steveski

OK folks - This may be a dumb two part question but I figure I am due for one. Although I searched I didn't get a what I was looking for. My LS is lowered and I normally get it 4 wheel aligned about every two months.
(1) If they attach their 4 sensors to the wheels and do the alignment and all comes out green on the printout (everything is in line). Does that mean they testing to stock LS specs or the actual lowered set up of the vehicle as it is on the rack. It seems like it is tested to the actual set up rather than stock specs.
(2) The inside edges of my front tires are worn (look cupped) and my alignment guy said it was because the upper CA's were worn since at that time I had my alignment done and there was negative camber and toe out - aftre I drove 1,000 miles to Florida and back. After I replaced the CA's and lower ball joints the tires are not getting worse or better (can't rotate). Inner tire wear they say is caused by bad struts, sagging springs or worn suspension parts. Do I need to sweat this anymore or not? Since my alignment checks out green now ~ I guess if I replace the front tires they should wear even since they do alignment checks each month or so and everything checks out green.
That's it - thx

19psi

the alignment machines compare your current settings to what is factory spec. if your current settings are ok, lowered or not, everything will come out green. the machine only cares about what the actual specs are compared to factory spec.
just look to make sure toe and camber are very close on left and right side, preferably even.
if evertying is green now, go ahead and get new front tires and it should be fine.

PureDrifter

iTrader: (10)

the biggest cause for inner tire wear on the front of the LS is toe out, and it sounds like you need a new alignment shop

i know i was supposed to call you like 2 weeks ago steve but school's been keepin me busy il hit ya up soon

RA40

iTrader: (6)

What are your alignment settings per the print out?

Hopefully this shop realizes the camber can be adjusted.

steveski

Yeah my toe was out a couple times but I think what caused my wear initially was upper CA - now it is fixed and tires are already worn
Talk to you when you get finished - ughh man I know what you mean.

steveski

Mike,
You and I have a very similar lowered setup where the front is lower than the rear. My current settings are as follows from Firestone:

Camber = -1.0 Left Front and -.5 Right
Castor = 7.7 Left Front and 7.5 Right
Toe = .10 Left Front and .12 Right

BTW, all these are within factory specs so they appear green in the color printout.

I called the shop - he said he aligns to factory specs and the only thing lowering would affect is castor - not camber or toe.

What do you think and thanks bro.

Steve

PureDrifter

iTrader: (10)

you need a new shop, when you lower the LS caster is the only thing that is NOT affected very much. also, when i had my car aligned (i went and evened it out, not front heavy anymore :P) the shop i used was very particular about geting everything as close to factory as possible, while still staying even on both sides. il post my alignment specs later today.

though keep in mind when i post them up that im running lower than you guys.

steveski

Yeah I typed that wrong - they guy said caster was not critical from lowering - only camber and toe. You know I have Bilstein HD's with two perches. Front and rear are at the lowest setting currently and front is sagging lower. I was thinking of raising the front to the top perch to see if it will improve strut response, handling, etc. I guess the front sags more because of the weight of the engine, etc. Pure, since you have L-Tuned you have more perches. Bilstein said I could ship the struts and they'd cut new gooves. Here's a quick pic showing the lower front - it is like RA40's. If I raise it back like before I will gain maybe 1/2" gap. Maybe this will help alignment but I don't know.

RA40

iTrader: (6)

Nah...a better shop me thinks. Factory specs are a bit wide for toe, if the guy is good, he can get it more precise.

Mine:

Front
Toe +1/16
Caster +7.85
Camber -1.50

Rear
Camber -1.25
toe +1/12

If the shop does a good job, you won't have to get alignments unless you hit something or otherwise, cause the suspension to change.

PK_Celsior

iTrader: (18)

i still havent gotten my car aligned ever since it was bought lmao. i just drop it on bilstien and tanabe springs. the funny thing is that my tires wear out evenly. weird huh ????. i kept tellin my lexus mechanic friend haha. maybe one day in the near future it will get aligned fo once.

PureDrifter

iTrader: (10)

have you checked the INSIDE of the tires....

steveski

Thanks Mike. I paid for a lifetime alignment and I think Virgil can dial it in tighter if I ask him to. Especially since I have your numbers now.

The last time I got it checked the right front toe out was only slightly off. Sometimes it check fine depending on how I drive and where I drive as you said. I am thinking of raising my perch back to highest perch (Bilstein HD with two perch settings) to raise front end 1/2" or so to even it out. I noticed when I lowered the front to the bottom perch it handled differently but looked better with less gap. It looks a lot like your set up.

steveski

Like Pure said the inside of the tires are what to check. I'd take one off and look closely. Normally when you lower it camber and toe will be off at least mine were off considerably. Once they start to wear and you can't rotate, you get stuck with a howler.

19psi

just to specify, lowering affects camber first. by changing camber, toe is changed. of course, my car is so low i can't get any of it within spec. i go through rear tires every 3 -4 months!

steveski

Thanks. Maybe I should not complain since mine have lasted for nearly 20,000 miles