ckasper

Hi,

I recently purchased a 99 LS400 and have been very happy with it. The only thing that I have noticed in the two months that I have had it is for it to occasionally let me feel the front suspension doing it's work through the steering wheel through vibrations. For example if I go a little fast over speed bumps or hit a pothole, I'll feel it occasionally through the steering wheel.

This is probably trivial but I wondered if any others had experienced this and if it might be a problem.

Chris

98 LS

ckasper,

Let's see ...............

What tire pressure are you running?
Try 29 PSI all around.



"For example if I go a little fast over speed bumps or hit a pothole, "

People driving most any other car feel that through their teeth .........
I think you might be officially spoiled by the silky smooth ride of the Lex?

Don't worry ..... it's a good thing.

stelios

It sound like a tire problem. Do you have the stock wheels on it or after market. It could be simple as a balancing problem. Let me know the outcome

RODDMOD

Hi People

I am going to let you in on something I learned about vibrations, this cost me a new set of tires because I didn't know about it. When you buy tires MAKE SURE THEY HAVE NO NYLON in them. Nylon will cause the tires to flat spot. This causes vibrations until they are warmed up. Also as little as a 1/4 gram of misbalance on a tire can make your Lexus driving experiance smooth and refined to a pain. Before you buy tires check with tech support at Tire rack they know all about it. have them find you tires with no nylon in them. Also getting your tires balance to less than a 1/4 of a gram can be a nightmare in itself. I have had the best luck at a Lexus dealer. It is very hard to find a shop that has a Hunter 9700 much less someone that knows how to use it and matches tire to wheel high and low spots. Once you get the tires and balancing right the difference is unbeliveable. 0 to 140mph pure silk.

98 LS

RODDMOD ..........

Hey Roddmod ......... I couldn’t agree more with you on both points ......... except ....... I'm quite sure you mean ....... 1/4 of an ounce ....... not 1/4 of a gram?

There are 28.3 grams per ounce ............ the plastic air-stem cap weighs more than 1/4 of a gram ............!!!

I have found that the LEX is most prone to exposing "out-of-balance" conditions in the range of 65 to 70 MPH. With properly balanced tires you can pass through or cruise in this region smoothly .............. and it is also the speed range that will remind you, through a vibrating steering wheel, that you have put off having the tires rebalanced too long.

Bottom line ............ if you don't have the tires balanced a couple times a year .......... you are wasting a fine ride.

RODDMOD

Your right it is a ounce , it is my wish for the metric system. Yes my 55 to 65 vibration problem was NYLON, not the car. I had my tires in balance and still had the 55 to 65 problem. it sucks,new tires with no nylon no vibrations 0. Getting them balanced right was the toughest part. No one wants to take the time or just doesnt get it.

98 LS

Hey RODDMOD .........

For the record ......... what brand or style of tire did you run into problems with over the "nylon" in the construction?

What other info or brands are you now aware of that may exhibit the same negative behavior with flat-spotting?

Anybody else ........... have any info on this phenomenon?

98 LS

RODDMOD

I had 3 brands over the last 2 years on two cars. All of them had the flatspotting problem. The last one was Conti Extremes, but the Tire Rack has the info on this, call them if you need to check on your tires. The ones I have now are Michelin Energy™ MXV4® Plus.

Good Luck