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Wondering if any here have installed a strut tower bar on their 3RX and how steering, front body sway and ride felt after installation. Surprised that the 3RX F-Sport does come with a couple of lower body stiffeners but not the strut bar.
A strut tower bar does little for handling, it may make the body stiffer on some lesser quality vehicles, but not a front wheel drive based chassis like the RX which is already beefed up to support the front wheel drive system and Lexus crash worthiness etc.
There are some parts from Ultra Racing and Hard Race, but the front is so stiff on this vehicle that it would not make much difference. Ultra Racing has a front strut tower bar but only for the right hand drive models is the indent for the brake fluid reservoir is on the wrong side.
If you want to improve handling just install Bilstein B6 struts and shocks and maybe the Hard Race rear sway bar.
FYI and this has been covered many times, here are the Bilstein B6 part numbers: The B6 is a bit stiffer than the B4 model and will improve handling while still riding better than Lexus OEM struts and shocks.
Bilstein B6 Front Struts: 22-282729 and 22-282736 and these are officially listed for the 2010 Toyota Highlander
Bilstein B6 Rear Shocks (both are the same) 24-282901 and these are officially listed for the 2015 Toyota Highlander
Many members have these struts and shocks and they are a vast improvement over the OEM Lexus stuff from Tokico, especially if you have an F-Sport.
Last edited by Clutchless; Mar 3, 2026 at 09:18 AM.
The RX350 already has an strut tower brace from the factory. The large metal cowl section that hold the wiper motor is also the strut support brace that stiffens the front.
I would buy an rear chassis support brace for the RX350 not the strut tower bar.
This large metal black tray is the factory strut brace on the RX350
The RX350 already has an strut tower brace from the factory. The large metal cowl section that hold the wiper motor is also the strut support brace that stiffens the front.
I would buy an rear chassis support brace for the RX350 not the strut tower bar.
This large metal black tray is the factory strut brace on the RX350
Thanks Carguy I see how that tray ties the 2 strut towers together now and why 3RX F-sport doesn't include an additional bar stiffener in that area, good call on rear brace.
Thanks Carguy I see how that tray ties the 2 strut towers together now and why 3RX F-sport doesn't include an additional bar stiffener in that area, good call on rear brace.
No problem.
I will buy an rear torsion bar first and see if that make any improvements on my RX350 as my rear end seem to have a bit of sway around corners. The front end on my RX350 seem pretty solid with no swaying or body roll.
However I do have 20in wheels with 255/45-20 tires so my RX350 does have a bit my stability than with the narrower stock 235/60-18 tires.
IMO I would get the Hardrace 8983 25.4mm rear sway bar first, it should make a much more noticeable improvement in handling vs. the strut braces - especially during lower speed driving. I don't think you'd notice the strut bar unless you were pushing it to the limit or on a track, which most RXs will probably never see. The stock setup w/ the 21mm bar is designed to provide a lot of understeer, but you can cancel some of that out with the larger bar that also happens to be 2-way adjustable as well if you want to make the handling even more neutral.
IMO I would get the Hardrace 8983 25.4mm rear sway bar first, it should make a much more noticeable improvement in handling vs. the strut braces - especially during lower speed driving. I don't think you'd notice the strut bar unless you were pushing it to the limit or on a track, which most RXs will probably never see. The stock setup w/ the 21mm bar is designed to provide a lot of understeer, but you can cancel some of that out with the larger bar that also happens to be 2-way adjustable as well if you want to make the handling even more neutral.
I am not certain about the larger rear sway bar as that I do not want my rear end to possibly slide out due to too much over-steer. Generally, I would only move up to a slightly larger rear sway bar (about 2mm or so)on a car to help dial in some over-steer , but not as large as 4mm without adjusting other aspects of the suspension to match.
Stiffer rear sway bars actually lock the rear wheel movement together on both sides like an old school solid live axle which could actually really affect ride quality in a bad way and reduces rear traction hence the over-steer if the bar is too thick or not balanced to the front sway bar and other suspension components.
I would try the rear bracing first on a mainly street driven RX350 before going with such a larger rear sway bar on a stock RX350. Just me.
However, if the stock rear sway bar is just too small to properly control body movement then maybe the larger rear sway bar will improve the stability. My RX350 is more of grocery hauler than performance SUV so not really going for any aggressive handling upgrades for it. Just a stiffer rear end over bumps and around curves.
A larger-diameter rear sway bar along with new end links on my 2013 Subaru Outback 3.6R AWD really made a difference in highway stability, especially on blustery days. That is the only true mod I have done to my 3.6R during more than ten years of ownership. I drive that vehicle in a very spirited manner (now approaching 73,000 miles).
I have not done a similar mod on my wife's 2015 RX350 FWD because she does not push it and she is quite happy with its ride quality (now approaching 115,000 miles).
Strut tower bar
