Mine was a T30 that connected to a socket wrench. Not much effort needed, try that if the screwdriver isnt working.

 

Thanks a lot. The guide really helped. Finally got around doing this today after having the damper sit around in my garages for a couple of months. Drove around the block a little bit, dont really notice much that much of a difference. Maybe ill feel it more later on.

 

I cant tell the difference after driving the car for a day now. Hopefully that will change because i dont need a $26 paperweight.

 

well, I installed it this afternoon ... it wasn't as easy for me as some of you here. To get the T30 screws off, I need to use something with more leverage than a screwdriver type. Also, I can't get one of the screw to go in all the way (the screw hole seems to be not threaded right or something).

Anyways, after an hour or so, I drive around and don't feel much difference. Do you guys feel differences at very bumpy road or slightly bumpy?

 

I have driven over three months since I installed the dampener, and I can say all it does is dampen the vibrations just a little more than without it. How much more? it all depends on your keen sense of touch. I drive still with a soft leatherette steering wheel cover and I still feel every bump on the road. However, during long drives my hands don't hurt from the vibrations that I endure in my Toyota RAV4 05. Bottom line...was it worth the $30(with shipping) Yes because it does limit the vibrations as advertise., and no because I know there are other cars without this add-on material that actually drive with very little or no vibrations on the steering wheel.

I don't know why Lexus not just put this on their cars originally; its thirty dollars retail.

A friend of mine has this dampener put on his car as well and since he put a new set of tires, he says he barely feels any vibrations now.

 

I've had mine installed for 1k miles or so. It is noticeably smoother/less vibration. My car rides on 20's so this was a nice cheap mod to improve the ride quality.

 

I think this proves my point that this only benefits people who have altered the ride or height of their ride.

I cannot tell at all on my stock IS350.

 

Great write-up and thread. I ordered the kit online from Sewell (about $32 after shipping) and I got it installed in about 10 minutes. Haven't driven it enough to notice anything really, but just the fact that it was designed and built means it must do something. lol

 

Looks like the part is still $26 from sewell. Has anyone used lexuspartsnow.com? they also seem to have a lot of the same parts as sewell and some are cheaper....

 

I am thinking about getting it but i noticed some people said not to bother disconnecting the battery to install this part...

so i was wondering how many of you did or did not disconnect the battery?

If you do disconnect the battery what all, if anything, needs to be reprogramed? (radio, window auto up?)

 

It takes literally two seconds to disconnect the battery, might as well IMO. The chances of something going wrong from not doing so are slim, but better safe than sorry. You have to reset the windows, your clock and sometimes nav region. I think the radio stations actually stay programmed correctly.

 

Just installed the damper today. My steering wheel feels too sensitive and would jerk after going over bumps. This helped lessen those shakes. I bought tools just to install this. LOL

I didn't see any pics of the airbag plugs, so I'll post them here.

 

yeah, that plug gave me some trouble too. Some tab needs to be released before unplugging it.

 

I just installed the damepr in my car. Other than the f sport sway bars my suspension is stock. After installing the sways there was more road vibrations being sent to the steering wheel. The damper basically returned the vibration levels to what they were before the sway bar install. Good mod that took less than 10 min to do

 

Just did my damper today after having installed the F Sport sway bars. Even on stock suspension i can definitely tell that it is absorbing some of the vibration over uneven road surfaces.

A little tip for anyone trying to use the 30 torx screwdriver, the airbag bolts are on really tight so use a 1/4" wratchet and extension instead. Also when you remove the orange and black connectors from the airbag you must first pry up the yellow tabs in the middle, then the connectors come right out.