2002 IS 300 Tires
 

Its my wife's IS, and I know she's a hotrod but it doesn't explain why her front tires need replacing on a annual basis. The reason they need replacement is because tires wear out from the inside, with the driver side being the worst. The routine is to rotate the back tires up front and then new tires in the back. Like I said, once a year so its pricy. I have had the alignment checked and they said "its within factory specs". This has been going on since the car was bought new in 2002:mad:


Have never touched the suspension. Someone suggested it could be the shocks. I noticed the same thing on a picture posted here on a ball joint problem someone had (think I need that checked as well as has about 150K on her). Any ideas are welcomed. Thanks in advance.

This is strange. The only thing I can think of are no-brainers that would have been detected by now:

• improper inflation
• incorrect tire size
• alignment

Does the wear happen mostly on the driver's side and NOT the passenger's side? If so, you can at least have a mechanic check that side and compare it to the passenger side.

The tires wear on the same locations and the reasons you stated have been checked out, several times in fact. I was told the tow is set on these cars for better cornering therefore wear out from the inside as a result. Even the owners manual states to expect only 25 k on as set of tires that came with it. I spent the bucks to check alignment and all was confirmed as in specs. I told them I suspect that's the problem. Thanks for the reply.

Sorry, a little late to the party....

What brand of tires are you using? All season or summer performance?
Are you rotating regularly or just when the tires are being replaced? When rotating tires, you should cross the rears to the front and the front straight back. Unless you have directional tires. This should be done every 5k miles, or every 2 oil changes. Which i dont normally do. I run Continental DWS tires and i get close to 50k before replacing them without rotating
Are the tire pressure at 35psi? I know a lot of tire shops will put 40+ lbs, even if they said that they went by the vehicles specs. I call BS, since i had a shop that was supposedly going by the cars psi specs. I checked with my own gauge to find out that all 4 were pumped to 45psi, which the car specs recommend 35psi on all 4. Another friend of mine has a integra, and the fronts are supposed to be 35, while the rears are 32. They were also pumped to 45psi. The weather also affects the tire psi. If its at 45psi when its cold, the heat will expand the tire pressure to 50psi or even more, pending on how hot the tires are from driving and the weather. They recommend checking air, when the weather is cold or in the morning.


Edit: You can check your lower and upper ball joint by wiggling the hub up and down or left to right. If there is no movement, then the ball joints are fine. I just replaced mine with moog at 270k miles for the first time. Yes, i still got 50k miles on worn out LBJ. If it was bad shocks, you would get cups on the tread. Little humps that are produce from constant bouncing of the tire, from bad shocks. The inner tire wear is caused by camber and a little toe.

Can you post pics of your alignment sheet?

Have you tried getting an alignment at a different garage/dealership? It almost sounds like you lowered your car without a camber kit. But, I saw that you said the suspension is completely stock.
I would suggest taking the car to the place that installed the tires and ask them "WTF, mate?"

Even later to the party.

Get the alignment specs. "within factory specs" doesn't mean "good". Toe kills tires.

Make sure nothing is worn out in the front suspension as IS3_FTW says.