Wheel Alignment - Geometry

[G10RRE]

Hi

I've noticed my steering wheel is a tad to the right, only by say a couple of degrees off centre when on a straight flat road. I was looking for a good place to get the full geo looked at around the Edinburgh area, or surrounding areas, does anyone have any recommendations?

thanks in advance!

[lotusdave]

can't help sorry other than to say my local main dealer Down South charges something like £110 for full four wheel alignment. Good luck.

[North west beast]

Lexus Edinburgh will do it

[Knight Rider]

John,

I got Lexus Edinburgh to do 4 wheel geometry alignment, they do not do it in-house so the car will be away for a day, £100.

[Stuno1]

Only Lexus can do this as its all electrically adjusted. Even Toyota can't do it.

[Peter P18]

Wonder if that changes if you fit aftermarket coilovers? Thinking BC or KW's.

Guess they shouldn't have much impact on the geo when I think about it.

[sofasurfer]

So if you change your tyres and they offer you an alignment service it's of no use whatsoever then? Going to have to ask Lexus the cost of that when I pop in today.

[Stuno1]

So if you change your tyres and they offer you an alignment service it's of no use whatsoever then? Going to have to ask Lexus the cost of that when I pop in today.

If you go with anyone other than Lexus...yes. They have a specific machine that callibrates the wheel allignment (toe/camber etc) as well as alligns the steering wheel correctly.

[sofasurfer]

So if you change your tyres and they offer you an alignment service it's of no use whatsoever then? Going to have to ask Lexus the cost of that when I pop in today.

If you go with anyone other than Lexus...yes. They have a specific machine that callibrates the wheel allignment (toe/camber etc) as well as alligns the steering wheel correctly.

Thanks Stuart.

[G10RRE]

Thanks everyone, i'll pop into Lexus Edinburgh and get it booked up soon!

[lotusdave]

I didn't know that only Lexus can do it. This is where the running costs start to pick up in comparison to the value of the car, which for me is what 19k to 20k. Six years old, 50,000 miles. Still I say sod it, with a tank of petrol 60+ then its not much really is it?

[Stuno1]

I didn't know that only Lexus can do it. This is where the running costs start to pick up in comparison to the value of the car, which for me is what 19k to 20k. Six years old, 50,000 miles. Still I say sod it, with a tank of petrol 60+ then its not much really is it?

Just going by what toyota told me. Agree, this isn't a cheap car so things like this will be more than a run of be mill car.

[ChrisIS200SportTTE]

Not completely true that only Lexus can do it.

To get a proper alignment does require a very expensive laser alignment machine yes. But there are a few very good alignment places that can set the ISF up to the correct perfect settings.

Wheels in motion being the prime candidate (obviously 500 odd miles from Edinburgh so of no use to OP) but they are used by companies such as Ferrari, MB, Porsche and they are famous for re writing the first generation IS's geometry which Lexus accepted was flawed and now use WIM's settings.

[lotusdave]

interesting Ta. Could be my indi garage who run a lotus race team could do it. Again sod all use to op as its on Kent. ill let Lexus do mine in a couple of weeks since they have the car again for my rattle. Can't be bothered with the hassle of taking it to two garages...

[Stuno1]

Be interesring to see how others get on with non Lexus garages.

[G10RRE]

hmmm, if Lexus Edinburgh dont do it inhouse, and outsource it to a third party, does anyone know who they use?

[Arqum]

I had this issue. Went to WIM tracking was spot on. Tyre wear was perfect too. I had to get my YAW sensors re calibrated by Lexus and that sorted it. Lexus can only to the calibration. If your tyre wear is fine then it's probably gonna be this

[ChumpusRex]

I didn't know that only Lexus can do it. This is where the running costs start to pick up in comparison to the value of the car, which for me is what 19k to 20k. Six years old, 50,000 miles. Still I say sod it, with a tank of petrol 60+ then its not much really is it?

The IS-F is no different to any other car when it comes to alignment. Anyone with an alignment measurement machine and a spanner can do it.

Not all Lexus dealers have the facilities to do the alignment themselves, as a good quality alignment tool is very expensive. Getting alignment right is also complicated, and the staff training is also very expensive. Many just take the car to a local garage that does wheel alignment.

The only thing where it can get a bit difficult is that if the steering wheel is off and adjusted, the VSC system may need to be recalibrated. The garage doing the alignment needs a computer to delete the calibration from the VSC system, so that it can re-learn. Obviously, the lexus diagnostic system can do this. But, lots of high-end alignment machines come with software that can trigger a VSC recalibration on pretty much any car (even lexus). The alignment industry typically calls this process a "steering angle sensor reset" or "SAS reset" - so ask your garage if they can do this before taking the car down. Most should be able to do this, as it is an essential part of wheel alignment on any car with VSC/ESP (and all cars from 2013 MUST have VSC/ESP by law).

I'm not normally a fan of manufacturer sponsored "good garage guides", but you might want to check http://www.alignmycar.co.uk. This is sponsored by a manufacturer of high-end alignment machines, so it's not independent. However, I've taken several cars (inc my IS250) to random garages and to a couple of AMC sponsored garages. Both the AMC garages got it absolutely spot on, and it was obvious when talking to the tech that they knew exactly what they were doing. By contrast, a big tyre chain and a backstreet garage completely b*******d it up.

If you want to go it alone, then the best places to go for alignment, are either garages specialising in performance cars and tuning, or insurance-approved accident repair garages (these places do a *ton* of alignment checks as the damage assessment even on minor prangs)

[Knight Rider]

I'll dig out my paperwork print out of the 4 wheel alignment to see if the name of who Lexus Edinburgh used is on it for you. It was done to my ISF earlier this year following inside tyre wear, caster, camber, toe etc all done

[ChrisIS200SportTTE]

I didn't know that only Lexus can do it. This is where the running costs start to pick up in comparison to the value of the car, which for me is what 19k to 20k. Six years old, 50,000 miles. Still I say sod it, with a tank of petrol 60+ then its not much really is it?

The IS-F is no different to any other car when it comes to alignment. Anyone with an alignment measurement machine and a spanner can do it.

Not all Lexus dealers have the facilities to do the alignment themselves, as a good quality alignment tool is very expensive. Getting alignment right is also complicated, and the staff training is also very expensive. Many just take the car to a local garage that does wheel alignment.

The only thing where it can get a bit difficult is that if the steering wheel is off and adjusted, the VSC system may need to be recalibrated. The garage doing the alignment needs a computer to delete the calibration from the VSC system, so that it can re-learn. Obviously, the lexus diagnostic system can do this. But, lots of high-end alignment machines come with software that can trigger a VSC recalibration on pretty much any car (even lexus). The alignment industry typically calls this process a "steering angle sensor reset" or "SAS reset" - so ask your garage if they can do this before taking the car down. Most should be able to do this, as it is an essential part of wheel alignment on any car with VSC/ESP (and all cars from 2013 MUST have VSC/ESP by law).

I'm not normally a fan of manufacturer sponsored "good garage guides", but you might want to check http://www.alignmycar.co.uk. This is sponsored by a manufacturer of high-end alignment machines, so it's not independent. However, I've taken several cars (inc my IS250) to random garages and to a couple of AMC sponsored garages. Both the AMC garages got it absolutely spot on, and it was obvious when talking to the tech that they knew exactly what they were doing. By contrast, a big tyre chain and a backstreet garage completely b*******d it up.

If you want to go it alone, then the best places to go for alignment, are either garages specialising in performance cars and tuning, or insurance-approved accident repair garages (these places do a *ton* of alignment checks as the damage assessment even on minor prangs)

Chumpusrex knows, couldn't agree more with this 👍

[G10RRE]

I'll dig out my paperwork print out of the 4 wheel alignment to see if the name of who Lexus Edinburgh used is on it for you. It was done to my ISF earlier this year following inside tyre wear, caster, camber, toe etc all done

[G10RRE]

I'll dig out my paperwork print out of the 4 wheel alignment to see if the name of who Lexus Edinburgh used is on it for you. It was done to my ISF earlier this year following inside tyre wear, caster, camber, toe etc all done

Much Appreciated! If you could 😊

[ChumpusRex]

Just bear in mind that the 2IS (including the IS-F) only has basic toe adjustment capability. Camber and caster angles cannot be adjusted without installing aftermarket suspension components.

No idea why lexus didn't build camber adjustment into the IS, when they did in the GS. Even less idea why the IS-F doesn't have it, other than I suppose lexus wanted to reuse as many parts as possible.

[G10RRE]

Hi

Got it done finally, went to an independent in Edinburgh but it was still out by a few degrees, so decided to book it in to the Edinburgh newbridge dealer as recommended by other forum members, looks like they use an accident repair place in East Calder as the top of the alignment print out says UK AR CENTRE googling it brings up this site http://www.ukaccidentrepair.com or http://www.madaboutcarservicing.com/garages/ukar-auto-centre-east-calder.aspx seems to have done the trick though!

My caster is right on the limit of off spec on left front but they said it doesn't affect anything, would need replacement lower arms or something?? Anyway all ok driving now, wheels very straight.

Cheers

John

[G10RRE]

Sorry the irks should be

http://www.madaboutcarservicing.com/garages/ukar-auto-centre-east-calder.aspx

And

http://www.ukaccidentrepair.com