How driveable is a high powered Supra?

Hi Guys.

I haven't gone for a drive in any Supra as yet, I have a friend with a BPU one, he says the car can get out of shape but is controllable.

Just want some opinions,Is driving a car with say 500 - 600hp a real challenge?

Is the car continuously out of shape on full throttle or does it show some form of composure? I assume tyre choice is very important, a softer compound is the weapon of choice?

Thanks..

If his BPU is "out of shape" then it's not setup correctly and needs looking at. Or he is a noob driver.

The pedal on the right moves up and down, practice with this generally helps with control of the car... any car.

A grasp of basic physics also helps.

700-800bhp is fine, ask me next week and i will be closer to a 1000bhp with any luck.

Quality tyres/suspension/geo setup and alls good, only time mine has felt unstable is when i had a bush problem.

Mine was dangerous when I got it, I had the geo done (properly), now it's still a beast but very predictable and well behaved, even in the wet.

 

Quality tyres/suspension/geo setup and alls good, only time mine has felt unstable is when i had a bush problem.

absolutely KEY!

At BPU levels you should be ok but as with all RWD cars you need to go easy on the right foot in the corners.

Jim.

Thanks for the quick replies...

Don't want to sound like a total noob but what is geo setup?

When I eventually get my SUpra it will be my first RWD, so I need to get used to it. The one I got my eye on has HKS GT2835 twins, so I assume it will be around the 600hp mark, maybe not the best to learn on such a powerful car...

Thanks for the quick replies...

 

Don't want to sound like a total noob but what is geo setup?

 

When I eventually get my SUpra it will be my first RWD, so I need to get used to it. The one I got my eye on has HKS GT2835 twins, so I assume it will be around the 600hp mark, maybe not the best to learn on such a powerful car...

This has FAIL and crash written all over it.

Thanks for the quick replies...

 

Don't want to sound like a total noob but what is geo setup?

 

When I eventually get my SUpra it will be my first RWD, so I need to get used to it. The one I got my eye on has HKS GT2835 twins, so I assume it will be around the 600hp mark, maybe not the best to learn on such a powerful car...

Geometry setup, make sure all the wheels are pointing in the right direction.

HKS GT2835 twins will only be ticking over at 600bhp, with decent supporting mods they will make a 1000bhp, big twins hit in very smoothly, should be very easy to drive.

Full wheel alignment / geometry, these cars anrt toys and need to be set up mechanically to drive fine.

From reading you, your not going to have a good time going straight into a rwd pushing arrpx 600bhp. end of.

If you do go ahead, take it out for a drive but dont go over 20mph and get to know the car...and read how it drives...then take the speed a little futher...abuse the car and it will abuse you!! be safe:)

only time mine has felt unstable is when i had a bush problem.

Just tell her to shave JP

Just want some opinions,Is driving a car with say 500 - 600hp a real challenge?

It does depend on the characteristics of your turbo choice, and driving style.

If it's a "light switch" type turbo (T78 comes to mind here), then you'll lose traction almost instantly on boost, which can be difficult to handle if you're not experienced.

Otherwise, I wouldn't say a 500+ hp car is challenging - as long as you don't act like a fool.

Is the car continuously out of shape on full throttle or does it show some form of composure?

I assume tyre choice is very important, a softer compound is the weapon of choice?

180 treadwear rating would be the upper limit of tyre hardness (i.e. this is the most hard compound I would get) as you will definitely need traction. If you have good weather most of the time, you will get away with running semi-slicks

700-800bhp is fine, ask me next week and i will be closer to a 1000bhp with any luck.

 

Quality tyres/suspension/geo setup and alls good, only time mine has felt unstable is when i had a bush problem.

you can get tablets for that

you can get tablets for that

Or a 10 pack of Bic's

What sort of driving history do you have?

Cars you have owned & currently have? Ever driven a RWD car at all?

Watch out for when it's wet is all I'll say.

What sort of driving history do you have?

 

Cars you have owned & currently have? Ever driven a RWD car at all?

I have had a majority of FWD cars, currently I have a AE111 Corolla 4AGE 20V. The one RWD car I did have for a year was a Lexus IS250.

I used to switch the traction control off & plant the accelarator to the floor, the car used to track true & straight.

The car only made 157kw & weighed 1600kg so the chassis could handle way more power, it made the car absolutely easy to drive, even with traction control off. Any movement on the rear was slow & very controllable...

@JamieP - Thanks, I am really keen on this car, I hope its available when I get to Japan.

@Dave17 - Lets hope not...

@sdistc - Thanks, appreciate the detail...

Don't want to sound like a total noob but what is geo setup?

http://www.mkivsupra.net/vbb/showthread.php?t=118573

http://www.mkivsupra.net/vbb/showthread.php?t=157231

I have had a majority of FWD cars, currently I have a AE111 Corolla 4AGE 20V. The one RWD car I did have for a year was a Lexus IS250.

I used to switch the traction control off & plant the accelarator to the floor, the car used to track true & straight.

The car only made 157kw & weighed 1600kg so the chassis could handle way more power, it made the car absolutely easy to drive, even with traction control off. Any movement on the rear was slow & very controllable...

 

@JamieP - Thanks, I am really keen on this car, I hope its available when I get to Japan.

 

@Dave17 - Lets hope not...

 

@sdistc - Thanks, appreciate the detail...

I have driven a IS220 which I managed to get the back out on my 400 mile journey, though I did have to put some effort into it, they are a different animal to the Supra though.

They are very driveable but I'd recommend driving it slowly until you get use to the power. The main difference from your history of cars will be the shear power delivery from them twins which will catch you off guard. As others have mentioned you really need to be careful in the wet but they are not that bad as long as the geo is setup. I drive mine in the wet & have no issues what so ever... well unless I boot it some!

a 600BHP supra isnt a very good move if its your first RWD car.

seriously, a High powered Supra isnt a beginers car!

even a BPU 400BHP isnt!

you really should have some practise with a 200SX or something, to get the basics right.

The pedal on the right moves up and down, practice with this generally helps with control of the car... any car.

 

A grasp of basic physics also helps.

Agree with the above.

500/600/1000 are all numbers that you will see when driving flat out. certainly in the UK you will be hard pressed to hit those numbers within legal limits (perhaps for 2-3 secs on the motorway).

What you need to look out for is the torque and acceleration, this will depends on how hard you press the throttle and how responsive the setup is. I would argue that a well setup single car is easier (predictable) to control (within legal speed limits) than a BPU supra.

In any case, with wider tyres and the billions of pot holes on london roads, driving off-boost seems to be a constant challenge.....let alone when "giving it some beans"

be careful is what i say, learn your limits - its never the cars fault.

It's a heck of a first RWD car to get! But any RWD car can lose traction at the back if the circumstances dictate. The IS250 in snow or a wet roundabout, the Supra if you cough

So, do you know what it feels like when that happens? And what to do? The make, model, power, or geo of the car won't matter two hoots if you just instinctively slam on the anchors the first time it gets away from you. Get yourself a skidpan training day for a couple of hundred quid. And follow the advice given in here as well about geo and being careful

I have driven a IS220 which I managed to get the back out on my 400 mile journey, though I did have to put some effort into it, they are a different animal to the Supra though.

 

They are very driveable but I'd recommend driving it slowly until you get use to the power. The main difference from your history of cars will be the shear power delivery from them twins which will catch you off guard. As others have mentioned you really need to be careful in the wet but they are not that bad as long as the geo is setup. I drive mine in the wet & have no issues what so ever... well unless I boot it some!

The IS220 is the diesel version right? We only get the 2.5 V6 in the IS range as well as the IS-F...

Thanks for the advice, I will definetly take it into account...

@Steve R - Very informative...

@ Lude- I am a cautious driver, so I will take my time to get used to the car....

chances are if u get a supra and you want a fast one it will be a TT supe and you will be at around 400BHP (if its BPU'ed)

I doubt u will be spending £15k-ish on your 1st supra. Thats what one will cost running around the 600BHP area

RWD cars arnt to bad to get used to but in the wet, gotta be careful when applying throttle off corners and in the snow.... well there rubbish! lol