of the IS200's steering to offset to the right sligtly after geometry calibration. Did you manage to identify what it was?

Yes.... Human error? The only requirement the machine relies on is the human setting the final steering position. Well my perception of level may differ from yours since the column is angled as is the dash so it's an issue of perception.

[LexIS200Sport]

Gotcha, thanks again :)

[VLM]

Tony, noobie here, I see you have a franchise partner in Edinburgh, would they be able to set mine up to your "standard" recommended settings? Mine's a standard IS200 with 18" wheels - I take it your standard settings make it less fidgety in the straight ahead and even out the tyre wear.

Cheers

D

[Tony-Bones]

If the sale goes though us then i police the settings they will use and open a live link with them during the calibration to resolve any problems. I also require them to give me a copy for the end positions to ensure all is well. Sad thing is when i opened the network only members i trained could do the calibration but fast-fit staff turnaround is so fluid i found untrained people where doing the work and i wasn't informed. It's a hard call my end and hard to police but it's still working just not really viable my end since money is the do all and end all.

[VLM]

Great, I'll get it booked up later in October, and make sure they've got your settings.

I presume I'll do everyone a favour if I free-off any nuts/bolts beforehand. That'll be the camber concentric washer thing, the track rod nuts, anything else? Do you need to adjust the rear as well normally?

[Tony-Bones]

Any plus gas on the adjusters would help.... As for the rear, yes normally this would need correcting. Don't be alarmed though, the reason the rear camber and toe is adjustable is by design Lexus knew the positions would change over time.