Did not need an alignment. For me personally this upgrade has not mitigated the inner tire wear unfortunately but I did notice improved handling and a firmer ride which I like

 

So 4 short months later....I have these installed. And paid to have it done while I was at work. Couldn't wait to find the time any longer while putting miles on my new tires.
(This is the kind of stuff that happens to me since having a newborn lol).

Immediate reactions.
there is a difference to be felt between 40-70mph but not much. However in sport mode the steering is definitely even stiffer than beforehand in sport mode. This was clear but nothing I'll ever notice again. I left it off sport mode the rest of the drive to better feel the difference since I usually am in Normal Drive mode.

Little more precise at 100mph while in light turns. More like I was on a rail than before. 100 while coming around the bend felt more like 80, 90? Not a huge difference here though dont let me overstate.

The biggest difference was with hard braking. From about 85-40 the car remained much more solid than before. Felt really good actually like THIS is how it's supposed to be.
Lastly on a slightly uneven/bumpy road the steering remained straight much more than it had before.

Im ok with the steering in the IS. I like that its not a completely numb feeling like some comparable makes....however just a tad more stiff like in sport mode I would like to have in normal mode. Was hoping to get more of that but all in all for the little change it was.....got good results.
But I also have to remember reason #1 is tire wear...hoping to save $100s down the line.

 

I notice very little difference, but I've never gone 100 MPH in this car. 75 is what I like to stay at. I'm surprised you could go 100 in LA, if that's where you are.

 

San Diego. But we're catching up in terms of traffic! Haha. Right behind you guys.
100 isnt hard here/there without causing any hazard. Car is pretty quick from 75 to 100!

The difference is so subtle at the low speed.

The brakes were where it's at. I slammed on the brakes down towards 40mph or so and changed lanes to give the car a better chance to wander off a bit. Totally stable.

 

I can't figure out why he lubed the bolt end of the control arm? Once the nut is torqued down, the metal cylinder will become one with the arm and the rotation will be between the cylinder and the rubber bushing. The metal bolt of the arm will not be continuously rubbing with the metal cylinder. The purple rubber is what needs to be lubed, and I assume that was done at the FIGS factory when you buy the pre-assembled bushing and bracket kit.

 

I personally have not noticed (or really paid attention to) whether the steering is stiffer in sports mode. I know RWD FSport models get Variabie Gear Ratio Steering (I think that’s what it’s called) but never heard of AWD models having that or even a similar feature.

Have you ever seen a Lexus source that describes how/when it does it?
Ive seen brochures, websites, magazines etc detailing what sport/sport+ do but never heard/seen anything about stiffer steering (except vgrs in rwd models). Plz link one if you know of one.

 

I do not have a source for you sorry.

All I know is my IS350 Base definitely does get stiffer in sport mode. I believe the F-Sport drivers reported this happening in Sport+ mode? Not sure if it was in Sport mode for them too. It's most easily noticed at lower speeds, the change takes just a couple seconds so easy to switch back and forth between normal and sport when rounding a turn at say 40mph.

Wouldn't it be odd if that didnt happen in an AWD.

 

If you have Sport+ available, steering gets stiff with Sport+, not Sport. If you don't have Sport+, then it gets stiffer with Sport.

 

I have F sport With AVS and the steering gets heavier in Sport mode. In sport+ it might get a bit more heavy than in sport (unless it is just my perception).

upd: Tested it today, and Sport+ and Sport definitely set a different weight to the steering wheel.

 

sports only adjusts shift points while sports+ adjust dampering only if you have AVS

 

Are you RWD or AWD? I know RWD F-Sport models have VGRS which adjusts steering, but AWD models don’t have it. I have a 350 AWD FSport and I’m not feeling a difference in steering.

 

Sports mode makes your steering response heavier. I have a non F sport car, it's very apparent.

 

15 RWD f sport, no VGRS. VGRS is responsible for dynamic changes in the steering ratio, not how heavy the steering wheel feels, which is dictated by the power steering ecu..

 

Sport mode (not Sport+ mode) does indeed cut back EPS assist a little to make the steering feel “tighter” or “heavier” along with more aggressive shifting from the transmission. I swear there are like 50 threads on this topic lol.

 

For those of you who have the RCF bushings installed, how many miles on it and how is the tire wear?