Sango

iTrader: (10)

He he! Maybe wait until your warranty peroid is over for the BMW, then will see. There are people who rather lease than buy buy because of the issues that BWM has, such as the sub frame, fuel pump etc... - This way they do not need to worry about the issues when the lease ends and they will go for another one.

Andoskyy

iTrader: (1)

If you are not planning to alter the suspension (less the sway bar), the steering damper will no absolutely nothing for you. I installed it out of boredom and curiosity. I would not recommend it to anyone on stock suspension.

The rear sway bar is a different story. When they say 150% stiffer, they mean it. Night and day difference in body roll. The steering wheel feel will be the same, but your car will handle more like your friend's 335....you'll be much much happier. The rear sway bar should be THE factory sway bar for any/every IS. completely changes the feel of the car for the better.

If you dont have the basic tools, the rear sway COULD be a pain in the ***. The problem is that the bolts on the endlinks will turn free so you'll need to clamp the free spinning parts in order to remove the bolts. I took the entire sway bar assembly out, including the endlinks. I then put it in the vice and heated/cooled the bolts in order to remove them. Mine were a bit rusty because of New England winters though.

Then I installed the end links on the new sway bar and put it back in.

If you dont want to attempt this yourself, I'm sure you'll find it worth every penny to pay for installation.

Good luck!

Kurtz

iTrader: (1)

Can't speak to the steering feel per-se, as the "magic" of BMW steering doesn't do much for me... but in terms of actually handling an F-sport IS actually slaloms faster than a 335i does.

BMW is all about "feel", in actual objective comparisons it kinda sucks.

(and the poor reliability of the brand speaks to that as well, your personal anecdotal experience aside- which is why the % of BMWs that are leased rather than owned is so high compared to most other brands, Lexus included... most folks are smart enough not to actually own one and be stuck with it after warranty is up)

belyzel4

Thanks for all the information guys! I get my Rear Sway Bar to take it to dealer for an install. My closest dealer quoted me like $370 for 3 hours of labor... seems kind of unreasonable so I'm gonna look around until I get a price like anthrax did.

I guess the whole BMW feel is just something that I never really considered when I first purchased the car. I guess luxurious and comfortable drive that Lexus goes for accounts for why the steering feels so free. I might try BR Racing Coilovers, but the crappy streets in La Jolla and Southern California worry me lol.

Kurtz

iTrader: (1)

Do it yourself.

The rear bar took me and a buddy 15 minutes. It's very very very easy.

Front bar isn't really harder, but does take 3-4 times as long as you have to remove a bunch of panels and stuff to get em out of the way then put them back when done.... the rear bar is right there though.

anthrax144

They HAVE to be quoting you a price to install both the front and the rear?!? My normal mechanic quoted me $125 to install only because he wasn't sure what he was getting into. ANY Lexus dealer should be able to install the rear sway in 30 minutes or less. It's 4 bolts and 2 links all with relatively easy access.

belyzel4

I just don't have the tools or place to work on the car while I'm living in a dorm room Kurtz. I will install the steering damper myself though

Well anthrax the parts department guy even referred me to other dealerships because he knew the service guys were doing something wrong if they quoted me that much for one sway bar. I ended up getting a $120 quote from another dealership and did my 30k maintenance while I was there. It's amazing what difference it makes by just going to a different dealership. I not only saved $250 off the sway bar install and $200 off my 30k maintenance, but I also got a nice loaner car! (my old dealership never gave any)

I can't wait to pick up the car tomorrow!

belyzel4

Hey anthrax so I finally got my rear sway bar and steering damper set up in the car. The car feels great and I feel like I'm 1/3 of the way there to getting what I want from the car enough to get over this whole lack of road feel I am getting from the car. I started reading more to get a better idea of how to get a heavier steering wheel and what do you guys think would work best out of these:

- Wide Sport Tires
- Small Diameter Steering Wheel
- Somehow tuning the Lexus Electric Power Steering
- Sport Suspension?
- Adding Weights to the Steering Damper?
- Disconnecting Electric Power Steering Altogether?
- Tighter Steering Rack?

Lil4cyl

laughing......out.....loud......

That's why I see MANY MANY MANY BMW's in the trader with between 40k and 50k miles for sale. Why? You know as well as I do why... they tend to break... ALOT, after the warranty expires. Known fact. Not heresay.

Lil4cyl

And just a note, I had my eyes set on a 650i... that is, until I researched about all the issues they have. No thanks.

jv250

go to Tommy in El Monte for the rear sway bar install if you don't want to do it yourself. he'll hook you up and he's quick.

belyzel4

I appreciate the tip! I got lucky with Lexus in Carlsbad and they gave me the install for about $120.

anthrax144

The only one I can speak to is the Sport Suspension as that's what I have and I think it has great balance between ride height/comfort and road feel. If you don't already have the Sport package, just get coilovers and you'll have all the adjustability you need to get your suspension right. The rest you mention I've yet to come across IRL or on these forums so I think you may be out of luck there.

KillaIS250

iTrader: (1)

$120 to install a swaybar?!?

Tommy charges like $150 to install springs on all 4 corners.