Well...I just got back from Accelerated Performance in Ohio. Accelerated is a specialty Supra shop. It's an interesting place. The guys that own it are rather young (late 20's, early 30's). They have many friends. People were just coming around to hang out while they were working on the cars...almost like a revolving door. Some just popped in for a quick hello, others hing around for hours. Joking around, having fun. The way it should be when you work on cars! A cool atmosphere. While there, they had a 1200HP street Supra in the shop. Yes...1200HP.
The turbo on that thing was the size of my friggen' head!! (Which some people may claim is rather HUGE!! But that's another topic...) The inlet from the air filter to the turbo was nearly 8" across!! They went on to tell me the kid that owns it spends nearly $20,000 per year just to drive it around and maintain it! $26 gallon for fuel. The clutch cost is $6,000..and may go through a couple per year. Truly, when you make big, stupid power, you have to have a big, stupid bank account. Or own the bank. I also saw a Firehawk with a 407 stroker in it with a Supercharger. The car was brought in because it was running like crap. They also had a few Talons there.
So on to my car.
I did get compliments from them, which is really nice since they see so many Supras. They said mine was among the cleanest underneath they had ever seen. They also noted that my rear main seal wasn't leaking which is somewhat common for higher mileage Supras. I guess the 1 year time I spent looking for my car paid off. They also liked my gauge bezels. The 1st mod we did was a relatively new one in the Supra community. So new, that they hadn't done one yet. The idea is to add a seperate boost controller for turbo #1. This helps to smooth the transition (and add more boost and HP!) from turbo #1 to turbo #2. Up until very recently, turbo #1 had to be left as is, since there are so many actuators, ECUs and lines that control it. Some big-brain guy named Stu Hagen figured out a way to control #1 while keeping all of the actuators and sensors functional. So for most people like me who run 16-18 pounds of boost on #2, the transition from turbo 1 hits hard since it boosts at only 9 pounds. So you go from 9 pounds to 18 very suddenly. It doesn't hurt anything, but the hit isn't smooth and is very hard. So adding a controller to #1 and setting it at 15 pounds smooths the transition considerably while making more power. A much nicer power curve, and much nicer around town. A great, cheap mod. My cost was only a boost controller (Hallman Pro RX with ceramic ball bearing) and their time routing the lines.
The next was my torque converter. It's amazing that they had the converter out, back in and bolted up in about 2 hours!! Fluid was swapped out for Amsoil too. The car is a bit lazier when you are just rolling on the gas from a dead stop. But when you nail it, the power is crazy-explosive! The stock converter was only 2300rpms...this one is 3200 or so. The transition from Turbo#1 to Turbo#2 occurs at 3800 RPM..so you can see how great this mod was. My converter is from Precision Industries.
Next were my shocks and springs. I changed my mind, and decided to stay with the stock Toyota shocks, since they do a fine job. I did switch to Swift Japan springs though, and the drop in the front was 30mm and the back 20mm. Swift is one of the highest rated spring/shock makers in Japan. But no one has really heard of them over here yet. What's REALLY nice about their springs is they manufacture the street springs to work with the stock stroke of the factory shocks. That's why the drops on my car were only minimal. It rides every bit as smooth as before, which I was glad to have! I don't really care for a ride quality that reminds me of a lumber wagon. But this mod did create a problem. My massive 315 series tires hit the fender on big bumps or aggressive cornering. So I have 2 options here. Option number one I do this week. Roll the fenders. Option 2 is an emergency option. Since my wheels are 3 piece, I can order a new front lip shell for the wheel at a cost of $125 USD per wheel. This will take my rim from a 11.5" wide to 11" wide. I think I can get away with just the fender roll.
And last I flushed my braking system and replaced the fluid with ATE Super Blue. This is a premium fluid with an very high boil point. What's nice is it's compatible with DOT3 and DOT4 and outperforms them both. What's even nicer is it only requires a change interval of 3 years vs. 1 year for other hi-perf stuff. Made in Germany, this stuff is very popular with guys that race or Auto-X their cars and drive them on the streets. Dry boiling point 536 deg. F, wet boiling point 396 deg. F Good stuff!
So that was my weekend adventure.
