Steven Lockey

Just go to Halfords lol https://www.halfords.com/tyres/bridgestone/weather-control-a005-evo-weathercontrola005evo.html?dwvar_weathercontrola005evo_sectionwidth=245&dwvar_weathercontrola005evo_aspectratio=40&dwvar_weathercontrola005evo_rimdiameter=18&dwvar_weathercontrola005evo_speedrating=Y&dwvar_weathercontrola005evo_loadrating=97&vid=4338794 A/C rating same as the Rainsport 5s and actually out-performed them in some trials on heavier cars. Don't ask me to find the reports again through, was a year ago before I purchased them I did a lot of looking for tyre comparison. Compared to the cheaper tyres the car had on when I bought it, (yokomos or something), was a big improvement in terms of handling.

Brand new.... I'd never get used or reconditioned tyres.

Why not BridgeStone or Pirellei?

£900 for 4????? I got 4 Bridgestone Weather Control A005 which are really good tyres for £500 for 4.

Please please please never assume the capacitors are discharged no matter how long you wait. They can hold a shocking (literally!) amount of power for a long time after the device has been unplugged. Always assume they are charged till you've tested and made SURE.

Gotta admit, the V6 is so quiet normally you forgot its there till you put your foot down and get a delighted purr in response

Depends if it was him or the pink elephant 😉

Thats what they all say 😇🤣

Ah ha, found it via the Lexus tech website. Its got the stabiliser fitted, so it must be a sport which is the only one that does. Guess the Vicar who had it before me de-badged it as he thought Sport might be a little flashy. Where the badge would be he replaced with a (new removed) Jesus fish sticker 😉

Thanks, but I just popped out and had a look and it doesn't. I can see the registration form says SE-A which doesn't seem to be a thing.....

'06 to '08 450h SEL fitted with radar cruise and sunroof as standard. So my 07 has ventilated seats (so SEL or Sport) but no sunroof or adaptive cruise control. You sure about this? Might be a Sport I guess as I've got no wood in the steering wheel at all. I think a tiny bit on the top of the gear-stick is all.

Thats interesting, mine has no badging on it other than the normal GS450h, but according to that spec sheet, its either a SE-L or a sport. No idea what the trim looks like so not sure if its fitted or not. Guessing it a SE-L but never had a smart key card so probably only in later versions.

I'd error on the side of caution with anything to do with the brakes myself 😉

I forget sometimes I purchased an upgraded 3rd party battery with more capacity!

I'd get your brake system checked asap. Not sure if the brakes and power steering share any pumps e.t.c. but when I had a similar thing on a different car, it was because one of the brake pads had shattered somehow and was causing a brake fluid leak. The noise might be the pump trying to maintain pressure. The shuddering on the brake pedal is what worries me. I first had this on the way to work (1 hour each way), on the way home from work the same day, I found I no longer had any brakes at all (including handbrake), which was fun let me tell you 😉

Not more than a few miles. Maybe 10 if you are very lucky. Its not designed as a plug in hybrid which will go for long distances without the ICE kicking in. The 450h is all about recovering lost energy from braking and a nice little boost to acceleration. There aren't many cars of this weight that can get to 60 in under 6 seconds while getting over 30 mpg both on the motorway and stop/start around town.

Lexus basically quote to replace the entire unit including cats. Go to an exhaust specialist. Lexus quoted me about the same and Redhill classics which isn't too far from you did it for £120. If its just a leak, should be fairly simple to fix. They would need to take a look I would guess. http://www.redhillclassics.co.uk/ Heres their website.

Could also be something that has become loose and is hitting it's resonance frequency at that speed.

I check this every time before I fill up.... Its never below 32 on the tank average and my two journeys I do are local stop/starty journeys and long motorway journeys at rather fast speeds so not exactly driving conservatively.

Its a heavy car so they do go through tyres a bit quicker than lighter cars but it shouldn't be significant and should be equal. Excessive wear to a single side of a type is almost always a sign of mis-alignment as no matter else you do, that tyre should be wearing equally.... Unless the person is constantly edging kurbs with the back tyres or something daft like that.

I'd say the GS is actually sportier in terms of performance. 5.2s 0-60 vs 9s according to the specs. Not sure it even handles that well from what I've read and I wasn't impressed with the one I test drove tbh. I don't like chelsea tractors so not keen on the RX series either 😉 Thing is, if you can find a gs 450h with a dodgy battery, they normally sell for about 1.5K and you can get a brand new battery with 3 years warranty for 2K, so thats a good car for 3.5K which is basically what happened to me 🙂 Spent total about 4K on mine total including set of premium tyres. Otherwise the dealer should be able to confirm that it has had a recent lexus hybrid check. I believe if its up to date on the hybrid check all is good even if it skipped a year but something to get the dealer to confirm or call up a lexus dealership who will be able to access records for the car. You can do this on their website as well with the right details for the car. As far as rough roads go, its alright if you know the roads and know WHERE the bumps are. Its only really the unknown ones that catch you by surprise that are a bit of an issue.

PS. I counter your wall with a bigger wall lol 🙂

I'd say a lot depends on your budget. A decent 450h will probably be the most expensive, having said that mine only cost about £4k total (most of that buying a replacement traction battery lol) but you have to really hunt for one that cheap and if it hasn't ad Lexus hybrid checks every year, be prepared to have to replace or recondition the hybrid battery which isn't cheap. For long distance cruising the GS450h is lovely. I mainly do fairly long trips (2 hours each way) so wanted something for motorway cruising and its perfect for that. It just sits there barely straining at *ahem* fast motorway speeds 🙂 With a 0-60 of 5.2s its not sluggish either when you put your foot down and 32 mph is normal for me so that isn't too bad either, not great but its not a small car. Comfort level is a++, not been in a car more comfortable including mercs and BMWs. The seating position is a bit weird at first (for me at least) compared to european cars but very comfortable once you setup the seat right. Also it'll run practically forever if treated right other than normal wear and tear on parts. A lot of them hit 250k+ miles before having an issues beyond the hybrid battery. If its had the lexus hybrid check every year (£60 a go roughly) then Lexus will sort any battery issues for the first 15 years. Mine is at 175k and has no major parts replaced other than the hybrid battery. Mechanic had a through look over it and couldn't see anything that he thought would be an issue either. Other thing that tends to need replacement on both the 300 and 450h are the suspension struts which can go as its a heavy car. Only downside is really it isn't great dealing with bumpy roads at low speeds and your insurance might cost a bit more. The GS300 is a very similar car, slightly small and lighter and has a lot less power so its no-where near as fast. I've heard some complaints about the engine used as apparently it using a belt instead of a chain that can go pop. I wouldn't say the 300 is a bad car but I'd def go for the 450 unless there was a big price/quality difference. Both are really solid build quality but the hybrid system on the 450 gives it similar fuel economy with a lot better performance. I'd never get a IS 250..... its one of those cars which tries to look fast but really isn't 😉 I'm not a fan with 0-60 at 9 seconds, well unless you really really want to put the top down, I just don't see many benefits to it over the other two.

Hmmm, perhaps take it to a suspension specialist. Just did a run down to Southampton from London area so a good 1.5 hours down the motorway and lets just say I wasn't going slowly 😉 When in the howling wind, car was dead stable. Road camber did cause a slight sway but thats kinda to be expected in any car at speed. It can feel a bit 'floaty' in normal suspension mode when you hit a bump, but the car is still in full contact with the road and full control.

There should be a gas extraction tube as well to fit to battery I believe to make sure any corrosive gasses the battery vents don't hang around in the boot, eating the car's metal.