By accessing this website, you acknowledge that Edmunds and its third party business partners may use cookies, pixels, and similar technologies to collect information about you and your interactions with the website as described in our
Privacy Statement, and you agree that your use of the website is subject to our
Visitor Agreement.
Comments
I'm worried about the hydraulic fan lines that were mentioned in regard to failure - can anyone share any details?
I have autumn red paint and the trunk lid seems to be very suseptable to scratches. I just waxed the car last week and it is already showing scratches on the trunk lid.
Driving long haul is a pleasure. At our annual Lincoln meet this year in Detroit, I hit the road back to Dallas at 7:00 am never expecting that 21 hours later I would have driven 1400 miles non stop.
Top speed varies from 142 to 145 on the LS Sport.
I had the same problem on my 2000 LS8. I took the tires to a garage with a Hunter 9800 road force analyzer. This is a balancing machine that checks and balances the tires while applying a force on the tire (a roller) to simulate the tire actually on a car on a road and under load.
After re-balancing the tires on the Hunter, the steering wheel nibble was better but not completely gone. I then rotated the tires to put the 2 tires that had the lowest amount of balancing weight on them (one was 1/4 oz, the other 1/2 oz) on the front of my LS. This completely cured the steering wheel nibble. Since I had unidirectional tires, this ment no more tire rotating.
I read somewhere that BMW is now recommending that you do NOT rotate tires. They were claiming that the radial tires take a set and when you rotate them the cords have to take new set and in the process can cause vibrations and steering wheel shake. This sounds just like the 1970's when radial tires became popular and most tire companies said not move radial tires to the other side of the car, just move them between the front and rear on the same side.
Thanks
AIUTO: Try Ford's ESP, it's more comprehensive and since it's an in-house warranty, it's less of an issue do deal with if issues arise, than a 3rd party warranty service.
1. I am use to a lot of lumbar support and even with the adjustment all the way out my seat still feels almost concave. Is there any way that the dealer or an upholstery shop could increase the amount of lumbar support?
2. This car would look much better with larger tires and wheels as on the V8 model. Has anyone gone to a larger wheel and/or tire on the base car? Would a step up in size cause any problems with the computer etc.?
crockersmith, I know a few people who have gone to 18s, one who has 20 inch wheels and tires. You will have some speedometer error, otherwise no problem. Or you can switch to the 17" Sport package wheels and tires with no speedo error; they are almost exactly the same outside diameter. If you go bigger, watch out for tire rubbing, and be aware the LS wheels have a lot of offset. Buy wheels from a reputable dealer that knows how to match wheels to the car. I might suggest lowering the car to achieve the look you're after, but so far the only aftermarket springs available for the LS are for the V8 models only.
I'm curious who tough is it? where does it go, etc.
Please let me know if you have any info.
thx!
Ace
The less loaded right rear tire loses traction first and wears faster, especially in the center of the tire which is essentially over-inflated compared to the left rear tire.
Lack of real LSD is an industry-wide problem today.
Many times in the past I've complained about the lack of adjustment so I could equalize those settings, but any more camber and the tires would be almost on their sidewalls! Stanny, as well as a number of others, have complained about center tread wear. Large amounts of camber, either pos. or neg. will cause EDGE wear, not center wear.
By the way, an LSD would be a welcome addition to the car...especially for those of us who live in the snow belt.
And yes, a limited slip diff. WOULD be quite welcome. I feel very limited by the open rear end in the LS when exiting corners at high throttle and cornering forces, also during full throttle launches. The car would go around a track much faster with a LSD.
the front of the seat and it is all the way out. I have been very
disappointed in this feature and have a hard time getting comfortable when I
go on long trips. I will ask my dealer about this on my first service visit
or I may talk to an upholstery shop.
Let me know if you have any other suggestions.
Since my LS was the MTX model, I think wear is accelerated by the increased shock loads of a manual car.
The result was incresed right rear wear, typical of a car with a open differential.
I'm sure there are other factors like the IRS set-up in general, tire pressure and even the fact that there is no passenger weight on the right side.
The stock Firestones lasted 26k and center wear was minimal. But the Bridgestone SO-3 Potenzas lasted only 12k and while they were corner killers, they exhibited unreal center wear on both sides in the rear only.
I chaulked that up to too high tire pressures compared to the front.
I remember Jonathan's advice at Mania 1 to keep the rear pressures lower to limit the "tail happiness" we were experiencing.
I brought my own compressor and guage that day and rear pressures over 36 lb seem to diminish the grip.
2021 VW Arteon SEL 4-motion, 2018 VW Passat SE w/tech, 2016 Audi Q5 Premium Plus w/tech
Can someone explain what I am missing here. (I will then hide in shame in what is likely a "right in front of my nose" answer).
Mike in NH
As for tire wear, it's such a broad field of issues to take into account, that is up there with brake pads. There's 4-5 different type of pavement which each texture can contribute to varied tire wear. Heat/ice (temperature change) is also a major factor take into account. These 2 factors alone contribute more tire wear than the common cornering forces/or aggresive driving.
On the LS look to have them replaced around 30K if your a "moderate" driver. 40-50K if your gentle with your vehicle. 20K if your aggresive as I am.
20K? Yes...I'm on my 5th set of tires already, I switched to Michelin though, they seem to handle better on wet roads. Just imagine doing a U-turn on a wet street that's rather narrow. Turn your wheel slightly, turn off your Anti-Skid control system, slam your gas and let go, Voila! 180 degree turn. You can't try that on FWD
The LS' have an anti-lift, anti-dive geometry suspension which helps divert forces and bearing loads away from the front wheels. Which is why your not seeing THAT much tire wear from the front tires, yet seeing more from the rear one's. Although this again, depends on the driver just as brake pads, so there's not much that can be done about it.
If you drive very conservatively you probably won't notice a difference. But 'conservative' and 'Stanny1' are two words that aren't often mentioned together!
I see these tow statemants as contradicting one another:
"As for tire wear, it's such a broad field of issues to take into account, that is up there with brake pads. There's 4-5 different type of pavement which each texture can contribute to varied tire wear. Heat/ice (temperature change) is also a major factor take into account. These 2 factors alone contribute more tire wear than the common cornering forces/or aggresive driving.
On the LS look to have them replaced around 30K if your a "moderate" driver. 40-50K if your gentle with your vehicle. 20K if your aggresive as I am"
By the way, what are your qualifications supporting the statements you've made on this board?
look for the word 'new'. if you can't find it, it probably isn't, or it's a loaner, rental, etc.
BUT aside from the 2 mentioned, a persons driving habit might also be a factor, BUT to a lesser degree than the 2 I mentioned previously.
"By the way, what are your qualifications supporting the statements you've made on this board? "
I can't state them because I could face serious charges. All I can say is view some Ford Future products forums, and you might be able to piece it together.
BTW most tire wear occurs during the cornering mode, when the tire is required to develop a slip angle to produce the forces necessary to change the direction of the vehicle. Slip angle = wear. Which is why minimal toe in is very important for long tire life.
Pavement does have an effect on tire wear. Florida, for example, using "young limestone" in its concrete - you can readily see the shells - and in new concrete roads, the edges of the shells tend to slice rubber off the tire, rather than grind it off.
I suspect that if there is one corner that is experiencing rapid or unusual wear patterns, that there is an alignment problem with that corner. Also possible that that "driving style" might also be a factor. In the US, right hand turns are generally sharper than left hand turns, and the way one individual deals with these differences might cause some difference in tire wear.
Disclaimer: I'm hard on tires. I drive twisty roads daily, and with enthusiasm. My second set of Firehawks got autocrossed a couple times a month and still gave good service for almost 30k miles.
I think you're feeling the rear get away in the wet because your tires are worn. I know, the tread still looks good and you can probably run them 40k miles and beyond before it wears out, but they will not grip in the wet like good tires.
I also agree with scott8 about tire deterioration. Tires are like beer and not like red wine. That is red wine improves with age. Beer and tires are their best the day they come off the production line. It's all down hill for them after that, time is their enemy. Tire rubber starts hardening the day after it was made. Heat and ozone speeds the aging process. A tire can have pleanty of tread left, but if it is 5 years old, that tire is most likely a has been and should be replaced.
Don't know if any of you saw the tire failure news story that ran on both NBC & ABC a week or 2 ago. The news story was pushing for clear date coding on tires. It said pretty much the same thing that I just typed about tire aging. It also added that even if a tire has never been used, but just sat around in a warehouse for 10 years it should be thrown out and never used because of the deterioration in the rubber. IIRC they also said that some European countries have laws that do not allow the sale of tires that are more than 7 years old.
Although I do not drive my LS as hard as some of the regular contributers, I am far from gentle with it. I love the twisty bits, the freeway on and off ramps, and the stop-lights. There are many a humbled BMW driver in my area, let alone young folks with major investments in their Honda Civics, etc. (more engine and suspension, less stereo investment recommended). ;-) Having said the, there has been a lot of discussion regarding tire wear lately. I have always run 32lbs. all around, for both sets of tires on the LS. I have not experienced any center wear on the rears at all; they are as even across as the day they were put on. The only uneven wear I have noticed is that the tread shoulders on the front mounted Bridgestones rounded off a bit during their time on the car. The Pilots are not even showing this, despite what I believe to be even more spirited driving. The roads in my area are generally fairly good, and the base material is limestone, which may be a contributing factor to the even wear. I look forward to your comments...