I used Gummi Pflege on my BMW hard top convertible and it worked great. Have plenty left for my SC.

I spent some time sensually massaging all the rubber and hinges with Shin-Etsu today.

I must say, this is great stuff, years of internet hype are real.

I took my time and made sure I worked it into every nook and cranny of every piece of weatherstripping on the whole car, opening the roof in each state to reveal some hidden pieces. I also lubed up every joint I could find to keep all the mechanical parts running smooth.

I did the roof, doors, trunk, under the hood, etc.

Maybe because my car is a CA car, but I was surprised how worn some of the rubber was. Probably from the harsh sun beating on it for 13 years.

It's probably worth repeating this once a year to keep everything like new.

^^If it was that worn, I'd guess you should be able to tell the car is a bit quieter now too.

I'm hoping so... there was wind noise on the driver's side with the top up. Very faint, but I could hear it. I haven't driven it since the Shin Etsu treatment, I wanted to give it a chance to sit and soak it all in. I'll let you guys know if there's an audible improvement.

The rubber was by no means in "bad" condition, but it just looked a little more age than I anticipated. The car has 106k on it, so that's probably reasonable for a car that's been exposed to California sun for all that time. I moved here from the East Coast a few years back and I still haven't gotten used to just how powerful the sun feels on any given day of the year.

Is there a post to diagram where to lubricate the roof hinges?

I didn't see one, I just methodically went looking at every hinge/joint I could find.



Also, now that I've driven around a bit, the rubber all looks amazing but I still have some wind noise on the driver's side. I will have to see if I can isolate where exactly it's coming from and inspect further.

Look up the recent post "Lets talk cord." That might be the answer you are looking for. I recently discovered that there are four more located on the back of the roof joint. Go ahead and read the post and it will make more sense.

Paul

Good looking out! I did not know those were there. Looks like another project added to the to-do list.


This is the thread, incase anyone is wondering: https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sc4...talk-cord.html

Thanks. I have never figured out how to copy the link using my phone.

Paul

I decided to go with the Shin-Etsu grease. It is great stuff and don't be alarmed at the cost of a small tube. It will last forever. Besides, your driving a $65,000 when new vehicle, what's $17.00?

I haven't had a chance to look at the "cord" that Raven mentioned yet, but I did replace one of the triangle pieces of weatherstripping that goes around the driver side mirror. Mine was torn like so many threads I read about. As soon as I replaced it, wind noise is about 98% gone.

I'll have to check the cord in the near future, maybe i can get it completely quiet.

Replace the other triangle piece. I replaced both of mine and it is now a library inside, not one hint of wind noise. The passenger side had the most wind noise and I took it for a drive after replacing that one and it was pretty quiet, but after replacing the driver side, total silence! If one side was bad, the other is too, most likely.

My other one isn't torn and I don't hear any noise from that side. I think what little noise is left might be from that sagging cord Raven mentioned. I've inspected and greased every piece of rubber at this point and they all look healthy. What little noise remains I think is coming from the top/front drivers side area.

I've never sat in a brand new SC430, there is some more noise than a regular car to be expected because of the convertible, right?

I never drove a new one either, but there are no exterior wind noises that penetrate the cabin in mine. I have lubed all the rubber parts with special grease also. I just couldn’t believe the difference after replacing the corner triangles, it really stopped all the exterior wind penetration. The passenger side was louder, so I replaced that first.

I thought I had stopped all the wind noise by putting a piece of tape on the drivers side, but after I replaced the passenger side I could now hear noise from the drivers side (that I couldn’t really distinguish because the passenger side was so “loud” and was drowning it out. After replacing the drivers side... complete silence! Of course you can still hear exterior wind going over the car, around mirrors, but inside is silence.

If you already did the drivers side then you could do the passenger side in about 30 minutes. There was a definite difference in flexibility of the new rubber pieces vs the old and I think wind was leaking around it, not just at the corner where the window meets the top edge that usually splits. I believe it is definitely worth your effort. It’s difficult to trace noise while you are driving. Good luck hunting it down.

Because my wife uses the SC as a daily driver the driver’s rubber triangle was cracking on a semi regular frequency. I asked the Lexus dealer what could be done and they adjusted it just slightly lower and now it last a lot longer. Is there a little more wind noise, not sure, but combine her driving with music turned up and the adjustment makes sense.

Also, beyond just lubricating the roof components and weather stripping, etc., I change out trunk struts when I feel them just start to get weak. I recall this topic came up before and some members thought the struts contributed to the opening and closing of the roof and some did not. Because of the low price the aftermarket struts and the fact that they may help her open the trunk, I figure why not.