Questions before buying a Supra

[proximityburn]

Hi I'm very new to these forums but already I've found quite a large number of people to be very helpful and had a number of questions answered already. I'm probably going to be buying a supra at some point in the next 6 months after I get out of tech school (ANG), and I'll have somewhere around 40k to play with. I've done some researching and it seems that to get a TT I'm gunna have to drop somewhere around 25-30k on the car itself. Which only leaves me with like 15k to play with for mods and I was really hoping to be able to get the thing up to 700rwhp. I decided the supra because its extreamly mod friendly, the 6 cyl in line engine making it stable, and it looks sporty and can go faster as I put more money into it. This will be a drive around for fun car and speed like crazy when I feel like it, I usually take public transportation. I might take it down to drag every now and again, and of course to race my friends. I dont ever anticpate it going above 800 rwhp any time soon. Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong. So here are my questions.

1. Where would be a good place to look for salvage supras, and would it be cheaper to buy one and take care of body work (I'm gunna wanna put a kit on it and paint it anyway right?) than to find one all cherry and pretty, and if I do need to snag a show one, where are good places to look?

2. I've read a lot that after 550 or so rwhp you need to mod the fuel, what exactly, meth, nitrous (I was planing on putting that in), how much would the methane cost, and how would often would I have to fill the meth inject ect. I was really hoping to be able to just use pump gas.

3. Is it even possiable to hit 600-700rwhp (with nitrous) in a TT for under 40k and have the car look really nice? And what mods would get it there? How much?

4. Do you even recomend nitrous? I like the concept of it being able to cheaply boost a car 150-200hp under racing conditions and have the car still drive kinda tough, but not kill me crazy under normal conditions.

I think thats it, thanks for your time and sorry for the longness of the post!

[Meanmachine04]

My friend has a supra and a lot of MKIV owners swap out the TT and put a single big turbo in. You would buy the TT version because its set up to handle boost from the factory rather than if you bought the NA version you would have to spend a decent amount of cash to make it as stable as the TT version.

My advice just buy the TT version even if it has a lot of miles on it and drop a new engine in and then drop a single big turbo in. You can find a MKIV with 60-100kmiles for 18-24k

I thought about doing that but I just might keep my EVO VIII


I dont reccomend nitrous..my friend uses alky in his supra and he loves it.

[pwpanas]

Originally Posted by Meanmachine04

...You would buy the TT version because its set up to handle boost from the factory...

Not just boost...horsepower too. The NA driveline (transmission, diff, etc.) doesn't have anywhere near the capability of the TT driveline.

Originally Posted by Meanmachine04

...My advice just buy the TT version even if it has a lot of miles on it and drop a new engine in and then drop a single big turbo in. You can find a MKIV with 60-100kmiles for 18-24k

Agreed.

Originally Posted by Meanmachine04

...I dont reccomend nitrous...

For what it's worth, I do recommend nitrous, but ONLY if it's done right. You need to spray wet (not dry), and ensure ALL of the electronic controls are in place (WOT, RPM window switch, solenoid test buttons, timing retard (depending on shot size) etc.), AND sufficient time dyno-tuing, in order for it to be safe. If you do all of that, it's a great way to make additional power.

Originally Posted by Meanmachine04

...my friend uses alky in his supra and he loves it.

Agreed. This will let you run more boost on pump gas.

[pwpanas]

Originally Posted by proximityburn

...I might take it down to drag every now and again...

Then you'll want an auto TT (and not a 6spd).

Originally Posted by proximityburn

...I dont ever anticpate it going above 800 rwhp any time soon...

I have to warn you that your budget might not be sufficient for 800rwhp, especially through an auto.

Originally Posted by proximityburn

...1. Where would be a good place to look for salvage supras?...

Imho, nowhere. If you want a reliable 800rwhp+ Mkiv Supra TT, don't start with a POS. It'll already be a huge project to properly turn a well-maintained 300rwhp-ish Mkiv TT into an 800rwhp monster. Why make the effort so much more complicated/difficult?

Originally Posted by proximityburn

...would it be cheaper to buy one and take care of body work (I'm gunna wanna put a kit on it and paint it anyway right?) than to find one all cherry and pretty, and if I do need to snag a show one, where are good places to look?...

Most salvage Mkiv's I've seen have far more than a little fender bender going on - they're total write-offs, including serious suspension damage and structural/frame damage, fire or flood damage. If you want something reliable at 800rwhp+, don't start with this, imho.

Originally Posted by proximityburn

...2. I've read a lot that after 550 or so rwhp you need to mod the fuel...

You read wrong - it's 550rwhp or less (not or so) through a 6spd. Through an auto, the figure is less...and 550rwhp is absolute max , with a brand-new fuel pump, brand new injectors, a new fuel filter, etc.

Originally Posted by proximityburn

...what exactly, meth, nitrous (I was planing on putting that in), how much would the methane cost, and how would often would I have to fill the meth inject ect. I was really hoping to be able to just use pump gas...

Sorry to break it to you...800rwhp on pump isn't really practicable.

Originally Posted by proximityburn

...3. Is it even possiable to hit 600-700rwhp (with nitrous) in a TT for under 40k and have the car look really nice? And what mods would get it there? How much?...

600rwhp through a 6spd, probably yes. 700rwhp+ through an auto, probably not.

Originally Posted by proximityburn

...4. Do you even recomend nitrous? I like the concept of it being able to cheaply boost a car 150-200hp under racing conditions and have the car still drive kinda tough, but not kill me crazy under normal conditions...

Again, nitrous is fine with the proper controls & tuning.

[Meanmachine04]

I agree dont start with a POS. Here is what I was going to do and most likely will do if I ever buy a MKIV supra. Most supras are gettin up there in miles no matter what and for the ones that are still very very low miles I see people often asking 50-80k for them :/

Im not sure if this is good advice or not but what I was going to do was try to find a decent TT MKIV that someoen took care of and drove it for what it was and purchase one that has 60-150k miles on it and then I would just get the car in my possession.

Then I would save up a little if needed and purchase a brand new TT motor.

Ok so now you would have a supra with 60-150k miles on the frame which I would think if its never been wrecked you could restore it and make sure its good to go and then you would pretty much have a nice supra with low miles on the engine.

Most likely I would think if you are going to make an investment into the supra that you would keep it for awhile so almost starting urself over with newer parts imo doesnt seem like a bad idea since your in no rush to build it if you wanna do it right. So then you would drive it around stock for awhile and save up if you need then take out the twin turbo system and replace it with one big single turbo. My friends I believe is a T67.

[pwpanas]

Originally Posted by Meanmachine04

I agree dont start with a POS. Here is what I was going to do and most likely will do if I ever buy a MKIV supra. Most supras are gettin up there in miles no matter what and for the ones that are still very very low miles I see people often asking 50-80k for them :/ ...

If you don't mind me pointing it out, 60K-ish is still an EXCELLENT value for a low mileage mkiv. Look at it this way - a brand-new Mkiv TT sold for about $50K in 1993. Adjusting for the price of inflation, this calculates to $76,112.11, in 2008 dollars (try the calcs for yourself if you don't believe me). Add to that the fact that the guys that were buying the car brand-new at that time HAD NO IDEA the 6spd driveline would handle 1500rwhp, and the engine would put out 1000hp with no internal modifications, and the fact that less than 7000 tt's would ever be imported into the US (making this literally an ultra-rare collector gt sportscar), and you're pretty much looking at $60K being a real steal for an low mileage mkiv tt.

Tip: When you plan for maintenance of this car, remember it's a $50K+ gt sportscar, and budget accordingly. If you go into the project thinking you can get away with maintaining it like a corolla, your budget will be in for a real shock.

Originally Posted by Meanmachine04

...Then I would save up a little if needed and purchase a brand new TT motor....

Why? I've seen 100K+ well-taken-care-of 2jz-gte's that are perfectly fine. Only a compression/leakdown will tell you the condition of an engine - don't plan to pay good money to replace something that isn't broken.

Originally Posted by Meanmachine04

...Ok so now you would have a supra with 60-150k miles on the frame which I would think if its never been wrecked you could restore it and make sure its good to go and then you would pretty much have a nice supra with low miles on the engine....

The part your plan is missing is consideration for how well the car was maintained, and how hard it was driven. If it was poorly maintained, you may literally need to budget several thousand to bring it up to spec.

Originally Posted by Meanmachine04

...Most likely I would think if you are going to make an investment into the supra that you would keep it for awhile so almost starting urself over with newer parts imo doesnt seem like a bad idea since your in no rush to build it if you wanna do it right. So then you would drive it around stock for awhile and save up if you need then take out the twin turbo system and replace it with one big single turbo. My friends I believe is a T67.

I like this part of your plan*. Even bone-stock, the mkiv tt can be a LOT of fun to drive. Plan to drive it hard at every level as you upgrade it, and your driving skills will improve to match the car's performance at each level. Imho, this is MUCH better than upgrading everything up front and stepping into a 700rwhp+ mkiv turbo as a n00b.
* Except that with the T67 you'll need an upgraded fuel system, or meth injection...

Disclaimer: All just mho, fwiw, ymmv, etc...