mark

Where they the same? yes, within a couple of mm of each other

it has a normal/sport setting and a normal/high setting. they were both in the normal position for each check. i had also checked the front and rear ride height before the checks.

NEVER should they fit RFT's on cars not tuned for them ..... By 2015 new cars in the UK will have to use RFT's, not now. In that case then i would suggest the 452's, their a good all rounder and the right price Hi Tony I have had a look at the Falken 452's they get good write ups on the tyre review sites and come at a good price as well. the only concern i have is the load index. the recommended tyres for the car are 245/45/18 96W but the falkens are 245/45/18 100Y. i'm fine with the speed rating but will the higher load index and the fact that they are classed as extra load or reinforced affect the car in any way? thanks Mark

Hi Tony Thanks for the reply. Looking back on my post i left somthing out. The car was originaly fitted with standard 245/45/18 96W Bridgestone ER33 tyres not the newer runflat version of the same tyre. the runflats on the rear were fitted later. The previous owner did say that he had complained to the garage that fitted them but had been told the runflats were safer and that normal tyres were being phased out. mark

Hi With the current credit crunch lowering the price of big barges to the same height as a snakes belly I thought it was time to change to a bigger car. So out went the old 98 Ls400 and in came the 04 Ls430. When I went to view the car I noticed the rear tyres were in need of replacement and the previous owner very nicely dropped the price just a little. Anyway here is the question. The current tyres are Bridgestone Potenza RE050A run flats and they are dreadful, the ride is harsh and noisy and the back slides about in the wet. This may be due to the low tread but the ride quality is bad enough that I have to change them. Can anyone recommend a good tyre for the LS430? I'm not interested in outright performance; my main drive to work is through town and about 30 miles of motorway. I’m looking for a nice comfortable and quite tyre. Visits to various tyre sites all say that there tyre is the best for the car, well they would wouldn’t they. In no particular order I have this as a starting list. Bridgestone ER33, these are fitted on the front. A lot quieter than the rears but do slide a little bit on roundabouts. Dunlop SP 9000, fitted to a friends mercy. They seem ok but a bit noisy. Dunlop SP Sport Maxx Michelin Primacy HP, good reviews on test sites but pricy. Falken FK452, budget tyre but get very good reviews. Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric Continental Sport Contact 3 Yokohama V103 ADVAN SPORT Any advice or personal experiance welcomed thanks mark

When looking for new tyres I tend to go for the same size thats on the wheel already. I know that you can possibly fit a wider tyre on the same Wheel depending on the profile, but why would anyone want to fit a narrower tyre on a wide wheel? While browsing youtube I found the video clip listed below. The clip shows a 195/45/15 tyre being fitted to a 15x9 wheel. Two questions 1. Won't the tyre bead pull off the rim when cornering. 2. Why have wide wheels with narrow tyres? why not just fit narrow wheels? It's not as if you would gain a grip advantage. If you cant find the link just look for tyre stretching theres loads of videos. Mark

Sorry I don't think I explained this very well. My figures for KPI when the car was setup by tony were 7°48' left and 8°27' right. My Friends right figure is 5°39' almost 3° of difference. as has been stated on this forum often 3° is a huge amount in geometry terms.

Hi Having had my LS400 Aligned by tony recently I advised a friend of mine with an LS who is having similar tyre wear to have a full geometry check done on the car. having had it done I asked to see the report just to compare the final figures to mine. all the figures look fine except the SAI angles Lexus quote a range of 7°40' to 9°10' for left and right. His initial figures were left 8°04' right 5°09 His final figures are left 8°04' right 5°57' This can't be right can it. What whould cause the figures to be so far out and how would it effect the handling of the car. if all other figure look OK is it possible to adjust them to look right if this figure is so far out?

A huge improvement, the car is still a bit on the bouncy/floaty side but it sits on the road a lot better with no pulling to one side over bumps. Tyre wear still OK but only 800 mile on them at the moment. I will keep an eye on them and report back later. many thanks for you help and advice.

Hi, Sorry for the delay in replying, I had the geometry rechecked on Thursday but this is the first time I have had to properly sit down and reply. I really should have better things to do on a Saturday night. After a long wait, three test drives and two alignment checks I finally have geometry report. I haven’t figured out how to upload yet so the final figures are below. All the values are in decimal degrees. Front Caster Left 6.4° Right 6.4° Camber Left 0.3° Right 0.3° Toe Left 0.05° Right 0.05° Rear Camber Left -0.8° Right -0.8° Toe Left 0.1° Right 0.1° Thrust angle -0.0° Your report listed the front toe as right 0.5mm, left 0.4mm and the rear as right 0.7mm, left 0.8mm. Are figures of 0.05° and 0.1° equivalent to these? I’m not sure on how to work it out correctly. There are no final values listed for SAI, Included angle, Setback or toe out on turns. The report list Min and Max figures but shows N/M in the final value column. This is the same as the previous report which I had with me when the car was setup. The machine used appears to be older the one used by yourself, no fancy graphics only a text readout on screen, and it only appears to be accurate to ± 1/10 of a degree on some angles going by the printout. Any thoughts or comments as usual would be appreciated.

Was you witness to the Geometry or was it the usual "we've" done it and a bill?.... I really hate gray areas from dealers "Angry head on" How come it's taken them so long to fix the printer?...... It only takes three days to get to the moon so i am sure in the modern age they could have addressed this by now I'm afraid it was the usual "we've done it and a bill". As for the printer I can't say. But your right this is the forth time the alignment has been done at Lexus and I have only received one report. When the car was booked in and I asked for a printed report it was " no problem" it was only when i collected the car that i was told of the printer problem. Mark In view of the distance you traveled Mark i spent many an hour researching the safest calibration possible for your car.... I had one chance to get it absolutely right. Without the evidence from the dealer any input i make toward the handling developments is without structure.. Mate i advise this.... Tell them you need a report "where, how" is their problem. You should have been given evidence of the calibration. Please can you pursue this? To rub salt..... A printer costs £30? how much did you pay them for the suspension installation I will pursue this with Lexus on Monday. As you say you do need evidence, I will be on their door eight O’clock Monday morning. As for the salt...... you are correct, a piece of paper with some numbers on is not a lot to ask when you have just parted with thick end of £600. I will let you know the outcome and the geometry figures on Monday, even if I have to copy them off the alignment machines monitor. Mark

Was you witness to the Geometry or was it the usual "we've" done it and a bill?.... I really hate gray areas from dealers "Angry head on" How come it's taken them so long to fix the printer?...... It only takes three days to get to the moon so i am sure in the modern age they could have addressed this by now I'm afraid it was the usual "we've done it and a bill". As for the printer I can't say. But your right this is the forth time the alignment has been done at Lexus and I have only received one report. When the car was booked in and I asked for a printed report it was " no problem" it was only when i collected the car that i was told of the printer problem. Mark

New dampers and springs fitted yesterday, no problems asking Lexus to reset the geometry to Tony’s figures after they were fitted. However I did not receive a printed report as there was a problem with the printer, so I can only take their word for it unless I get it checked a another garage. The car is not as bouncy as it was before but it’s still a bit nervous at motorway speeds, pulling slightly left and right especially on uneven surfaces. Not that we have many uneven road surfaces in this country, after all that’s what we pay road tax for, isn’t it? 500 mile on the new tyres, still no evidence of unusual tyre wear, But I will keep an eye on it and report back. Mark

Plus he now has a hard copy from our print-out for them to return the chassis to. Don't main dealers get funny about using settings that aren't their own though? Yes they do object.. But in view of the catalogue of failures i feel they will oblige in this case Hi Off to Lexus first thing in the morning for the dampers and springs to be fitted and to be relieved of a large sum on money for the privilege. I look forward to an interesting discussion regarding the geometry figures I want the car set to. I will follow up tomorrow after they are fitted. I also have a question. Given the different makes of alignment machines in use and the different way they measure the same geometry angles, Autodata lists the following toe information for the LS400. Toe (N=negative, toe out) mm: 2.13±1.42 deg: 0°18’±12’ deg-1/100 0,30±0,20 This may allow for errors in the setting of correct figures. In addition to this are all machines capable of measuring to the same tolerance. The machine use to set the car up on Monday was sensitive that even a small amount of force applied to the wheel would cause the figures to change slightly. Finally there is the question of calibration, how and how often are these machines calibrated, it all very well receiving a printout showing all the correct figures but how can you be sure they are correct. If the machine is off calibration how would you or the operator know. Sorry for rambling on but my lack of knowledge on geometry became evident on my visit to Tony on Monday. In the past I have accepted the figures and the reasons presented to me (It’s the way you drive, it’s the speed bumps, it’s the type of tyre) but not anymore. Mark

Hi This is my first post since I registered in May. Visited Tony yesterday (30/07/07) for a full geometry check on my LS400. The reason for the visit was to cure the excessive and expensive tyre wear on the car. Trust me, five pairs of front tyres in three years, that’s expensive. There was also a slight pull to one side. The geometry had been checked previously by Lexus and an independent garage but had failed to stop the wear on the tyres. Once on the ramps Tony pointed out the first problem, a leaking damper on the front offside. Not directly related to the cars geometry but may explain the wandering of the car at motorway speeds. Starting at the rear Tony set both wheels before moving forward and setting the fronts making allowances for the larger and wider wheels on the car. This is a short sentence to cover almost 2 hours work by Tony, who took the time to answer my questions, many of them no doubt asked a thousand times before, and explain the theory behind the settings he was making. Tony’s enthusiasm for vehicle geometry is obvious in his conversations and the care and pride he takes in his work. Many thanks Tony. As for the car, the slight pull has gone but it still wanders and is a bit twitchy on the motorway. New springs and dampers being fitted on Friday should cure that. Thanks also to the staff at Kipling Motorist Centre who fitted my new tyres. Their care and attention to detail when fitting tyres is rare in a world of ‘fast fit centres’ where quantity not quality counts. Unfortunately I will have to pass on fine tune due to distance but I will keep you up to date Tony. Thanks again Mark