New Strut Tower Brace installed-compared to TOM's
11-11-06, 11:05 PM
#1
New Strut Tower Brace installed-compared to TOM's
STB-Strut Tower Brace
Purchased off Ebay and received within 2 days I finally got around to installing this thing. For lack of a better name I will refer to this STB as ESTB.
First up before anyone asks-this WILL NOT improve your handling under most circumstances-especially on the street. I know I know ,there are those that swear that a STB has just changed their life-not so! Perhaps on the track things would be different.
That said I have been running a Toms STB for some time now for the aesthetics. It looks nice under the hood. But...it shares a problem with most want to be STB’s on the market in that it is a one piece design and that it is not adjustable.
Comparison:
AESTHETICS:
Tom's stands out under the hood-its silver. It looks good to boot. But the Toms STB rubs on the engine cover eventually wearing off the paint on both the engine cover and the STB itself-see pics.
The ESTB is a 5 piece setup and is very business like in appearance. It is also available with a silver finish.
WINNER: Toss up
FIT/FINISH:
No question the ESTB is superior here as it is a multipiece design like a STB should be. The Toms STB is a very tight fit over the strut mounting bolts and sometimes will even require the car to be lifted to move the bolts around to get it to fit. Other times the Toms STB needs to be bumped hard to fit over the strut tower bolts while at the same time rubbing on the threads of the bolts while going down. The Toms also rubs on the hood lining which wears away the silver paint. At least mine does. Look carefully and you will see the wear on the engine cover and Toms brace.
The ESTB has 2 hats that bolt right on. Two brackets bolt up to the hats and then the main brace is installed. Very clean and excellent fit. No rubbing anywhere. Perfect with plenty of clearance.
WINNER: ESTB with ease
STRUCTURE:
By looking at the pictures one would think the ESTB is flimsy with only 2 bolts holding the main brace onto the brackets. Yes there are two bolts but they are stout and the fit in the bracket is xlnt and even reinforces the entire setup. Pretty solid setup.
The Toms is welded together with decent welds.
The ESTB weighs in at 7.8 lbs vs 6.8 lbs for the Tom's brace and it feels it. The Tom's brace is hollow vs. the solid structure of the ETSB.
WINNER: Toss up depending on what your opinion is. Both are stout and will box your front end.
FUNCTIONALITY:
This is the primary reason I am not a fan of the Tom's or any other one piece STB. Any time they are removed the alignment of the car could change from the shift of the upper strut bearing assembly as there is a little give there though not much. Also by removing the nuts and installing them over and over places wear on the strut mounting bolts-something you do not want to wear out. I did this on my GS.
A multipiece unit just unbolts with the hats still securing the strut mounts so there is not chance of losing your alignment. As often as I change intakes, or adjust the TPS, or change plugs, this is a real plus for me.
WINNER: ESTB
Well, there you have it. Both are great units. Tom’s goes for $300.00+shipping and the ESTB was purchased for $160.00+shipping.
PICS:
COMPARISON
Resting at home after a nice day of mods
Purchased off Ebay and received within 2 days I finally got around to installing this thing. For lack of a better name I will refer to this STB as ESTB.
First up before anyone asks-this WILL NOT improve your handling under most circumstances-especially on the street. I know I know ,there are those that swear that a STB has just changed their life-not so! Perhaps on the track things would be different.
That said I have been running a Toms STB for some time now for the aesthetics. It looks nice under the hood. But...it shares a problem with most want to be STB’s on the market in that it is a one piece design and that it is not adjustable.
Comparison:
AESTHETICS:
Tom's stands out under the hood-its silver. It looks good to boot. But the Toms STB rubs on the engine cover eventually wearing off the paint on both the engine cover and the STB itself-see pics.
The ESTB is a 5 piece setup and is very business like in appearance. It is also available with a silver finish.
WINNER: Toss up
FIT/FINISH:
No question the ESTB is superior here as it is a multipiece design like a STB should be. The Toms STB is a very tight fit over the strut mounting bolts and sometimes will even require the car to be lifted to move the bolts around to get it to fit. Other times the Toms STB needs to be bumped hard to fit over the strut tower bolts while at the same time rubbing on the threads of the bolts while going down. The Toms also rubs on the hood lining which wears away the silver paint. At least mine does. Look carefully and you will see the wear on the engine cover and Toms brace.
The ESTB has 2 hats that bolt right on. Two brackets bolt up to the hats and then the main brace is installed. Very clean and excellent fit. No rubbing anywhere. Perfect with plenty of clearance.
WINNER: ESTB with ease
STRUCTURE:
By looking at the pictures one would think the ESTB is flimsy with only 2 bolts holding the main brace onto the brackets. Yes there are two bolts but they are stout and the fit in the bracket is xlnt and even reinforces the entire setup. Pretty solid setup.
The Toms is welded together with decent welds.
The ESTB weighs in at 7.8 lbs vs 6.8 lbs for the Tom's brace and it feels it. The Tom's brace is hollow vs. the solid structure of the ETSB.
WINNER: Toss up depending on what your opinion is. Both are stout and will box your front end.
FUNCTIONALITY:
This is the primary reason I am not a fan of the Tom's or any other one piece STB. Any time they are removed the alignment of the car could change from the shift of the upper strut bearing assembly as there is a little give there though not much. Also by removing the nuts and installing them over and over places wear on the strut mounting bolts-something you do not want to wear out. I did this on my GS.
A multipiece unit just unbolts with the hats still securing the strut mounts so there is not chance of losing your alignment. As often as I change intakes, or adjust the TPS, or change plugs, this is a real plus for me.
WINNER: ESTB
Well, there you have it. Both are great units. Tom’s goes for $300.00+shipping and the ESTB was purchased for $160.00+shipping.
PICS:
COMPARISON
Resting at home after a nice day of mods
Last edited by Pearlpower; 05-27-08 at 12:40 AM.
11-12-06, 10:50 AM
#3
I had the same issue with a popular STB for my GS4.
11-12-06, 11:14 AM
#4
BTW, another great write-up from Lee.
The ESTB looks very soild to me.
I think Cusco also has a STB for our car, but I doubt anyone here has ever heard of it.
Cusco Part# 187 540 A
That Cusco piece doen't looks as solid as Tom's or ESTB, but it does give my Tein EDFC some hope.
11-12-06, 12:03 PM
#5
Lee, I bet you just sold about 4 or 5 of these suckers on ebay... =)
But I have some questions. First off, one of the reasons I keep buying STBs for my cars dates back to the my old riceboy honda days. When I put a STB in my 92 Integra, it really made the car feel much tighter and helped the steering feel better. Maybe not a lot to the handling side but who knows.
But in my Mr2 and my Mcoupe, the STB made no difference at all and I always go with the stongest one I can get (Long story but the 1st STB i used in my intergra was so flimsy it would hit the hood of my car when my car would turn hard). I felt no difference, and wouldn't even know if someone took it out. I left them on just cause I thought they looked cool.
So my question is, you said no difference in handling but can you feel a difference in how tight the car is? STBs are also so supposed to help the structure from getting looser over time, so I'm thinking that I may pick one up anyways...
Thanks
P.s. why are you touching your TPS sensor?
But I have some questions. First off, one of the reasons I keep buying STBs for my cars dates back to the my old riceboy honda days. When I put a STB in my 92 Integra, it really made the car feel much tighter and helped the steering feel better. Maybe not a lot to the handling side but who knows.
But in my Mr2 and my Mcoupe, the STB made no difference at all and I always go with the stongest one I can get (Long story but the 1st STB i used in my intergra was so flimsy it would hit the hood of my car when my car would turn hard). I felt no difference, and wouldn't even know if someone took it out. I left them on just cause I thought they looked cool.
So my question is, you said no difference in handling but can you feel a difference in how tight the car is? STBs are also so supposed to help the structure from getting looser over time, so I'm thinking that I may pick one up anyways...
Thanks
P.s. why are you touching your TPS sensor?
11-12-06, 12:19 PM
#6
Maybe you haven't driven it hard enough. haha
BTW, another great write-up from Lee.
The ESTB looks very soild to me.
I think Cusco also has a STB for our car, but I doubt anyone here has ever heard of it.
Cusco Part# 187 540 A
That Cusco piece doen't looks as solid as Tom's or ESTB, but it does give my Tein EDFC some hope.
BTW, another great write-up from Lee.
The ESTB looks very soild to me.
I think Cusco also has a STB for our car, but I doubt anyone here has ever heard of it.
Cusco Part# 187 540 A
That Cusco piece doen't looks as solid as Tom's or ESTB, but it does give my Tein EDFC some hope.
11-12-06, 12:52 PM
#7
I really appreciate and thankful that we have Lee on this forum... always very informative and always contributing valuable and objective review related to these aftermarket products for our car.
Btw, Lee really envy your 3 car garages.... and if the "Lexus Service Department" is open to public, let me know I don't mind drive to your place.
Btw, Lee really envy your 3 car garages.... and if the "Lexus Service Department" is open to public, let me know I don't mind drive to your place.
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11-12-06, 02:50 PM
#8
I am pretty sure I ran the Cuscos on my GS400 at one time only because they were multi piece but they were not stout by any means. In fact I could flex the front bar in my hands and I would rate myself a regular Joe in strength. Perhaps the newer ones are better as I notice a few come in Carbon Fiber. I did check the clearance and it does not appear that the Tein motor would fit up top on this unit either.
hipendicul, I did not notice a difference in the body solidity of this or other STB's. Perhaps because I have a suspension on it but I would think that would just magnify any difference up front. It does make sense as it ,"boxes" up the front end but perhaps because the strut towers are so close to the firewall explains this. But you do bring up a very good point of preventing the box from loosening up over time and keeping the car rigid. Thanks for bringing it up.
On the TPS, I played with it for a while to improve the throttle response and shifting. A slightest change makes a nice difference with quicker shifts. I did the same with my other Lexus's as well.
Thanks Mark on the garage. 90% functional, 50% completed. Still moving things around, waiting for the Race Deck tile flooring to arrive, etc.......Never ending. I am just glad to have room to move around as it was packed with boxes when we moved in and the SC barely fit in never mind any room to play with the car.
hipendicul, I did not notice a difference in the body solidity of this or other STB's. Perhaps because I have a suspension on it but I would think that would just magnify any difference up front. It does make sense as it ,"boxes" up the front end but perhaps because the strut towers are so close to the firewall explains this. But you do bring up a very good point of preventing the box from loosening up over time and keeping the car rigid. Thanks for bringing it up.
On the TPS, I played with it for a while to improve the throttle response and shifting. A slightest change makes a nice difference with quicker shifts. I did the same with my other Lexus's as well.
Thanks Mark on the garage. 90% functional, 50% completed. Still moving things around, waiting for the Race Deck tile flooring to arrive, etc.......Never ending. I am just glad to have room to move around as it was packed with boxes when we moved in and the SC barely fit in never mind any room to play with the car.
Last edited by Pearlpower; 11-12-06 at 02:55 PM.
11-12-06, 06:26 PM
#9
Dan... Whats up? Oh and yeah, I'll take the Toms of ya as I was thinking about picking up one of those ebay ones...
Oh and i got confirmation of the "Stuff" coming in. So hopefully we should have them in a few weeks!!!
Speaking of which, when are you going to have some free time so we can check out Crystal cove?
I'm going to the Lexus event next weekend but after that.. should be free..
But back on topic, (somewhat).. whats funny about the STB is that I bought the one for my Mcoupe to help the creeking in the dash as some people said it helped.
It didn't really help but I felt better about doing what I could. I think the modern cars are so stiff now that its getting harder and harder to feel a difference.
But I noticed that its more and more common to see them in OEM applications so its not all smoke and mirrors...
Speaking of which, I'm going to mess with my TPS next weekend.. the SC needs all the throttle response it can get.. thanks Lee...
11-12-06, 07:36 PM
#10
Cool Ken. What day are you going to Dodger Stadium? As for the Cove, my car is with Todd as we speak and I don't know when I'll get it back as I told him, "no rush." As for the Tom's STB, dude I'll just give it to you. I owe you anyway.
But I totally agree with Lee about the flex: that since the struts are close to the firewall, it shouldn't flex that much. Although, having to "cut" steep driveways and speed bumps, I wonder how much the chassis is really flexing as I hear the top creaking and groaning every time I enter my driveway. My initial reason for purchasing the STB was that when I bought the car, it had some wicked cowl shake. I figured that a STB once cured the shakes of a previous car, it would help here. It did not. In fact, the shakes went away when I got the coilovers. So I agree that the STB will not be a significant difference. I'll wait to see what Lee thinks about it after some time on the new STB.
But I totally agree with Lee about the flex: that since the struts are close to the firewall, it shouldn't flex that much. Although, having to "cut" steep driveways and speed bumps, I wonder how much the chassis is really flexing as I hear the top creaking and groaning every time I enter my driveway. My initial reason for purchasing the STB was that when I bought the car, it had some wicked cowl shake. I figured that a STB once cured the shakes of a previous car, it would help here. It did not. In fact, the shakes went away when I got the coilovers. So I agree that the STB will not be a significant difference. I'll wait to see what Lee thinks about it after some time on the new STB.
11-13-06, 12:51 AM
#11
wow, very very nice write up there lee, awesome!!!!! it's interesting to see all the details about the two stb and how they run on the car
and lee, i guess you pushes the car too much, that's why the engine twist a lot and rubs, hehehe....
so the million dollar question lee, which one are you keeping? hahah
and lee, i guess you pushes the car too much, that's why the engine twist a lot and rubs, hehehe....
so the million dollar question lee, which one are you keeping? hahah
11-14-06, 01:16 AM
#12
Thx for the great write-up Lee! 
Quick question, besides changing out plugs when it's time, what other times are required to remove the engine cover? I'm not really concerned about throwing off the alignment since I just got a great deal on a 5-year unlimited alignment service that's transferrable to another car (if I ever sell the sc430).
Quick question, besides changing out plugs when it's time, what other times are required to remove the engine cover? I'm not really concerned about throwing off the alignment since I just got a great deal on a 5-year unlimited alignment service that's transferrable to another car (if I ever sell the sc430).
