carguy75

Thank you for the information.


I will try to sneak a couple of the braces(lower front and rear lower) on my RX when the wife is not looking since they are indeed bolt-on it seems.


A stiffer chassis does have some safety benefits as well like better braking and a smoother ride overall.


So I may buy a couple of lower braces even if the RX is no sport crossover.

Clutchless

If you Google shop the long official Lexus part number, which is mentioned at a post on page 2 of this thread, I think the lowest price I saw was around $527 for the front one. If you install it please report back with your opinion regarding its effects.

carguy75

WOW.

$527 for one brace.

However, I may still buy it to stiffen the front end and provide a bit more control and in theory more controlled emergency braking.

i will post a how-to when i do the job.

I will have to do research first.

carguy75

Crap.

The OEM lateral dampers(front/rear) do not actually stiffen the chassis.

It does what the name implies, dampens vibration when the chassis flexes to provide for a smoother ride according to Car and Driver.

I guess I will save my money after all.

Here is link the has detailed review of it by Car and driver.
http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/...rt-test-review


Note:

I found a article detailing how it works by Lexus that states that it does stiffen the chassis to some degree while damping vibrating better than solid strut tower braces.

So it may be a worth while investment if I use both the front and rear lateral dampers.

I will try to find the dampers on a wrecked used RX on Ebay or the salvage yard hopefully a lot cheaper than the new prices Lexus want for them.

Here is the Lexus article on the lateral damper.
https://secure.drivers.lexus.com/lex...teral-Thinking

djevans99

Thanks for the information. There are so many different statements out there i do not know what they will or will it do

I found front and back dampers on eBay a couple of days ago so I bought both of them for $350. I am waiting for them and will install. I will report back what impact I experience.

carguy75

Good find!!!

$350 for both.

I would buy a set for that amount hands down even if they do not turn my RX350 into a true sport crossover that take corners like a BMW X6, because I would be happy with just a little more stability and ride stiffness than i have now.

Hell, i have paid about $350 for K&N air intakes in the past that only gave about 10 more horsepower to my old cars I instilled them on.

Please keep us posted on how well the dampers work.

djevans99

Can you tell me about your K&N air intakes. Did you put it on your RX 350. I only saw $50 air filters on their web site. How can you determine the horsepower gain.

Can you tell me why you desided to use yellow fog lights.

I will keep you posted on the dampers as soon as I get them and install them

carguy75

I have installed a k&n air intake on my old 2006 VW GLI 2.0T.
http://www.knfilters.com/search/prod...rod=69-9503TFK

The drop-in panel filters are less pricey.

I got the horsepower detail from K&N themselves on their website which is actually 18hp for the VW since i just looked at it again still not much for the money but hey every little bit helps.

I can not find a picture of the intake on that car since my old phone with those pictures is long gone.

I use a drop-in performance air filter from Upgr8 in my RX350, which is similar to a K&N but oil-less.

http://www.upgr8.com/store/oem-repla...ir-filter.html

I use yellow fogs because they actually work in the rain/fog at night and look cool in my opinion.

Everyone in my area use bright white fog lights(LED or HID) or HID blue colored fog-lights on their cars it seems if the lights are not the standard yellowish halogen fog-lights.

rj4510

I've read all the plus and minuses regarding the various options here. I still wouldn't mind adding the dampers, but as mentioned in one of the posts, tires are probably the first upgrade. I'm running the 19" Dunlops now, so will likely go that route first anyway. For those who upgraded their Dunlops, what did you dislike about them. I read a ton about people not liking them, but nothing on why.

Also, can I go wider on the stock 19" wheels to get the benefit of lowering the center of gravity as mentioned here, or do I have to go to 20s. There doesn't seem to be much in the way of options on 19s like 18s or 20s.

Thanks

Clutchless

Have you read the tire thread sticky listed at the top of the forum, as it has endless comments on different tires and I would hate to see this thread hijacked by such a common side issue that has been covered many times. You can search it.

Wider wheels will not lower your center of gravity. I said in my earlier post that it was the 20mm wheel spacers that widened the track and effectively lowered the center of gravity. Then I got wider wheels and bigger tires.

It is hard to go wider on the stock wheels because they are only 7.5 inches wide. That is why I got 8 inch wide wheels and installed 255/50/19 tires. Those tires would also work with 8.5 inch wheels.
Going to 18 inch wheels will make it handle worse due to the larger sidewall.
Going to 20 inch wheels may work but the ride will be stiffer due to shorter sidewalls. The Venza has 20 inch wheels and they would bolt right on and you can find used ones on eBay or Craigslist.
The factory offset is 35 and the factory hub size is 60.1. Those are important as you need hubcentric wheels or need to get centering rings to make wheels with a larger hub bore fit.

rj4510

Sorry Clutchless,

I've been using the forum app and never saw the stickies. I found them now and will parse through. Thanks

djevans99

I received my front and rear lateral performance dampers via an eBay purchase for $350. I installed both of them myself and it was relatively easy. You don't even need to jack up the car. The hardest part was removing the plastic under carriage cover so you have access to the mounting brackets. The front damper easily fit into the existing mounting holes. Bolt the damper to the existing mounting bracket, reinstall the plastic cover and you are done. For the rear one you need to remove the rear plastic under carriage cover which is held in place with 12 clips and screws. When I removed the cover I discovered my car did not have a place to mount the damper. After researching I found that the rear tow hooks (left and right) on a regular RX 350 are different than the ones for the F Sport. I ordered F Sport tow hooks for $60 each and installed them which was as easy as removing 2 bolts on each hook and rebolting the new hooks to the car. The F Sport tow hooks have a separate flange attached that provides the mounting points for the rear damper. Next you just bolt the damper to the new tow hook flange and reinstall the plastic under carriage cover. Whole job takes about 1 hour.

Now I get to drive the car and see if it drives differently. I drove it over my normal route to work. It is hard to determine exactly how it is different but it is better. I wanted to be very careful to not have a placebo effect. Lexus would not include the dampers if they didn't improve handling in some way. The car is smoother riding. Minor vibrations I hardly noticed before are gone. It is amazing how smooth it is on the highway at 80 mph. Also the steering seems a little more responsive on the highway. The car seems to track in a straight line better too. All the changes are minor but add up a better driving experience. Into a huge change but noticeable. It did not make a material improvement in body roll, maybe a little but very little. I definitely recommend this mofidification, especially if you can find the parts used and do the install yourself.

I am still considering changing my front struts and rear shocks to be F Sport parts to reduce the body roll. I like a firm ride as a trade off for a well handling automobile. I discovered my car has the same springs as the F Sport so I only have to change the struts and shocks to get the better handling. I may have the same springs because my car has the towing package. I haven't been able to prove that as the reason but I am speculating. I have 18" wheels with factory Dunlop tires. I am probably going to change to the 19" wheels when I need new tires. This will be a while since my car only has 16,000 miles.

Before I change the shocks and struts I want to drive a F Sport but can't find one near the St Louis market. Since the RX 350 has changed to the 4th generation the dealers no longer have 3rd generation F Sports to test drive. There have not been any used F Sports on the market for a while but I will continue to look for one before I upgrade the struts and shocks.

I would be interested in others experiences or recommendations.

Lex4wife

I too feel the stock RX350 has excessive body roll. I just got new Summer Tires and rims (275/45/20 with 38psi) and felt a big difference in the body roll. The tires are Yokohama. I do not feel a lot of lean as I used to. I was running 235/55/19 with 35psi before.

coolsaber

Performance dampers are road vibration control in a different axis then stock anti roll bars. Think of it like a hydraulic strut bar. Its not make you roll less, you need stiffer springs, struts and thicker roll bar, and of course better tires. However you`ll notice it in undulations.

At $350 though cant hurt the wallet that much

carguy75

Sounds good.

The changes seem minor, but that is expected since the stock F-sport barely feel any stiffer than the normal RX from what I get from reviews.

I read an article that states that Lexus only changed the struts/shocks on the the F-sport while using softer springs(maybe the same non-F sport springs) to maintain a smooth ride.

I can not find that review.

However i found this review that mention the lateral-dampers and some improvement in handling.

Hence the handling is not really that much improved with the dampers, but it is a bit more stable in the corners.

So the dampers does help somewhat.
http://www.edmunds.com/lexus/rx-350/2010/road-test/

FYI, I would first try to add performance tires(AS or summer) since the stock tires on the non-sport models are just highway truck tires(H/T) which are not known for their performance potential.

And then i will try the dampers if the tires do not make a noticeable difference.

I will try to use to Michelin Primacy AS tires.
http://www.michelinman.com/US/en/tir...macy-mxm4.html

I have a set of Primacy tires on my 2014 KIA Optima SXL , and the car handles like a real sport sedan compared to how it handled to the stock Hankook tires.

Tires makes a big difference.