Andy111

What is the difference in the driving feel between the base RWD GS350 and the F Sport RWD? Is the F Sport more stiffer and not as comfortable? Is the F Sport more of a manual transmission type?

spwolf

more feel, less comfort, but not necessarily bad comfort.... according to the reviews.

But at the same time, all the reviews say that regular GS350 already handles well.

Rexus300

iTrader: (1)

My 2011 BMW 535i xdrive with run flats and the sports version while nice around town get unsettling on bad roads and irregular highways and create vibration and stiff rides. I had to replace my runflats on my base 535i and it did improve the car. I drove the sports and was impressed with steering but the ride is terrible. The new GS will definitely be a great ride even in sports version that will keep the car planted, sharp handling and control while keeping the ride comfortable with some small firmness. Its a great balance as some of the Lexus dealer managers told me compared to the 5 series which compromises a bit too much in certain aspect. My 2011 5 has been sold as I did not like the way it rode and felt at times. I do enjoy my 2008 3 series coupe better right now.

flipside909

There are pretty considerable differences between the regular and F-Sport model. The F Sport's suspension is pretty spot on as far as sportiness and agility. It is a little harder in dampening than the regular GS but it is very compliant. The F Sport does benefit from having better steering and suspension feel, as well as the addition of 19" wheels and summer tires. The transmissions are the same across the board for all the GS 350s. They all throttle blip upon downshift via paddle or gear shift and they all have the same great intake sound. The F Sport does have a different front bumper and different interior trim pieces. If you get the loaded F Sport with the Lexus Dynamic Handling Suspension w/Rear Steer, you will get increased shock dampening when going into Sport + mode along with increased steering feel and increased transmission and throttle response.. Its not clear if Lexus is going to package Adaptive Variable Suspension without the rear steer. I personally believe they should, but it would be a bummer if its a take it or leave it kind of thing.

Brian@Vossen

Another key option on the f sport is the rear active yaw control. It is not standard it's another option on top the F sport package.

jtrue28

So the question is, did Lexus fix the issues with F-Sport parts and the AWD version? You can't buy F-Sport shocks for the 3GS, so have they designed the parts differently or designed the AWD differently to allow for lowering and better road feel? Would suck to get an AWD F-Sport and still have the shakes from trying to lower an AWD model. We already know that they won't stagger the wheels on the AWD (obvious reasons), so what else do the AWD people get screwed out of??

spwolf

uh, dont make mistake equating lexus backed accessory with factory suspension. F-Sport accessories for 3GS have nothing to do with 4GS factory F-sport kit.

rominl

iTrader: (4)

agreed. fsport is factory from japan. if they have fsport awd, it should be all good

jtrue28

Sorry, that's where I'm confused. I assumed the F-Sport parts for the 3GS were "Lexus" parts, thus why my dealership would install them. So the 4GS F-Sport parts are truly Lexus Japan and not some 3rd party vendor being painted blue and re-badged? That's good to know....thanks for the correction.

jtrue28

Also, that being said, it seems as if this is all done in the factory, why couldn't they adjust the AWD gears to compensate for staggered wheels? Not possible, or not enough future sales to justify the R&D?

Joe Z

iTrader: (10)

Yeup.. the entire "Lexus F-Sport Accessory" Program for current IS and GS is a product of Lexus/TRD USA...

Lexus Japan doesn't even sell these F-Sport Accessory parts...

Lexus Japan instead liked the USA program soo much, that they launched an in house factory backed "F-Sport Package" Program..

Which has made its way onto the current IS, CT, LS and now upcoming 4GS..

~ Joe Z

rominl

iTrader: (4)

you CAN run staggered wheels on awd. absolutely zero problems, as long as you keep the front and rear overall diameters close. there are plenty of gs and is awd people running staggered. plenty of ls600hl people running staggered. and also look at all the audi quattro, bmw xdrive, and mb 4matic that people run staggered on.

jtrue28

Oh, I know you can, but the fact that Lexus doesn't recommend it, begs the question, why?

rominl

iTrader: (4)

i think it's just the same as other companies, don't think they recommend staggered. i can see how companies tune their cars and it's probably better off with non-staggered for normal use.

you think see it's somewhat the same for rwd. for example the 3gs, when it came out there was no fsport anything, it's just simple non-staggered setup. they didn't recommend staggered and i am sure if you asked them then, they wouldn't recommend. well, nothing has changed on the car, but in later years staggered fsport setup appeared for the 3gs.

flipside909

Factory F Sport Package is not related to F Sport Accessory Parts. Same idea (performance).

This is factory packaged F-Sport currently available for 2nd Gen IS, 1st Gen CT and upcoming 4th Gen GS, these packages are available in all world markets for Lexus. This is how Lexus will be branding their "Sport" model variants. Instead of loosely calling it a "Sport Package", its now officially an "F-Sport Package. Expect to see this expand into future Lexus models:




This is F-Sport Accessories are Lexus backed "aftermarket" accessory parts available for the current 2nd Gen IS, 3rd Gen GS, 2nd Gen LX by TRD USA. These parts are exported to Canada and Australia:




There is more to compensating for staggered wheels on an AWD model. Yes you can put staggered wheels on an AWD car. The reason why Lexus does not recommend it is because the safety systems (VDIM, VSC, TRAC, ABS) and gearing are calibrated specifically for non staggered tires. Because the AWD gearing is very precise, throwing the wheel rotation off by just a few rotations will damage the front and rear transaxles. The AWD setup is a lot more complicated than just throwing on parts and calling it a day. Subaru is a great example...it's not recommended by the factory to just replace one tire, the tire replacement should be replaced in pairs because its important for the front set or rear set of wheels to turn at the same rate, same goes for many AWD setups out there.