Yes, I agree that aren't in LS460 or Mercedes S-class territory in the noise-department. When I said cocoon-quiet, IMO, I meant compared to most of their competition in that size/price range. And the Verano would be quieter yet if it had a small V6 and taller-profile tires like the 200.

 

Understood. But let's not make a false comparison based on the cost of a vehicle. Going by your logic an LS can't be the same as a $45k car. Then vehicles that start in the $45k range should not have the same crappy treatment as a tercel on the floor. Thin form fitting carpet over sheet metal with no appreciable sound deadener underneath. That same blue carpet was in my tercel back in 1988. Makes one think.
As for selling points of any future LS there is no problem keeping technology, suspension, engine superiority at a formidable distance from an entry level luxury car. There is pleanty of hardware & software to separate a top tier vehicle from the rest of the pack. I'd really love to tear out the interior of an LS out of curiosity to see what they did to it. Might be some surprises.

 

If you want a custom amount of sound deadening...put it in yourself like you did. Clearly the RX competes pretty well in its segment, being the top seller and all.

I think you would be surprised to know that if you tore the carpet out of most vehicles you would find sound deadening pretty similar to that Tercel. Reason being sound deadeners aren't really the main approach carmakers use to combat NVH. If that was all that matters, why is an RX quieter than that Tercel?

You also have to understand that cars get louder as they age. You can't come in and say Lexus doesn't build a quiet car because a 12 year old GS430 may be loud. Seals dry up and split and gap over time. I drove and shopped for that car when it was brand new, and it was very quiet.

 

I have to disagree with you SW15LS because you're saying that you only have a very short limited snapshot of the GS from 13 years ago. This can bring up several followup questions: was the car a 16 inch wheel/tire combo? That makes a lot of difference. Tire brand on it?

Your argument is honest and correct in terms of age and deterioration. But it implies that Lexus' rep as a vehicle that ages very well may be in question. That to match the BMW competition you would have had to put with road roar from a 17 inch wheel/tire pack.

Sidenote: My mid-nineties Camry was bought as a used car at 320,000 km. Quieter than my GS.

The only thing I can think as to road noise is that the frame rubber isolation stops transmit noise. But it doesn't show as a problem on the 2GS over the years on these forums.

Yes soundproofing material is on the way for my vehicle and will be installed as a diy soon enough.

 

Interestingly, the time of year and air temperatures can also have an impact. A warm or hot day, particularly with sunlight beating down on the car, will heat up and expand the body panels, weatherstripping, sealers, glass, insulation materials, etc.....and cause them all to press tighter against one another, forming a tighter NVH barrier, and lessening the chances for wind/road noise to penetrate into the car. Also helping in the comfort department are warm/hot tires and shock-absorber fluid, which, at the same PSIs, tends to be softer, more compliant and dampen out bumps and sharp impacts. Most cars I have owned have driven quieter and more smoothly in the summer than in winter.....or, when the weather is cold, have been noticeably smoother/quieter after the car has been on the road for a while, getting its tires and shocks warm, on a longer trip.

 

I drove many GSs at that point, 16" cars, 17" cars deciding between the GS and ES. Would certainly not remember the tire brand.

Tires play a very important role in the ride and noise isolation of a Lexus I agree.

Find me a review of the 2GS that says the car is loud.

Lexus is a vehicle that ages very well. I've had a lot of them, including a couple upwards of 200k miles and 10+ years old. Just because something ages very well doesn't mean it doesn't age. Rubber seals and such are just that...rubber. How well they age has to do with how well they've been cared for, the climate the car saw, whether it was garaged or parked outside, so on and so forth. Nothing lasts forever, not even a Lexus.

That doesn't surprise me. The ES I ultimately bought when making that comparison back in 2003 was slightly quieter too. The GS is a sportier car on sportier rubber, its not going to be as quiet nor is it supposed to be.

Everything that seals the inside from the outside will contribute to how quiet the car is.

 

SW you'll find that car reviewers don't always spend a lot of time with a car and often want to know how smooth it rides or how well it carves a corner. Interior noise is not mentioned.

When C&D did their test of the 2GS430 along with a 540, surprise - the Lexus folks provided a car with 16 inch wheels/tires. When a car manufacturer wants to emphasize sportiness? They'll send you to a race track with a 17,18,19 inch wheel/tire pack. When they want to hit the middle ground they'll go with a mid level suspension wheel/tire pack.

So I don't go always go by those. But look for owner complaints of road noise in Lexus, Mercedes or BMW etc and you'll find plenty online. Manufacturers will cheap on soundproofing if they think it will cut costs... and they have in recent years. It's showing up in threads like this more often.

Notice how car reviewers no longer seem to do sound meter tests on their test rides? I remember reading an old test of the Lincoln Mark VIII coupe and it measured at 64 db interior noise level. Astonishingly quiet.

 

the problems arise when the NVH treatment is not balanced across the platform ie floor, doors, windows, roof, mirrors, etc. If the floor has tons of sound deadening, and the glass in the window is a thin one, you will find the car noisy. If the window pane is double layered x-thick, and the floor has no sound deadening, you will find it to be noisy. Balancing all the possible sources of NVH is the key.

 

Not only is that not true, but many publications publish dB readings. Edmunds does this, Motor Trend, Car & Driver...

Like I said, that really isn't the case. 64 db is quiet but not incredibly so. LS460 is 59db according to edmunds.

 

No db in this particular test of a 2001 GS:

http://www.edmunds.com/lexus/gs-430/2001/road-test/

One reference to noise in that test:

"On the open road, headed toward the otherworldly landscape of Joshua Tree National Monument with family members on board is where the GS 430 truly sparkles. Its silent cabin, expurgated of any noise, harshness or vibration, is a portrait of tranquility. The GS 430 isolates you from any inconsistencies in the road."

Look SW. You drive an LS so it makes sense you are experiencing a quiet ride. We can go back and forth all you want, it's not going to change some ownership experiences.

 

Edmunds didn't start putting db readings in their reports until probably 8-10 years ago.

That quote from edmunds though says that its a silent cabin, without any noise, and that it isolates you from the road. That means they thought it was quiet.

Yes I own an LS now, but I have had several other Lexus vehicles too, as well as driven pretty much every iteration of all of them. On good tires, all Lexus vehicles are quiet, some very quiet. The key is on good tires.

 

Just out of curiosity, what frequencies are these guys measuring? I'd like to see a full frequency response rather than just one single measurement (meaningless by itself).

 

That's the issue right there. The dB reading doesn't really mean much.

 

Hopefully both I and the original poster will get our cars quieter. But if anybody is telling me that Michelins are not "good tires", I have a problem with that. But arguing with strangers on the internet is not a good hobby.

Tire noise is a pretty obvious source of road noise, hence insulating a vehicle from road roar requires extra insulation. Ergo, extra cost. VW is just learning this with emission issues, something Lexus got right, right from the start.

I guess I've said all I can. OP tell me what you find out. My insulation is on the way too

 

It depends on the model of Michelin tires, what model are they? Not every Michelin is a good tire, and not every good Michelin is a quiet tire.