Bob's Supra Home Page

My Car...

My Wagon...just not little or red...well, some red under the hood...

1987 Toyota Supra Turbo
Pearl White, Sport Package, Manual Transmission
154,000km...and slowly climbing

Current Setup:

Engine Related Mods:

Waste Gate shimmed (3 washer ~8psi)
K&N FIPK. The venerable 'FIPK on The Cheap' is gone. A fun, though PITA project, it has served it's useful life for me, and needs a larger filter attached. In pricing it out, for a little more than the cost of what I have done and the correct filter for the boost I'll be running this year, I can get the real FIPK and be done with replacements forever...well, until I go standalone! Only downside is that the heatshield will have to be redesigned as the FIPK will not work with it due to the change in AFM position. Have to design and build a new one!
Bosch/Saab Blow Off Valve. Install notes and pictures appear here
Red Silicone Vacuum Lines. Not to be confused with a real performance mod in anyone's opinion (and if it is you need a slap) but a healthy aesthetic replacement of an often neglected system on the car. Solved many a little idle fluctuation after the old lines were swapped out, and looks sort of unique. Not that I haven't seen 20 other cars with the same red vacuum lines before, but these are on my car... OOOOHHH, AAAAHHHHH!!!!! BEHOLD THE GLOWING REDNESS... Pictures are still below...they haven't moved since you read the last bullet.

Cooling:

KOYO all aluminum radiator. This is a sweet product. It does need a little fabrication to get it to fit perfectly, as it is made for the JZA-70 models, which use different shroud mounting points. A full write-up and instructions on how to make it fit like it belonged will appear in the tech section when I get it completed and the photos scanned.
Greddy or TRD radiator cap. Have to buy it yet, but as the hoses are all fairly new, the extra 2 lbs of pressure shouldn't hurt, and raises the boiling point a little higher for that extra overall margin of safety. Besides, it looks nicer than the stocker :). Added benefit of the TRD...it's the only TRD part we can still get new from Toyota that fits right (Labels on the oil caps they sell for us don't line up properly for some reason...TRD quality for ya!).

Electronics and Controls:

HKS Turbo Timer V Type 1. Please see the Tech Tips and Mods page for install notes.

New CD player. I picked up an AIWA CDC-X237 head unit. Really trick looks, good performance and very low price (open box special at Best Buy put this under $200CDN installed...all tax in). This is not the MP3 unit, but the base removable face CD player. Perhaps the neatest trick is the front aux input, where I could plug in my portable MP3 player and play through. No need for a new antenna either...this baby receives perfectly clear on the $10 cheapie I put in to replace the stock motorized unit. Really nice, really cheap...really reminds me that the stock speakers do suck...

CB radio. I built a removable brushed aluminum bracket to mount it to the centre console for this neat item used only on long voyages. I can hear you already 'hahahaha....Loser....Hey smoky, where's the bandit?' Not trying to re-live the 1970's but instead it is a genuinely useful travel mate. Convoying to the meets with one of these helps keeps the up to 15 cars together, can help you all know of speed traps in advance, helps to let you dodge other traffic troubles if you listen in to the truckers, lets you talk with everyone easily to plan stops and is great for general chit-chat and such when you're in the car for a few to double digit hours at a time on a trip down somewhere. FRS is pretty hard to hear at 70 MPH (terrible sound and lots of background noise), and the limited range of them makes the much more powerful CB the better choice. But I take it out when I'm not on the road (leaving it in to listen to on the way to work...that could be considered a little geeky, and please take me aside for a stern talking to about what is and is not cool if that day comes).

Suspension, Steering and Braking::

Tein Type Flex Adjustable Coilovers. All I can say is wow. The build quality of these is beyond my expectations. 16 way adjustable, fully adjustable ride height, adjustable damper length, correct tabs for the brake lines to mount to at the front, an anti-rust spray bottle, and the wrenches. This is one trick kit. What a difference on the car as well. Allows me to go from mildly stiff to very stiff, all while avoiding that dreaded bouncy effect that the cheap Honda spring kits have. If I can recommend a setup for the Supra, it is the flex for a mainly road going car that has some track exposure. Only thing now is that I'd like to get some mild sway bars to limit body roll just that little bit more (not like there is much now). Pictures are below. I was going to put together an installation article, but this is basically the same as any suspension change, so read your TSRM. The only difference is the measurements to be taken on the system and setup before it is installed, and for that I left it to the Tein dealer installers. They put a kit on every few weeks it appears into their race cars...so they know best.
Refinished factory Saw blade rims, done in Volvo Dark Silver. Sporting Michelin Pilot Sport 245/45 16. Yes, they really should be mounted on 7 1/2 inch width rims minimum. However, after a few months of use, and playing with pressures, I have eliminated all squirm from the slightly large width tires on the streets, and suffer no adverse effects on wear. Pictures below, or until I get a page for them...Have to get more ideal rims and tires for track use later on...
New Brakes. I decided to go all out on these...within reason. A big brake kit is not in the cards at the moment, so I've done the next best thing. For the rears, new parking brakes, new KVR slotted rotors and KVR Carbon Fibre pads (many claim are the next best thing to Porterfield RS4 pads...I believe them, but have to try the RS4 someday to know for sure). Rears are done, including new Russell stainless steel braided lines, and fronts have new pads. KVR rotors and new pads will go on for fall 2003 perhaps to complete the fronts. I'm leaning to a new pad offering from Japan as well. Project Mu (as in the Greek letter) has a line of pads fairly new to North America that one of our local club sponsor shops is raving about (they use the full race versions on their track only cars). Seems they have a mild track/hard street version that I will likely try. Not to say I wouldn't like to give the Porterfield's a try, just that these guys have yet to steer me wrong in parts selections.
Unorthodox PS pulley installed. Why this you ask...'cause dummy behind the keyboard (at this end, not yours) dropped and cracked the old PS one while overhauling the pump and lines early last year...pics of the completed Power Steering system below!

Summer-Fall 2003 Project Plans:

Suspension, Steering and Braking:

Suspension Techniques Sway Bars: This is coming, perhaps at the latest in the fall or winter of 2003, but will be added. The Teins are great, but being a streetable spring rate compromises the body roll a bit more than I want. There are a few other bar lines out there, but the ST are the smallest upgrade over factory, and that is likely all I really need. I also have to fabricate some adjustable endlinks from the local fastener centre's supply of rod ends when the time comes to ensure the system is neutral balanced when riding straight.
Front Strut Tower Bar. A Toronto area company is measuring up a set that will be 3 point, meeting at the firewall for some extra rotational stability, as opposed to just stabilizing the 2 towers with one another. On double wishbone cars, isolation of only the towers does not have as much effect as tying the towers rotationally to the frame as well. Should really help the cowl shake, perhaps more than the simple bars available from other makers, but I'm expecting the bar to be fairly inexpensive too boot, unlike the Cusco units I was going to get. This should be ready perhaps by mid summer.
Brake cooling ducts. It is my intention to head to a SOLO1 school in the next year or 2 and put this car on the track for some fun, and the brakes need every bit of help they can get. I may remove the rear dust covers to expose more air as well as the ducts to give them a good chance. Big brakes would be nice, but are not in the cards for the moment. Perhaps next year...

Exhaust:

As much as I would have loved to try the custom dual system for uniqueness and in anticipation of twin turboing the car one day, the modifications to the fuel tank would make it so that I would have to get a fuel cell, and lose almost 50% of the capacity due to the limited space under the car, and of course the body work that would have been needed now to notch the bumper for dual pipes (in researching the tank issue, I discovered that for some reason, shops don't want to just weld up a tank for you, even a brand new one...liability thing so they said). All that, and the cost for the cell made this an unwanted change for the moment, so I will be purchasing a 3" elbow and downpipe, or one of the many new combined elbow+down pipe systems and an HKS Super Dragger cat back setup. Hope to have it together for the June '03 New Jersey Meet, but it might take a little longer as I want to get the pre cat sections ceramic coated, along with the turbo heat shields.

Electronics and Controls:

Alarm...nuff said! I'm looking at a nice unit for spring install that will incorporate a few features important to targa/convertible cars, and all of the sensors I could want. I can also have it turbo timer compatible, or a unit with one built in (great feature, then I can sell the HKS one).

New stereo components. After I picked up a new head unit, I recognized that the factory speakers are really behind the times and sound like hell at even just a little more power than the stock head put out (a whopping 22w is what the new one has...). I'm starting to look at subwoofer and amp combinations at the moment, that will not take up even a small amount of the precious trunk space, look factory, and sound good. Eventually, I will likely add a 4 channel amp and proper, good quality speakers all around, but the bass and clarity is the worst part of the factory setup, and this may fill that out the cheapest way, allowing me to avoid all that expense on things that are less important to me than the overall handling and speed of the car (I listen a fairly quiet levels...I just want more range, not to launch my windows into the street!).

Boost controller. I was looking at the Blitz SBC-ID unit as the features and add on port for the Power Meter are pretty much what I want. Combined, they replace a few gauges that I would otherwise have to purchase.

Gauges. I'm looking to the Defi Link System of gauges and control/memory module. I'll likely start with the boost gauge and oil pressure, and then every once in a while add one more to the setup until I have all 6. I'm really fond of the BF Series that fade the display to black when the car is off. Makes it more difficult for a potential thief to see what is in the car when the extra dash goodies are blacked out. The neatest feature is the master warning...one led can be mounted in the dash (for me where the TEMS led's were) that responds whenever any gauge notes that a condition has overrun the presets. Love linked products for these types of things!

Medium Term Plans (12-15 Month Horizon):

Engine:

It is starting to look more and more like the engine is starting to head south. Oil consumption is increasing steadily, and a cloud follows me at RPM's above 4500. The valve stem oil seals were already going, and now, it appears rings and perhaps also the early signs of turbo seal failure. The plan is to purchase a used engine, and send it to a respected local shop to have his contacts rebuild it. Included would be forged pistons, rods, general rebuild, extensive head work including porting, cc'ing, and overall to blueprint the top and bottom ends to get the most out of this puppy.
Turbo Upgrade. While I do plan to get radical on the turbo arrangement, replacing the CT-26 with a custom twin setup, for the mean time I would like to get some more oomph out of the car as cost effectively as possible. For now, I'm thinking a 57 trim upgrade. At elevated boost, fuel is a consideration, and 550cc injectors are a must. To go with this, I'm thinking the control will come from a standalone EMS, forgoing the intermediate step of piggy back computers and the cost of getting them, buying the big unit later, and then selling these for a loss. All in all, a more cost effective solution considering the long term plans for the car.

Body and General:

Replace the window and roof seals...I'm tired of looking like I have a bladder issue requiring Depends(tm) every time it rains, however, I also want to do the body finally and get new paint, so it may wait till then. Hatch seals could use a replacement too.

Rim Widening. I like saw blades...most don't, but I still have a soft spot for them. I'm looking to widen mine to 8 1/2 inches to allow for proper mounting of the 245/45 tires I currently use, and that width would also work well with the 255/50/16 rears that the MK IV normally-aspirated uses. Not a light combination, but for the streets they would be perfect. Another set may come should I get more serious about racing, but they would be track only anyhow.

Trailing arms...gulp...these very expensive components bend on the driver's side once in a while. My while came. Carbon Fibre FX in Vancouver has upgrade versions of them, but the price is pretty steep. I may have to rely on one from a wreck. Left and right side are the same part number, so a good one should be fairly easy to find.

Bushings...gulp...again...appears I may have a bad one up front, but I am having trouble tracking down the specific culprit. Suprasport just released their body side bushing kit, but this will add undue strain on anything on the outside of the rears (couple of ball socket types that can take it...but a rubber one or 2 that will be taking an added beating too, after all they are the only flexible ones left then!). Fronts are all ball joint on the outside, so the issue is moot up there. Jeff Watson has some of the 6/6 nylon group buy kits from Geoff Mohler late last year, but at damn near $800 a set, and never replaceable when they fail down the road, the price seems a little too steep for me.

Redo the tinting of the corner markers to make them a little more professional looking. A body shop should be able to mix 5% black in clear to produce the polished glossy though shightly tinted look I'm after. I don't want them blacked out, but only to take some of the colour out when the lights are not on.

Replace the integration relay so I get some interior lighting back again! Kind of annoying trying to find anything at night when there's no lighting! I keep meaning to look at it...but never really get enough will to do so!

Window tinting. I have always liked solid grey (25-35% or so) tints on white cars. Perhaps I'll take the interior out of the hatch area and have it done right sometime next year.

Interior. I love the feel of the Supra, but the burgundy colour is pretty dated. I intend to have the interior recovered in black with charcoal accents with the centre console being done in an aluminum look paint. This should bring the car up to today, and the seats need resurfacing badly anyhow, so now's the time to do it all. As I have most of the interior out now, I may have the back half of the car done soon, and the rest in the spring next year when I hope to start some body work as well.

Maintenance and General Mechanical Issues:

PS high pressure line replacement and new reservoir. As much as I like the now painted red reservoir, it appears to be the source of renewed leaking even with thoroughly cleaning the screen. I'm in the market for a high volume racing unit, and have seen one that comes with a nice replaceable filter like an oil filter. Not pretty and shiny like the Honda crowd ones, but well designed and functional. Howard Hutchinson from New Jersey has also posted to the SOGI list all that one would need in Earls/Russell fittings and hose in order to replace the high pressure lines from pump to rack. I'll be looking to do this as well to help keep fluid in the system, and it is far cheaper (and prettier) than the factory Toyota replacements. I may need some for the new reservoir anyhow.

Long Term Plans (2-3 Years Plus...yes, I plan on keeping it):

Supra Group 'A' duct. When I get the front clip or whole car painted (sooner than I hoped...), this will get installed, and the bumper will be properly reinforced to allow the ducting as intended, without compromising the integrity of the bumper supports. I really like the look of it on a white car, and it gives a little more all important cool air to the various heat exchangers in the front end! For the early cars, all installations of the duct overhand the bumper license plate area, so one presumably has to cut the duct unit horizontally and have about an inch or so material removed to fit perfectly. Another early MK III drawback
Lip spoiler. I have to reconstruct this item, and will do so after the suspension goes on to ensure good ground clearance, but still make it large enough that it still acts as a proper air dam. Apparently a company in British Columbia is looking into making a copy of the Bomex Type II lip, and modifying it for use, and proper look, on the 86.5-88 cars. This may be the best option depending on the price.
Hood scoop. I'm looking to incorporate a reverse hood scoop for ventilation and the slight amount more down-force it can provide. Mainly though, the benefit is additional cooling as the hot air as somewhere to go (above hood pressure is always lower than under...allowing an escape point reduces lift while at the same time increasing cooling of the engine compartment).
Finally of course with all the body work, paint. The car's paint condition is degrading fast, and it looks like this may have to be done in 2004 to really keep it looking good. Have to hook up with one of our sponsors again in order to keep the costs down, but this could get really expensive, as the side mouldings, a fender, almost all window trim mouldings and perhaps a door (inside rust...strange spot too...) and other factory small trim parts need replacing at the same time.
Turbo upgrades. Believe it or not, while it could be 3-4 years away, I have been researching a bit already. At this point, I'm looking to go another unique route with a standalone engine management system and T3 based twin turbo setup. While I expect to be limited to about 425 horsepower on the 50 trim units (they appear to have the best map for use with our engines with up to 20 lbs boost, but more investigation is needed), they should provide spool up rates unseen by larger turbochargers. Initial plotting of air flow data on the turbo compressor maps leads me to believe that these could hit the full 20 lbs by 4000RPM, and be above 10 lbs of boost before 3000RPM, all while remaining in efficient territory. The area under the horsepower curve would be tremendous. Though the peak will not make the car a dynamometer queen, it looks like it would make a great technical road course setup! Time, money, and plenty of more research of course will tell if this can be done or not. For those more familiar with the T04 series, the T04E 50 trim flows about the same for all 6 cylinders as the T3 50 trim does for 3, except that the smaller, lighter wheels allow slightly faster spool at the extreme low end, and the T3 operates at 20,000 more RPM at the same point of peak boost and the 'efficiency island'.

The project list gets longer by the minute...longer with every repair too! The joys of supra ownership...

Pictures: A few random pictures of the parts and modifications...and here they stay until I get this site a little more organized...and since I don't get paid for web design, don't expect that to happen soon (have to quit work to get all this car stuff done...hmmmm...perhaps not such a good idea, but I did it anyway...expect to be back employed in June).

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