I came across some interesting products that I wanted to see if anybody knew anything about. Where I live the roads are often times bumpy and uneven and what I guess is referred to as "bump steer" or "tram lining" kind of annoys me a bit. There is one particular road near my house where there is an incline and uneven road right before a stop light. If I am going just a couple mph pulling up to the light and I let go of the wheel, the car veers with the slope of the bump and the steering wheel seriously turns around 90 degrees. Whereas, my Dad's Honda Accord tracks completely straight in that same area even with no hands on the wheel. In addition, if there is a bump or road imperfection when you are mid-corner at bit of speed its almost like the tires straighten out a tad when they hit it and you have to compensate by micro-adjusting the steering wheel into a tighter turn. So that's the main things I am trying to reduce/eliminate, but if a bit of the on center vague-ness/rubber bandy feeling could be taken out of the steering that would certainly be nice too.

I am planning on swapping the lower control arm bushing for the slightly stiffer OEM GS F bushing, but I also came across two other products for the steering rack that I was wondering if anyone had any opinions on.

1) THINK DESIGN Steering Rack Mount Collars
2) Daizen Sport Steering Rack Bushing Kit

So for #1 its just a collar that kind of compresses and constrains the movement of the OEM rubber bushing. My thoughts with that are since it keeps the OEM rubbing bushing, it still should be able to absorb high frequency vibrations and just eliminate "big" movements which are likely the cause of some of the things I mentioned above. It should also be pretty easy to install and remove if I don't like its effects. However, its expensive for what it is since its basically just a washer lol.

#2 The product page states its for the RC, however looking at the steering rack part numbers for the GS and RC they are exactly the same. This is a bushing replacement, that replaces the OEM rubber with what I am assuming is a polyurethane bushing. Removing the OEM bushing would probably be kind of difficult and may destroy it in the process, however the new bushing is 2 piece and wouldn't need a press or anything. In addition looking at the below parts diagram, Lexus doesn't sell this bushing (labeled as N01) separately due to its difficulty of removal and installation, so there would be no going back to OEM. The poly could also introduce possible squeaks.

#2 would probably have the better steering feel and is less expensive, but, just do to the fact the Lexus does sell the OEM bushings and possibility of squeaks, I think I am leaning way more towards #1. I am looking to get rid of some of those annoyances I mentioned above, but I am not really willing to give up much, if any, ride comfort so I am not looking for anything crazy. Which is why I am thinking of sticking with the GS F LCA bushing instead of stiff poly options. Has anyone installed #1?

 

The steering in this car is very sensitive to imperfections on the road. Not sure if what your suggesting will fix any of that. If your alignment is off or your tires worn out weird, it would amplify the problem, and that's what would need to be fixed. Whats the big deal anyways, are you trying to drive down that road with your hands off the wheel?

 

The car is still pretty new to me, but the dealership put on new tires and aligned it when I bought it, so they should be fine. To emphasize, the things only happen on road imperfections, on a flat smooth road the car tracks perfectly straight. Its not a big deal, but if I can get rid of those annoyances and improve the steering feel with less "rubber-bandiness" and on-center vagueness for >$200, it seems to be worth it to me.

 

Yeah in that case it's normal, steering in this car is sensitive to road imperfections.

 

That vaugness you are referring to is probably the variable ratio steering.

 

Ahh yes I forgot about that, that could definitely be a factor. Although, now that I am thinking about it its not really on-center vagueness. I often drive on eco-mode for the acceleration smoothness when I am in that kind of mood, but the steering is so light and combined with the rubber-bandiness I am describing, the wheel sometimes feels so disconnected from the tires. Like for a split second I am making small adjustments to the wheel, but the tires aren't doing much/are delayed. When I am get the GS-F bushings I am going to get the positive offset ones to slightly increase the caster (+0.33 degrees) and hopefully make the steering a touch heavier and increase stability. But that's even separate from the road imperfections feeling, when I hit a bump mid corner, it can sometimes even feel the like tires are very slightly doing the opposite of what I'm telling them to do with the wheel. To be clear, I love this car and these are all like "micro-feelings". I am just trying to see if I can tweak things a bit to make it feel a it more responsive/connected to the extent possible with the electric power steering.

 

Change it from Eco-mode to Normal for a while to see if your steering gets crisper.

 

So I poked my head under my car to look at some of this stuff today. I've looked at the LCA bushing before, but in bad lighting and not as closely. Today I could clearly see that the rubber bushings are starting to show signs of wear and cracking. They aren't catastrophic cracks, but since these bushing are actually filled with fluid and could start leaking, I think they should definitely be replaced. I've heard these wear out pretty quick and that seems to be true since my car only has 67k miles on it. It may be worth checking out if you are at similar miles or above.





I also took a peek at the steering rack. So even though the parts diagram doesn't really seem to show it, there does appear to be a washer between the bolt head and the rubber. So it seems that the THINK DESIGN collar would replace this OEM washer. Since it has that little raised ridge, it would put a bit of extra pressure on the rubber to stiffen it up and the ridge itself would at a bit like a detent to constrain the movement a bit more. In the last pic, I think the grey one is the OEM washer with no ridge.

 

Welp bummer. The Think Design collars came in a couple days ago and I tried to install them yesterday, but unfortunately they are not compatible with the AWD. When I pulled the bolt out I discovered that on the AWD, the washers on both sides and the metal sleeve inside the rubber bushing are all one piece. Almost like the shape of a pulley or a dumbell, where as on the RWD everything is separate so its just an actual washer. But the company was great to deal with and the parts are super high quality, I'd definitely recommend Think Design. If anyone with a RWD wants to try them out, I'd pass them along at a discount.

 

I want to get these Think Design Collars. Does anyone know where to get, with the discount code to order?

 

I actually still have them if you are interested, never got around to posting them on the marketplace. PM me if you’re interested! Obviously brand new never used have since incompatible with my AWD.

 

Oh ok, Thanks pm sent.

 

Speaking of steering, my GS seems to be pulling slightly to the right after I got the Michelin 4S. I had an alignment done and still pull so slightly at high speeds (70+). Basically I can't go hands free on the highway like I can with the ES. Steering feels a little more sensitive too with the new tires. Is this a 4S and GS thing? The tires are very sticky though and grips well.

 

Did you have the Tech Stream Yaw Rate Sensor Zero Point Calibration to complete procedure after the wheel alignment?

 

Oh I don't know. I took it to Les Schwab and I don't have Tech Stream.