One thing I hate about the IS is the steering. It feels more like a ES than a true sports sedan (3 series). Will adding front/rear braces and some strut/sway bars make the steering more sport at all?

 

yes sir.....

 

Shock tower bars and / or suspension braces will do nothing. Please don't be caught up in the marketing hype by companies that prey on the ignorant.

However, a larger / adjustable rear sway bar and adjustable shocks would be GREAT ... if they existed.

 

Any time you stiffen the suspension you will notice more reaction... But you will predominately see this if you do a big change to a stiffer sway bar, springs, harder dampening, etc. But most of these things will be noticed on a prepped surface (e.g. track).
Like Gernby said, shock mount braces, etc. effect is negligible...

 

Actually, I think the effect is worse than negligible since the bars and braces do nothing but add weight (bad).

 

^^add weight up high. Worst of all worlds.

 

I've added front strut tower bars to both my current cars (Maxima and highly modified Turbo Supra), and the difference is very noticable. It was one of the first mods for both of them. The net effect was a much improved, crisper turn in, and greater steering feel in the corners. Of course, sway bars and springs create the most improvement of all, that goes without saying. Properly designed, front and rear strut tower bars do play an effective role in improving handling over virtually any stock suspension, with the possible exception of highly engineered suspensions of Ferarri's, Lambo's. etc
When I pickup my 08 IS350, I will be looking at these upgrades as a logical first step.

 

I have a turbo Supra too. Shock tower bar did nothing for it. Total waste of weight. You can ask anyone at the Dragon if I seemed to have any issues keeping up with the rest of the crowd.

If you have a targa (you have my sympathies) and you run without the roof, the STB helps a little. But if flex was a concern, you should have just got the hard top. It beats any targa Supra hands down.

I would not call it a logical first step on an IS. The suspension just doesn't work like a strut suspension, so the benefits will be practically zero on any street tire.

 

To sum it all up, the strut bars offered by these companies(e.g Tom's etc) does not really do anything except add weight?
I was thinking of adding it later on my wish list for the near future but now ihave 2nd thoughts abt it.

 

I have a question for Gernby and Lobux. I'm not being a smart-a, I really dont know why. Why do they (BMW) put a shock tower bar on the '08 M3? They could have one on all gen's of M3's I don't know that either. It goes from each tower to the firewall but doesn't have anything tower to tower i.e it's not triangulated. Also, they have shocks and not struts. Like I said, I'm not being a smart-a, do they do it just because people expect something?

 

Yes. Just like 19 and 20" wheels with 14" drilled rotors on a street car. People expect it.

Toyota put a strut tower bar in the AE-92 Corollas from the factory, and (hard to imagine but true) they actually tied it to the firewall to provide triangulation (something no conventional strut/shock tower bar has) and increase chassis rigidity. This is how it's done if you really want to do something useful. The bars running across the top do very little to assist reducing chassis flex, especially the ones with pivot bolts in them. They resist very little. See pic below for how the bar should be connected to really work (funny how those factory guys can get something so simple so right):

 

I was wondering if the company on this website www.juntw.com had legit products because i was interested in their 6 piece performance strut bars, but i'm not sure if it is worth the investment and if they will work or not

 

I would love to have bigger sway bars, would like to decrease body roll without changing the ride quality.

 

I noticed that you havent lowered the car yet, once you do that it'll feel like day and night. I just lowered mines a 3wks ago and as soon as I was done it was so much more fun to drive and just felt a lot better.

 

The front strut bars I've used are made of lightweight aluminum alloy, probably weighing around 5 lbs max. each. I have heard many people over the years say that strut tower bars don't work, but for me, I did notice an improvement in steering responsiveness. Is it a huge, incredible, "oh my god why didn't they put this on when they made it" kind of difference......no it isn't. However, anytime you reduce front tub flex, you improve the tire/ground contact potential.