need help from anyone who drives a supra n/a!!

[kevinhays]

my parents (im 17) are probably going to sell one of our cars and let me use the money to buy a car for myself. this would probably be around 11-14 thousand dollars. I've really been considering a dodge SRT-4 because it would be reliable and i could use my own money to make it perform amazingly well for such a cheap car. lately though I've been looking at the supra n/as and have been wondering if that would be a possibility for my situation. i have a few questions i feel can only be answered by those who own one of the cars themselves.

-i've been all over the internet and can't seem to but, can you find supra n/as in good shape for this price without a ridiculously high amount of millage?

-how reliable are these cars? i would need it to be pretty reliable and be my daily driver. (my family has a 3rd gen rx7 and boy thats taught me at this age i need a reliable car)

-like the last question but, how much would it cost on average, say monthly or yearly to keep this car running?

-what kind of gas millage do you receive?

-speed is pretty important to me (hence the srt-4) so how quick are these cars?

-again like the last question, if somewhere down the road i wanted to turbo the car, how much would it cost on top of one of the 5k turbo kits to safely turbo the car and know it won't blow?

-also, regarding the turbo kits, ive heard the car's lack of performance features besides the engine make it so that having alot of power is useless cuz the car just isn't really driveable with that much power. anyone here have personal experience with this?

sorry to ask the simplest questions but it takes an owner to give advice, and answers to a few of these questions could make the decision process much easier. oh and i work at chambers bay golf course in UP, Washington so i've definitely got a steady source of income, just not THAT much money. thanks for all your time guys.

[pwpanas]

Originally Posted by kevinhays

my parents (im 17) are probably going to sell one of our cars and let me use the money to buy a car for myself. this would probably be around 11-14 thousand dollars. I've really been considering a dodge SRT-4 because it would be reliable and i could use my own money to make it perform amazingly well for such a cheap car. lately though I've been looking at the supra n/as and have been wondering if that would be a possibility for my situation. i have a few questions i feel can only be answered by those who own one of the cars themselves.

-i've been all over the internet and can't seem to but, can you find supra n/as in good shape for this price without a ridiculously high amount of millage?

-how reliable are these cars? i would need it to be pretty reliable and be my daily driver. (my family has a 3rd gen rx7 and boy thats taught me at this age i need a reliable car)

-like the last question but, how much would it cost on average, say monthly or yearly to keep this car running?

-what kind of gas millage do you receive?

-speed is pretty important to me (hence the srt-4) so how quick are these cars?

-again like the last question, if somewhere down the road i wanted to turbo the car, how much would it cost on top of one of the 5k turbo kits to safely turbo the car and know it won't blow?

-also, regarding the turbo kits, ive heard the car's lack of performance features besides the engine make it so that having alot of power is useless cuz the car just isn't really driveable with that much power. anyone here have personal experience with this?

sorry to ask the simplest questions but it takes an owner to give advice, and answers to a few of these questions could make the decision process much easier. oh and i work at chambers bay golf course in UP, Washington so i've definitely got a steady source of income, just not THAT much money. thanks for all your time guys.

Although I own a TT, I can help with a couple of your questions. I hope others respond as well, to your other questions. I've got other contacts not on this forum if we don't get the answers you need here.

These cars are extremely reliable, but only if well-maintained and properly modified (or not modifed at all). If you get a high mileage mkiv na that has rarely had any maintenance done, irregular oil changes, no regular coolant flushes, old transmission fluid, etc., then (like any car) the poor maintenance will likely lead to problems. Also, if it has been modified/upgraded, the reliability will depend a lot on the quality of the work and the quality of the parts. On the other hand, a well-maintained bone-stock (i.e. never modified) na mkiv is just as reliable as (for example) a Lexus SC300.

Cost: An na mkiv will cost a bit more than a sedan to maintain, just because it's more of a sportscar. Tires will cost more on average, as will the semi-synthetic or full-synthetic oil changes. Although the brakes aren't as beefy as the mkiv tt's, the na's brakes will cost more to change (when necessary) than (for example) a Corolla. Other than that, it's just regular maintenance (fluid changes, alignments, brakes, etc.). Lastly, a lot also depends on how hard you drive it!

If somewhere down the road you want to turbo the car, proper installation of a $5K-ish turbo kit at a shop experienced with the mkiv supra (!!!) will cost you about $1500 or so. Don't take it to a shop that has never worked on the mkiv! After you get the turbo kit on, be sure to run the right amount of octane in your fuel to match the boost level. For anything over about 300rwhp, you'll probably need to start supplimenting 93 octane pump gas with some 100+ octane race fuel, or meth injection (note: 'octane boosters' are crap)

I wouldn't say the na mkiv is useless after a turbo upgrade. I would however say that you shouldn't expect it to perform/handle like an mkiv tt. Some of the key differences are the entire braking system (calipers, abs computer, etc.), rims&tires (i.e. wider tires + z-rated rubber), and suspension. At the very least, be sure to increase the width of the rims&tires after you turbo it. For most guys that truly want the full performance of an mkiv tt will find it's cheaper not to get an na mkiv, and save up for a tt.

You'll find a bit more info here:
MKIV.COM

[kevinhays]

thanks alot pw. if this car would prove to be reliable, i guess it comes down to what im looking for. for the same price or lower i could get the srt4 and have a crazy performance car and be hated on by everyone on the street, or have the n-a, be slow, and get looks wherever i go.

i really appreciate the input and would love to hear from others, especially those who daily drive their n-a. thanks!

[j33pl3xus]

i got 300,000 milEs fRome my first jz and it was
still kickn, rotories are notoriously problematic
(i cant spell). but anyway jzs are built to last

[pwpanas]

Originally Posted by j33pl3xus

i got 300,000 milEs fRome my first jz and it was
still kickn, rotories are notoriously problematic
(i cant spell). but anyway jzs are built to last

A jz isn't a rotary... sigh

[Gossioii]

Wow, this is very useful.. Thanks for sharing this and hoping I could implement it too.

[Royal_Image]

Originally Posted by Gossioii

Wow, this is very useful.. Thanks for sharing this and hoping I could implement it too.

ya pw is right on it, the 2jz motor is pretty much a bullet proof motor, good internals and everything, run forver if you do basic maninitance, i recently just got a 2j with 196xxx miles that runs good, had the 3xxx mile oil change and spark plugs wire ect, and it just had the valve cover go out, not too much goes bad on these, the only down side is that when th word "2jz" come sup, parts can tend to be a little more spendy. But on the other hand, they come stock with good gaskets, good parts so not much ever goes wrong unless neglected, but even then they can still handle it.

Also as PW was sayin if you were plannin on going turbo deffintatly find a shop that knows what there doing haha, and also look for the upgraded brakes caus they are nice, ive put em on all the toyota's ad lexus's ive owned. And as for the turbo you pic it depends on what you wanna do, the TT setup i love, due to the quick spool and long lasting power hold, a single turbo will pull mor epower but it takes time for it too spool, kinda a give and take thing.

Ultimatley the mk4 or pretty much supras in general are amazing my friend, if your planning on getting one, good coice you wont be dissapointed, hope it helps

[InSvain]

the Toyota Supra MKVI N/A is just a 3ltr straight 6 with nothing
fancy but it comes with an exotic body ontop off it
and don`t worry about the reliability if the car is proper maintained plus the fact that it`s build by TOYOTA :P

but if you`re thinking about a turbo then it`s best to buy a TT because that engine has turbo`s since "Birth" if you know what i mean

and futhermore be carefull with driving a car with that much power and no experience!!! because too many people underestimated the car`s performance especially on wet conditions

[pwpanas]

Originally Posted by InSvain

the Toyota Supra MKVI N/A is just a 3ltr straight 6 with nothing fancy but it comes with an exotic body ontop off it...

I'm not sure I can agree. The jza80 chassis is still something pretty special (especially for roadracing), regardless of the powertrain. In addition, the 2jz-ge has a lot of potential ...not as much as the gTe...but still much more than a typical 3L.

Originally Posted by InSvain

...it`s best to buy a TT because that engine has turbo`s since "Birth" if you know what i mean...

Actually I don't - please explain.

[InSvain]

Originally Posted by pwpanas

I'm not sure I can agree. The jza80 chassis is still something pretty special (especially for roadracing), regardless of the powertrain. In addition, the 2jz-ge has a lot of potential ...not as much as the gTe...but still much more than a typical 3L.
Actually I don't - please explain.

true but what i meant to say was that a 2JZ engine doesn`t need extra special attention with maintenance like some other engines do

and what i aslo meant to say was that a GTE engine is build with turbo`s so everything is already worn in the proper way and doesn`t need to much change to get more power out of it.

so less change = less work = less problems = less money spend