I am in the process of replacing the tires on my '02 IS300 for the first
time. The front tires are worn quite a bit more on the inside than they are
in the center and outside surfaces. If it weren't for the excessive inside
wear I could probably squeeze another 2000-3000 miles out of them. The car
has 24,500 miles on it with the original tires, although the car came with a
sticker on it stating that the Bridgestone Potenza OEM tires should only
last about 20,000 miles. My car has never pulled to the left or right either
one, so I have always thought that there weren't any alignment issues. I
plan on having a four-wheel alignment performed on the car a couple of
days after I have my new tires are mounted, just in case there is an
alignment
issue that is undetectable to me.

Has anyone else here experienced any excessive interior front tire wear with
their IS300?

I've had the same problem with my 98 GS400. I had the dealer and a front
end place check the aligment. Dealer said it was in spec, the ft end place
dialed out some toe on the rear and some camber all around. It appears that
it is designed to have a lot of camber so the car handles better. I've had
the tires turned around on the wheels to even out the wear. I'm loosing
much more than a few thousand miles, more like 10 or 15 thousand. I know I
won't be buying another Lexus, I've never had a car with the above problem.
It's a real shame to have the inside rapidly wearing and the center and
outside like new.


"Ron M." <nobody (AT) nowhere (DOT) net> wrote

"Randy Kalal" <rkalal (AT) ultrasw (DOT) com> wrote

Thanks for the feedback Randy. And you are right. It IS a real shame to have
the inside
wearing like yours and mine both have worn when compared to the center and
outside surfaces of the front tires. A co-worker of mine said that his 2003
BMW 325 went through front tires every 10,000 miles max--and his were only
worn out on the inside as well. After I get my new tires mounted I'm going
to go have a little 'friendly chat' with my local Lexus dealership's service
manager. He seems to be a fairly reasonable guy, but there's one Service
Consultant there that has a lot of foreskin in his collar. I'll make sure
not to deal with him or NOTHING will ever get done regarding this camber/toe
adjustment issue.

I'll let you know how this thing turns out by posting here in this forum.

Regards,

Ron M.

"Ron M." <nobody (AT) nowhere (DOT) net> wrote


I too have an '02 IS300 and noticed the same thing but caught it early and
had the dealer readjust the alignment. The insides of the left tires still
wore out first but I reached over 37,000 miles on the OEM Bridgestone 040s
before that happened. I finally just had them replaced Friday (Michelin
Exalto PE2s) and had the alignment checked again. There was too much toe out
and too much negative camber on the left wheels. That's all been corrected
now. I notice that the Michelins ride nicer but don't steer as sharply as
the 040 'stones. Plenty of grip though.

--
-WJB

"Jeff Bertrand" <wjbertrand (AT) NOSPAMearthlink (DOT) net> wrote

Hi Jeff,

This morning I had a new set of Pirelli PZero Nero M&S Ultra High
Performance All-Season tires put on my '02 IS300. I am really surprised at
how much smoother and quieter the Pirellis are compared to my OEM
Bridgestones back when they were new too. Like your Michelins, I can tell
that my Pirellis "don't steer as sharply". However,
the performance loss seems to be minimal. Sat. morning I am going to have a
4-wheel
alignment performed on the vehicle so that the inside wear problem isn't
repeated with
this set of tires. I feel as though I could have gotten a lot more miles out
of my OEM Bridgestones if the inside surfaces hadn't of worn so badly. The
center and outside surfaces of the tires were still in good shape.
Especially the ones that had been put on the rear of the car at the final
tire rotation. Thanks for the heads up on the toe out and camber settings.
The guy at the Toyota dealership should be able to correct my car's
alignment Sat. morning. People say he's a really good alignment guy.

Ron M.

"Ron M." <nobody (AT) nowhere (DOT) net> wrote

indicated that I could try increasing the pressure slightly (3-5 PSI) from
the specified 33 PSI. The tire has a maximum inflation pressure of 50 PSI
so there's room to experiment. I pumped the Michelins up to 36 PSI and wow,
what an improvement! Almost as sharp as the 040s and I still have a nice
smooth quiet ride. I'm a happy camper!



--
-WJB

"Jeff Bertrand" <wjbertrand (AT) NOSPAMearthlink (DOT) net> wrote

Hi Jeff,

The owner of the tire shop that ordered those Pirellis for me suggested that
I keep them inflated to 38 p.s.i. Obviously this makes for a slightly
harsher ride, but it should make the tires last longer and perform better as
you have already noticed with yours set to
36 p.s.i.

Check out this short article that appeared in the Sept. 21st edition of
AutoBeat Daily if you'd like.

Ron M.

'U.S. Drivers Paying More Attention To Tire Pressure'

About half of American drivers claim they check their tire pressure monthly,
up from about 15% two years ago, according to a poll by Uniroyal Tire.

The company points out that underinflated tires wear out faster, impair
vehicle handling and, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration, reduce fuel economy by 1% for every 3.3 psi of
underinflation.

The survey finds 50% of motorists (twice as many of them men as women)
wrongly believe that a tire's correct air pressure is indicated on its
sidewall. Actually, Uniroyal notes, that figure indicates the tire's maximum
allowable pressure and is typically about twice what OEMs recommend. Correct
tire pressures are listed in the owner's manual and on a label usually
located on the driver's door jam.