so on both the sport package and the 460L there is an adjustable air suspension with "sport, normal, and comfort" settings.

just wondering how different the handling is in the sport modes between the two cars.

if anyone has driven both or has any articles comparing the two, or general info it would be greatly appreciated.

cheers.

ps: i know there is no substitute for driving both of them, but its going to be very difficult to get this done any time soon, so in the meantime was hoping some of my curiosity could be tempered.

 

i think lexus claims that the sport has sport tuned suspension, so maybe even with the same setting, the sport is a little sportier.

also, the sport is short wheel base, so i would expect it to handle better as well by default

 

i have yet to drive a sport... im just worried that i will love the better tranny and jump on it

 

The sport is completely different than any other lexus 460. They have tried to make a true sport car and have come very close. The only issue I have are the brembo brakes, they tend to make a squealing noise and Lexus has no good resolution at this point.
Good Luck JG

 

I've driven an L and I had a Sport and the Sport suspension is noticeably tighter.

 

Why did you give up the Sport?

 

Because of the brakes. The Brembo's on the front worked great in terms of stopping and fade but after I had the originals replaced at about 15k miles, the brakes squealed like crazy when slowing to a stop (no squealing with the original brakes). Lexus replaced them again and they still squealed. To make a very long story short, Lexus had no fix and they offered me a deal to get out of the 2010 Sport and into a 2011 SWB with the ML option with advanced parking assist. I really loved the way the Sport drove and handled (the sport suspension and tighter transmission shift points) but couldn't stand the squealing so I took the deal after some haggling. Ultimately, my dealership stepped up to the plate much more than Lexus corporate to make the deal happen.

The standard SWB is a nice car, just not what I wanted in terms of handling.

 

sounds like they didn't really know how to do the pads right and bed them in correctly

 

After they replaced the brakes for a second time, I questioned them at length about the bed in procedure they followed and they assured me that they did it by the book. I even talked to their lead Diagnostic Technician directly and he said that he did the bed in procedure himself. He told me what he did and it sounded like it was exactly the way high performance brakes are supposed to be handled after installation.

At the end of the day, who knows if that's really what was done or if the were merely covering their a**. Kind of sad that Lexus would build a car with a really nice compromise sport option package and then not know anything about the brakes. Dealing with them on the Brembo's was like dealing with the Keystone Cops.

 

don't get me wrong, i totally feel your pain. i have dealt with tons of bbk myself, did run into wrong bedding and the headache afterward were costly and painful

at the same time, since your first set of pads were ok from factory, my guess is if done right it should be ok. though it could be pretty tricky. i think i also read about some isf owners talking about brake noise

 

[QUOTE=rominl;6724000]don't get me wrong, i totally feel your pain. i have dealt with tons of bbk myself, did run into wrong bedding and the headache afterward were costly and painful

at the same time, since your first set of pads were ok from factory, my guess is if done right it should be ok. though it could be pretty tricky. i think i also read about some isf owners talking about brake noise[/QUOTE

Thanks for the kind thoughts. Although they wouldn't admit it to me, I think that Lexus made some change from the original brakes to the replacement parts. That is what I got out of one of the conversations with their Regional Service Manager. I think they had some minor complaints on brake noise with the 2010 original parts and made the change (maybe at the recommendation from Brembo) thinking that it would improve the situation. Obviously it didn't.

They also wouldn't agree to warranty anything I did myself unless it was the Lexus approved part and that had the squeal. It kind of left me between a rock and a hard place and that's why I ultimately caved and exchanged the car even though I never would have bought the standard SWB originally. I don't want to come across as complaining about the standard SWB which is a fine car - it's just not what I wanted coming out of my BMW 550i Sport.

 

Thanks. I have a 2012 Sport on order.

 

reminds me of when I didn't properly bed in my Endless brakes on my previous car. I wanted to punch myself in the face.

 

By "thanks", I mean thank you for the reason you gave up your Sport. I hope squeaking doesn't become an issue with me.

 

No problem. Good luck with the 2012 Sport. Hopefully, you won't have the brake squeal at all. Maybe they figured the problem out after 2 model years with the option package. The car really does drive and handle great. Not a sports car by any means but much sportier than the standard SWB.