Rabbers

I have been using mainly the same dealer for almost twenty years and would also say that the service has by and large remained good and the customer experience pleasant (at least until the moment I see the bill). What I find rather disconcerting, however, is that there appear to have been more personnel changes at the dealership in the last five years than in the previous fifteen. No doubt there are many possible explanations for this, both social and economic, but it means that I, as a customer, have a greater love for the brand than the people for whom it provides work. Which may mean very little or maybe nothing at all, but is nevertheless something for me to ponder.

There are increasing numbers of complaints in various LOC forums about poor dealer service, including some real horror stories. I think we are witnessing a natural generational change for the worse in the level of customer treatment provided by Lexus dealerships, not merely in the U.K. but throughout Europe. The main cause, in my view, is the inevitable disappearance of many or most - and perhaps in some cases all - of the people who operated the dealerships when Lexus was a young brand. Both management and staff were motivated by the need to constantly try harder than competitors, with the result that they collectively succeeded in giving Lexus a reputation for offering the best service in the industry. This reputation, alas, is showing signs of deterioration alongside the dilution of the image of exclusivity - which was itself a motivational factor for dealers and customers alike - deriving from the compound effect of higher sales and an ever increasing number of ageing cars being brought in for servicing.

Great phrase, that. I think I’ll use it whenever I can in future. Contains a lot of alliteration as well as meaning.

My visits to the UK in recent years have been limited to London, so I have no idea how good or bad the roads might be in the provinces and countryside. I can only say that news stories such as the one about Rod Stewart, no less, feeling the need to repair the potholes in his street, added to the grumbles I hear from British friends as well as LOC members, are not exactly of a nature likely to encourage foreign car tourists. As regards London I confess I was surprised to spot a few minor potholes in the sort of well-heeled neighbourhoods where even smaller and less serious ones would once have been repaired overnight so as not to inconvenience the local ratepayers.

Because tyre manufacturers’ noise claims are quantified on the basis of testing on smooth surfaces - and, as you say, John, it would make no sense for them to do otherwise - they rarely reflect real life except in countries where the road networks are of recent construction or are properly maintained. Still, one gets one’s pleasures where one can, and, on familiar routes, I look forward to the moments when the car comes to the end of stretches of bad road and enters smooth ones, for which recent repairs can usually be thanked. The relative silence can be almost eery, but it is always nice.

I haven’t followed Clarkson for many years but am surprised to hear that he still manages to irritate people. Surely what he says about a car is less important than the entertainment value he aims to provide by saying it (not always successfully).

Yes to the first question. Maybe or maybe not to the second.

I have the uneasy feeling that this thread might be hurtling unchecked towards the same fate as its “Conspiracy Theories” predecessor. So, before it’s too late, I would suggest it be re-started under a new name by one or another of its more ardent devotees.

… but happy, I hope!

Yes, it would be nice if other manufacturers were to come out with the correct sizes. As regards the cabin noise level, I am finding the SCs perfectly acceptable, but I think you’ll agree (especially in view of your long Bridgestone pedigree!!!) that noise levels mainly tend to increase as tyres age. If the SCs become noticeably noisier after, say, 5000km, I’ll report it. Interesting that noise ratings are external/drive-by readings, but I would think these are nevertheless a viable indicator of in-cabin acoustic comfort in brand comparisons. Not that the figures seem to differ much from one brand to the next.

Now that you’ve found the RC forum, Euan, I suggest you spend some time exploring the many past threads in the certainty of finding answers to most your questions as well as many more. I don’t recall any threads about 3M wrapping though.

No pain, but thanks for the thought. I’m far from looking to cut back on the cost of UHP tyres (not that I don’t look for deals on them) at the expense of my peace of mind, but merely noting a regulatory oddity whereby officialdom would allow a Q speed rating for the size(s) of winter tyres it prescribes for my car when it obvious they do not exist. Not, of course, that it matters in reality since I buy what I must at the best price I can get. Yes, 245/40/R18 Y rear winter (and summer) tyres would be illegal on my RC300h F-Sport, though not, I believe, on the normal model. On twice-, or more, yearly drives from Italy to Denmark and back I regularly keep up speeds of 160-180kmh for long stints where allowed on the autobahn, adding up to maybe a bit more than one-third of the length of Germany, regardless of whether I happen to be on summer or winter tyres, and in the latter instances I have indeed always been grateful for a high speed rating such as, latterly, the W of my Pirelli Sottozeros. As regards a higher speed rating meaning a better performance at any speed, I wouldn’t presume to disbelieve Big Tyre.

I had come to the same conclusion as you, David, and recommend you keep an eye out for any good deal on them. This last change of tyres was the first time I have had any kind of availability problem for a complete set of PZeros. On two previous occasions when I replaced the OEM tyres, Bridgestones the first time and Dunlops the second, it was primarily on the basis of immediate availability and a marginally better price for PZeros than Goodyear Eagles, these being another brand with which I had been happy in the past. Michelin PSs and Conti SCs - I don't remember the generation numbers - were also readily available, but at significantly higher prices - maybe by 20% or more, as I recall - than the Pirellis, which I had in any case always found satisfactory. When I decided to change to summer tyres this last time it was much earlier in the year than usual because of my alarm at the sudden appearance of several patches of surface crumbling on all four of the winters, almost certainly as the result of several weeks - indeed months - of unseasonably warm temperatures unsuited to the tyres. I was therefore quite excited to be offered a set of of SC7s for around the same price, namely €925, as I would have paid for my usual PZeros had the 265/35 rears not been "momentarily" unavailable. And, as will be clear from my OP, I am far from regretting the purchase. In fact, perhaps because they are now fully "bedded in", the SCs seem to have got even better.

What’s crazy is that no premium tyre companies produce UHP winter tyres in sizes of 17” and above with a speed rating anywhere as low - or prospectively as low-priced - as the Q permitted by regulatory authorities, V or thereabouts being the norm.

I’m not sure Toyota would actually want to risk antitrust problems by actually taking over a tyre company or companies given that they already have large Japanese suppliers like Bridgestone and Dunlop by the b**ls, so to speak.

And it can only strike on as crazy that this is the speed rating of the Pirelli SottoZero winters in the approved sizes for the RC300h F-Sport. It is even crazier that, providing they are of the approved size, a speed rating of Q i.e. >160kmh is the acceptable minimum for winter tyres for any car.

John, I wouldn't want to give the impression that I habitually hurl my RC300h around corners or break speed limits as a result of having the 19" staggered tyres. I will admit, however, that the feeling of having performance tyres underneath may occasionally add a little verve to one's attitude. I will further admit that the prominence of the Z speed rating on the SC7s sidewalls was initially a slight source of embarrassment insofar as some people might think I'm pretending to drive an RCF, but I soon got over it. Staggered 19" tyres with a minimum speed rating of Y are the only sizes homologated for the F-Sport version in Italy, and figure accordingly without alternatives in the car's registration papers. Fitting other sizes on either axle would result in a heavy fine, insurance invalidation, and automatic MOT failure. Like some other early customers back in 2016 when the car was launched I expressed concern at this lack of regulatory flexibility, pointing out that several size alternatives were available for the non-F Sport version. There was talk of Lexus applying for a change of specifications but if this was done nothing came of it. My concern was purely about prices, especially for the 265/35 rears, as well as limited brand choices and possible availability problems. From a technical and aesthetic standpoint I was, and have remained, happy in the knowledge that the fat rears improve roadholding while emphasising the car's good looks.

Having now completed 1000km on a set of 19" Continental SportContact 7s (245/40 front/265/35 rear), I can offer an initial opinion, at least as regards handling and comfort. The weather has been quite warm and mainly dry except for a few heavy showers that caught me on the motorway. I should admit that my very positive opinion may have been influenced, initially at least, by the seasonal switch from a well-worn set of winter tyres (Pirelli Sottozeros). Braking distances, for example, were so much better with the Contis as to have almost startled me at first. Pleasantly, of course. The summer tyres I have previously had on my F-Sport RC300hs (MYs 2016 and 2019) were Dunlop SportMaxxes, Bridgestone Potenza RE050s, and Pirelli PZeros. Having now tried the Contis I would almost certainly go for them again in future, though this would ultimately depend on prices and size availabilities at the time of other premium brands such as Michelin and Goodyear besides Pirelli. Certainly, the SCs and the PZeros easily outclassed the OEM Bridgestones and Dunlops, which by comparison were on most counts no more than adequate. The grip of the SCs in bends and fast curves in the dry is impressive, the complete absence of deviation from selected trajectories and during sudden changes of direction translating into a permanent invitation to drive a little faster. I felt much this same level of confidence, albeit duly mitigated by lower speeds, on a long stretch of soaked motorway during and after a series of violent rain squalls. While the SCs in these conditions in no way relieved my feeling of helplessness during aquaplaning - not that I expected they would - they did seem to "bite" with more force and immediacy than the Pirellis upon regaining traction. The RC's balance and stability at sustained speeds on winding roads are, together with its precise cornering and general agility, among the car's best features. These are undoubtedly enhanced by the SCs but, then again, I recall feeling much the same level of enthusiasm with newly fitted PZeros. Because my preference on motorways, and often on any roads with prospectively easy overtaking, is for SPORT or SPORT+ modes, I am personally not unduly concerned about the extent to which the hardness of my tyres may be adding to the firmer ride and putative loss of comfort resulting from the stiffened suspensions. However, to judge by a bone-shaking stretch of cobblestones I negotiate several times a day in NORMAL mode, I would characterise the SCs as being of a more rigid construction than, say, the PZeros, so much so that I would hesitate to recommend them to anyone who dislikes a firm ride or suffers from a bad back. In terms of acoustic comfort, the SCs are tolerably quiet at all speeds, though no better or worse in this regard than Pirellis or, for that matter, any other premium UHP tyres I have had in the past. As regards looks, the SC is to my eye a more handsome tyre than most, the tread pattern and sidewall graphics combining into a purposefulness of appearance well suited to the RC. In summary, the SCs are hard to fault, and if time also shows them to be slower to deteriorate and more resistant to wear than my hitherto favoured Pirellis, which are somewhat disappointing in this regard, I would judge them to be close to perfect.

So it wasn’t a Russian hacker attack then?

I just saw a message to the effect that I am no longer permitted to view the “What’s The Problem With Conspiracy Theories” thread. Don’t know why that should be. Is there a conspiracy afoot?

I thought I'd revisit this old thread with fresh photographic proof of the liking of flies for silver - in my case Sonic Titanium - paintwork. I took the attached photos this morning at 0700 CET. Most of the flies had already flown off upon my approach, so I'm guessing that the remaining ones could, like me, have been groggy from the loss of an hour's sleep. I should add in the interests of science that my car hasn't been waxed since November and not shampooed for ten days, so carnauba-based flavours and candy aromas are clearly not the attraction. There is, however, a bit of early Spring pollen about and it is therefore possible that the flies were partaking of some for breakfast before being rudely disturbed.

Based on my OP about my 2019 RC300h’s speedometer’s over reading of actual speeds by 9-11%, my advice would be to confirm the relative figures for one’s own car and then memorize them with a view to taking full advantage of the protective margin they provide, small as it is, against the chances of getting a speeding ticket.

Even if it took him most of a morning time is not an issue for the laid-back citizens of Malibu.

No question about it, but I reckon a lime-green Lamborghini or something like that would have been more appropriate.

I think you may need to download the file before being able to open it, though I daresay you’ll find the same news item elsewhere simply by googling Van Dyke and Lexus.