went to midas for an oil change and tire rotation today.. was pulled out to see the front two tires all worn out on the inside.. the guy told me it was cause the struts were bad?? is this true? can struts wear my tire or is it in need of a alignment? 2008 is250 awd.. thanks in advance!!

 

inside tire wear is due to excessive toe out or excessive negative camber.

has the vehicle been lowered without correcting the alignment?

changing out the strut won't correct either although after replacing the struts the vehicle should have an alignment performed.

Take the vehicle to a good alignment shop and have them inspect the suspension and steering components and give you a diagnosis as to what needs to be done to correct the problem.

 

Do we have struts? My car has separate shocks and springs. At least that's what I bought for him.

But yes, sounds like it may be an issue with alignment?

 

No, we don't have "struts"...some people think shocks and struts are the same thing, and they are not...struts are on macpherson strut designed suspension systems, which our cars do not have...

The tire wear is correctly pointed out above, a good alignment will correct most of the wear...

As for Midas, I wonder if they sell struts??? Maybe a little motivation there...

 

I'd like to see someone try to put a strut on a 2IS. That would be hilarious to watch. Pretty much like someone saying they're putting camber plates on the car. Another really funny geek joke we hear all too often here.

 

the IS uses a double wishbone suspension. Its kind of like mixing a short/long arm suspension with a macpherson strut suspension.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double_wishbone_suspension


more tunable and compact than a regular macpherson strut suspension.

 

The only thing a Mac strut and a shock have in common is they both dampen wheel motion. Other than that, they're completely different in their design and construction. One had to remain rigid while allowing rotation, the other just has to ensure the wheel doesn't lose contact with the pavement. I definitely would not call it a mix of Mac strut and long/short arm suspension. To be accurate, the car comes with a coil over shock double arm suspension in front. The lower control arm in the front is definitely not wishbone shaped. The rear is a 5 link set up and bears little resemblance of any kind to a double wishbone suspension.

 

Ok i guess my attempt at a simple discription failed .... oh well

the shock is a coil over and when replacing it it is very very similar to replacing a strut as to the procedures used and requiring a strut type spring compressor.

the front suspension is a double wishbone and the rear is a multi link.

http://www.lexus.com/models/IS/detai...fications.html

 

ok. thanks guys. it didn't sound right to me either. and the car is completely stock.. the only thing i was kinda excited about was it gave me a reason to spend a grand on the bcr coils hehe..

 

Sounds like they were trying to get some $$$ out of you!

 

check your alignment....

 

I would say an alignment needs to be done, I had a similar issue with my car as the toe was way off...any good alignment shop should get that taken care of for you