FSportIS

iTrader: (13)

Instead of doing a regular long review, I will do it with questions/answers format. Without further ado, let's do this.

F Sport FRONT & REAR SWAY BARS COMBO questions:
1. Is the F Sport FRONT sway bar worth it if I already have the F Sport rear sway bar installed? Why?
YES! FOR SURE!!!!
3 main benefits:
A. You will experience and FEEL SIGNIFICANTLY LESS BODY ROLL. Specifically, in high way lane changing, almost no body roll is present. In tight corner or U-turn, you will feel a lot less body roll. Under heavy braking and cornering where all the weight is transferred to the front, the difference in body roll between front + rear vs. rear sway bar is VERY OBVIOUS right here.
B. STEERING becomes MUCH MORE NEUTRALIZED. You will experience less of fish-tail oversteering with the F Sport rear sway bar only.
C. The car is more BALANCED and PLANTED so you can enter and exit the corner at a higher speed which leads you faster lap times if you ever autocross/track. Before with just the F Sport rear sway bar only, the front still has some body roll especially under heavy braking where weight is transferred up front, the 2 outside tires stick more to the ground while the 2 inner tires has less traction due to the lift (which is due to body roll). That issue is solved once you add the F Sport front sway bar in to compliment with the F Sport rear sway bar.

2. Can I just upgrade with F Sport front sway bar only withOUT the rear?
NO! Unless you want to to have more understeering. You should have both front and rear upgrade or just the rear upgrade. Front only is plain dumb.

3. Are the F Sport sway bars the same for both RWD and AWD. How about different years?
NO! They are different in specs and part numbers. Please see the chart below. Regarding years, I believe 06-09 IS sway bars are different than 10-13 IS. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

F Sport REAR SWAY BAR ONLY questions:
1. What is one of the best bang for the buck handling upgrade to IS?
F Sport rear sway bar! IMO, it is the BEST upgrade for this car, a MUST HAVE if you ever care about handling.

2. What benefit do we have with F Sport rear sway bar only?
When you corner, you will experience SIGNIFICANTLY LESS BODY ROLL even on stock suspension. Not only is UNDERSTEERING SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCED to almost none, you will also have SOME OVERSTEERING tendency. You can then powerfully spin the rear tires while turning with proper counter steering to power drift easily especially on the IS350. It is fun to do but power oversteer will tear up your rear tires and not a fast way around the track. It looks cool though.

3. How much handling improvement do you actually mean?
You CAN FEEL it. It is a day and night difference is what I mean when i used the word "significant".

4. Does the F Sport rear sway bar improve handling more on the IS350 or more on the IS250?
In my actual experience testing it on my IS250 2012 and IS350 2006, the improvement is EXACTLY the SAME! Also, the STOCK rear sway bar on both my cars are exactly the same, and the F SPORT rear sway bars are also exactly the same.

5. Follow up with (4), why did Lexus website show different stiffness improvement numbers for the rear sway bar on IS250 and IS350?
I don't know why but I think it is a typo or error because stock sway bars are the same and F Sport sway bars are also the same. I'm referring to rear wheel drive (RWD).

6. Any tips in installing this?
A difficult issue some members including me experience is the rear end links being stuck especially if your IS is in the older year. I bought a completely new end links for my IS350 06 from www.sewellparts.com

6. Is the F Sport rear sway bar the same on RWD and AWD?
NO. They are different in specs and have different part numbers. Please refer to the chart below made by CL member "flowrider" (Lou) long time ago.

redspencer

iTrader: (1)

I'm glad to hear that you were able to pick up that F-Sport front sway bar that you were keeping tabs on. Yes, I also agree that getting the F-Sport front sway bar is worth the improvement in handling performance which you've noted.

flowrider

iTrader: (9)

I'm glad you found my chart useful

Lou

jonathanz

iTrader: (2)

I have a 2012 IS250 AWD, i'm looking to purchase the rear only but after reading your reviews, which now making want to purchase front and rear! damn!!! should i hate you or heart you? haha

Sffd103

iTrader: (16)

I completely agree with your comments. I had both front and rear F Sport sways and it felt completely better thank stock.

ChickenIS

iTrader: (1)

Sway bars rule.

LP817

iTrader: (1)

Thanks for this post! Im waiting on my rear sway bar to come in from sewell and will be installing it soon.

Gville350

iTrader: (10)

Still rocking just the rear; I think it favors my driving style more. But who knows, maybe I'll pull the trigger on a front one down the road.

sw2oboi

iTrader: (12)

LOL just the rears does make it more fun with some over steer.

Gville350

iTrader: (10)

Yes, if you remove the T/C! But I DD with it on...so I really don't get much, only on rare occasions.

tnoice

I have a 2013 IS350 AWD and finally completed the front and rear f-sport sway bar combination. I completed the rear a few months ago and finally got around to doing the front. It made a major difference installing the front for the better, but it was a monster install. Especially with only jackstands, be prepared, as it claimed a few knuckles and elicited a few not so nice words. They torqued the bajeezious out of all of those bolts. WD40 is your friend.

It was well worth the hassle though.

4TehNguyen

iTrader: (1)

get some ramps, way better than jackstands for jobs that dont require removing the tires.

huyz13

hi, you mentioned the chart has part #'s but I don't see them. I'm looking for the part number for '09 IS250 AWD F sport rear sway bar. great guide and info for a newbie btw.

thanks in advance

EDIT: i rephrased my question in the official F sport sway bar thread.

Mattstermh

Do the f sport sway bars work on the regular is250 awd?

flowrider

iTrader: (9)

^^^^No, when originally introduced the package with the rear bar only was for AWD vehicles. Later on, a special package was introduced for the AWD IS with unique sizes. Not many AWD kits were sold and they are very rare.

Lou