redspencer

iTrader: (1)

If you had to choose between one or the other, I would recommend getting the F&R sway bars first. The chassis brace would help fine-tune your setup once the majority of your suspension/handling upgrades are done.

davidbusta

iTrader: (1)

My front and rear f-sport sways just arrived today and I installed them today. The install was straight forward and simple but them bolts they were tight. Once I finished the install I drove around quickly and the difference was night and day. Best mod I have done so far. Even on stock suspension it felt really great. 10/10 recommend

Myang1995

what did you install them on? I have an 06’ is350 rwd and am wondering do i need to buy new bushings for the rear?

davidbusta

iTrader: (1)

what you mean what i installed them on? Everything that was needed for me came in the box. I ordered them online at a Lexus dealer. What was in the box was both the bars and 2 pairs of bushing(4 in total). 2 for each bar

Myang1995

sorry i meant what year and model exactly did you install the sway bars on? And i was asking because i bought a used rear sway bar, tbh i cant remember if i got the bushings with them or not. So was wondering if i had to upgrade the bushings as well. I heard somewhere you need a different size. But ive been doing a lot of reading on this and everyone says something different lol

davidbusta

iTrader: (1)

I have a 2006 is350 RWD like yours. I’m not 100% sure but I don’t think you can reuse your stock bushings. Because the f sport sway bar is thicker than the stock one. maybe you can still reuse them, if I remember correctly they have similar shape but the hole should be bigger for the f sport ones. PTR02-53084 is the part number for f sport bushing

Myang1995

one more question, if you know the answer to it. I bought mine from a 2011 isf. Should fit no problem right?

davidbusta

iTrader: (1)

ohh its not the f sport sway, that part number i put in my last post is not for the ISF sway bar. to answer your question yes it should fit

Myang1995

Th

is is what i bought.

davidbusta

iTrader: (1)

okay that looks like the f sport sway bar since its blue. i guess the ISF owner you got it from upgraded his rear sway. since the f sport rear sway is better than the stock isf one. so yeah that part number is correct.

Myang1995

so i may or may not need the new bushings then? Lol other than that should be direct fit?

davidbusta

iTrader: (1)

just make sure you dont have the bushings because on the right side below the black bar that kind of looks like a bushing. if he didn’t include bushings then yes you need to order new bushings. Other than that you should be good

Myang1995

okay thanks a lot man

350360

Ordered the f-sport sways a few days ago. Got them in yesterday, installed today.

It took me a while to get used to the new handling geometry. It responds way differently with the front and rear f-sport sways. A little more tail happy but predictable progressive slide not a sudden jerk like before. The body roll would cause a really uneven sudden and drastic slide before.

My entry speed on my favorite corners is higher. Much higher on some than others. But the part that really stood out is the point at which I could start accelerating through the turn. It just sits in there on the corner and grips so I can accelerate much harder at the apex. It takes some getting used to. But now I HAVE to get the f-sport springs and shocks/struts.

I also noticed that my car sits a bit higher. Maybe due to the new high strength bushings? Anyone else notice that after the install?

redspencer

iTrader: (1)

I posted this on my IS350 track car build thread ( https://www.clublexus.com/forums/bui...ld-thread.html ) but I figured I'd share my experience on this F-Sport sway bar thread as well. Over the weekend, I had the opportunity to install the front and rear F-Sport sway bars on another IS350 that I have (a black 2014 IS350C) and that project took significantly longer than I expected (especially with previous experience on the F-Sport sway bars swap being a piece of cake on my silver IS350 sedan). On the plus side, I did marvel at what I had found underneath the chassis of the convertible.

Below is my experience on the ISC F-Sport sway bars install and what I noted on the differences between the IS350 sedan and convertible models.

- First thing first was raising the front end of the IS350C:



- Here are the two new F-Sport sway bars on standby (nice and clean):



- What I immediately noticed when I first looked underneath the IS350C were the number of aero panels and additional bracing which were used to increase the rigidity of the convertible model. In fact, a lot of the bracing and aero panels on the IS350C reminds me of the under chassis bracing and panels found on the 3rd Gen IS models.



- I recall an interview from a Lexus rep when the 3rd Gen IS was making its debut and it was touted that the fins implemented on the aero panels were derived from Formula One technology (which greatly increase stability at high speeds). It looks like these aero panels with fins also exist on the 2nd Gen IS Convertible model (at least for the 2014MY).





- Besides having to pull out all of the screws and fasteners on the large panel up front (in order to access the front sway bar), I did notice two additional side panels that I don't recall having on my IS350 sedan. It also looks like it is used for aero purposes.



- After an hour or so from beginning the project, all three front panels were removed and put to the side:



- Removing the original sway bar up front was an easy task. Here are the old and new front sway bars next to one another. Though I didn't get to measure the diameter of both front sway bars, there is a very noticeable weight difference between the two as the F-Sport front sway bar is much heavier than the stock front sway bar (Lexus F-Sport brochure states the F-Sport front sway bar for the IS350 Convertible is 30mm and increases stiffness by 100% over the original front sway bar.



- Here is the front F-Sport sway bar on the IS350C before I reattach the three front panels.



- When I began working on the rear of the IS350C, the instructions informed me that multiple braces had to be removed and/or loosened before the rear sway bar can be removed. Here is a pic of some of the bracing used in the rear of the IS Convertible which stretches across the rear subframe.



- The instructions also mandated that you use a jack or transmission lift on the rear suspension in order to keep the suspension components secured as critical bracings are removed from both the left and right sides of the rear. The diagram provided on the instructions was not well drawn which took me longer than I wanted to determine where exactly I had to secure the rear suspension. I finally figured out the exact spot after reviewing what rear suspension section could lose alignment as I removed a few of the chassis bracing on the car.



- After another hour or two, the rear braces and panels that needed to be removed were off of the car.



- As you can see, the stock rear sway bar on the IS350C is quite narrow compared to the rear F-Sport sway bar. Lexus states that the F-Sport rear sway bar used for the IS350C is 19mm and will increase stiffness by a substantial 300% over stock. Based on how scrawny and lightweight the stock rear sway bar was compared to the heft and thickness of the rear F-Sport sway bar, I wouldn't doubt it (especially with my observation that the stock IS350C is noticeably more prone to roll than a stock IS350 sedan).



- Another challenge I had with the removal and install of the rear sway bars on the IS350C compared to the IS350 sedan was how tight the clearances were to getting the old sway bar off and the new sway bar on. It required the loosening of the exhaust hangers on the driver side as well as loosening other under chassis braces in order to finally swap out the rear sway bars. Nonetheless, there was a light at the end of the tunnel and the rear F-Sport sway bar was finally installed (though it did receive a few scrapes as it was a pain to get it across the under chassis of the ISC).




That was one experience I don't ever want to go through again (at least with the convertible model). On the plus side, the handling characteristics of the IS350C with the F-Sport sway bars are immediately noticeable and significantly more confidence-inspiring when engaging in the corners. With the stock sway bars, not only was there a lot of roll and front plow understeer, when you tried to return back to neutral, the convertible felt very unstable. With the new sway bars, the IS350 Convertible has substantially less body roll and helps to maintain traction and suspension geometry with the tires under load. Though the install process was much more of a challenge than what I originally expected, the end results were worth it.

On a side note, I do wonder if the aero panels on the IS350C are compatible with the IS350 sedan. If so, that would be a great breakthrough as I believe aero panels on the USDM 2IS350s are non-existent (they do exist on the JDM versions though). The braces used on the IS350C would also be a great addition to an IS350 sedan but it would likely require body work in order to properly secure these braces underneath the chassis of the sedan model.