Hello everyone,
In December 2025 I replaced my 2013 GX 460 with a new 2026 LC 250 Premium. Despite the premium package, my vehicle came with 18" wheels stock. After a few trips into California's Eastern Sierra I quickly identified the stock tires as a limiting factor for my use case.
The Setup
At approximately 2,800 miles I made the following changes:
The Problem
Despite the alignment, the vehicle drives poorly on highway — specifically:
Nearly 6,000 miles on the car (3,000 on the tires). All four corners road force balanced at correct pressure to 16-18 lbs. Alignment confirmed clean. Pull and highway instability persist.
My Theories — Seeking Input
A few hypotheses I'm working through:
Thanks in advance.
In December 2025 I replaced my 2013 GX 460 with a new 2026 LC 250 Premium. Despite the premium package, my vehicle came with 18" wheels stock. After a few trips into California's Eastern Sierra I quickly identified the stock tires as a limiting factor for my use case.
The Setup
At approximately 2,800 miles I made the following changes:
- Wheels: GX 550 Overtrail OEM wheels sourced from eBay (takeoffs) — 18" x 7.5", +50 mm offset (stock LC 250 offset is +60mm)
- Tires: Falken Wildpeak AT4W 275/70/18 Load Range E
- Pressure: Running 40-42 PSI cold per this load-based calculator
- Alignment: Performed by a reputable LC/GX specialist shop in SoCal shortly after the swap — report attached
The Problem
Despite the alignment, the vehicle drives poorly on highway — specifically:
- Constant rightward drift requiring persistent counter-steer correction
- Tramlining and left-right hunting on grooved pavement
- Generally unsettled, exhausting highway feel — not harsh, just never planted
- First America's Tire visit: Road force measured left front at 39 lbs — significantly out of spec. Match mounted and rebalanced. No meaningful improvement.
- Second America's Tire visit: Discovered the first shop had performed road force balancing at the factory door sticker pressure of 33 PSI rather than the correct E load pressure of 40-42 PSI — compromising the accuracy of the first measurement entirely. Rebalanced at correct pressure. Final road force values across all four corners came in at 16-18 lbs — within spec.
- Front tire swap left-to-right: Performed as a conicity diagnostic. Pull did not clearly reverse — suggesting conicity alone is not the primary cause.
Nearly 6,000 miles on the car (3,000 on the tires). All four corners road force balanced at correct pressure to 16-18 lbs. Alignment confirmed clean. Pull and highway instability persist.
My Theories — Seeking Input
A few hypotheses I'm working through:
- Scrub radius change: GX 550 OT wheels at +50mm vs stock +60mm — 10 mm outward shift increasing scrub radius. Could this be notable enough to affect highway tracking?
- Rear thrust angle: Alignment shows 0.13° rear thrust angle with unequal rear toe (0.26° left / 0.00° right) — rear toe is non-adjustable on this platform. Could this be contributing to the rightward bias?
- Load Range E on this platform: Multiple forum members have noted the LC 250's EPS doesn't interact well with stiff E load sidewalls. Is this a known issue? However, I'm seeing many people suggest E-rated K03s.
- AT4W specifically: Is this tire simply too aggressive for the LC 250's EPS and suspension tune? Several owners seem to have better experiences with KO3 or Toyo AT3 in the same size.
- Suspension: Would underdamped stock suspension be contributing to the unsettled highway feel this significantly? Would a MT-64 or BP-51 swap (no / minimal lift) help here?
Thanks in advance.
