Monday, November 30, 2009

1998 Toyota Supra Tuning Car



















Think of all the places you ability acquisition a 1,600whp Supra. We've got three: On a dyno at a TX2K highest-hp pissing contest; at any accustomed annoyance band aural a 50-mile ambit of MSP Antagonism in the Baltimore area, Titan Motorsports in Orlando, or L.A.'s SP Engineering; or on a bivouac en avenue to said destinations. It wasn't until we met Jamie Carter that we'd apprehend to acquisition one in Ohio, in the bizarre Cleveland suburb of Chagrin Falls . . . at an elementary academy soccer practice.

"I don't drive it on the streets regularly," Jamie clarifies. In abrupt adverse to some of his added rides that acquire alone apparent the pavement of accessible roadway-a 715whp Porsche GT2, 900whp Z06 'Vette, and 580whp S4, to name a few-he congenital this Supra accurately for the strip. In fact, it was Jamie's above MKIV Supra (a 1,135whp barbarian dubbed "Top End") that garnered the self-proclaimed adrenaline abominable and part-time soccer dad abomination in artery antagonism circles by assault about every car adventurous abundant to band up abutting to it. Eventually alone additional artery bikes would run adjoin the Supra, and they lost, too. After time, no one would chase him, save for a assertive calm beef car you'll apprentice added about later, and architecture a apparatus almighty abundant to booty it out meant architecture one that would affectation a austere blackmail to the accustomed acceptation annoyance antagonism community. The alone reasonable advantage would be to do aloof that. But the accommodation wasn't anchored until Jamie activate himself in agitation with authority. "My wife 'strongly urged' me to stop artery racing," he laughs. "What could I do?

Rather than body "Top End" into his dream clue threat, Jamie absitively to allotment with it and antecedent a beginning platform. His chase for a clean-titled, straight-bodied MKIV anatomy took him all the way to Florida, area a non-turbo, hard-top adaptation was purchased and alien aback home to activate modification. It was in solid active condition, but wouldn't break that way for long. Jamie blew its agent up the day he accustomed it. "I aloof can't accumulate my basal off the gas!" he laughs. By the end of the afterward anniversary the car was taken to Toledo, OH's Accelerated Performance, bald to the bald shell, media accursed from top to bottom, accustomed a competition-legal Gary Reese 25.5 cycle cage (with supports for a ammunition cell, parachute and custom pro-stock rear wing), and added to a rotisserie at World Class Finishes in Uniontown, OH, apprehension a abounding BASF Spectra Blue Mica colorchange. This was to be a abounding Artery Class dragster; a car that would absorb at-a-glance artery legality, yet still be able to put on slicks and run bottomward the big boys. Its rear fenders were accustomed a "mini-tub" to this extent-re-worked aloof abundant to fit 29.5x11.5-inch slicks, but still absorb banal autogenous trim.

Accelerated Performance-the boutique amenable for the conception of "Top End"-handled the new car's complete re-build. And this is area things get crazy, for added affidavit than the obvious: every allotment of the car was ordered new. The agent block and head, glass, ascendancy arms, autogenous plastics, every nut, bolt and washer, head- and taillights-as you see it here, no allotment of this car, save for the unibody, was included with it aback its aboriginal buyer was aboriginal handed keys aback in '98. Every banal allotment on the car was ordered new, from Toyota. The car's absolute body is estimated to acquire amount $200K, with almost $100K invested in restoration. The actual $100K was attenuated into the achievement aftermarket.

Accelerated Performance's Donald Summerton and Russell Maskey rebuilt the powertrain absolutely from scratch. A cast new block was ordered from Toyota, re-worked centralized by the Accelerated aggregation with a quarter-fill (in layman's terms: reinforcing the basal of the cylinders with a cement-like mixture) and machining to acquire half-inch headstuds and a Crower/Carillo/CP Pistons alternating assembly, for a final displacement of 3.4 liters at 9.5:1 compression. A factory-fresh butt arch was alien to Dave Localio of Headgames in Ewing, NJ, for a abounding chase port, Ferrea +1mm valvetrain and machining to acquire custom-spec Crane cams. Once aback on Accelerated grounds, the aggregation abutting the aggregate and adapted it with a Abounding Chase turbo assorted and Precision Turbo GT47-88 snail, and bogus about every added agent borderline from scratch: a custom assimilation assorted to abutment Bosch 150lb/hr ammunition injectors, a turbo-back exhaust, a Garrett-cored air-to-liquid intercooler setup, a ammunition corpuscle apartment a massive Weldon 2345 pump, and accouterments of the Peterson/Moroso dry-sump oiling system. Coolant, oil and ammunition curve were switched to Earl's or Aeroquip stainless-covered Teflon and elastic replacements, and the cooling arrangement itself was absolutely formed over; upgraded to an AFCO radiator, bifold Earl's manual coolers and Flex-a-lite fans-telling signs that added than aloof annoyance band assignment would be in abundance for this ride.

The banal anatomy base was scrapped-this car wouldn't be application all the amenities it was built-in with, so why accumulate abundant base to them? Instead, Russell Maskey and aggregation kept alone the all-important components, active them centralized application alone mil-spec components, and active a Motec M800 ECU and CDI-8 for agent administration and agitation duties, respectively. Application a ample turbo is abundant for authoritative big power, but inherent lag and poor burke acknowledgment could all but annihilate dispatch in a manually confused car. Thus, a custom Nitrous Express direct-port arrangement was bogus to advice ball the turbo, and the admirable Getrag six-speed manual was ditched in favor of a TH400 automatic, sourced from a '70-something Suburban and re-worked by Rossler Transmissions in Girard, OH. With the accession of Driveshaft Boutique Stage 6 axles and a TRD bound blooper differential, it forms a bulletproof drivetrain that allows the 2JZ's Accufab burke to break wide-open from the timberline to the traps.