ENGINE

Torque Master Spark Plugs - I am quite impressed and a big change over my Densos and NGKs. Seems to get every last drop of gas (with lower hydrocarbon count) with its 4 prong plugs. This was actually not the first time that I have used them. The first time, my RX300 was virtually stock and I could not feel a difference, but with the modifications to intake and exhaust these plugs come alive. I got my plugs at L-Tuned parts .($75 for 6 plugs)

TRD Thermostat- Good thing to have replaced when you have your coolant changed and you will notice it on your temperature gauge. This will not be noticed as much on a stock engine, but will so if you have done exhaust and/or intake modifications. It cools the engine a little faster, reduces heat in the engine bay for cooler intake air. These TRD T-Stats say 71 C on them and is shorter in length than the OEM T-Stat. Of the ones in the picture, it looks like the one in the middle in terms of size. I got mine at L-Tuned parts . ($80)

Some of the stuff you can see.

Tom's High Pressure Radiator Cap- Says 1.3 (kg/cm2) instead of the normal 0.9 and much better flow rate when combined with the TRD T-Stat. Helps cool the radiator quicker ($33) by raising the valve opening pressure to 1.3, but you will not notice anything without also adding the low-temp thermostat. There is a TRD Radiator Cap N-Series that will also fit. I got the Tom's due to the fact that more of the tuned RX300s I saw had Tom's. I got mine at My Auto Fashion

Also note the removal of radiator plastic cover- Looks a little ugly but much better cooling and allowed me to add the blue air pipe you will later see on the right side. And once the hood goes down, who cares how ugly it is below.

Engine Cover and TRD Oil Cap- painted silver and great with the black body for contrast with the rest of the RX. On the Lexus emblem on the plastic cover you can use thinner to remove the color on the adjoining piece it sits on to make it black and give better contrast with the silver L. I currently only use this for show and for cooling reasons I leave it off. I got my oil cap at LuxuryMods ($70 for oil cap).

As it looks now with the engine cover off.

Oversized oil filter, K&N mode HP-2009. I used to use an HP-1002, but this HP-2009 is 1.34 inches longer than that of the HP-1002. TunedRX300 was actually the first to experiment with an oversized oil filter in the RX300.

Custom DRL fuse box cover- my cousin Antonio Jr. made this after the other one fell off. You will also notice another picture of the TRD Oil Cap.

Removal of the rear rubber strip. This is used to help seal the engine compartment. Makes it a little louder but helps cool the engine compartment.

The effect of the cooling?

Notice the temperature gauge below the middle notch. It even gets closer to the next lower notch at night when it is cooler. Notice my speed to the right as this was taken at highway speeds. At this elevation, my uncle recommended to use 100% Toyota Red Coolant, because water evaporates really quick in Mexico City here and I never have had coolant loss again. My RX runs much cooler for a lot longer at the track without loss in time, and the radiator stays extremely cool. No more steam when I spray water on it. Normally, I can get about 45 minutes of good runs at the track assuming no track traffic and not a lot of people in the stands. I recommend

This is another picture of the gauge.

Even cooler

For those of you with AWD RX300s, you will probably note in the vent on the bumper below the passenger side headlight the transmission fluid cooler. However, it is partially obstructed by the windshield wiper fluid reservoir. I have removed the reservoir (I hardly ever use it) to give a better flow of air to the transmission cooler. I am experimenting with this as we speak. One other thing I do is pulling out slightly the oil and transmission fluid dipsticks to release internal heat. I have been doing this for years.

When I got back to Florida, I decided to remove the black plastic section between the hood and the front bumper, because it had been broken. Rather than replace it, I left the area open for cooling reasons.

The pictures above show the lightweight Underdog Racing Development SuperGrip Crankshaft Pulley for 3.0L 1MZFE engines. Thanks goes out to TunedRX300 at Club Lexus for discovering this fine product. This lightweight pulley fit perfectly into my RX300 and with only 30 minutes of work by my cousin Antonio Jr. This pulley weighs just 1 pound 10 ounces instead of the OEM 5 pound 4 ounce pulley. Since it is lightweight this pulley helps pull the accessories slower thus allowing for up to 8 more horses out of the engine and it looks great. It has some small gaps on it that help let air escape ensuring the tight drip of the belt on the pulley (as seen in the last photo). A lot of guys comment they would wear it around their neck as jewelry:) You can feel it in the pedal and it pulls you up into the RPM band a little faster. The URD pulley was the mod that pushed me under 18 seconds for the first time. A few seconds after you hit 3rd gear (in the 70 mph range), the RX will pull really smooth like sliding down a slide. I was the very first person with an RX300 to install this pulley. With this pulley I went from 18.056 to 17.931 in the 1/4 mile.($259 for the pulley, but URD is not offering it at the moment). However, do check out the forums at SolaraGuy , particularly the Aftermarket Upgrades subforum for the Gen 1-1.5 models , as occasionally they have threads regarding future development of a 1MZFE pulley.If get your hands on one or a future pulley, make sure you keep it clean (i.e. wash this area thoroughly for better effectiveness). Recently, one company, NonStopTuning has come out with 2 crankshaft pulley options, lightweight or underdrive, for the 1MZFE engine.

TRANSMISSION AND TORQUE CONVERTER UPGRADE

After an incident involving my transmission being hit by a piece of dislodged road, we had to remove the transmission to repair a fractured engine pump. A good friend of my Uncle Antonio, Chinito, in the Cuajimalpa section of Mexico City was able to fix my transmission, adding stronger parts to it and modify it for better fluid flow. In addition, a separate group that both my uncle and Chinito knew of was able to upgrade my torque converter to a high stall version. While this is not as good in performance as the modifications of IPT or other known groups in the United States that perform such modifications, for the approximately $1000 USD in service costs to perform this work, this was quite a bargain. The shifts are much smoother and quicker and there is a greater swiftness off the light. I also credit this with blasting me to my 125.80 km/h record in the 1/4 mile. Unfortunately, I did not achieve a record 1/4 mile time due to a very difficult to pinpoint IACV (Idle Air Control Valve) issue that I did not resolve until returning to Florida, where the sea level air made the issue much easier to track down. Also of note, the transmission was painted not just for aesthetic reasons, but in Mexico City we have a lot of flooding and the combination with the heat from the transmission and going through flood waters on repeated occasions is, as Chinito put it, taking a hot pan and sticking it in cold water. The end result can be that small internal components, due to the sudden temperature change could weaken.