Hey guys,

I was wondering if any of you could answer this question.

Do aftermarket TRD, Tom's, etc. radiator and oil caps actually do anything for the car? Supposedly the radiator caps are higher PSI than stock so that more pressure is added to the cooling fluid, making the system a little better overall? I'm not exactly sure what the benefits are, but I'm guessing its not a performance boost you can actually feel and more of a form of "preventive maintenance?"

Also, does the TRD oil cap raise the pressure of the oil as well? How does this help?

Thanks!

 

Exatly, the TRD Rad Cap and Oil Cap raise the pressure. Im honestly not sure what this does but i think it has something to do with the efficiancy of the system, and maybe keeps it overall cooler. I know it does increase pressure, i think from 1.1BAR to 1.2BAR for the rad cap.

Plus they look good!

 

I really don't see how an oil/radiator cap can increase any pressure any. The only thing the cap does is provide a seal. Now it would produce a higher pressure if the stock ones did not seal as well, but in that case you would notice a weak seal in your radiator cap with hissing and steam coming out of it. Now if you want to get it for looks, get it for looks, but don't let anyone tell you that your car will fun faster/better/stronger with a different cap. Now if that cap had hoses running out of it to a regulator connected to a pressurized air source.....

 

The oil cap doesn't do jack.

 

Aftermarket oil caps just look pretty...nothing more...

As for the aftermarket radiator cap, from my understanding, it just lets you push the car a little harder before it blows...critical in a race...no so critical on the street

 

I have both TRD caps & can also tell ya ( as an oil company engineer ) that both RA & Mana R correct - the oil cap does nothing except dress up the engine bay. How could it increase oil pressure anyway? Might increase the pressure in the valve cover into which it's installed but that would be ounces at most & there'd be little benefit to that. Now the TRD radiator cap is rated slightly higher ( I'm told ) than the Lexus cap so it would increase the boiling point of the coolant - haven't seen any change in my operating temps as of yet. Just get them for looks.