[spoonful]

In some odd news, it was announced today that Lexus will be adding all wheel steer to the IS F-Sport for the Japanese Market.

Junichi Furyama on All Wheel Steer:

“All-wheel drive tends to be heavier and the behaviour tends to be understeer,” he explained via an interpreter. “Also in the cornering, the vehicle doesn’t respond to the driver’s intention.

“So I think FR (front-engine rear-wheel drive) base is better and with this system you can turn the steering wheel at the corner more naturally.”



Intriguingly though, while DRS and LDH was judged suitable for F Sport models, Furyama said it wouldn’t feature on future higher-performance cars such as the next IS F.

“The objective of LDH is for a certain level of drivers who are enthusiastic drivers, but not necessarily professional drivers, and they should be able to drive well with LDH. On the other hand the drivers of F like to do the drifting while driving on the circuit. So what we are targeting is different.”

I do wonder if the RC could see a similar addition to its makeup?

 

[rwdftw]

that would be pretty cool

the new porsche supercar has rear wheel steering that apparently works very well

 

[soarer]

probably one of the best things they can do to help with cornering and even turning radius which wont matter that much at least not as much as cornering ability.

 

[rwdftw]

i think all sports cars of the future will have rear wheel steering

its more effective than breaking traction in the rear to get turn in .

 

[soarer]

seems like it could be something we see more widely available.
now i just wonder what all the car makers including it will call their version of it, as all of them like to keep a different name .

 

[rwdftw]

id love to drive a car with rear wheel steer

i want to see if i can notice it when plowing through turns

 

[Lex Luther]

So does that mean that it is the rear wheels that pivot instead of the front tires?

I don't think I've ever driven a car with rear wheel steering. I'd be interested to try it out and tell the difference.

 

[soarer]

So does that mean that it is the rear wheels that pivot instead of the front tires?

I don't think I've ever driven a car with rear wheel steering. I'd be interested to try it out and tell the difference.

No, the front wheel still turn as they normally do on any car, it's just that the rear wheels will turn too for even better cornering, but usually they dont turn as much as the front

 

[spoonful]

i think all sports cars of the future will have rear wheel steering

its more effective than breaking traction in the rear to get turn in .

I disagree, otherwise we would of seen rear wheel steer in motorsports already. I think the problem with braking traction on road cars used on track is that you do not get to adjust your brake bias. You can get HEAPS of oversteer with the right rear bias, but again they don't let you fidget with it. Plus I dont like the idea of now having 4 sets of tie rods and the like ready to brake. Double plus you thought torque steer was bad on FWD cars wait till they start running 3-400 ft-lbs through the rears...

herky jerky IMO

 

[rwdftw]

i think it depends on how its tuned

alot of the rear wheel steering systems of the late I've read about seem to work very well in getting good turn it. when i mean turn in - i mean with traction - the proper way.

 

[soarer]

At least now they are far more refined and do an amazing job, technology really is shining with new cars

 

[spoonful]

i think it depends on how its tuned

alot of the rear wheel steering systems of the late I've read about seem to work very well in getting good turn it. when i mean turn in - i mean with traction - the proper way.

Tires are the most important factor, I find these rear wheel steer systems to be a little gimmicky to be honest. Benneton developed a rear wheel steer system during the '93 season and had their cars equipped with it at Adelaide and Suzuka, however the Benneton system could be turned off and on at will. Interestingly, Schumacher did not find that realr wheel steer added any tangible benefits...

t feels very good, but actually it doesn’t change things a lot. I am using the same lines and there isn’t a lot of movement at the rear. It makes it a little easier, but right now the system doesn’t work very well in the slow corners, so we might not use it in Adelaide.

 

[Mickey]

Cool concept! Not sure if I like the whole rear wheel assistance. Takes the fun away from driving in my opinion. My uncle had something similar (obvious not at the same level of technology) on his 1990 Toyota Celica GTR 4WS - the wheels locked up one day coming around a corner at 50 mph and we spun out into the bush.


Cheers

 

[supratt]

My 95 Honda Prelude Vti-R had rear wheel steering. It was great for reducing the turning circle but that's about it. I don't think Honda have used it since that model.

Fast forward 20 years... I still haven't got my RC350 F-Sport (I was told it was manufactured yesterday and I should get it around April 7). I ordered just before Christmas so it's been quite a wait. I'm getting white on red.

 

[Mickey]

Nice purchase! I can't wait to order myself one What upgrades/options are you getting? or did you get it fully loaded? White on red - sweet color combo!

 

[supratt]

Nice purchase! I can't wait to order myself one What upgrades/options are you getting? or did you get it fully loaded? White on red - sweet color combo!

I'm in Australia and the F-Sport comes standard with lots of goodies. The only two options are:

Enhancement Pack 1: moonroof
Enhancement Pack 2: moonroof, pre-collision warning, smart card, active cruise, auto high beams, lane departure warning, rain sensing wipers.

As nice as all the Pack 2 features sound, many of them are gimmicks and they add over $5k to the price, so I just went with the Pack 1.

One thing I really wish all RC350s had is the electrically folding side mirrors. That's a huge oversight, IMO.

 

[spoonful]

I'm in Australia and the F-Sport comes standard with lots of goodies. The only two options are:

Enhancement Pack 1: moonroof
Enhancement Pack 2: moonroof, pre-collision warning, smart card, active cruise, auto high beams, lane departure warning, rain sensing wipers.

As nice as all the Pack 2 features sound, many of them are gimmicks and they add over $5k to the price, so I just went with the Pack 1.

One thing I really wish all RC350s had is the electrically folding side mirrors. That's a huge oversight, IMO.

you think, how come?

 

[supratt]

you think, how come?

I have them on my IS and use them all the time. Whenever I park in a supermarket carpark or a narrow street, I always hit the switch to fold the mirrors. Almost every other reasonably new car sold in Australia has this feature. It's essential in a big, crowded city. Lexus Australia should have insisted on it. I bet the Japanese RC has them.

 

[soarer]

Only thing within that immediate area that moves aside from the seat is the steering wheel, sucks that none of the north american RC's have folding mirrors.

More than likely it's something they'll finally include in a future year model, part of many other efforts to keep the RC interesting.

 

[mfresh_21]

I'm in Australia and the F-Sport comes standard with lots of goodies. The only two options are:

Enhancement Pack 1: moonroof
Enhancement Pack 2: moonroof, pre-collision warning, smart card, active cruise, auto high beams, lane departure warning, rain sensing wipers.

As nice as all the Pack 2 features sound, many of them are gimmicks and they add over $5k to the price, so I just went with the Pack 1.

One thing I really wish all RC350s had is the electrically folding side mirrors. That's a huge oversight, IMO.

lane departure has always worked for me on nights that iv'e one out drinking lol