Kajukenbo

Hey guys,

Maybe this is an old news to some of you, but I just found out that Steve from Carson Toyota can get us the STB from TOM's that will fit over the GS430 engine cover. For $250 it is definitely a good deal, I think

mooretorque

I'm on that!!!!

Thanks!! It's new news to me; only one I'd heard of before this was C-One.

ChuH

Ordered the last Tom's STB from Steve Ganz yesterday. He will have some more coming in shortly. He said the clearance between the STB and engine cover was less than a finger (depending on your finger size).

Anyone interested in a 3 month old TRD STB???

Still debating whether paint the red Tom's STB to silver or black or leave it alone.

Chu....

RacingAristo

Yeah, it'd fit no problem as I tried them on my 430 earlier this week. The clearance is really less than a finger, maybe because I have fat fingers. Anyway.

ChuH

How was your impression with the red STB in the GS430 engine bay? Do you think it would be better to leave it red or paint it with silver or black high temperature engine paint?

Chu...

RacingAristo

To be honest with you, I dislike the red color of TOM'S. Since there is no emblem on TOM'S STB, if you paint it to other color, people wouldn't be able to tell it is TOM'S by its color but only by its style.

ChuH

RacingAristo:

Did you pick one up?

I think I will paint it when I get it. I saw the new 2002 ES300 and it had a factory STB that was painted silver. The color contrast was pretty good. If I paint it black it would blend in with the engine surrounding.

Chu...

Kajukenbo

Aaahha! It was you, Chu, that bought the last one from Steve. The last one is going to Guam as Steve pointed out to me earlier. Be sure to post some pictures once you install and paint it.

Actually, I think that the red STB will probably match pretty well with the SRT/HFI system in the engin bay.


Hey, RA

Do you have any pictures of your STB? By the way, is is hard to install? I am assuming that it is a pretty straight forward install, right? I am hoping that there is no special tools required for the install.



Thanks

RacingAristo

I didn't get the TOM'S STB. Steve just let me try it when I picked up the brake kit earlier this week.

In my experience w/TRD STB, I raised the front of my car a little so I can install the STB. But it's a very simple task. Anyone can do that.

SRT's filter is red red but TOM'S is um....another red which is not the same. It's just a personal opinion.

Manaray

TOM'S is more like a Cranberry color...it won't "match" the red that SRT uses...

Personally, who gives a flying ****? You're putting in a STB for HANDLING PERFORMANCE, not for pretty looks! Know what I mean?

RacingAristo

yes, I know what you're saying. Lots of people try to convince me to do the "manaray" way, remove the god damn engine cover and put on the STB. Even til today, I still couldn't accept it though the engine cover does have been removed for quite awhile due to SRT's intake.

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

I see ya hit 2000 posts in classic manaray style.

Manaray

Bit - hehehe..didn't even notice the 2K mark...cool, so when do I get my free SuperCharger?

Racing Aristo - Well if it kills ya that much, why not just having it powder coated (ask Brent) or painted...OR, you can do it the GHETTO PIMP way...have it CHROMED! TRIPLE DIP PLAYA STYO! Then you can drive with your hood removed so that ALL the ghetto sistas can be jockin' the ride that you be flossin'! Cuz you KNOWZ bling-bling chrome iz the shiznit!

It's not like it's pink with white dots on it...

Maybe we should start a letter writing campaign to TOM'S to stop using their factory color and switch to a non-offensive GREY color...Damn, I didn't think there were so many pansy-azz Martha Stewarts on ClubLexus!

Kajukenbo

RA,

Did you say that your engine cover is currently not installed due to the SRT/HFI? I was able to install the SRT/HFI and put the engine cover back on without too much problem. I did however had to cut just a tiny little piece corner off the cover. I used a file to smooth out the sharp edges after I cut the corner off.

Unless someone looks very carefully, one cannot tell the corner was modified.

RacingAristo

Yeah, I haven't cut the engine cover yet since "I" could not do a quality cutting job. No tool whatsoever. Most likely I would ask someone to cut it when I put the new intake on.