Uneven tyre wear

[Paul86S2]

Hi

New to the forum and can’t find anything in search.

My car with 18 k has just had a service and Lexus report inner tyre wear on both rear tyres. They are down to about 4mm on inside edges. They say this is down to alignment being incorrect.

They won’t do a rear alignment without fitting new tyres - their reasons behind this don’t make sense, they say it will be a false economy because it will need to be redone again when new tyres are fitted. My reasoning is if they put the alignment right it should still be right when new tyres are required, providing nothing untoward has happened.

Any thoughts on this please. 

I also asked them to look at the mpg, I get about 36 to 37 with mostly motorway driving, their only thought was perhaps I drive too fast and don’t go slow enough in traffic to utilise the Battery power enough. To be honest I couldn’t drive slow enough to pull away without using the engine, is this normal?

thanks

 

Paul

[NemesisUK]

Doing the alignment with unevenly worn tyres fitted will mean the adjustment will be incorrect once new tyres are fitted, as the adjustment will have taken the uneven wear into account. Always best to have the geo checked with new or tyres will normal (even) wear pattern.

36 mpg is about what I get on out of town drives. Goes up to approx 47 mpg when commuting around town. 

The generally held opinion is it's best to accelerate normally, briskly under petrol power and then back right off when up to speed and gently reapplying the throttle to maintain speed. This will usually utilise Battery power, as long as speed is below ~40mph and on nothing more than a gentle incline.

It is possible to pull away under Battery power (in Normal mode) but following drivers won't be pleased..

[Rabbers]

Paul:  Your specific issue of inner wear to the rear tyres sounds exactly like that experienced by myself and other owners with the IS300h - see,

for example, IS300h etc. Forum, 4-Wheel alignment with new Goodyear tyres, started by Casa1862, April 10, 2017.   The consensus explanation

for the wear, confirmed in my own case by both my Lexus dealer and my trusty tyre supplier, was the rear-wheels camber angle specific to the

IS, which, not being adjustable, meant the problem could not be rectified.  What alarmed me was the suddenness with which the wear appeared

at around 37000km, leading me to check the tyres much more frequently thereafter than had been my habit.  And, in fact, wear to the replacements

was starting to appear at 26000km when I traded in the IS for my present RC.  So far with the RC I have seen no signs of uneven wear after

22000km on summer tyres and 12000km on winters but am wondering, after reading your post, if the camber-related problem might not also

exist for the RC, in which eventuality 4-wheel alignment is unfortunately not going to help.

 

As regards your fuel consumption, I would suggest you make a conscious effort to drive economically for as long as your self-discipline and/or

patience allow and then revert to normal for a similar period.  Then compare the relative consumption figures and come to your own conclusions

as to whether the problem, if any, is with you or the car.

[ColinBarber]

There is no camber adjustment on the rear but inside edge wear is normally due to a toe issue that can be adjusted.

[Linas.P]

Inner rear edge wear was always (sort of) an issue on Lexus, from IS mk1, mk2 and now seems to be the case for mk3 and RC. But that is not limited to Lexus, is quite common on any (sportyish) RWD cars.. this is just a way camber is adjusted, as well 4mm down from probably 7mm  doesn't seems to be so bad after 18k miles (assuming that outside is ~5mm). There are other related things like speed humps eating on inner edges - so I don't think that it is related to wrong alignment at all.

[rayaans]

17 hours ago, Paul86S2 said:

Hi

New to the forum and can’t find anything in search.

My car with 18 k has just had a service and Lexus report inner tyre wear on both rear tyres. They are down to about 4mm on inside edges. They say this is down to alignment being incorrect.

They won’t do a rear alignment without fitting new tyres - their reasons behind this don’t make sense, they say it will be a false economy because it will need to be redone again when new tyres are fitted. My reasoning is if they put the alignment right it should still be right when new tyres are required, providing nothing untoward has happened.

Any thoughts on this please. 

I also asked them to look at the mpg, I get about 36 to 37 with mostly motorway driving, their only thought was perhaps I drive too fast and don’t go slow enough in traffic to utilise the battery power enough. To be honest I couldn’t drive slow enough to pull away without using the engine, is this normal?

thanks

 

Paul

As far as I am aware, it is a characteristic of the vehicle similiar to the IS which does the same despite being aligned by Lexus (I did the alignment after they said it was out but it hasn't really changed anything)

Ideally, alignment needs doing (if it really needs doing) when new tyres are fitted. However, alignment does NOT need to be done every time new tyres are fitted providing the car tracks straight and did not have excessive awkward wear before.

The rear inners may be down to 4mm but what is the rest? if its 5mm in the middle and outer, I wouldnt worry about it. 

Motorway driving won't get you great MPG to be honest unless religiously sticking to 70mph. 

[Paul86S2]

Thanks for all the useful information. Link to tyre video below

https://video.citnow.com/vtHjPKKXt1m

Doesn’t look like a mm less than the rest, looks like the edge has gone

Cheers

Paul

Edited March 11, 2018 by Paul86S2

[rayaans]

1 hour ago, Paul86S2 said:

Thanks for all the useful information. Link to tyre video below

https://video.citnow.com/vtHjPKKXt1m

Doesn’t look like a mm less than the rest, looks like the edge has gone

Cheers

Paul

Yup looks like the edge has worn but it's odd that the inner edge looks somewhat normal but maybe it's the camera angle.

I would say new tyres and 4 wheel alignment. Don't pay £80 for it though. Mine price match within 5 mile radius so I get it done at kwik fit prices lol

[ColinBarber]

[iwonder]

If the inner edge is worn smooth then most likely a 4 wheel alignment wont fix it as it's pretty common. If tread (central 3/4) are within about 1mm of each other then it's not bad going to be honest.