Barnstormer

Hi, just wanted any advice re a small problem I had recently. Whilts driving along quite normally mid 2k rpm got the red warning light come on for about a second or so. Car drove normally and no other abnormal indictions/lights. Happened 2 more times over the next 10 mins as above then fine. Drove car about 2 hrs later and warning light came on again this time for about 8 secs and car lost power although kept going, v poor throttle response and slight hesitancy. Also got a small backfire/pop from the exhaust. Light went out and car drove normally again! Got home and did diagnostic check. Error code 31 only - Air flow meter circuit. (NB - battery recently disconnected as charged it up so is very recent code) Checked out the air intake temp sensor. Results: 2 dec c - 4.4k ohms 18 deg c - 2.7k ohms 90 deg c - 350 ohms. They look fine to me. Refitted IAT. Re-set ECU. Check codes and none present. Took car for a further drive, no repeat of warning and checked for error codes. None showing. Seems to be a one off but should it occur again where should I start to look? Note - have eManage Blue(inj & timing harness + MAP), RLTC and Blitz DSBC Any ideas appreciated.

Stock facelift...

soz don't know, mine are small j-spec rears

Just had a set on winter tyres fitted as fed up scaring myself too often in the snow. Was running stock 17" with Toyo rubber and was not good at all. Had a spare set of stock 16" rims (16x8 front, 16x9 rear) so fitted some of these. 4 x 225/50R16 FULDA KRISTALL SUPREMO M+S Fulda website says can be fitted to 8 or 9" rims and they fitted fine. Went on 9" rim and inflated first time. Looks OK too with v slight rim protrusion. Even with the 225 on the rear traction was amazing. On the Toyos even at idle would spin up the rears on snow. Now can put my down pretty hard and RLTC doesn't even murmur. Amazing. Recommended - get the smallest width that will fit your current rims or get a set of cheap 16" stockers. Having googled a lot, 16" rubber is much much cheaper than 17" and up. I paid £125 a corner, fitted on my driveway by: http://www.event-tyres.co.uk/ They did say I had the last 4 Fuldas in stock in that size though....

not crank pulley but are these any good?http://www.toxicspeedshop.com/toyota-supra-jza80-lightweight-pulley-set-1467-p.asp

ok guys many thanks for the info. Will start on getting some more bits then! Have already got a new OEM tensioner and a Gates belt. Assume changing the water pump means draining the cooling system? Need some more Red Stuff as well then.....

Hi, planning to do a cambelt and tensioner bearing change soon. Is there anything else that I can do while front end in bits? Basically easy, cheap and quickish! ATB

I have a 5 year old CW SMIC and its still in excellent condition. Was on the dyno recently and is still providing excellent figures for a BPU. No deterioration at all, temps still good. ATB

Mines a gunmetal silver one although my tone is quite muted!

My Japanese is a little rusty but basically is says: WARNING •Before you use this product please read the instruction manual carefully and use it properly. •The use of this product on the public road is prohibited. •This product is a part for racing cars only. Please handle the product with care as any complaints such as engine damage etc will not be taken. •In case that the setting does not fit to your car properly please make sure to return this part within 3 weeks after your purchase. Additional charges will be occurred for any modification required after this period. SPEC DATE Hope this helps... ATB

Dunno what rad I got as now the local Toyota parts man is totally confused. My fans, fan shroud etc are nothing like the manual says they should be. he reckons mine is odd as it a 97 facelift non VVTi. I have bits off a VVTi, mk III and some normal j-spec. Reckons the car was assembled as the first VVTi's were coming along. Anyway, sorted the problem by myself. Problem was a small crack so I drilled it out to stop it propagating. Nicked some NDT dye from work and UV'd it. No cracks at all! Tapped it, made a stud and wrapped teflon tape around it. Next, got some epoxy from work again (waterproof, antifreeze resistant, 180c/-60 etc etc). Epoxied the stud in and buried it under more epxoy. V effective repair. Did another NDT dye test with no probs. Not sure how long its gonna last but I think it will outlast the rest of the rad. Saved 350 notes for a new rad as well. Result. ATB PS - could have got it x-rayed as well but the kit was out being used tonight. Bit overkill maybe.....

After a bit more investigation it seems I may have a non-standard rad! From the mkIV manual it shows no tank plate - just an o ring and upper tank - see piccy. The mkIII does have a tank plate. I know mine is a facelift but I ownder if anybody else has a rad with a tank plage. I've never closely looked at another Supe...maybe the manual shows early models or UK spec. ATB

Thanks for the replies. Rang local Toyota dealer for a quote for the parts and he said they can do a replacement upper tank with fitting. Getting me a quote in a few days. Might go with a new rad as I can do that myself and it may not be much more expensive as I can save on the labour. Found the full details on pg 10 of this pdf file! Have included the whole cooling sys pdf in case anyone finds it useful. Its for a mkIII but the tank plate details are the same. ATB 08_CO.pdf

Was doing some work on my car over the weekend and noticed a tiny crack in the radiator plastic upper tank - see service manual piccy below. Question: is it easy to remove and replace? Toyota manual below shows it can be dissasembled but when I actually look at it it seems to be held in place by a tank plate. Service manual suggest a special tool to fit. Has anyone ever done this? Would save me the cost of a new rad if it is straightforward. Any info always appreciated. ATB

Thnks for the reply. Found the leak where I suspected it was - bottom SMIC connector. Had to take off the front undertray and wheel well cover to get at it. Anyway, all OK now. Wasn't that interested in the blink factor of the hard pipe kit more the hope that if they are any good it will save me the hassle of doing this again! Was hoping that by fitting one I can avoid any more pipes popping off. Any alternatves to the HKS kit - Paul's one is just to two top pipes and not the full kit that HKS do. Any info appreciated. ATB

hi, just got a quick question if anyone has the time. Have got a boost leak from the turbo piping as I hear a loud whooshing sound when the pressure exceeds about 0.1 bar and the car drives like a dog and won't boost. Suspect the connectors to the SMIC and am gonna get on it today. Checked to visible ones and they seem OK. Q. I would like to replace the stock piping with a hard pipe kit and have looked at the HKS kit but it is pricey! Any comments on it? Are there any other ones out there that may be better? Any info appreciated on replacing the stock piping ATB

Hi, I needed some new plugs and found the cheapest place here.. http://www.mister-solutions.co.uk/ BKR7EIX £6.49 inc vat for 6 inc delivery £40 Not sure if the owner is VAT registered so maybe why so cheap. ATB

nobody found them useful then? I'll take them off my server soon but if anybody needs em in the future just PM me. ATB

Hi, just found some tech manuals on the 'net and have put them on my server if anybody wants to download them. Download this link.. Link Here Unzip the file and the contents are: Toyota Engine Management Overview.pdf Toyota Electrical and Engine Control Systems Manual.pdf Performance Toyota Exhaust Theory.pdf Total size is 19mb Hope its useful for some people. ATB

Hi, just been to Thor to have Pete install a Blitz DSBC type R. here are the dyno runs for the 4 channels. Chan 1 - 0.9 bar, 2 - 1.0, 3 - 1.1, 4 - 1.2 Figures seem fine although it is running rich at the top end. Pete thought the Walboro and FSE combo were causing this and a SAFC II would trim it out. Any comments or observations welcome. I am not going to do any more mods to the car other than a SAFC maybe as some point. ATB

was fairly straighforward to translate. Basically is says: Timing Belt Replacement (Maintenance Record) Was Replaced: 21 April 2001 Mileage: 99396 km So that was when it was done, not when it needed to be done. The dates are in Japanese format which is a bit different. The 13 4 21 means 13th year of Emperor Showa's reign, 4 month, 21st day. Currently it is Year 16 in Japan by their calendar. Hope this helps. ATB

weinelm if you post a picture of the sticker I will translate it for you. My Japanese is rusty but still OK. ATB

I too have had a similar experience to yours. I have an RSR, double decat with 3" pipework with a CW restrictor ring (dia 52mm). With the baffle in getting 0.8-0.85, baffle out around 1.0 -1.05 bar. Haven't tried with the restrictor ring yet but it may mean that we don't need it. I also have a Blitz boost controller that I may consider fitting to up the boost to around 1.2 bar. ATB Gavin

just had my battery go as well. Popped down to Halfords as I can walk there and was totally surprised to find a lad in the shop who knew all about J-spec Supras. Anyway, fixed me up with one of their own brand ones model HB054 which is a heavy duty one. It fits perfectly to the stock connectors and is also a perfect fit in the battery compartment. Even better £40 with a 3 year warranty. Took me 2 mins to fit and works a treat. Just been up to Chris Wilson's place for some stuff and even he said it fitted and looked good. ATB

a well designed exhaust can improve volumetric efficiency(VE) on a N/A engine as well as supercharged ones. used to work for an engineering company designing exhaust piping for marine engines (diesel) but the principle is similar for cars. The equations can be found here Not really required for understanding but basically anything to improve VE will aid the creation of horsepower. With a well designed exhaust you get.. Escaping exhaust gas creates pressure wave moving down the system. Wave hits the system’s end, causing “suction wave” to travel back up the system. Suction wave hits the cylinder and reverses direction just as the exhaust valve opens. The suction wave helps pull exhaust gases from the cylinder improving engine breathing and volumetric efficiency. Very difficult to design for all RPM's - exhausts can be designed for high end power or lower end torque. Optimum VE rpm occurs at peak torque rpm. All the above goes out of the window somewhat with turbocharging as peak VE can be just about anywhere you choose by controlling the boost map. Most modern N/A cars operate at about 80-90% VE with 100% being very good and 110% achievable without super/turbocharging with very specialised design on the intake, valves, pistons, exhaust etc. F1 engine designers are obsessed with VE as the only way to get more HP (ignoring mechanical losses) is to get more air into the cylinders and hence more fuel as they have to keep the A/F stoich. Too much info perhaps - this subject occupied my working life for 2 years.... ATB