Looking For Some Advice On My First MKIII :)

[DemonCrest]

Hi all, I'm new to this forums, but not new to Supras, just the specifics about them I have a little trouble with.

Anyways, the first thing that I am sure you all can at least agree with me on here is that we are all here since we share the love and sex appeal of MKIII's... so hopefully I can get some help here ?


Well, to start things off, I am a 2nd year university student and it's about time I get my own car. I have been looking for an MKIII for quite some time now with a rough idea in my mind: Manual, hopefully a repaired head gasket since thats needed right off the bat etc. So to add to my list and hopefully clear some things up, I wanted to ask the following things about performance:

General Questions about MKIII's and the various year models:

1. About what mileage do they seem to last well up until for each year's make? All I mean by this question (I know it's somewhat naive) is how strong should they be going up until I will start to probably look at replacing some things or it needing repairs if it is being maintained relatively well? I am just curious to know so that if I do come across some ads I can have a rough idea when I see a KM read... (or miles lol sorry I'm Canadian ). And I say this all knowing that mileage doesnt really mean too much if it's maintained and kept well but just using it as a rough estimate.

2. If I was to find a nice TT model or something for example which was automatic, is there any sort of estimate on how much it would cost to have it converted to Manual? I know for most cars it isnt even worth it due to it costing sometimes more than the car itself is worth... but I am wondering if I was able to find a TT one and convert it, it may end up being equal to putting a TT in a stock manual?? Logic flaw?? I dunno lol.


After-Market Performance:

1. Is there anything which I should look at replacing right away (I already am aware of the head gasket problem so other than that?) or should check up on when I find one that I am interested in?

2. As far as turbo kits go, would it be more worthwhile to find a supra which is already turbo'ed, or to attempt to turbo it myself with a kit? How tough do you all think it would be and also how practical remembering that I have a limited income as a student? (FML ... lol)

3. I have been looking around on eBay and came across all sorts of ECU upgrades which seem WAY too good to be true, especially for the price. Is there any significant legitimacy to them, and if not, where should I look for one and what would the price range be?

For example here is a few that I found, it seems like such BS lol..

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/88-89-90-91-92-93-94-95-Toyota-Solara-Supra-Chip-Module_W0QQitemZ330378428993QQcmdZViewItemQQptZMot ors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories?hash=item4cec16c24 1

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/TOYOT...item2a02aba536

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Perfo...item2a02bc83ef

And lastly,

4. I was wondering if there is a certain order I should look at adding aftermarket performance parts, such as Intake/Headers/Exhaust, then ECU ... etc.




Thanks ahead of time for actually bothering to read through my post! I have been looking around with search and getting used to these forums so before someone replies back with a link to the search button lol, I am not that much of a noob... just a noob to under the hood stuff lol . Hopefully there are some great replies and helpful comments in this thread and it may even end up being stickyable if it really clears things up for people with these same questions

[DemonCrest]

bump for some help :S?

[cre]

Sorry for not replying sooner... I'm surprised no one else responded yet.

Originally Posted by DemonCrest

General Questions about MKIII's and the various year models:

1. About what mileage do they seem to last well up until for each year's make? All I mean by this question (I know it's somewhat naive) is how strong should they be going up until I will start to probably look at replacing some things or it needing repairs if it is being maintained relatively well? I am just curious to know so that if I do come across some ads I can have a rough idea when I see a KM read... (or miles lol sorry I'm Canadian ). And I say this all knowing that mileage doesnt really mean too much if it's maintained and kept well but just using it as a rough estimate.

At 20 years and older it's not so much about mileage anymore. I've got a friend with a 300,000mile MKIII which runs insanely well. I've worked on a 70,000 mile MKIII which has cost the owner an absolute fortune due nothing more than poor aging of seals and hoses...

Find a car and don't buy it until you have a mechanic YOU know and trust do a complete inspection on (including compression test, leak down test and pH coolant test). If they're running anything heavier than 10W-40 in the engine (which really is even too thick for most of the climate up there) I might be inclined to walk... usually people only run thicker than the recommended 0W-30 or 5W-30 because they're trying to stop it from burning oil as quickly or they're ignorant, neither is a good thing. Pull and read the spark plugs, this will tell you a TON about the state of things... Don't stop at just one though, read all 6!

Originally Posted by DemonCrest

2. If I was to find a nice TT model or something for example which was automatic, is there any sort of estimate on how much it would cost to have it converted to Manual? I know for most cars it isnt even worth it due to it costing sometimes more than the car itself is worth... but I am wondering if I was able to find a TT one and convert it, it may end up being equal to putting a TT in a stock manual?? Logic flaw?? I dunno lol.

An engine swap is usually much more of a headache than a tranny swap... a lot more parts involved and a lot more stuff to go wrong.

Originally Posted by DemonCrest

After-Market Performance:

1. Is there anything which I should look at replacing right away (I already am aware of the head gasket problem so other than that?) or should check up on when I find one that I am interested in?

You won't know this until you get it home and start finding what's broken. As a student on a limited budget you should really forget about upgrades and focus more on getting the vehicle nice and rock solid. If it is in immaculate shape then focus on supporting upgrades first: fuel system, brake system, suspension...

Originally Posted by DemonCrest

2. As far as turbo kits go, would it be more worthwhile to find a supra which is already turbo'ed, or to attempt to turbo it myself with a kit? How tough do you all think it would be and also how practical remembering that I have a limited income as a student? (FML ... lol)

It's definitely less expensive to buy a turbo'd Supra than to turbo a non-turbo model... in the long run. I know if I had it to do over again I would definitely not have bought an N/A or I would have sold it instead of turboing it.

There are no kits for adding a turbo to a N/A, there are only upgrade kits for already turbocharged Supras. The upgrade kits can be installed on a N/A but there is additional work such as adding oil cooling and pulling (or at least lifting) the engine to add an oil drain for the turbo and then you also need to beef up all of the fueling system.

Put simply... if you want a turbo'd Supra but can't afford one... then wait and keep saving.

Originally Posted by DemonCrest

3. I have been looking around on eBay and came across all sorts of ECU upgrades which seem WAY too good to be true, especially for the price. Is there any significant legitimacy to them, and if not, where should I look for one and what would the price range be?

For example here is a few that I found, it seems like such BS lol..

Good eye... they ARE complete crap. I'm not even going to bother with the specifics... they're a flat out waste of time and money (cost about $3 to build one and it's still useless).

Originally Posted by DemonCrest

4. I was wondering if there is a certain order I should look at adding aftermarket performance parts, such as Intake/Headers/Exhaust, then ECU ... etc.

1) Brakes (gotta be able to stop from those higher speeds).
2) Suspension... driving a trampoline at 120MPH is terrifying and deadly.
3) Fuel... nothing worse than going lean as hell in the middle of a hard run and warping something or melting a piston. This includes fuel management (Standalone ECU or a piggyback system).
4) Oil and water cooling systems.
5) Exhaust
6) Intercooler and piping.
7) Turbo



Good luck!

[DemonCrest]

Wow thank you so much! This is exactly what I was looking for and I am truly thankful that you took the time to make as in depth of a reply as I did with the post!

If anyone else has anything to add that may be of help please feel free to add on to this !