H'sYellowIS300

Which are better I am looking to get one or the other. which comes with more stuff? which is stiffer? and will I have to worry about any clearence issues? I am not to concerened about having to remove the plastic covers but will you be able to use the plp under body panel cover?

Thanks for any help that you may be able to give.

Henry

Christobol

I'm not sure that enough people have added braces to their cars. I want to, but I haven't done it. I don't think you have to worry about clearance issues, and even if it does rub, it's only metal. It's not a critical part of the car, so I wouldn't worry too much.

Each design has it's own pluses and minuses, so it's really up to what type of driving you do. Also I think the TRD version is designed for the Altezza, and Tom's is designed for the IS300. I'm not sure on Tom's parts though.

Either way, you should only consider braces if you're racing, have coilovers, or just drive the ***** out of the car on the streets. Overtime it will reduce stress on the unibody so that it's not as prone to creaks.

H'sYellowIS300

Thanks Christobol,

I think that Tom's is the way to go if TRD is for the Altezza I will be ordering a set front and rear and let you know I know that a .net member did a how to and took a ton of pics. on the install but this was still lacking the information on the differences between the two. As to why I would like the Braces I would like to auto x and I will be showing the car. AS responsive as the IS is I am hoping that this will stiffen it up a bit more.

On a second note what type of shocks do you recomend? And do you know where I can get a good deal on the braces and shocks?
What type of brake pads do you recomend.

Christobol

I haven't done a lot of work to my car, because I'm planning on only adding the best products to my car. That being said, I would go with a set of coilovers rather than springs. The Tein RS's are good. Basicly if you can find a set of expensive coilovers (expensive=TRUE coilovers, cheap=not a true coilover) get them. Then you need to make sure you get sway bars. They are going to have the largest impact upon then handling charastics other than the coilovers.

Next adding braces won't stiffen your ride up at all. All it will do it keep the body shape from distoring as much in hard cornering. What does that mean? Well when you go into an extremely hard corner the car is going to track more propery rather than allowing the suspension points to move around which causes the tire contact patch to shift, and the direction the tires are placed on the is going to shift.

Then with your break pads... You could just get the TRD pads. If you're not going change out the rotors you'll only get a 20% improvement with the TRD pads. I'm planning on doing an entire break line upgrade because of how brutal I am in autox.


The rough prices you'll pay for the above are:
2000 for coilovers
550 for the braces
350 for the A51 sway bars
300 for the break pads (might be less)
1300 for the break system upgrade

Now with regard to autox, you'll need to beef up the engine a bit with all of those improvements. You'll be in SM because of the braces. That means you'll be up against cars that have no interior, usually no headlights, sometimes no windshield.... those cars are nuts. But that means you options are pretty wide open.

H'sYellowIS300

Thanks I allready have sways and front and rear tower braces Sorry if I was wrong on what the braces will do. but they sound like they will help. I also allready have springs on the car and would like to change the shocks.(can't afford the coil-overs)expensive=TRUE coilovers. I would like to get a turbo in the next year and good Turbo=expensive I am not that big into auto x and if I get smoked I get smoked I would just like to drive my car to its limits not in it for anyone else. if you know what I mean. I hope you have a good season in auto x it sounds like you race a lot.

PS my car is more show than go but but that will change

Sacrificial

In regards to Tom's braces versus TRD braces, here's what I know:

* Both were designed for the Altezza, and both will fit on the IS300, since it is the same body shell. But there is one component from each kit which will not fit on the IS300 due to its engine, which for Tom's is the front spar brace (links the front "spars" of the engine compartment together by where the front sway bar mounts), and for TRD is the front stut tower bar (which does not clear the taller 2JZ-GE).

* In general, Tom's has a more thorough bracing strategy with structural rigidity placed as the primary goal. This means that some of their braces are very well triangulated, but requires modification or outright removal of several underbody wind fairings. TRD has a more pragmatic bracing strategy, with fewer and less triangulated braces. However, all their braces incorporate eyelets for the underbody wind fairings, which will fit with minimal modification.

* TRD has the best rear strut tower brace on the market, IMHO, because it is the only hingeless one-piece design. AFAIK, the rear strut tower area is a particular weak point in this monocoque, and any bracing in that area makes the most dramatic difference out of all the braces.

* I have been told that the both the TRD and Tom's rear subframe X-brace causes issues in either ground or muffler resonator clearance. You either lose a lot of ground clearance, or a lot of resonator clearance. I can't recall which loses what more. One thing I do know is that the Tom's X-brace is "square-shouldered", which is to say if your car has this brace but is only mildly/street modded in terms of suspension (read: softish suspension and sway bars but lowered), hard/violent cornering may drag the shoulders.

* My friend who has the full Tom's set on his IS damaged his X-brace on the freeway with road debris. His car rides at stock height.

A bit more peace and sanity on this site, eh christobol?

Christobol

Sacrificial yeah there is a bit more sanity here... however it's easy to lose one's identy in so much sanity. A bit of craziness is always good for a healthy psyche I also like getting emailed when someone has responded to me rather than having to go searching for responses.

Chris

AdvoxGT

I was thinking of purchasing the TOM's braces they seem to be beefier in construction than the TRD ones. I've never seen them in person.

Have any of you seen the braces side to side? I'm wondering how different the construction of the two are. Does anyone know the best place to purchase these braces?

EmoDragRacer

I hear tannabe makes braces too

H'sYellowIS300

thanks for the information guy's.

Static911

Yeah, the Tom's is beefier than TRD's (saw them myself).

You can get them from Ganz at Carson Toyota.

(310) 522-2381

gonzo4u@earthlink.net

Ethan

tm7sw20

I have front and rear Tanabe underbraces - they work well and are very light - Also installed some Tanabe Swaybars -

the underbraces are not too expensive either -

isman

UNDERBRACES-TANABE

In U.S. Tanabe-Mackin Industries are more known for their exhausts, but in Japan they have good following for suspension components. I also have the Tanabe Sustec System. The center brace will not fit on the IS but I do have the front and rear underchassis brace, rear STB, and fr. & rr sways. Along w/Tein HA and 18"Work VS 3pcs with 235/40/18fr - 265/35/18 rr Kumho V700 and APR frt STB. There is no issues with clearance. I ride on 2 1/2" drop from stock. If you're into autoX, you will see dramatic increase in performance. Enjoy.