Hey guys I have a 00 LS400 Platinum edition

several years back I had BF Goodrich tires on my car

They were good tires that lasted a long time with no issues. I think they were V or Z rated tires. I had them up to 143mph once....they were champs.

Then as those tires wore out and I needed new ones I was in a money crunch and the local tire place talked me into putting a set of Maxxis tires on my car. P225/60R16 98T

Within 5-7k miles those tires developed waves in them that you could feel on the inside edge of the tread. It got to the point where you got tons of road noise and there was a light wop wop wop all the time.

the tire shop told me it was my car at fault and they couldn’t help me. Yet this never happened with the other tires lol.

so I have a few questions

1). What is the manufacturer recommended speed rating for the tires on these cars? How does this effect the tires wear and reliability if you choose a lower rating like the T rating but never get into those speed ranges of 118mph

2) My car has ~210k miles ......what bushings or steering/suspension parts etc should I replace with the next set of tires? The steering feel is very sloppy and it pulls to one side a little when I let off the wheel.

3). When I go over big bumps sometimes I will hear a clunk come from the right front fire....what could this be?

 

If your steering wheel is sloppy and the car pulls to one side, your car is most likely responsible for your uneven tire wear. You could swap the front tires side to side and see if the pull changes to the other side. If not, then you have a vehicle issue.

1. They came with V-rated tires. You could use a tire with a lesser speed rating just fine if you never get near those speeds, but a lower rated tire generally isn’t as stiff and gives up some handling performance. Some like lower rated tires for the softer ride.

2. You should replace whatever steering/suspension components are worn or loose. The only way to know is to have it inspected.

3. The strut rod bushings are a common cause of front end clunk noises on LS400’s.

 

Note the steering is sloppy now. It wasn’t back when I first put these on my car 3 years ago.

t am replacing these because I could feel the bubbles on the driver side rear tire and the wires from the tread stuck my hand when I was feeling around. Note all the tires formed the waves in the beginning, it pulls to the passenger side, the drivers side rear isvthe one I can feel nubbiest all around the inside tread and the wires were sticking through the tire.

 

The areas to inspect are: strut rod bushings/caster bars, tie rod ends, ball joints, upper and lower control arm bushings. May want to inspect the steering rack bushings too.

 

bushings on this car is SOFT to give that plush ride but that also equals tears and breaks at higher mileage. at 210k, there is something bound to be worn down.
check the areas already mentioned.

the LS is sensitive to alignments so get a good one done before getting new tires but after replacing any suspension bushings.

 

And last but not least, the single most important piece of hardware that keeps your car on the road and away from a ditch or an accident or running over a drunk who falls in front of your front bumper is - your tires. Tires = life. Bad tires = your guess...

Of all tires out there, I vote for Michelin (premier A/S or primacy, if you can find them), but others should be good too.

I mean, when it comes to tires, yes, you don't really need great tires all the time, right? You only need them, say, once a year, to stay out of someone's rear end, or to avoid a jaywalker, or to stay on the road when you run into a puddle and start aquaplaning (or a stream on a downhill). In either one of those situations, at best, the material damage is vastly bigger than cost of new set of tires but in a really tricky situation it could save a life. Sometimes the difference is measured in inches, not even feet, and good tires outperform bad ones by many many feet (especially in wet).

 

A good alignment goes a long way literally so having a competent tech dial in the car after suspension work is important.