Induction

B3any I can fully recommend Chris Wilson to look after, service, modify, repair and advise on anything to do with Supras. In the past Chris has fitted a number of modifications to my car, serviced it, given me great advice on lots of different things and exploded a few myths as well. He also sorted out the repair of my second turbo after it disintegrated about a month ago and shot bits of itself out of the exhaust I am more than happy with all of the work Chris has done on my car and being so easy to get to is a major bonus. Jules

I might try putting the stock BOV back on and see if it makes any difference. Jules

Matt I've noticed similar things and was also wondering what was the cause. On an overtaking move I sometimes have a situation where the 'box changes up whilst on full boost and the power seems to drop for half a second, almost like the engine is catching a breath, then it comes back and keeps going. This doesn't always happen, most of the time the engine delivers a fairly smooth and constant stream of power during the change. Jules

right, thanks Monkey, I'll look into this a bit more..... once CW has put my no.2 turbo back on and the car is up and running again, hopefully early next week

ok, thanks guys. I'll keep doing some research. The car's due in on the 29th of October and I've been told that they can't order anything until the bumper is taken off and they can see what stuff they need. I'm looking into it now to try and stop the delay of waiting for parts to arrive, causing the car to be off the road whilst the front is in bits. Jules

Alex Not sure if this of any help to you but.... I also get a noise when hitting over 1 bar. At first I couldn't track down the cause but it turns out it's the boost gauge. It's a racetech gauge and when boost is up the needle rapidly vibrates around the 1.2 bar mark and makes a buzzing sound. Jules

My car will be going in to have the front bumper and IC replaced soon because of badger damage. I've been told that genuine Toyota parts may take a while to get hold of so I was thinking about getting them to put a different front on. Which front bumper would look best assuming that the IC will probably remain as standard, at least side mounted (no big FMIC to show off through the gap!) and the rest of the body will also stay standard? And am I right in thinking I could get hold of a different bumper quicker? The new intercooler maybe coming from a different source rather than Toyota. Thanks Jules

The car is now at Chris Wilson's and I should know by the weekend just what the problem is. Chris reckons the rattling noise might be parts of the blades that didn't get past the o2 sensor when the thing gave way. I'm still hoping that it's not as bad as it seems but at the end of the day I suppose I have to face up to the reality that I could be facing a monster repair bill When talking to Chris about possible options for replacement he was saying that as it's an auto there are certain things to take into consideration. I was thinking along the lines of hybrids that I've been reading about on the msg board, but as Chris says, I'd have to replace no.1 as well and therefore the cost would only go up. I would like more low down pull from the car and was thinking that maybe the oppurtunity to explore the hybrid route would give this to me but after a chatting to Chris I'm following his advice and, if the damage is a knackered turbo, I'm going for a rebuild of no.2 to retain the same setup. With this and my soon-to-be-repaired Badger damage I'm facing a winter of discontent. Now then, where did I put the details of that money making internet scam .....

Monkey That's good to hear. What difference did youfind with them on, does it give a power increase across the range or just in certain areas? Jules

Hi all Last night on my way home from work I was overtaking someone at a normal kind of speed and the second turbo never came in. At about 3500 - 4000 rpm the engine seemed to go breathless and then boost pressure started to drop and kept dropping all the way to below zero on the gauge. I'm taking it to Chris Wilson tonight for him to give a verdict on what could be the problem - hopefully a hose or something, but I'm fearing the worst. After I limped home I spoke to Chris and he said to check things like hoses, connections, etc., but whilst the car was idling I noticed that when the revs rose for the air con there was a rattling noise from the turbo housing area. When the revs drop again the rattling disappears. Is this rattling a sign of impending doom or is there still hope that it could be something easily corrected? To quote Peter Kay's Mr Softy Top: "I don't f**kin' need this do ah!!"

Justin You're right, it provides endless entertainment. Only problem is I think I've just destroyed turbo no. 2. I've posted a seperate thread to see if anyone can shed any more light on the situation. Syed Are you saying that fitting an EBC would class as an upgrade to the bleed valve? Also, are things like cams suitable for an auto - I thought I'd read somewhere that things like that were only for manuals or am I talking rubbish? As I said above, I now seem to have fallen foul of a blown turbo so now might be the oppurtunity to look into a different turbo setup, maybe something like you mentioned. Thanks Jules

Well, I'm now running at about 1.2 bar and enjoying every second of it. After a long wait for a Super Drager to arrive from HKS, Chris (Chris Wilson, Shropshire) whacked it on to the back of the full decat that he'd already done. A few days later I decided to have a bleed valve and boost gauge fitted as well - next up are water injection and a new intercooler (the current one and the front bumper are suffering from Badger damage, which is being taken care of by the insurance in the next couple of weeks). The new performance has definitely given a glimpse of the car's frisky side and has turned it into a firey whore with an attitude - pure filth Chris has done a great job with the car, I'm more than pleased with all the work he's done so far and he's only about 15 mins away from me, result! To anyone thinking of going down the BPU route then it's something I can fully recommend, it's fantastic fun. Any passengers suddenly stop talking when the power hits, they can't believe this sweet sounding, comfortable car can suddenly turn into a growling, snarling beast. I can also highly recommend Chris to carry out the work, he does a great job and gives an honest and open opinion about a lot of Supra stuff. He also sorted my suspension out and turned the car into something that can handle pretty much anything that I throw at it. I've got a couple of questions for the guys who are already well down this path: What are the next things I should be thinking about doing to the car (apart from the ones I mention above) to further look after it with it's current performance level or to raise the performance, or preferably both, whilst retaining the stock turbos? Are the injectors, fuel pump and other fuel related things on the UK specs still up to the job now, or is this something else to look at? Thanks Jules

Chris I'm going to have a good chat with you about this stuff when I bring the car to you for a service. I'm really fed up with the current setup and don't really feel like trying to make a bad job good so it seems like I'll be investigating the route you describe of a totally new setup. I just want something that can handle the corners properly. I'll speak to you soon. Jules

Lee Yeah, it's a bullet cam, looks a like a tube of lippy but a bit bigger! I was also surprised by the quality. It does produce cracking pictures considering it's size. Also, don't forget that you're seeing an image that has been encoded for the web and therefore contains compression artefacts. I bought the kit off the web a couple of days before I went to the 'ring from a place called rfconcepts. It was about 150 quid as a package which included: camera, permanent mount, velcro mount, battery holder, mic, cables, a little sunhood which screws on the front and a carry case for the whole lot. The website for rfconcepts is http://www.rfconcepts.co.uk/helmet_cameras.htm I bought the Camera 3 package which is the hi-res camera, worth it for that bit extra I think. The cameras are fully waterproof and I certainly had no problems with it whilst on the track or hammering back up the French and Belgian motorways in the rain. I recorded the output on a Sony DV10 which is a DVCAM walkman with a built in LCD screen - perfect for setting up the alignment of the camera. You can record onto a camcorder but it needs to have an AV in socket on it, some do, some don't. It will more or less permanently reside in the front intake from now on (after the insurance company take care of the Badger damage!) and I'll be recording various events etc., from the great view it gives from down there. Jules

Paul So close and yet so far! Never mind, I'm already planning for next year so we might be able to get some of the others interested and get a snake of Supras going round the Nurburgring! Lee I've put up a couple of small clips of some of the shots it got. One is a front view from inside the passenger intake on the front spoiler and the other shows a view looking through the rear spoiler from one side of the car. It's a cracking little camera about 3 inches long and about 3/4 of an inch in diameter. It gave some fantastic pictures when it was mounted in various locations on the car. I held it in the different places with strong velcro which worked perfectly - it stood up to 170 without any problems. The tiny mic that came with it is pretty good too. It gave some good sound from wherever it was situated. Putting it in the engine bay sounded pretty good. For the rear view I put it near the exhaust but I think it got overloaded a bit. The rear view clip shows an NSX approaching behind. This was not far into my second lap and I was making it an exploratory one to try and get some info on the circuit so wasn't really going for it, but when he tried to make a move coming out of a corner I decided to show him a bit of Supra power on the straight! And I had some shit fuel in the tank after filling up at some station in the middle of nowhere before I got to the circuit. I slowed and let him past after that, he obviously had more knowledge of the circuit and with me ripping the arches out I wasn't going to spoil his fun - I wouldn't be happy if somebody did it to me. If you want any more info on the camera let me know. When I get time I'll put up some more clips - I did a lap when it was raining and the circuit was covered in water - tail went out a few times, great fun! Front view Rear view Jules

Paul Yeah, that was me you spotted with the split in the front bumper - had some bad luck at the beginning of the trip. At about 3.30 am as I was on my way to pick up my mate who was coming with me and I hit a Badger that shot out of the hedgerow. He broke the bumper, ruined the active front spoiler (which I managed to get back into the normal position) and snapped a mounting on the intercooler! I thought the trip was over before it had even begun but everything seemed to work fine (with the help of some cable ties applied under torch light!) My phone decided it wasn't going to give any signal as soon as we got into France even though I double checked it was set up for international use, so I tried to call you on my mates phone but his wouldn't connect with your number for some reason. The trip was fantastic and I'll definitely be going next year, bigger, better and stronger! I've got some decent footage from the little bullet-cam and I'll try and put a couple of clips up for download asap. As far as my suspension goes, I'm really pi**ed off with it - it pretty much ruined the track time so I'm going to sort it once and for all. I've heard the Tein setups are pretty good for track use and are fully adjustable. That might be the way to go. Jules

Hi everyone Just returned from a weekend at the Nurburgring - fantastic fun, good footage from the onboard camera low down in the front wing and looking back past the rear wing, etc. (great view looking back at an NXS as I pulled away from him) but I'm really cheesed off with how the car handled. I'm running Eibach springs with KYB AGX shocks (which are 4 way adjustable and have improved the handling a fair bit) but the front tyres are hitting the arch liners. After a couple of laps the top of the liners had completely worn through, so had the cable loom tray above the drivers arch liner, exposing the actual loom. Even some of the wires had been stripped of their sheath! I had to do some running repairs with the good old trusty gaffer tape and I was really worried about moisture getting into the wiring. I had to repair about six individual wires and cover them in heat shrink. The ABS and TRC light had come on but after repairing the wiring it was all okay - very worrying times! Other than the above, the car performed beautifully but it was so frustrating to have the tyres ripping the arch liners every time I tried to push on. I've decided that I'm going to sort the problem once and for all and get the car handling properly so that around something like the Nurburgring the handling matches the performance. The problem also occurs under normal road conditions as well (although mildy) when travelling fairly quickly and hitting a mid-corner bump or going through a dip and catching a bump at the bottom. It's doing my head in! What kind of setup did the Supra have that holds the record for the 'ring? Is getting my car to handle like that achievable, or did it have some custom, mega-expensive parts bolted on? How come I saw other cars that seemed to also have pretty low setups bombing round and commiting to corners that were giving me big problems? Are the Eibach springs too soft or just crap? I'm really fed up with the problem and would appreciate any advice on what kind of route to take with this. Thanks Jules

Right, when I bring the car in for the Super Drager to be fitted we'll have a chat then. Thanks Chris PS. Had the AGX shocks fitted on Monday as I've hardly got any spare time this week and wanted to get them on for the Nurburgring trip in the hope that they would either improve or cure the situation.

Chris On the topicThose AGX shocks are on and they make quite a difference to the handling of the car - much more direct and stable through the corners. There doesn't seem to be much difference between setting 2 thru 4 (2 being softer). I'm running on setting 4 at the moment and although the car does give a stiffer ride - particularly at slower speeds - it doesn't seem to compromise the general comfort levels. The tyres still touch the underside of the arches (as you said they would!) when going quickly and a fair bit of load gets applied to the fronts, such as in a dip where there's a bump, etc, in the middle, but it's not anywhere near as bad. Areas of road that I know would have caused a nasty noise before now only generate a brush on the arches. Maybe the Eibach springs do lower the car just that bit too much. Do you think the bump stop rubbers that you mention perhaps give me some more improvement? Jules

Yeah, I'm just going to wack the middle cat back in place when it's next due for an MOT.

Had a CW Downpipe and an HKS frontpipe fitted by Chris Wilson in Shropshire on Friday and finally got rid of the cats. The stock exhaust is still on there at the moment as Chris is waiting for the Super D to arrive - hopefully something like the 23rd / 24th (I'm going to the Nurburgring this weekend and it would have been great to have it for that, but I suppose it's something to look forward to for when I come back ) As for the increase just the two pipes have made at the moment, I'm very pleased with the result. The second turbo definitely comes in quicker and pulls harder. Generally, things happen a fair bit swifter than before. I'd got use to the performance but driving round the last few days has seen that original grin come back on my face. I've heard Chris mention that when the Drager goes on a similar increase in performance should be felt again - can't wait, extra performance and a gorgeous exhaust note to match!! Chris did a great job and had to deal with some very stubborn studs on one of the original pipes and also had to fit a boss onto the HKS pipe so that it could accept the o2 sensor. I had a chat with him afterwards about a few other things like intercoolers, radiators, etc., and was given pointers and advice on a number of things. If anybody is thinking about going down the route of a full de-cat then I can fully recommend doing it and would have no worries about also recommending Chris to do the work. I'll post again when the Drager has been fitted. Faster Pussycat, kill, kill ....

Randy I've got Eibachs fitted and they have lowered the car by about 25mm all round. Sometimes during spirited driving the tops of the fronts will touch the underside of the arches (not the bodywork but the black plastic inserts up inside the arches) and make a nasty sound. I've been told this is because the standard shocks can't handle the sudden increase in load. I've ordered some AGX shocks from the USA (should be with me anytime now). I'd read that the AGX's, which are 4 way adjustable, are a perfect partner for the Eibachs and should create a good setup. I'll get them fitted and post the results. Jules

Found this on a site. Is this guy a visionary or just a mentalist? The URl for the full article with pictures is at the end. HPF Boost Mod Installation (for 93-98 Supra Twin Turbo) By Chris Bergemann Performing this modification may cause pre-mature turbo failure, pre-mature engine failure, pre-mature transmission failure, etc. This modification will increase boost levels beyond what are normally recommended for the Supra Twin turbo. HorsepowerFreaks is not liable to any damages that occur in your vehicle as a result of this modification. If you choose to do the following, you are doing so at your own risk. After this boost mod, you will control boost with your gas pedal only. A boost controller will no longer be necessary. Boost spikes will go up to 1.9 bar (1.7-1.8 bar on most), but will settle down around 1.3-1.4 bar to red-line on most BPU Supras. This mod is not recommended for automatic Supras, as some of the ones we've done have seen boost levels as high as 2.2 bar. Please read the entire instructions before you attempt to do this. I have been racing my Supra since 1996, and back in those days was unfortunately running with the 14 second cars! I installed a GReddy exhaust, down pipe, and GReddy Profec A boost controller, and was still only managing 13.7-14.3 second passes. At that time, there weren't many people who knew much about these cars, so I spent quite a bit of time experimenting with different things to improve my performance. Step 1 The biggest thing I learned the following year was found by reading books about how turbochargers work. Every book recommended a decreased spark plug gap as boost pressure increases. So I began gapping my plugs down until the car started to idle rough, then I backed them off a little. I ended up at a .026" gap (with the stock Nippon Denso plugs). With this modification alone, I went back to the track and ran a 12.8 (1 full second faster). Since that time, I would require every customer (who we installed the boost mod on) to purchase a set of stock plugs if they didn't already have them in their car, and I would gap them down to .026". This can be done with a 10mm allen wrench to remove the spark plug cover, unbolt the spark plug boots and remove them, and remove the plugs. This part is very easy. On installation, be careful NOT to overtighten the spark plugs. Then reset the battery for 30 seconds to clear you timing/fuel map. If the idle is rough after this, slightly increase the gap to .027" or .028". You might as well not do the remainer of the boost mod unless you are willing to do this, because the boost mod itself will greatly increase boost pressures, and you will get a miss at the higher rpms if you don't. Step 2 Doing this next step will provide a major increase in power on the #1 turbo, and will provide a significant increase in power in the upper rpm range as well (Especially on race fuel). Once I did this step, I ran a 12.2 with the same configuration as above. For this step, you will need the following parts... First, make sure your car is cool, or wear gloves, as the turbo is very hot. On the turbo towards the front, pull the two hoses off the turbo, and remove them entirely (in the picture below, that is right below where it says "Three plugs go under here"). This will leave 4 open ends (2 on the turbo, 1 on the turbo outlet housing, and 1 on the VSV in front. Plug all of those holes very securely with long black 1/4" rubber plugs. It is essential that those plugs are secure. The first turbo is what controls boost pressure, and plugging the openings will provide extra force against the wastegate to keep it closed slightly longer than it would otherwise. It will also prevent vacuum leaks, and not bleed air as the bleeder-T mod does. Next, take about 5 feet of 1/4" hose, connect it to a step down vacuum connector and connect the other end of the connector to 5 inches of 1/8" or smaller vacuum hose. It should be a real pain to push the hoses on to the connector, they should be really tight. The small hose should be very small, otherwise it will blow off the pressure can. Now pull off the hose where in the picture above it says, "Connect this to pressure can". Now connect the large end of the hose you just built to the IC pipe outlet shown in the picture, and plug the other end of the hose you just took off with a vaccum plug. Now, jack up the car, and crawl under the drivers side. The pressure can is very hard to see, but it's right below the back of the intake manifold. It is a can about 4 inches in diameter, with 2 small hoses coming out of the back of it. Pull the top one off the can, and off the vacuum piping to the right. The little hose you pull off should be around 5 inches long. Run the smaller end of the hose you attached to the IC piping to the top of the pressure can. Plug the vacuum piping to the right (the other end where you just pulled off the hose) with a little vacuum plug. Both should fit very securely. If they aren't, they WILL pop off. Note... A slightly different version of this mod must be done for cars that were previously equiped with a boost controller that ran into the Exhaust bypass valve on the back of the 2nd turbo. If this is done to your car, you will need to get to that line and plug it. Now you're all done and you can enjoy the power increase. One note... many people with the HPF boost mod have totalled their Supras due to the power coming on TOO hard on the first turbo. Please be careful. Do not ease into the power on any mild curves or especially in the rain. I don't want any more of my fellow Supra owners in the same boat. Enjoy. http://www.horsepowerfreaks.com/techarticles/boostmod/hpfboostmod.html

Stu Thanks for that - things are becoming a bit clearer now that I'm getting some info direct from a UK spec owner. I've already got the HKS front pipe and am still waiting for the Super Drager to arrive. So, if I fit both of them AND a downpipe, then I assume I will have a system in place that is pretty free-flowing. Now, does this mean I still need a boost cut controller / fuel cut defencer, etc., or not? And is a boost gauge strongly recommended? BTW, where is Chris Wilson, have I read on the board that he's in Shropshire somewhere? If so that's not too far for me. Jules

I knew I'd read it somewhere - this is off the TDI site http://www.tdi-plc.com/toyota_supraMk4.html#TOYOTA SUPRA TWIN TURBO JZA80 1994 on (2JZ-GTE) Stage 1 option: High-flow front-pipe. (Also removes 2nd Cat) Fitment of this pipe will give around 10bhp due to the removal of the 2nd catalyst and increase in in bore size. Turbo lag is also reduced over the original pipe. Most vehicles will still be legal for UK MOT's providing the 1st cat is in good condition. Modifications will be needed to fit on UK models as the lambda sensor boss is not present. This is a relatively straightfoward procedure to carry out and can be done here if necessary. £145.00 Please note: We do not reccomend removal of the 1st catalyst (on vehicles using stock turbos) due not only to the legality issue but also the fact that the Twin Turbo Supra uses the cats as a method of boost control. Removal of both cats can lead to excessive boost levels and/or 'boost creep' (especially on Jap models) due to the vehicle being unable to control exhaust flow. Cat removal pipes are available that can sometimes keep boost pressures reasonably low but they need to be made from a relatively small diameter pipe (2.5") to still present a restriction to flow. In our opinon this is pointless and retaining the stock 1st cat and using the very large (3") HKS front pipe usually achieves a similar result at a cheaper cost, whilst still keeping the vehicle legal and guaranteeing that boost levels remain safe for the engine.