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Q's on Tom's parts and where to buy

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Accessories & Modifications' started by awai08, Jun 25, 2008.

  1. awai08

    awai08 New Member

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    I've been interested in improving the handling of my '07 Prius Touring, and finally am looking into the Tom's front upper performance rod, front suspension member brace, and rear suspension member brace. I'd include the floor strengthening brace, but I hear that the Tom's part interferes with the stock exhaust.

    I'd be interested to hear from anyone who has some or all of these Tom's parts installed. Are they worth the effort and cost? Where to buy them? ...I was all set to order the parts from Carson Toyota, but got blown off the two times I called today (first put on hold for ten minutes and counting, next sent to voicemail). Anyone else supply these parts at a reasonable price?

    Thanks much!
     

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  2. Boo

    Boo Boola Boola Member

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    For the upper performance rod, you might consider getting instead BT Tech's Strut Tower Brace. You can buy it here at the PriusShop. I think BT's all-in price is cheaper than Tom's because of the high shipping costs of Tom's.
     
  3. Boo

    Boo Boola Boola Member

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    Also, I believe that Presto, apriusfan and Pinto Girl have all three of those Tom's braces installed. I think apriusfan installed them on his Touring, and Presto and Pinto Girl on their Standard Prius.

    You might consider PM'ing them with your questions.

    Good luck.
     
  4. Presto

    Presto Has his homepage set to PC

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    Got my Tom's and TRD from Carson Toyota, a couple years ago. Money well spent!
     
  5. rluciano

    rluciano New Member

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    I have all 4 on a Touring. Got them from Carson Toyota, ordered on the web. They called me to confirm everything and let me know what was shipping and when. Getting clearance for the exhaust was a matter of a hose clamp around the rubber exhaust mounting to move it up maybe a 1/4". No big deal to me...

    By the way, I think these are worth it. Of course I used to have a Porsche 993TT and a Volvo V70R.
     
  6. prius62

    prius62 Junior Member

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    I have these three pieces along with the TRD Sportivo and 17" wheels and larger tires. I ordered all suspension pieces from Carson. I too have suffered occasionally on the phone....but still worth it.
     
  7. SaeGai06

    SaeGai06 Member

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    I too have the 3 Tom's braces listed plus the Tom's Floor Strengthening Brace. This is the one that touches your exhaust. Your catalytic converter to be exact. I know it's not suggested but, I hammered a dent into the catalytic converter so the two items wouldn't touch and rattle.

    The handling has been greatly improved and definatley reccomended.

    I've never ordered anything from Carson Toyota and from your comments, I don't think I would. You should try Sigmaauto.com, Edward is always quick to respond to inquires but, orders do take a few weeks.


    Good Luck.
     

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  8. awai08

    awai08 New Member

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    Hey thanks for all the comments. If anyone would notice the change in handling, then that person would be me. I did similar mods to my Integra years ago (now sold) and loved the transformation. Did anybody happen to drive around with the front/rear braces before putting on the floor strengthening brace? Curious am I to know what I may be missing if I pass on it. Then again, tweaking the exhaust route doesn't sound like a big deal, so I'll probably add the floor brace also if it makes a difference.

    SaeGai06, thanks for the additional source. Sigmaauto's prices are a few bucks more, but they'll have my business if they can pick up the phone and deliver like normal people!
     
  9. awai08

    awai08 New Member

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    ...Ha, what a coincidence. My other car is a P-car too (987S), and is perhaps the best handling mid-engined car in the world! Still, it can't haul four people, pick up the groceries, carry two bikes, squeeze into tight parking spots, *and* get 45 miles to the gallon. The Prius is in many ways a performance car and the best at what it is designed to do. If only it can carve curves with a bit more zest, then I'll be totally happy.:)
     
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  10. Presto

    Presto Has his homepage set to PC

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    The braces will help nicely on the curves. Also, the Prius oversteers when traction starts to break in the turns. I'd be interested in your review, after you get the braces installed. Your P-car will give us a bit of perspective with your findings.
     
  11. awai08

    awai08 New Member

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    Update on the chassis brace modifications:

    Several months have passed, and I indeed have purchased all three chassis kits. I eventually ordered my parts from Carson Toyota, since Sigma Auto's website didn't seem to offer a contact number. Carson Toyota turned out to offer a decent purchase experience. While not very easily reached by phone initially, the internet specialist was more readily accessible by email. The dealership had the upper front "performance rod" in stock, while the rest was backordered and took about six weeks.

    Since the front upper strut brace was already in stock, I received and installed it first. For the last two months, I've noticed quite a difference in handling with just this single modification. The change is similar to what happened when I added this part on my Integra years ago; the car understeered less, felt less "squirrel-ly" when changing lanes on the freeway, and maintained better traction when braking. All this was a welcome addition, and no surprise when understanding that the part is meant to keep the strut towers more closely perpendicular to the road, and maximally maintain the front tires' contact patch. I also add that the car almost felt "wider," but maybe that impression was due to the fact that the factory-spec car was so very unstable at speeds anywhere above 70mph or through heavy crosswinds.

    I think that -for the minimalists or more frugal Prius owners, who are interested in augmenting handling for the purpose of safety and a little bit of fun -just adding a front upper strut brace would be satisfying enough.

    Anyway, the remaining parts have been sitting at my place for the last month. Just this week I got around to getting them installed. Probably because my Prius is a U.S. version, and the Toms parts are designed for a Japanese Prius, installing the the trapezoidal rear lower brace to clear the gas tank required adding enough washers to create a 3/4 - 1 inch spacer for each of the rear four bolt sites (there are eight total on that piece). As for performance, I'll post my thoughts as I spend more time with the car. My immediate assessment is that the car rattles less over bad roads, though the new braces do add/return a little bit of understeer.

    Hmm. Well compared to the P-car, I'll say that I haven't lost any interest in driving it for fun. The Prius and the Porsche are two different animals. On an open curvy road, a briskly-moving 987 "pivots" around the middle of the car; the Prius seems to require a greater steering angle, feels "longer," and leans/rolls more. That said, the Prius beats the P-car -hands down -during bumper-to-bumper rush hour traffic.
     
  12. Qlara

    Qlara New Member

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    Sounds like money well spent....
    How easy to install the front upper strut brace ?
    Do you have pics after the installation?
     
  13. awai08

    awai08 New Member

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    I do believe the braces are money well spent. They also make me want to try lower-profile and slightly wider wheels to balance out the handling package. Or, maybe stickier tires will do. First I need to get used to the new setup. Body rigidity is noticeably improved, but at about a 35 lb. weight cost. With the front upper brace alone, the weight penalty is only about 8 lbs.

    I'll post a picture of the front strut brace later. The front upper brace fits neatly under the windshield wiper mechanism tray, and in front of the firewall. The net appearance of the brace looks very clean. So clean, in fact, that I wonder why Toyota didn't add it as original equipment on the Touring.

    Installation of the front upper strut brace is more involving than a similar mod on a typical compact car. Due to very efficient use of engine bay space, what should be a six-bolt procedure turns out to also involve temporary removal of the structures above the strut towers, i.e. window wipers, wiper motor cover, wiper motor, wiper motor tray, and fuse box. Then a little wrapped wire attached to the passenger-side strut tower needs to be relocated an inch lower. Although a little more involving than usual, installing the front upper strut brace is very manageable if you're mechanically-inclined and have 1 - 2 hours to spare.
     
  14. a_gray_prius

    a_gray_prius Rare Non-Old-Blowhard Priuschat Member

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    Any pictures from the install?
     
  15. Boo

    Boo Boola Boola Member

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    BT Tech Strut Tower Brace Installation

    For detailed instructions and photos for installing the BT Tech Strut Tower Brace (available here at the PriusChat Store for $250), which should be applicable to the TOMs strut tower brace as well, see this thread:

    http://priuschat.com/forums/prius-m...-strut-tower-brace-install-pictures-text.html

    Or open and see the Word file below:

    "Lee,

    Thanks again for your flickr set BT Tech Strut Tower Brace Install Pictures and Text. Great stuff.

    Because I won't have internet access on the NYC street where I'll be doing my install, I've put your flickr set of 41 photos and text (plus efusco's post and your response thereto) into the attached Word file. That way I (and others similarly situated) could access it while doing the install.

    Attached Files [​IMG] BT Tech Strut Tower Brace Install - By GadgetDad (Lee) v2.doc (4.79 MB, 114 views)"
    __________________
     
  16. awai08

    awai08 New Member

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    Hey nice pics on the BT Tech strut tower brace. The Toms part looks almost identical, and installs exactly the same. I'll snap a pic of it on my car soon.

    As for the lower parts, install is a snap but requires access to the underside. Since I don't have a lift in my back pocket, I had my dealer put them on. A potentially helpful pic may be of the stacked washers that sit between the lower brace and chassis fore of the rear wheels, so I'll take a pic there, also.
     
  17. CBarr31

    CBarr31 Active Member

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    With BT Tech no longer in business due to Brian's passing is Carson Toyota the best place to get the Tom's Strut Tower Brace?

    I have been driving without the BT Tech Strut Tower Brace since April and really miss the handling of the car so need to get a brace re-installed.

    The Tom's lists for $287.50 does anyone know what the shipping cost is?

    Thanks for the help.

    Chris
     
  18. Dobey

    Dobey New Member

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  19. blueumbrella

    blueumbrella Member of Prius Regeneration

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    It is going on 2 months now since I ordered a BT Tech Strut from PruisShop and have yet to receive it. I am seriously thinking I need to cancel the order and get one of the Tom's. I even had a call from the manufacturer about 10 days ago stating she was going to send it out priority mail along with a label to return the two struts I received without brackets by mistake. I had planned to install this during my vacation, which has now long passed.:confused:
     
  20. 1SMUGLEX

    1SMUGLEX I love the smug!

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    I've bought tons of items from Carson, they are fantastic to work with. Contact them and let them know 1SICKLEX sent ya.:)