allst4r

iTrader: (7)

damn i need to wait until swells has the sway bar for 158 again.

Nezumi

Let me know how you like it Although I'm not sure how much Lexus of Austin charged ya. Next time, just borrow my tools and do it yourself

syzygy

My 3 word review of F-sport sway bars (front and rear, instead of just rear as originally planned) - Ho-Ly-****

I am just awe-struck at the difference. I did a few runs along 2222, in slightly wet weather no less (why did it have to rain today) and the sway bars are absolutely ****ing amazing.

The car is far more planted around corners, far more planted, it's literally a night and day difference if you engage in any sort of "spirited" driving.

Even with "semi"-spirited driving one should notice a huge difference.

Body roll is severely diminished, it's absolutely mind boggling how good these F sport sways are.

Edit: By the way, this is important - I have an IS350 (2009). The F sport sway bar upgrades appear to influence IS250s and IS350s differently, as indicated by some of the responses in this thread. Upgrading to F-sport sways for the IS350 is absolutely worth every penny. I can't comment on the IS250.


Haha man I'm going to get crucified here on CL when people realize what I was willing to pay the "stealer"-ship to install sway bars. I paid the full $495 (for brand new front and rear sways) + labor + tax = $750

Could I have installed these for less if I did the installation myself or went elsewhere? I'm almost 100% sure I could have, but I'm a little bit OCD when it comes to installing parts on my car. I prefer the peace of mind that comes with having the dealership do these sorts of installations.

gocubs08

Glad you are happy, I really wonder how much difference the front bar makes, I wonder if there is anyone with a 350 that had a rear only and then added the front later, probably not. For me the rear was night and day, so I imagine adding the front would be even better... Like I said before, why did they not install this thicker bar stock for the 350? I bet it would have made a difference in sales when people drove the 350 and other similar cars like BMW etc... I feel like it now handles as good as the 335i! I've driven both and always liked the way the 335i felt better, but now I prefer my 350 by far!

pli

iTrader: (1)

man, gocubs08. if you're really telling me that the feel is similar to a 335i, im getting really excited now. why must you tempt me! my sways are currently on its way. hopefully it comes in tomorrow.

syzygy

I completely agree. I am in fact also coming from a 335i coupe which I only had to give up due to incessant fuel pump failure (from a reliability standpoint, I realized I couldn't deal with a 335i at this point in time) so I switched to what I thought was the most comparable vehicle - the IS350. The IS350 proved to be a virtual equal to the 335i in a straight line, but the story was a little bit different when it came to curves.

I've always said that stock for stock the 335i handles clearly handles better than the IS350.

I have to say, with these sway bars installed, the IS350 is identical if not better than a stock 335i.

If I had to rate handling capabilities, I'd rate it as follows

Stock IS350 = 7.0
Stock 335i = 8.5
IS350 w/F-sport sways = 9.0

I'm also about to change my tires to Michelin Pilot Sport PS2s (from the OEM turanza EL42s) which I suspect can (and will) help handling capabilities even more.

I don't think the front sway bars would make too much of a difference. I figure you are good to go with just the rear sways. The only reason I got the front sways as well was because my local dealership was only able to order sway bars as a package (front + rear).

syzygy

Oh and also important, I completely forgot to mention that understeer is severely diminished as well.

Nezumi

Yep I pretty much agree with everything you said. Rainy weather today sucked, but car still handles great

Raralith

Hey ya'll, first time poster here, and I'm really glad for all the information provided on these forums, just some great stuff. I just bought a CPO 08 IS 350 less than two weeks ago, and I finally had a chance to take a fun night drive on the LA freeways. I finished off a nice sprint around the city and finished on the 110N ending in Pasadena, and overall, I'm also not too impressed with the stock sway bars. Guess it's time to buy an F-sport sway bar, and see how it handles on another free night.

gocubs08

Like we all say in this thread, night and day difference.

ilv1004s

iTrader: (8)

is it possible to fit
350 sways on to 250?

gocubs08

I dont see why not? I thought they were the same part numbers anyways 06-08' I think the only difference is if you have the AWD IS250.. Both RWD vehicles are the same

Kurtz

iTrader: (1)

F-sport bars are the same for 250 and 350 (both RWD) if that's what you mean.

If you mean the factory bars...really, just get the F-sports.

flowrider

iTrader: (9)

^^^^The standard sway bars for all ISX50 RWD Sedans are also all the same.

Lou

brociouz

iTrader: (65)

Yes, the stock/OEM front IS350 sway bar is a great upgrade for IS250 RWD owners. It will give you almost identical gains to the F-Sport front sway, for a fraction of the cost. The trouble is that many IS350 owners know the front is waste of money, so only get the rear F-Sport sway and thus you don't see many used IS350 front sways for sale. For the rear on an IS250 RWD, you might as well get the F-Sport though.

That's wrong. They are definitely different. If they were the same, the values for IS250 RWD and IS350 RWD would be identical in the chart below. You'll also see in the chart below how small of a different the F-Sport front sway makes on an IS350. I don't think anyone will notice a 6.3% change in stiffness. The only reason I can think of for getting an F-Sport front sway on an IS350 is to be a brand *****, because you're OCD and/or you have so much money you don't care.