After having l-tuned s/s installed last Saturday, I got alignment done today.
The camber settings for the rear are out of spec. I wasn't sure if these are considered close enough or I should go back to the shop. Everything else including front camber is fine. The guy at the shop was saying, it's more important to get the Toe setting within spec, and he could get the rear cambers closer to spec, but that will require the toe setting to be not as good. Does this make sense?

 

Did ur alignment guy attempt to adjust the rear? Looks like he only did the fronts.

My Ltuned rears are perfect...0.0 degrees. I was off spec up front.....0.1 degree off on both sides.

 

Yes, he spent at least 20 min for adjusting the rears. I'm not sure if the before numbers for the rear is correct. What I'm trying to figure out is if -1.6 and -2.0 is close enough to the spec and do not create uneven tire wear. He said the camber setting is maxed out if the toe setting is to stay within the spec.

 

I went back to the shop this morning to have them adjust rear cambers again. They said it cannot be done, and the toe and camber in the rear are ajusted with one bolt. To bring the camber closer to spec, toe will be out of spec. Is there any truth in this? I ask them if they would refund the money if I can have another shop to get it within the spec, and the manager said yes. I only have l-tuned s/s. Anyone familiar with camber adjustment for the rear?

 

since ltune s/s was a dealer installed option, it seems like it should be alignable to specs. I know there are tons of people here that have or had ltune ss that can/will chime in.

 

you CANNOT adjust the rear camber on the GS after you drop it and expect to be within spec... WILL NOT HAPPEN!!!


our GS's suffer from bad negative rear camber......it's just one of those things u gotta deal with

 

So it will never be the same?

 

I vistied a local NTB to see if they can get the camber adjusted correctly. The guy at NTB saw a problem right away with the eccentric cam for toe adjustment that's dislodged and the housing is bent. The guy has been doing alignment for 14 years, and he saw the same problem only with Lexus 3-4 times. I'm not even sure what will be a next step for me to fix this problem.

Doing some search on the Internet, I found a post buy this person that explains one of many problems in Lexus suspension design. Quote below:

I looked at the schedule at work the other day and saw there would be a Lexus LS 400 coming in for me to align, and was giddy in anticipation for a new car to write an opinion about. I got into this luxury automobile to pull it into my bay and let the process begin, and was immediately awestruck by the quality interior. What particularly caught my attention first was the steering wheel and column lowering itself and extending as if to say “it’s you and me Mike.” The glow of the dash was another point of interest, very nicely done, very luminous.

This particular automobile had a Borla carbon fiber extension on the exhaust which gave a throaty growl upon ignition, intending to let me know it was all business. I couldn’t wait to set it’s suspension back to where the engineers intended it to be, and road test this fine craft on my usual twisty route, to prove to myself what all the buzz was about with the Lexus name and all the kudos attached to it.

As I raised my hoist for the pre-alignment inspection, I noticed what amounted to another in the ever increasing long line of Honda knockoff double wishbone front suspensions. Though the Lexus name is linked to Honda and Acura through the nuts and bolts grapevine, this double wishbone is more similar to the Chrysler copy than the actual inventor of the D.W. Honda.

I was very excited to see what the rest of the suspension had in store. If you have read my Honda Accord and Audi A4 reviews, you know how fond I am of this suspension configuration. It was, when invented, the most incredible design to date, and has proven to be an extremely tough and long lasting system no matter what brand of automobile it resides under.

What singles the Lexus out from the rest of the crowd is the improvement on the original design with the addition of eccentric cams on the lower control arms where they bolt into the cradle allowing for the adjustment of the front camber angle. Why Honda didn’t include this availability in the original, and thus the copycats afterword is beyond
me. Lexus seemed to have done it’s homework...... In theory !


REALITY BITES:

Once I got to the point of the actual setting of the angles, my disappointment started. This car had only 40,000 miles on it and already the cams were maxed out for any additional camber adjustment. The camber was lower than factory spec. recommended, and there was no more left. What this translates to is, as the springs weaken with age and mileage, the tops of the tires will continue to lean increasingly inward at the top, and inner tire edge wear will result.

Then as I worked my way rearward, my dreams for a glowing review were fading as fast as my interest in this car. I was absolutely horrified at what I saw next. When I went to align the rear of this car, the housings for the eccentric cams to adjust rear camber and toe were woefully inadequately designed. In my review of the Audi A4 I lauded the extensive
use of its aircraft quality aluminum in the suspension design, adding to the brute strength of the overall.

The mounting for the pivot points in the Lexus, which were the areas in which all of the stress would be carried, and the very same housings as previously mentioned were made of less than 1/16” thick stamped steel. This is something one would expect to see in a Yugo or comparable disposable type automobile, not a high dollar “luxury sedan.”

Those cams should really ride in at least 3/4 of their circumference inside of the “ears” of the housings to provide adequate area to press against for strength and support, but all Lexus allowed was a smidgen of machine punched collar on one side, and a curled over “lip” from the edge of the housing on the other.

This metal was so weak, that it allows the cam to ride over the very edges that should be corralling it, not allowing it to proceed any further. It is extremely pliable, thin enough to be bent with simple household pliers with not a whole lot of effort. What this means to you is, don’t drive your sporty luxury sedan sportily at all, for fear of this one sixteenth inch of metal.

I was absolutely heart broken and duly sickened. It was tantamount to a lie. How anybody could pass this suspension off as high quality engineering is a question only for the philosophers of ancient times, and these people should be made to re-do engineering school. I have been doing this for long enough to know what will work and what won’t, so don’t try to tell me I’m not an engineer and should zip it.

In theory, this design should be a point of braggadosio for the Lexus brain trust, in practice the one word that comes to my mind is Edsel. It is like staring at a beautiful woman, imagining the rest of your life in extasy with her, and finding the receipt for “her” gender re-assignment surgery.

I won’t go into the other areas of reviewing this car, there are other quality opinions written by qualified members who will tell you of the comfort and interior etc. But as for the suspension system, it is so sub par, I for one wouldn’t pay half as much as Lexus wants for an automobile of this caliber. This is one suspension system that is extremely under built, and it is a shame of gargantuan order. Your money is better spent elsewhere.

 

Wow...that was a really interesting read.