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Just put her on the roof, there are rails to hold on to 😉

The characteristics of the car will be affected by the difference in grip and water clearance behaviour between different tyres especially on such a powerful car. Even a different model of the same tyre can make a big difference at high speed. When I was in the police all cars were fitted with Goodyear tyres. One of our cars had a pair replaced with an upgraded model tyre and no one noticed until it took a big 'Off' into the Forest of Dean on an emergency call.. Hence I am very wary about mixing tyres

Or just forget the roof and let the climate control do its job. Every car I've had in the last 30 years, including my current RX450h, has had a sunroof and I've never opened a single one of them - it messes with my long hair too much 😁

It's a bit academic and obscure - but just to be pedantic, your second point is not actually the case. Headlamp washers (and self-levelling headlights) are an homologation issue, not an MoT one (ie a car will not get European approval unless it has washers and levelling when fitted with HIDs). And if they are fitted, they must work. However you can import a car - eg apparently some japanese pick ups have HIDs but no washers or levellers (and no, I can't tell you which they are) and they are able to pass the MoT without them. And in the days when having HIDs in originally-halogen headlights was not an MoT failure (as long as the beam pattern was acceptable) you did not need washers and levellers. The requirements or not for washers and levellers have not changed. My car failed on the basis of having HIDs in halogen housings, but I'm hearing that some test stations are passing cars with projector beam headlights fitted with HIDs even if they were originally halogen, as projector beam headlights are compatible with HIDs. (And they may or may not be fitted with washers and levellers) We shall see how that progesses - see if I need to put in a bit of time in the workshop before (and after) next year's MoT! It's not something I'm prepared to contest with DVSA.

Thank you everyone for your help. The tracking is fine as it was checked at my request when the car was MOTed before I bought it. I had asked for this because when I road tested the car, it had tended to move to the left when you took your hands off the steering wheel. I accepted the dealer's view that it wasn't actually 'pulling to the left' but was simply responding to the camber of the road, which, I was told, I would have to expect with a heavy car with big tyres. The MOT garage reported that the tracking was spot on. I am pretty sure it is not a wheel bearing. I have been out with my brother-in-law who knows about such things and he doesn't think that this would explain the noise. I am, however, aware from other sources that it can be very hard to detect this issue in its early days. I will keep it on the list of possible solutions. Also, I don't think it is a brake noise but will keep this in mind. I agree with jumpingjehovahs that the sun roof is quite a lot noisier with the cover pulled back but this isn't the source of my problem. I think I am going to put a set of four new tyres on the car (probably Michelins or Goodyears) and take it from there. I can get the wheel bearings checked at the same time. I will let you know how I get on.

Totally depends on how old you are and how your hearing is, I suppose. My 61 year-old ears certainly don't hear as well as my 20-odd year-old ones did and I know I've lost some of the higher frequencies.

Not so sure she approves. 😁

I don't want you to think that I am an obsessive nerd about this but just out of interest I downloaded a free decibel measuring app for my phone and used it to compare sound levels in the Lexus with those in two other cars I have access to. I did the same course along a stretch of motorway at 70 miles an hour with the phone in the same position fixed to the dashboard. I know that this isn't scientifically valid but for what it's worth here are the results. There is virtually no difference between the three cars. The average level was 74.7 dB in the Lexus; 75.8 in a Subaru Legacy estate; and 75 .7 in a Megane coupe. So the Lexus is very slightly quieter. However, I think this explains my frustration since the Subaru in particular is a noisy engine with a slightly sporty exhaust. I was expecting the Lexus to be much quieter than that car. There is no doubting the lovely quietness of Lexus's engine but perhaps this is where my problem comes from. The quietness of the engine makes the 'normal' road level noise seem all that more intrusive.

I only know of one LS430 in Gloucester and its in the Hucclecote area

Blimey I'm amazed you found a car park in Buxton as quiet as that looks at this time of year 👍 There's a very similar LS400 I see parked up near the football ground in Guiseley a lot, that also looks in very good condition for the age and not sure whether the owner is on here.

No problem with my hair, no hair indeed 😄 but my wife is a smoker and open sunroof helps a lot.

Its a case of going out of your way to ensure that you are talking to the right person, some people slate Halfords but I think if you do some research yourself so that you have some idea of what you want then find the right person to serve you and then you'll be in good hands, I was very impressed with Halfords in Poole they genuinely went out of their way to get the right battery for my car, the 72 Ah battery they had although physically smaller in length would have fitted but the technician wasn't happy, he said we need to make it the same physical size that Lexus put on the car and effectively ignoring the Halfords recommended battery, I think the staff will tell you these things are just a guide and that's why the technician stepped in using his knowledge and expertise, if you get some one that doesn't know what they are doing then it's probably going to end badly! In my case I felt like I was in good hands this guy wasn't just a salesmen he was trained, experienced and very knowledgeable but more than that he was determined to get this right, hope it goes well with the RAC and you get your money back! Just for the record there were no specifications stamped on my original car battery? Maybe the sticker came off? That's why this wasn't a simple match up, having said that the original battery could have been wrong for the car as in somebody changed it in the past and fitted the wrong battery! So its always better to get a pro to check everything out and make sure its right for the car, I expect your battery would be ok in a daily driver but under extreme use it doesn't hold up, I have no idea why they offer a choice of batteries for me I will always fit the very best battery to cover for extreme use but that's just me, I do the same on my boat £500 bucks worth of Trojan Batteries! I don't want to be offshore and not be able to start my engine so I have two massive batteries for that job, 1,720 cca's combined, just like a lightening bolt lol

you need to be careful with 7zap because even if you select your specific model it will show parts for other variants. If you put 11213-46030 into toyodiy.com and click on IS200/300 you will see it is for the 2JZ-GE engine (IS300) and not the IS200 (1G-FE). 11213-70040 is correct for the IS200. The part number format; the first part identifies the type of part (e.g. 11213 is a cylinder head cover gasket) and the second part identifies the specific part. If a part is superseded the second number typically increments a small number. The fact that 70040 and 46030 are so far apart is a warning that they are for completely different engines.

Halfords have a 75Ah yasuka that looks about right, hopefully RAC will agree to take the battery they fitted back and refund me.

Totally agree with NemesisUK---just partially open one of your rear windows and the noise will stop

Every car I have driven with a sunroof has exhibited the same resonance above a certain speed and the only solution has been to crack open a rear window. Or slow down!

So carrying on with the fuel system stuff i gave the tank a good clean off as it was out and it came up pretty well! I will be giving that heat shield a spray too once its all back in. Then pulled the hanger out and stripped it down to have a look at what will need cutting and chopping to make it work. Took a quick snap to compare the walbro 450lph and the standard pump! Next up was to mark up and drill the holes in the top of the hanger for the bulkhead fittings. The return line then had to be hooked up to the SARD jet pump killer, allowing me to use the full tank capacity pulling fuel from the other side. This replaces the stock syphon jet. The take off pipe facing down on the left it what connects to the rubber hose in the tank to pull the fuel. You can also see in this pic that the pump is fitted too. This had to be removed again and i had to trim the plastic at the bottom of the hole to move the pump up higher, when refitting the hanger it was sitting too high not allowing the retainer to go back on. I then had to cut the steel retaining plate that holds the hanger down the accomodate the new fittings. I found this very tricky and its a little rough around the edges, a bit of paint and its looking alot better. Dont know why i stressed about it though because its under the back seats 😂. Still more to do on the pump, i have got to get some fuel resistant conmectors and covers for the pump plug wires. Once thats done i can have a good look at the tank breather system and mock up the lines to the tank.

Some other ideas: Is the noise the same throughout the cabin, or worse in any particular place? If it sounds like wind noise, is there any damage in the door seals? Or could any of the doors be not shut properly? You might need somebody else to drive while you move yourself around the cabin to check this properly. Have you checked the tracking? If this is out of tolerance, the tyres could be scrubbing, and thus causing too much noise? Have you asked a mechanic to have a listen - it could be a wheel bearing. Earlier this year I had an intermittent noise on mine. At first it was quiet and even my mechanic didn't identify the wheel bearing. But the noise was worse when turning corners. I checked the tracking and found it out of tolerance. When this was adjusted, the noise problem was improved, but over time, the bearing got worse until it became obvious that was the cause of noise? Have you checked the brakes- a rough disc with binding brake could cause noise.

I'm not really sure I believe that it's necessary to have four matching tyres. If a certain brand / model of tyre is prone to poor lifetime, noise or grip, how can it be made worse by choice of tyres fitted on the other wheels? This would imply that four matching "poor" tyres is better than a mix of the same poor tyres with other "better" tyres.

That's interesting, I had always mistakenly thought that the noise rating was a measure of noise inside the car, not outside.

Don't get too hung up on the noise rating of tyres. It is based on a smooth road surface that you don't find in this country and is measured by the sound heard at the roadside 1m away - tyre manufactures can actually design their tyres to do well in this test by directing the sound away from the kerb and into the cabin - which means a better rated tyre can actually be noisier to the driver than a poorly rated tyre.

Michelin Cross Climates. I drive 500 miles a week and they are fantastically quiet and very grippy. They are allegextfo last 11,000 miles more than the competition

No worries, none of the border forces will have anything to catch up with you.😀

A bit drastic Kevin. A couple of Lemsips usually does it for me 😁

It has a Toyota model "TVSS V" Cat 1 Alarm/Immobiliser fitted as standard.

... aah yes Zotto, a little tweeter to the right hand side of the dash centre speaker. I can sleep easy now!!

I've owned my 1999 Lexus LS400 for 9 years now and in 47 years of car ownership it has probably been the best value for money out of any car I've had. It cost me 2600 pounds back then and is probably worth 1500 now, and probably going up in value, so depreciation of about 120 quid a year can't be bad. Consumables haven't been too many, and barring suspensions parts hasn't cost too much. Only problems I'm getting just now is corrosion above windscreen and some electrical components coming to the end of their life. It still polishes up well and provides relaxing transport anywhere. I suppose the only real comparison is with pre mid 90 mercs which were similarly bullet proof. I've never been a Ford man and like others here preferred the offerings of BL - particularly the Rovers. I had a really nice Rover p6B for 14 years with rust the main problem, but very similar to the Lexus in a lot of other ways. I think I may spend a bit on a general tidy up rather than getting a newer LS as I'd not get a 10 year old one now for what I paid for mine in 2009. Pete

I have only seen one other LS 400 in my area. It is always parked in the same place, where I walk my dog. The owner happened to come out and open the boot. We exchanged a few words about the car. It is a "V" reg - he has had it since it was four years old and it now has over 300,000 on the clock. "As long as you change the timing belts they just seem to keep going" he told me! I will check the mileage again just to make sure. He is NOT on the forum. It is in good condition considering it lives nearly on the beach!

Never! It's not that kind of forum.

I have a big soft spot for many British Leyland cars and in particular Rover and I always get defensive about them lol!!! 😂😂😂 I don’t want to fall out with anybody either. That Rover 800 is a gem and unbelievably well preserved, it’s only had 2 owners before me with the first owner having it from new until January this year, he then had to stop driving and sold it to the guy I bought it from. It’s only done 74k miles and has always been meticulously maintained and garaged from new, it still smells like new inside!!! One thing I wasn’t expecting from it is how good it is to drive, I expected it to pitch and wallow but it’s a surprisingly nimble drivers car. The guy I bought it from changed all the fluids twice to make sure it was well flushed out, put new Pirelli tyres on it and fitted a stainless steel exhaust which gives it a nice subtle sporty note. The Honda 2.7 V6 is a lovely motor with plenty grunt. We are going to continue preserving it and going to hopefully be entering it into some classic car shows. Hope there’s no hard feelings mate.

I have to say I've had endless cars since 1972, and vans. The worst by far (apart from an NSU) were Leyland cars. Perhaps the very worst was the Sherpa van, an absolute disgrace. You only have to go to YouTube and type in The Leyland Connection to see how bad they were. My old Fords were great. None however have ever come close to my LS400's or 430's (or my GS)

You can’t compare the Rover 800 to the LS either, the 800 competed with cars like the Granada and Carlton. The LS competed with cars like the XJ and S-Class. I never said british cars were perfect but they were certainly no worse than lots of other trash other manufacturers were churning out at the time. As an example only a complete dimwit could possibly argue that a mk4/5 Ford Escort is a better car than the Rover 200. The K series engines ran rings around the crud Ford CVH engines being offered at the time, the head gasket issues are hugely exaggerated. The Rover 75 outclassed everything in its class and most of the class above, the SD1 was just brilliant with arguably the best V8 engine known to man. It’s funny you should mention the quite brilliant Rover 800 as I own one and it’s pretty far from being dust!!! This is my 29 year old Rover 827Si in fantastic condition, show it a bendy stretch of road and it soon outperforms the LS400!!! You can trust me on that one, I’ve driven both. The Honda derived V6 is a gem and much better than the cologne V6 offered in the Granada, they are very well equipped and very comfortable, the steering is pinsharp and very precise. Like many british cars it was seriously underrated and treated unfairly at the time. Ive had 2 Lexus cars go catastrophically wrong on me, my LS430 suffered gearbox failure thanks to water getting in from the radiator (build quality there for you) and hybrid battery failure on my first GS450h. My last GS450h suffered a blown radiator, seized brakes, xenon headlight issues, rattling trim and dashboard squeaks. Here are a couple of pics of my 800: