Hondabuff

iTrader: (1)

Been a long time lurker and owned a IS300 Sport Cross for 8 years and traded in on my current IS350. Past year I noticed the handling started to degrade very sharply and now my sure footed IS on the Highway was acting like my old Jeep Wrangler with the sway bars disconnected. Car would not track straight and braking on a off ramp required your full attention and both hands on the wheel. After the 2nd alignment in less than a year and now 2 sets of front Michelin Pilots in 15k miles I started searching for some kind of a solution. Pretty much everything pointed to the LCA bushings being the culprit. Researched both the USRS and Figs and it basically came down to free shipping and didn't have to pay PA sales tax. The install is about straight forward as it comes and you can literally complete both sides in 45 minutes and that includes jacking the car up and removing the wheels.
First thing I noticed was backing the car up in the driveway, The car no longer felt like it was dragging a tire and the car turned like it was on casters. Driving down my street the car felt different, It did not feel like my Jeep where the steering wheel moved with every bump and the jarring bumps felt dampened. I headed down a road that I take to work every day that has recently been paved this summer and has a perfect mix and S turns and sweeping turns. I biggest gripe of my IS350 was when you pushing it into a turn and right at the apex the car would over-steer and the front would tuck in even more and I could never make a clean exit out of the corner. Just a very odd sensation and you could feel something in the suspension change but could never put my finger on it. With the Figs installed that sensation was instantly gone and the car begged for more throttle exiting the corner. Very flat and very linear on the exit and it was the first time the car felt fun going around those turns. Only complaint is that the rear sway bar will need the F Sport version or ISF since the rear feels a bit soft now with the body roll in the rear. I have never once in 55k miles driven on my IS that I could say that the car feels like a 3 Series BMW like others have described. Feel in the steering wheel feels more direct but not harsh at all, You are driving and IS and not a ES350 after all. After 10 miles of driving around back roads I came to the realization that the IS350 and ISF should not use the same LCA bushings as the ES and really masked what the car is capable of doing. My Michelin A/S 3+ tires did seem to get louder in the front for what ever reason and I'm in a love hate relationship with these tires. They have about 7k miles on them and have the typical IS toe wear and will probably need to replace them before winter again. Bang for the buck this should be the first thing changed on every IS car just for safety alone. I welcome any feed back on replacement tires over the A/S 3+.

redspencer

iTrader: (1)

The FIGS LCA bushings are a very worthwhile upgrade. You can further reduce the front inner tire wear by setting your front toe to zero. My front Michelin PSS tires have had a very noticeable improvement with tire wear after the front toe was set to zero.

Hondabuff

iTrader: (1)

2nd full week of driving on the new bushings and the strange 3 second oscillating vibration on the highway is now gone. I was also having an issue on the highway on long sweeping turns where the steering will wanted to turn in without me applying pressure to the steering wheel. It started to really bother me since we had 2 road trips to the beach and a baseball tournament and had the car loaded down with luggage and the family. I mentioned a few times to my wife while driving the IS that it feels like a pickup truck with too much weight on the trailer hitch. Very unnerving feeling. 100% corrected now. My car is right at 55k miles and I feel the car now with the bushings feels better then when I purchased it new. Highway speeds now feel planted and firm and really brought the enjoyment back to my IS350. Want to thank Figs again for assembling this bushing set. First time ever since owning the car I can stop the car off the highway going 80mph down to zero with just two fingers holding the steering wheel.

Hondabuff

iTrader: (1)

15k miles later after the Figs install and zero sign of wear on the front tires. My past two sets where shot at this point. I could see the fronts easily going 30k miles now. The bad part is that I did get alot of rattles creep up due to the harsher ride and the front tires transmit alot of road vibration into the chassis. The car still feels super tight on the highway and the driving dynamics are crisp around the turns and no sign of wallowing around like it used to do. If I had to do it over again and if you get the same tire wear with the RC350 LCA bushings without the harsh ride I would go that route. My kids are getting to big and always complain when we take my car and say its to bumpy and cramped and I will be shopping for a 2016-2017 RX350 F sport soon. Just bought my wife a Infiniti QX60 with the deluxe touring package and to be honest I really love it other than it feels like a giant bus to drive around. The IS350 is still a great car and Im on my 2nd one but I have outgrown it finally. Those of you who who want better tire wear and better more responsive steering than the Figs will fit the bill. My opinion is the ride takes away from the Lexus comfort.

mike33

iTrader: (1)

Great initial and long term write up. Its nice to see a long term account of both the benefit and potential draw back of changing the lca to a stiffer poly bushing.

lexpilot

Yeah, think I'm going with new OEM, Japanese engineers are pretty good at striking a balance between comfort and performance.

WylieKylie

iTrader: (2)

And in the case of the OEM LCA bushing they are really good at creating unstable braking and horrible steering due to dynamic toe change, and accelerated tire wear. On the other hand the FIGS bushings are great at eliminating all of the above, and in my opinion don't take away any comfort.
I've had the 90 durometer FIGS bushings on my car for ~4 years and ~40k miles. I wouldn't change a thing even if the RC bushings were available back then.

kenji211

I was experiencing inner tire wear on my '08 IS350 around 90k miles due to worn LCA bushings. I dragged my feet for a bit and wore out two sets of tires very prematurely until I finally replaced the bushings. After installing the RR Racing LCA bushings that is now a thing of the past.

Granted I did give up some comfort and picked up some noise but, nothing unbearable by any means. What I did gain was better, more predictable handling and, most importantly, no premature tire wear.

Hondabuff

iTrader: (1)

The best analogy I have read was ,The Figs makes the IS feel like your running 50lbs of air pressure in the front tires. The car does feel safer to drive under all conditions and tracks straight under extreme braking. If the 2012 had adjustable suspension I would soften up the front to off set the added rigidity the Figs now created. The harmonics from the Michelin Pilot AS3+ drive me nuts now. I hear and feel nothing from the rear but the front tires are loud and you feel everything in the steering wheel. Almost need some kind of rubber dampener in the subframe to soak up the harmonics.

Hondabuff

iTrader: (1)

1 year update since I installed the Figs and happy to report there has been zero inner tire wear after 28k miles. Looks like my front tires will go the full 45k miles that they are rated for. The bushings do seem like they have softened up a little since I originally installed them. Now I just need a rear tire to last more than 20k miles!!

2013FSport

iTrader: (2)

Good to hear. Running ISF LCA but have RC-F LCA sitting here. ISF was an improvement. But I had to run much higher pressures to mitigate edge wear. Think 37 to 39 on 225/40, 18" stagger setup.

As for the rears, drop the pressure. I run solo 95% of the time w/out bodies in the trunk and found the suggested OEM pressure simply blows the centers from the rear tires. Shoot for lower pressures like 31/32psi. As you can see, not exactly oem pressures which everyone says works great for 16k mi. lol

This is the first full set of new tires for me and I missed the curve dropping the rear pressure low enough and fast enough and well raising the fronts fast enough!
Of course it doesn't help that the punks at major chain store can't follow directions and set them all at 36psi. Anywho. Raise the front, lower the rear. OEM values won't get you 45k mi.

Aspect

Nice! I was still experiencing inner tire wear after installation of the FIGS LCA bushing, but under RedSpencer's suggestion, I had to get an alignment to zero out the frontal toe and now everything is great again

2013FSport

iTrader: (2)

Continue to keep an eye on them for edge wear. Zero is good for many but not all. Some may need some toe-in. Adjust per driver style and usage. Highway cars do well closer to zero.

Ideal:
Zero toe = equal wear across tire.
Pressure = as needed for equal face and edge wear.

Toe Corrections:
Wearing inside = toe in
Wearing outside = toe out

Pressure:
Wearing centers = lower pressure
Wearing edges = increase pressure / especially for lots of city driving, short trips, parking lots.

Hondabuff

iTrader: (1)

Tire wear after 28k miles on the front. I went through two sets of Michelin Pilots last time at 28k miles. I wish installed these when I first bought the car to save myself the hassle.

Flipsonic

I have problem with premature inner tire wear with the rear tires as well. What will resolve this? Do I really need the Mega arms or can I get away with just installing the toe links? Or just adjust tire pressure accordingly?