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The mkiv Supra Owners Club

Modernising the mkiv Supra


Noz

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What have people done to modernise their Supra out of interest. I'm curious guys to hear what people have done to improve for their own lifestyle, or just purely from being creative, on their Supra.

 

I'm doing a range of things, but be great to hear other peoples stories and what people think would be of benefit.

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Currently on my to-do list, or through various stages of conversion:

 

3UZ-FE

ZF 8HP75

CAN BUS screen dash to replace cluster, powered by arduino and an intelligent display (with integrated sat nav in the dash like you get in a Lexus)

Paddle shift

ECU upgrade and everything modern that comes with it, switchable maps, better traction control etc.

More advanced dampers

HUD tied to Arduino system

DAB

DBW throttle

Heated seats

Heated front windscreen

Aeromotive active rear wing

Reversing camera

Cruise control

 

If money was no object:

2GR-FSE and hybrid system from an early GS450h + rotrex supercharger

 

Or if you're desperate to stick with a 2J, I'd love to have a crack at using the rare 2JZ-FSE engine and seeing what could be done with that. I reckon you could get a really nice torque profile for a street engine on that.

Edited by el_bandido (see edit history)
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Pipe dream of mine is to have a head unit setup that covers it's usual tricks (radio, phone, maps etc.) as well as the ECU and all of its adjust-ability bundled into one smooth interface. Changing maps, a gauge screen, fault finding/diagnostics etc. That way you could get rid of all the gauges and extra screens that look out of place no matter where you put them. CarPC running Centrafuse with some tweaks back in the day was the initial route I thought would be best, but things are moving fast and a tablet setup could probably do the trick better nowadays. I'd like to bin the back seats for a nice sub setup as well like the MKV seems to have. You could hide amps or electric boards under it too. Inferno's build had a tidy sub setup.

 

OEM+ has always been my favourite approach to mods, especially the interior. SSI Performance in Ireland have some nice gizmos on the go.

 

Exterior wise, parking sensors like you mentioned in another thread would be nice. A reverse camera looks like it would fit nicely into the key hole moulded into the rear lights. A boot release fob could be used instead if you wanted to retain some form of opening it without going to the drivers seat. I see some aftermarket ECU's seem to be offering Stop/Start technology as well but we all know that's a massive con. Constant running sidelights, automatic wipers, a good cruise control system, auto headlights...the list goes on :D

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My view of modernising the MKIV Supra is quite simple :

 

INTERIOR :

 

FACELIFT,

Full interior LED (with new not yellowed buttons),

Leather RECARO,

Leather facelift 3 spoke stearingwheel (out of the IS300),

Leather rear seats,

 

 

EXTERIOR :

 

FACELIFT,

New paint with top clearcoat quality,

MVP front lip,

Big brake kit front - EU rear,

Rolled fenders,

Deep dish wheels (Work Meister, CCW, TE37 SL, ...),

 

 

ENGINE :

 

Refreshed VVTI 2JZ-GTE with single kit,

New oil/water pumps, ...

New FMIC,

HKS BOV,

FLUIDAMPR pulley,

STAGE 2 cams,

 

 

DRIVETRAIN :

 

Definately the TREMEC T56 (stock version),

Aftermarket diff (OSGIKEN),

 

 

SUSPENSIONS :

 

KW or other top quality brand (have to investigate a bit more this).

 

 

ELECTRICAL :

 

Syvecs S7 with toucan with all the features (launch, traction control, oil pressure alert, water temp alert, ...)

 

 

 

 

Excepted from the gearbox, wheels and suspensions, that's where I am with my 2002 N/A Supra.

 

The last year of production for a "modern" MKIV Supra is also important to my eyes =)

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Nice, I shelved the idea like 6 years ago so really need to start looking into it again. Does it tie into the ECU or would it utilise a bluetooth connection or something?

 

I've no idea if it works with the standard Supra ECU, but you can use any form of connector that interfaces with a normal android device if you have a can bus compliant ECU. I've been working on this for quite some time. My plan is basically to have an android head unit that operates as the master computer for the car, coupled with an arduino with a CAN bus adaptor for the dash. This will allow me to pass information via custom can bus commands to whatever sniffer is feeding the android head unit. It also means I can pass information back to the dash, so if I decide I want a sport mode (or whatever) then I can have a setting that will change the information on the head unit and the dash at the same time. It's nowhere near finished yet, but I've got a basic prototype working with an arduino, an android tablet and some dummy can bus data from a computer.

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I've no idea if it works with the standard Supra ECU, but you can use any form of connector that interfaces with a normal android device if you have a can bus compliant ECU. I've been working on this for quite some time. My plan is basically to have an android head unit that operates as the master computer for the car, coupled with an arduino with a CAN bus adaptor for the dash. This will allow me to pass information via custom can bus commands to whatever sniffer is feeding the android head unit. It also means I can pass information back to the dash, so if I decide I want a sport mode (or whatever) then I can have a setting that will change the information on the head unit and the dash at the same time. It's nowhere near finished yet, but I've got a basic prototype working with an arduino, an android tablet and some dummy can bus data from a computer.

 

I reckon that sort of things would sell like hot cakes. A lot of the aftermarket products you get for the interior kinda feel like bolt ons that just go wherever they're out of the way. Hiding and integrating it all would be awesome. I'd be interested to see how your project pans out :)

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I removed my RAC and AA badges from the bumper bar :D.

 

I've toyed with the idea of retrofitting a steering wheel from a M3 with the digital display on the top of the wheel, would probably need a standalone to read from or something more complex, but that or a heads up display were my focus recently.

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Currently on my to-do list, or through various stages of conversion:

 

Heated seats

Heated front windscreen

Reversing camera

Cruise control

 

The heated seats would be amazing, I've never even seen or thought about those. I know whifbitz sells the screens. Do they really need them?

 

Reversing camera with drop down number plate is my goal!

 

Pipe dream of mine is to have a head unit setup that covers it's usual tricks (radio, phone, maps etc.) as well as the ECU and all of its adjust-ability bundled into one smooth interface. Changing maps, a gauge screen,

 

Exterior wise, parking sensors like you mentioned in another thread would be nice. A reverse camera looks like it would fit nicely into the key hole moulded into the rear lights. A boot release fob could be used instead if you wanted to retain some form of opening it without going to the drivers seat. I see some aftermarket ECU's seem to be offering Stop/Start technology as well but we all know that's a massive con. Constant running sidelights, automatic wipers, a good cruise control system, auto headlights...the list goes on :D

 

You could replicate a multi position switch, like the one used for syvecs using a screen. You could make your own radio setup, be quite easy to link something to a switch for ecu maps. Hardest bit would be the radio. Like the screen to map idea.

 

Automatic wipers would be totally ace, love that idea. I did think about how my Audi continues the wipers after engine stopped. Auto headlights, not so sure. I know BMW has turning adjustment inside their lights with corners!

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Love the mirror. How does it operate? Reduce glare etc?

 

Thanks. Its very good at reducing glare. I got it from amazon. Gemtex mirror. "Special sensors and electronic circuitry detect glare and automatically dim the mirror accordingly" easy enough to install. Heat gun will help remove the old mirror mount.

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Thanks. Its very good at reducing glare. I got it from amazon. Gemtex mirror. "Special sensors and electronic circuitry detect glare and automatically dim the mirror accordingly" easy enough to install. Heat gun will help remove the old mirror mount.

 

Isn't the OEM Supra mirror difficult to remover without cracking the screen?

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In terms of modernizing it would be great if the door windows would roll down just a few milimeters when open.

This way it would make a better seal when the doors are shut, especially on 20+ year old weather seals.

However I do think this would be very hard to do on our cars...

 

Regards, Herb

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