Chris111

Thanks for your replies Rayann and Colin. I had read a lot of driver reviews which slate the Continental for their wear so I'm probably going to go with Dunlop, although I have just come across the new Vredestein Ultrac Satin tyre. Ironically it is only available in XL guise but the labelling states an 'A' for rain, and 'B' for economy. Although I have not come across any official tests including this tyre the driver reviews are all extremely positive. They are also significantly cheaper but that is one thing I don't take into consideration. I had Vredestein on a previous car and quite liked them. I also considered all season tyres but very few are available in the GS's size. Of the ones I have found most of the makes I have never heard of, and only one tyre has the 'Y' speed rating required. As is happens that too is a Vredestein tyre. The Quatrac 5, but in the tests I found that included this tyre is was slated for its wet braking, wet handling and aquaplaning abilities. Not what I want living where I do! However, I would be very interested to hear form you Colin as to how you find the Michelin Cross Climate tyre as I am looking to get a set of all season tyres fitted to my wife's car and am seriously considering these for it. Chris

Thank you Colin. I had come across that article, along with numerous others. If I understand correctly it is basically saying that with an XL tyre you can carry heavier loads, traction, cornering and braking are improved, and it will travel further but, due to the extra rigidity, you will experience a harsher ride and suffer increased fuel consumption. In real world driving are these differences very apparent? I'm about to purchase a new set of tyres and that is the reason I started this thread as I wanted other's opinions on the benefits or not of fitting XL ones. Looking at it I'll stick with the standard specification. As I questioned above, if the XL tyre is needed, wouldn't Lexus have fitted them as standard? Safety and comfort are my priorities but I am a firm believer in not skimping when it comes to tyres, as they are too important, Everyone will have their own opinion about which tyre is best but I have narrowed my choice down to either Dunlop SportMaxx 2 or Continental ContiSportContact 5. Once again thanks for your responses Chris

Thanks for that Rayann. You confirm what I suspected in that there is no real benefit in increasing the load rating unless it is for the reason you state. Just confuses me as to why the Dunlop "tyre doctor" was insistent that the 97 XL tyre was the one to go for. Can't be price as there is not much difference between them.

Hi Many thanks for your quick response. I did already know the weight difference in the load ratings. I want to know how / if the increase of an extra 80kg load weight per axle makes a difference and would it benefit me to increase the load rating. Forgive me if this table tells me, I can't see it. Many thanks again Chris

Firstly I must say that this isn’t a request for a tyre recommendation. I’m just after advice about the tyre load speed rating. My GS’s tyre load speed rating is stated as 93 but, as I’m sure many of you have also found, when looking for tyres online the ones with higher load speeds are also included. In my case that means the ones with a rating of 97 or 97 XL are also shown. Now, from researching this I understand the differences in these load ratings but I want to know if it worth increasing from 93 to 97 when I replace my tyres? And do I go for XL also? As I understand it the XL tyres have a reinforced sidewall and are designed for bigger cars and cars that regularly carry a lot of passengers and/or cargo (to me that means estate cars or people carriers). I don’t do this but the GS could fall into this category as it is a big heavy car. However, I would have thought that if the GS needed tyres with a 97 XL load rating then wouldn’t Lexus have fitted tyres with this rating when they left the factory? Am I also right in thinking that a tyre with a higher load rating needs to be inflated higher? My confusion on this matter only grew when I recently had an online conversation with the Dunlop “tyre doctor” as I wanted to know why their website they didn’t recommend the Sportmaxx RT2 for the 450h. They subsequently insisted that this tyre in 97 XL guise would be perfect for my car. When I pointed out that the tyre spec from Lexus only called for a load speed rating of 93 their response was that in 97 XL guise “this tyre can do all that is required of a 93Y rated tyre and more.” When I asked them to expand on this, their only response was to say “an XL tyre can carry higher loads than a standard load tyre.” I already knew that an XL tyre would do that so is that the ‘more’? So what I really want to know is what will be the difference to fitting a tyre with a higher load speed rating and what are the benefits, if any? Any comments and information will be gratefully received. Many thanks Chris

Hi Tony, After checking the tyres have approx 3.5 - 4 mm tread left and have done approx 15000 miles (not the 20 I stated above). However one that was on the front is nearly completely bald on the inner edge due to the tracking being out.

Update. It's not fixed, but here's what has happened... I took the car back and all weights were removed and the wheels balanced from scratch. Unfortunately although it was better there was still a steering wheel wobble above 50 mph. So, a couple of days later I swapped the wheels as per the handbook i.e. FL to RR, RR to FR, FR to RL and RL to FL ( I don't have directional tyres fitted), and took it out for a drive. Good news, the steering wobble had virtually gone, but, this does mean though that I have a wheel(s) on the rear which is still not balanced. Upon checking the wheels I noticed the one that was on the FL (now RR) has a row of weights approx 10 inches long exactly opposite the valve. I had new wheels fitted by Lexus last October so I'm guessing when they transferred the tyres to them, on this particular wheel, the heaviest part of the tyre is also in the same place as the heaviest part of the wheel ( i.e. the valve) which is why so many weights are needed to try and balance it, and it can't be. I am also thinking that because the tracking was so much out, maybe the tyres have worn unevenly. From research I have done into this would indicate that this may cause the symptoms I have. However, when I swapped my wheels around I found that the FL wheel did not spin freely, in fact there was quite some resistance. I suspect the calliper is seizing and this could also cause these symptoms. It's going in for a service and MOT to Lexus in a couple of weeks so I'll find out then. If it needs replacing that will be the full set I have had done! I will also be getting new tyres soon as these ones are now tram-lining horrendously on anything but the smoothest roads ( and in north Cumbria there aren't many of them!). I am really hoping that I will get this sorted soon as other problems are starting to appear, but those are for another thread. In the meantime if anyone has any further suggestions I shall be very happy to hear from you. Chris

Thanks for your response Steve. I did take it back and they centred the wheel no bother. However, I am still after some pointers as to what might be still wrong as the car still feels like the wheels aren't balanced. The day before I took the car back to ATS, I took it onto the M6, and found that the vibration above 45-50 mph was still there. Not as bad as it was, but still bad enough not to want to drive at a constant 60, never mind 70, on a motorway. Not good! ATS did rebalance the wheels and the car did feel better. But, that was 2 weeks ago now and I had been unable to take it on a decent run until yesterday when I unhappily discovered that I still experience vibrations through the steering wheel and the seats when I go above 50. I am also aware of the steering 'tugging' at lower speeds and driving at town speeds (i.e. a steady 20-30 mph) the steering wheel seems to 'sea-saw' in my hands when going round a left or right bend. I notice the some of the original balancing weights remain on the wheels, others have been removed and new ones have been added in different places but I am going to take it back again and ask that all the balancing weights are removed and the wheels are balanced from scratch. The front left for example has weights on top of weights. This might be ok but I have never seen it before and I am sure I have read somewhere that an over weighted wheel can be just as bad. However, I am beginning to suspect that as the car can be left standing on the drive for days, the tyres might be the problem as they may have 'flat spotted' (it is not used for a commute as I work from home and my wife's is less than a 5 minute walk away). I did experience this a few years back with an MGF we bought which had covered less than 500 miles in 2 years. We kept balancing the wheels with no joy and then decided to change the tyres which cured the problem. I have written a thread last year asking for views as I said that I could hear and feel a constant noise / vibration that felt exactly like something was stuck in a tyre. Looking back on that now the symtoms did start after the car had been stationary for over 2 weeks and the car hasn't driven right since. I am positive I can still detect it now so maybe the tyres are at fault. For info the tyres are Goodyear Eagle F1, 2.5 years old, done 20k and have approx 3.5-4 mm tread all round. I have done a general search of the web and lots of things are mentioned as to what might be the cause. I am going to go with the balancing first as that is a cheaper option than 4 new tyres but would be grateful to hear if anyone has any other suggestions. Many thanks Chris P.s. Sorry for the long thread but trying to get as much info in that makes sense as poss.

Hi, Can anyone point me in the right direction to rectify this please? As the title off my thread states my steering wheel is now slightly off centre to the right after having a 4 wheel alignment and all wheels being rebalanced by ATS. It was perfectly centred beforehand. The car was very unpleasant to drive before the work was done but it now drives the best I can remember in well over 12 months. At first I wasn't overly worried as I am positive I have read somewhere (although typically I can't find it now!) that the steering wheel self centres after this type of work is carried out, and indeed, when the tracking was done by Lexus during a past service the wheel then was also off centre to the right. However, on that occasion, by the time I had driven the car home the wheel had centred. This time the work was done 4 days and now over 100 miles ago and it is still off centre. I have turned the wheels onto full lock left and right when stationary and even found a deserted car park yesterday and drove the car in circles on full lock both left and right but it this hasn't cured the problem. I am not a mechanic and do not claim to understand the science of suspension geometry, but I was able to watch the process being carried out on a monitor in the waiting area and everything seemed to me to line up (there were a lot of arrows in red zones at the beginning, green at the end) and as I have said the car now feels great to drive. I have read other websites that seem to indicate that only Lexus can fix this problem but I thought I'd ask on here if anyone has any other ideas I can try. Many thanks Chris

Have no experience of Falken tyres myself but I would reccommend camskil.co.uk if you are purchasing online. When I purchased the last set of goodyears for mine this company were vastly cheaper than anyone else and I had great service.

As previously said, Wow. Seems like they forgot what they'd written and just carried on writing! The VED amount stated in the ad is correct for 6 months tax, but I don't think that's a correct quote for this particular car. When launched the CO2 emmision (g/km) for the 450h was quoted at 186 placing it in tax band J. I believe when the car was facelifted a suble tweak to the engine management reduced this figure by 1 to 185 resulting in a change of tax band to I. £118.25 is the six month charge for this band. I could be wrong to state it was done when the model was facelifted but I'm pretty sure that's the case. However, from the puctures this isn't a facelifted model as the cosmetic changes applied moved the side indicators from the wings into the door mirrors for one thing. If this is a pre-facelifted car I don't belive it is an se-l either. When I was looking to buy mine a few years back I stubled accross an original press release online from 2006 which stated all 450h models with the se-l trim level had addaptive cruise control with precrash safety system (acc/pcs) and a sunroof as standard. These became an optional extra package on the facelift se-l trim model. The pictures of this car clearly show no sunroof or the the little stalk on the steering wheel that cars fitted with acc have. This is situated undeneath the phone button and has a picture outline of a car with a radio wave signal to the front of it. Not a great discription but those that have it will know what I'm talking about.

Mine is nordic blue, or lavender as the wife calls it! I've had numerous people ask me what colour it is when they see it and all have said it's a beatiful one. From research I have done it appears it was unique to the 450h model but I'm sorry to say it doesn't mask the swirls. Mine also has the grey interior. The only one I'd have as it means the "wooden" inserts are black. Much nicer, I think, than the colours paired with the other leather choices.

Thanks for the replies. I'll ask around for some recommendations and take it from there. I know they have paint codes but I suppose I'm just wary of a colour mismatch as I have unfortunately had this problem in the past with a silver VW. I'm annoyed at having to get it done as whoever did this knows they have done it, but I suppose that's a sad reflection of society today. Thanks again Chris

Been out in the car today and had a very nice day until I got home and noticed a dent and scratch in the passenger door under the wing mirror about two thirds up. The scratch is horizontal and about 2 inches long. Needless to say there was no note left and as we have been various places I don't know where it was done. To say I am not happy is an understatement as given the car's colour and shape it really stands out and its money I could do without having to spend to get it fixed. I live in north west Cumbria so would ask if anyone can recommend a good repairer or am I better advised to take it to Lexus. I know they farm out this type of work to an independent body shop but I'm concerned that given the cars rare colour (Nordic Blue and only being available on the Gs 450h according to the spec sheets) I would hope that as its a Lexus approved repaier I would have more comeback with them if the rapair or colour match isn't right. Thanks Chris

Thanks for the replies. today I rotated the wheels in accordance with the cars manual and took it out for a drive. The result being I could not detect the noise! Hurrah! However, I took the time to thoroughly inspect the tyres and wheels and it looks like what was the offside front is wearing more on the inside so it looks like the tracking is out or something else is awry with the suspension set up so I will get it booked into Lexus for a check. Once again many thanks for replies. Chris

Many thanks for the replies. I will try rotating the wheels to see if that helps. When I bought the car it had the standard fit Yokohama tyres which I hated. Road rumble and grip were appalling. 18 months ago I sourced some Goodyear Eagle F1 asymmetric 2 as they were rated best for wet weather (in Cumbria a must!) and had them fitted by Lexus Carlisle. The difference, I think, is incredible with greatly reduced road noise and much improved rided and handling. I have owned this car for 4 years now and in that time Lexus Carlisle have done all the servicing, warranty and mot work on it. I don't think it is the rear brake calipers as one was replaced at last year's service and the other, along with a front one, was replaced in the 2013 service. However, I will get them checked. Lexus too initially said it may be a bearing but it appears that is not the case. The noise reminds me of the time when as a child you stuck a piece of cardboard in your bike wheel spokes a with the resulting clacking sound when they went round but this is more like a dull thud, like I'm driving over something. It just started one morning, I got in the car and thought 'what's that noise' as I accelerated up the road. The house next door had some roofing work done at the time and I had found some roofing nails on my drive so I naturally assumed one of them was embedded in the tyre but thats not it. Once again, many thanks for your replies. Chris

Hello, New to club and my first post as I’m hoping someone can point me in the right direction to help eradicate an annoying noise/vibration that has developed on my Gs since Easter. It sounds and feels like something is caught in the tyre tread with the resulting noise/vibration being from the wheels rotation when moving but I have checked all four tyres and there are no foreign bodies in them. To further confuse the issue I am only aware of the symptoms between 20 and 30 mph. Below 20 mph I cannot hear or feel anything. As soon as the car hits 20 mph the noise/vibration starts but once the speed hits 30 mph it virtually disappears, although I am still aware very faintly of something, but nowhere near as prominent as between 20 and 30. It is exactly the same when slowing down from speed. As soon as the car hits 30 mph from decelerating, whether off the throttle or on the brakes, the symptoms return and when the speed drops below 20 mph they are not noticeable at all. If I stay between 20 and 30 it is there permanently. To me it also does not appear to increase or decrease in tempo between these speeds but I wouldn’t swear to that. It also seems to me to be more audible when turning right between these speeds rather than in the straight ahead position or turning left, but again I can’t say for sure that is the case. The symptoms are the same whether the car is running on its petrol engine or on the batteries. There is no vibration at all felt through the steering wheel (as in say from an unbalanced wheel), but I can feel it slightly through the pedals and the floor. I have jacked the car up, spun the front wheels and checked for anything catching but there is nothing. The car was serviced and Mot’d at Lexus Carlisle last month and I did mention it then but they informed me they couldn’t find anything wrong. Apologies for such a long first post but I want to make sure I get as much info in as possible and any help, insight or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Chris