Question about the n/a toyota supra.

[pwpanas]

Originally Posted by nairb

hi i am 17 turning 18 soon and i am new to this forum and ive been looking for the right car for me. im planning to buy a car soon, and im looking at between a supra, 3rd gen rx7, mr2 or a 240sx. I've heard that getting a n/a supra is not worth it because the engine cannot handle as much as the twin turbo.(mainly the reason why im looking for a n/a is because of the insurance) i was wondering is the n/a engine CAN be turbocharged or not. is it worth it? and any info that i am not aware of would be useful. thank you.

The 2jz-ge (non-turbo, n/a) engine, after 'turboing' it of course, can handle about 600rwhp* through a manual transmission (using race fuel, of course) before it needs to be internally modded. Although this isn't as much as the 2jz-gte's capability (850rwhp through the 6spd, using race fuel), 600rwhp* is usually PLENTY of power for most applications. The n/a can be turbocharged, and you could say that the $ and effort is worth it, because the horsepower can be increased reliably, BUT this depends HEAVILY upon your application: roadrace, drift, autocross, drag, street, daily driver, highway rolls, etc. For most applications, there's far more than horsepower alone to the overall performance equation. The mkiv TT is a significantly more capable overall sportscar than the n/a, in the areas of braking and suspension, and horsepower holding capabilities in the transmission and differential. So again, is it "worth it" to turbocharge the engine? Yep. Will you end up with a car that performs overall like a TT if that's all you do? Nope. Would it be less expensive overall to simply wait and save up for a TT if you do actually want/need to end up with the full performance package of the TT? Yep.

*Note: This 600rwhp figure can go up to about 700rwhp through a manual transmission, if you swap the 2jz-ge's head gasket for a thicker one (to reduce the CR).