rominl

iTrader: (4)

so since some people actually brought up the argument that whoever doesn't own the car shouldn't really comment on wind noise (or lack of) issue (and not that i really care), here is my detailed review on the issue itself. i think and i hope this is the right place to post it. i don't think there is a need for another thread, after all this is ls460 forum, not wind noise forum.

vehicle: 2007 ls460l
built date: may 2007 (if i remember correctly)
mileage: over 2000 miles
spec and details: windows are all tinted. windows are intentionally raised and lowered daily and regularly to re-produce "usage" to hopefully simulate normal tear and wear.
road test: on various road surface, from rough to normal to silky smooth, in and out of traffic
speed tested: 20-50mph local road. 60/70/80/90mph on freeways. audio shut off, even ac are completely shut off

here are my results and comments. by all means, this is my results, my opinions, and my findings. your experience might vary. all these tests are done on roughly 75 miles stretch of roads

20-50mph local roads
the car is ridiculously quiet at this speed range. i could not hear anything at all. if anything it's the engine sound when i accelerate, or the noise from nearly vehicles when they pass me or i pass them. wind noise is absolutely zero, not a single big

60mph on freeways
there are absolutely zero wind noise as well. not even the turbulence around the side mirror. i hear nothing within the car. engine rpm is around 1500rpm, so when cruising there is no sound from engine as well. depending on the road condition, road noise (thank you bridgestone) actually is the dominant factor. but still, compared to other vehicles i have driven / tested, this is the quietest (read further for comparison vehicles)

70mph on freeways
i start to hear very slight sound. it's definitely not wind noise through "cracks" (read lower for proof). i kept speed steady and actually moved my ear (head) around the whole window area. it's from the outside mirror. from my understanding this is turbulence from the side mirror. very normal, happens in all cars.

cars are still dead quiet besides this. road noise continue to dominant, still no sound from engine. again, the car is far quieter than other comparison vehicles i have tested

80mph on freeways
i definitely hear more noise now. again i moved my ear around the windows area. same as before, the ONLY location where i can hear the noise most obvious is when i put my hear right by the steer wheel, so it's from the outside mirror. no where around the other parts of the window edges.

at this time, the noise has started to catch up with the road noise from tires. still, the combined noise is much less than i have ever seen. the only comparable vehicle is the s class i drove.

in fact, this was pretty dangerous since i was already way above the speed limit but there was NO indication on that

90mph on freeways
so just to prove my point, i prayed for no CHP around and put the car at 90mph. now i can hear noticeable wind noise. it's definitely more than the road noise i can hear. again, moving my ear around, i still find all the noise to be from the side mirror area. i don't hear one single bit of potential "air leak" noise from anywhere else around the window

cross wind
this has been one issue that some members brought up, where they claim when there are cross wind, they could literally hear the wind pushing through the "cracks" creating noise.

again, i could not hear anything. i am lucky enough to drive through an area where often times there are cross wind. i do hear them hitting the car, but i don't hear any wind noise through cracks.

my experience
so that's my experience in the ls460l. please keep in mind, this is nothing more than 1 data point (same to everyone else, including those with wind noise issues). nothing could be generalized from here. what i can say is on this particular car, i hear no wind noise problem at all, at least nothing that i would classified as a valid wind noise.

i have also driven 2 other 2007 ls460l (lwb) and 2 2007 ls460 (swb). while the test could not be done to the same extensive level, my initial findings show the same results in terms of amount of noise i hear and the location.

comparison vehicles
for comparison, i drove the following vehicles throughout the same routes for testing so i can actually have some better reference points (and my comments)

1998 gs400 -- wind noise is noticeable on this car. a lot more turbulence noise from the mirrors, and i can actually hear wind noise. yes, that's what i called wind noise. i hear wind coming through from either the door jam or the a pillar. this COULD BE the kind of wind noise problem members experience here
2005 sc430 -- i say it's a bit louder than the ls460l, but far quieter than the gs400
2007 rx400h -- it's very close to the sc430. not closed to be as quiet as the ls460l
2007 es350 -- similar to the rx400h, though i think the rx400h is a bit quieter
2007 rx350 -- very very similar to rx400h
2007 s550 -- this car is quiet. at lower speed below 70mph, personally i think it's a bit louder than the ls460l, but not much. above 70mph i think it's just as quiet as the ls460l. both cars are ridiculously quiet at those speed may i add, especially in the 80mph range

notes
some member posted that the window glass itself and the motor are so strong that when the windows roll up, it actually "deform" the door a bit. i did repeated test to confirm this. it's correct, when you roll up the windows, as it close to the top, it deforms the windows trim.

however, it actually pushes the window trims inward to the car more. given all the rubber insulation on the trim, i would imagine that pushes the door more tightly to the car body.

also, some members commented about lowering the window a bit actually help the wind noise. this is another mystery to me. i tried to lower the window a bit, no effect. lower it more, and omg, there goes wind noise... that's due to the fact that i actually opened up a crack on the window glass, and now it's severe wind noise problem.

it's important to distinguish noise from other on-going vehicles and actually wind noise hitting the car itself. several times i suspected if i hear wind noise, but quickly i discovered that it's due to the road noise created by other running vehicles passing me or when i pass them, especially at high freeway speed. the noise is actually very similar to loud wind noise.

so in the end i just tried to get empty stretch or road where there were very few cars around me so i could carefully conduct my tests.

conclusion
so this is my take on the wind noise. again, this is my experience i just want to share.

i have yet to drive a ls460 with wind noise problem, and honestly i very much want to experience that so i can see what the problem really is. i know for sure the problem exist since i talked to a senior master tech at lexus dealership and he told me about the problem and the fix.

however, at this point, all the fixes seem to be bandages, and no one is sure if lexus know of the problem well enough to find the root cause and have real fixes.

one thing also for sure is that the problem is not present in all the cars. in fact, only a very small portion of ls460 / ls460l are affect from what i know talking to the technician.

last note: it's not easy driving the car at those speed and have my ear movedaround. i surely won't recommend that to anyone. not to mention the drivers from the other cars looking at me like i am an idiot

rominl

iTrader: (4)

i am involved in this thread so i won't moderate much, but i will just give out a suggestion. everyone has the right to post here, lexus owner or not, ls460 owner or not. let's put that to rest and stay on topic or other moderators will come in

Gojirra99

A few posts have been removed which are not too relevent to the topic of this thread but of a more personal nature. Please refrain from doing that & stay on topic. Thanks.

encore888

Thanks for the report on the wind noise, Rominl! That's a very extensive test, from my POV.

zzzzdoc

Got the windows tinted today. Hopefully that won't change the seal and induce wind noise. (Yes, I'm getting paranoid.)

Oh, and thanks for the great report, Rominl.

rominl

iTrader: (4)

hehehe, first tint ever? that's going to paranoid you for a while

enjoy the tint, they are the best really! car is so much cooler with them on

and no problem on the review, just trying to do my part. always try to be constructive and analytical so people can have better references

zzzzdoc

Yup, you called that one right. Never got a car tinted before.