A_Grasso

iTrader: (13)

Thanks guys. I guess I have to buy the front now too!

lexusmt

Has anyone installed front and rear swaybars on the IS 350C? Any tips would be helpful.

Thanks

doornik

Had an f-sport rear sway bar installed in my 2006 IS350 today. Fantastic!

Took my car for a drive on Laureless Grade in Monterey before and after. It was a wet misty morning.

Before: big time understeer required continuous correction to keep a line in a turn. Felt insecure in curves over 60mph. A lot of body lean.

After: slight understeer, drove where I pointed it, minimal correction to hold a turn. Also less body lean. I was able to accelerate in the turns and even on the damp pavement the stability control did NOT kick in.

Don't waste money on a front bar. The main handling problem with the IS 350 is understeer. The rear bar corrects that. Stiffer spings would help, but I still want Lexus comfort. I have a Honda s2000 as my weekend driver for a total road feel experience.

As far as the ride is concerned, it feels exactly the same as stock on paved streets and the freeway. It feels a little rougher on uneven country roads.

Bought the bar online for $224 including shipping and tax in California. My tire shop installed it for $50.

Best wishes and safe driving!

lexusmt

I answered my own question regarding front and rear swaybar install for an IS 350C. The included instructions were really clear, just time consuming. The front swaybar goes on as with any IS 350. Lots of screws to remove the engine covers, plus three darts. It helps to have a trim removal two. Took about 2 hours including putting vehicle on jackstands and removing the wheels.

The rear takes about 2-3 hours. Unlike the 15 minute installs that others have had, there are additional body supports that block access to the swaybar brackets and endlinks. Three supports have to be disconnected, along with the driver's side muffler from the rubber hanger. You also need to support the transmission with a floor jack. Remove the wheels, as that will give you more working room. Treat the swaybar endlinks with PB Blast. Our vehicle is relatively new, but the nuts were frozen. I needed a 6 mm allen wrench and a ratching combination wrench to remove the nut. Make note, or better yet take a photo of the location of the swaybar before removal. Unlike the non-convertible, this bar is jammed between support members. Removal is not that hard, but feeding the new bar in requires a lot of maneuvering. I removed and installed from the driver's side. You may want to delay putting on the passenger side bushing until the bar is in place. Reassembly is a piece of cake after the swaybar is installed. Once the endlink has been tightened, it was not difficult to place a torque wrench on the nut to obtain the proper torque. A couple of the support bolts are not accessible to a torque wrench without a crowsfoot. I just tighten with a combination wrench.

I also wondered about whether there was a difference between the convertible with the space saver tire and the run-flat tires in trunk clearance. There is none.

I'm looking forward to getting rid of the Lexus body roll.

ISF4life

iTrader: (30)

installed front sway bar today, noticed front a bit stiffer definitely feel a bit better ...





comparing the oem sway and the fsport sway ... the oem is lighter... hollow inside fsport is solid steel bar....

stock sway bar :P

brociouz

iTrader: (65)

^ So you went from the F-Sport rear sway bar only to the complete set? Would you say it's worth the $250-$300 for the front?

ISF4life

iTrader: (30)

absolutely is worth it.... i'm going to take some more test run this sunday on the twisted roads and find out 258$ shipped from sewell

brociouz

iTrader: (65)

^ Good to know, I guess I won't be cancelling my order then. I'll post my thoughts in here too.

ISF_GG

iTrader: (2)

I've put aftermarket front and rear sway bars on virtually every car I've ever owned. There is a reason they make upgraded aftermarket "front" sway bars......................they actually do make a difference.
I've had my car up over 125mph many times, on a twisty high speed road, and the handling is amazing (with both Fsport bars) compared to what it was with stock bars, or with only the rear Fsport bar. With stock bars, my IS350 felt very loose, and uncomfortable hitting 100mph on the same road.
If you're driving mostly in the city, or under 80mph, the rear bar upgrade should be enough for the average driver. If you enjoy really pushing the limits once in a while, then do yourself a favor, and get the front Fsport sway bar too.

oblivionis

iTrader: (2)

Rear sway bar truly is a 30 minute job... IF your car is relatively new and the bolts on the sway bar links come right off. Not the case with my 2006. I ended up removing the sway bar links along with the sway bar and fighting the bolts with WD40, a torch, wire brush and a steady back and forth. It was so hard to take them off that at one point I was about to just put the OEM bar back on. The hex key was useless. It just stripped. So I used vice grips and grabbed the bolt from behind the bar. 3 hours later and I have my F-Sport sway bar on. I'll drive the car tomorrow to see if it was all worth it. I already have springs and higher offset wheels so I'm not expecting too much of an improvement.

oblivionis

iTrader: (2)

It was worth it. A big difference when cornering.

brociouz

iTrader: (65)

Thanks for your detailed feedback. I guess I feel a little better about selling the front F-Sport sway bar I just bought since I rarely go over 85 MPH.

StpdSavant

I will be purchasing the front/rear kit, but I've heard a lot of people mention that it was difficult to get the endlink bolts off. Should I also purchase replacement endlinks and bolts in addition to the sway bar kit? Does anyone know the correct part numbers?

Kurtz

iTrader: (1)

I had no problem with mine, but only had about 10k miles on the car at the time, and southern car... if you live in the rust belt and your car is 4-5 years old you might have some issues.

calvin2376

iTrader: (2)

What year/mileage is your car? It's really only difficult to get the endlink nuts off if it's an older car that's had time to acquire some rust. My 2007 IS350 with 56k miles had enough to make it impossible to get the nuts off, I had to Dremel them off.

You shouldn't need to buy replacement endlinks, but I would recommend having a set of nuts that fit just in case. I ended up having to remove the endlinks along with the sway bar (I'm only talking about the rear, I didn't do the front) to get better access and leverage. I ended up having to saw the nuts off the bolts, but the endlinks and bolts were fine - just needed to throw on new nuts. Unfortunately I can't provide you the size or part number or anything, but I can say the nuts needn't be anything special, just the right size ones from a Home Depot for example.