Advice request: Driving a big power/single turbo auto

Hi.

I registered to garner a bit of opinion before I commit to buying a Supra. I've lusted after one for almost a decade, and this year will be the time when cashflow/parking(I live in Central London)/timing will coincide.

I've had a couple of modestly-powerful turbo cars before (220-250bhp/tonne), and am looking for a step up from this in a Supra (north of 500bhp is the target). However, the fly in the ointment is that I live slap bang in the middle of London (Zone 1), so a lot of my time spent driving is tedious/slow/stop-start to get in/out of town.

I have an auto at the moment, and couldn't go back to a manual, and running two cars is impossible.

With both my previous quick cars being manual, and my current Volvo C70 snoozemobile having very little performance, I'm curious as to how a modified, turbocharged Supra would drive with a 4-speed autobox.

My specific questions, I suppose:

- I imagine that it wouldn't be much different to the current car when pottering around town. Is this a fair assumption?

- Could anyone with experience in an auto (i.e. my wife) jump in and drive slowly without any drama?

- With the longer gear ratios, is there any scope for 'locking' in gear or manual shifting?

- Does the box have a sport mode? If not, is it fairly responsive to the throttle inputs? Does it downshift readily, and rev to the limiter? (my Volvo is useless at this, in spite of being billed as 'sporty' model) How is it to spool a single turbo with the 'lag' of the autobox?

- Most of all, is it enjoyable to drive quickly? I don't plan to hack it around narrow country lanes, so it's probably not going to need to have to flit between gears...

Appreciate any help. I'm very excited at the prospect of buying the car I should have bought 10 years ago (a couple of 200SXs got in the way), so want to make sure I'm not disappointed.

Cheers!

I'm sure someone with experience will jump in momentarily, however based on what you're after I'd say a Single Turbo Auto would be the way to go

Middle of London and using it as a daily, id get a nice clean VVTI triptronic, BPU supra.

Apologies. I'm probably not being clear in the original post - I tube/cycle to work.

If the current car is anything to go by, it will probably get driven about once a fortnight. Journeys will vary between driving to another part of town (further than I can convince the wife to cycle) or long runs out of town.

Middle of London and using it as a daily, id get a nice clean VVTI triptronic, BPU supra.

I currently have a Tiptronic car, and have retrofitted it with AMG paddleshifters (see my build thread on the link below). Although it isn't as involving as a 6 speed in the bends, it is a vast improvement over an ordinary auto, and is a much nicer car to drive in traffic than a 6 speed.

full BPU will take you to around 400-420hp depending on supporting mods, with circa 350-380lbs/ft torque, which is just the right amount for an auto IMO without worrying about the box breaking. Kickdown in a BPU auto Supra is incredible

Helpful stuff - thank you.

I hadn't really considered a Tiptronic, not knowing a great deal about them. Is it the same setup as the BMW system, microswitches to control a normal 4spd autobox? Or is it something more complex?

In terms of the power level, is beyond 400bhp really a major issue for the autobox? Am I at major risk of grenading it at this level, or can it take to 500bhp and past?

Being frank, I can get similar ballpark performance to a 400bhp auto from a number of other cars in the same bracket (E46 M3, CLK55). What I really want is something which is a significant step above these cars in performance terms, hence looking at a Supra initially.

If its a well setup car, built by a respected trader then go for it i say, lots of bodged cars out there built with ebay parts so be careful.

Id still try and get a VVTI for the response in town. stock auto box is good for 550ish bhp.

Welcome

You can run 500 hp on a stock auto box and even higher with the right ecu(syvecs). Mine ran 600hp on stock box but will not last indefinitely. The autobox on a single is fine pootling around but is a totally different beast when you hit the loud pedal. Best thing to do is try and get a passenger ride in one - if you can make it we have a members meet at Bluewater the first Friday of every month and I'm sure you will get the info you require.

Even at 'just' BPU, a Supra will be a step up from the cars you mention, while also being just as reliable if well cared for.

A single will be in a different league, but as Jamie said, finding a good one is critical. Expect to pay £10kish for a decent single auto, and £15k+ for a decent manual single. I have yet to see a single turbo tiptronic Supra, but it will not be an issue if the correct aftermarket management is used (namely Syvecs)

Thanks all. Appreciate the input a lot.

What difference do you expect the "VVTI" to make pottering around town, realistically?

Also, is it feasible for my wife to jump in and drive a 500bhp auto like she's got Miss Daisy in the back?

Bluewater is a distinct possibility when the weather improves. Thanks for the offer.

VVTI is a lot more lively off boost, feels like a high comp NA when not on boost, turbo will spool up faster, all round better car.

wife will be fine driving it, if you have a boost controller you could turn the power down

If you have a high end management solution like Syvecs/Motec etc, you can have switchable maps/boost control. So you could have a much lower setting for when the wife needs to go out in the car.

Great stuff. Thanks guys - I'm hearing a lot of what I had hoped for, so that's great news.

Would someone be able to direct me to some sort of "idiot's Supra tuning guide", please? I'm essentially looking for a guide to what I should be looking for in terms of the bits bolted onto the car when I buy it. I don't have the time or resources to do a self-build, so will be needing to buy something 'ready-made'.

I've had a skim through the forums, and can't see anything obvious. Cheers!

There are guides in the FAQ section of the forum, and also this one is worth having a read through: http://www.garagewhifbitz.co.uk/news/toyota-supratuning/

Great stuff. Thanks guys - I'm hearing a lot of what I had hoped for, so that's great news.

 

Would someone be able to direct me to some sort of "idiot's Supra tuning guide", please? I'm essentially looking for a guide to what I should be looking for in terms of the bits bolted onto the car when I buy it. I don't have the time or resources to do a self-build, so will be needing to buy something 'ready-made'.

I've had a skim through the forums, and can't see anything obvious. Cheers!

Best thing to do, if you see a car you like, put a link to it in this thread, i will give you my honest opinion.

if you find anything local to me (beaconsfield) and im not busy, im happy to have a look with you.

Great stuff. Thanks guys - I'm hearing a lot of what I had hoped for, so that's great news.

 

Would someone be able to direct me to some sort of "idiot's Supra tuning guide", please? I'm essentially looking for a guide to what I should be looking for in terms of the bits bolted onto the car when I buy it. I don't have the time or resources to do a self-build, so will be needing to buy something 'ready-made'.

I've had a skim through the forums, and can't see anything obvious. Cheers!

If you look in my supra garage you can see the majority of mods that are required for a 500+ hp single. Obviously things like the ECU are a personal choice but for auto reliability most people choose Syvecs which can also be upgraded to flappy paddle control. Other than that you need most of the other mods.

Best thing to do, if you see a car you like, put a link to it in this thread, i will give you my honest opinion.

 

if you find anything local to me (beaconsfield) and im not busy, im happy to have a look with you.

That's an incredibly kind offer, thank you.

I also have bpu vvti kick down is awesome not running any fancy ecu as far as the wife goes do as i done give her a shot of it in the rain a couple of 360s she's never drove it since result great car mate you won't regret buying a good one

You wont be disappointed with a single turbo auto! Absolutely savage machines.

You wont be disappointed with a single turbo auto! Absolutely savage machines.

but the auto box will not hold more than 400bhp trust me, i broke mine gearbox with a 400+ single. So it definetly needs a transmission oil cooler first !

but the auto box will not hold more than 400bhp trust me, i broke mine gearbox with a 400+ single. So it definetly needs a transmission cooler first !

Really?

My dads stock auto box handled 607bhp and 560lbft for just over a year running 2x gearbox coolers. Admittedly we were running it way above the limits. But stock auto can take way more than 400bhp mate, some BPU auto's make more than 400bhp. Anyway its heat and torque thay kills autoboxes not bhp

used to have a single supra - non-VVTI but with a quick spool T61DBB turbo. instant acceleration, immense torque - the setup and spec is super important.

mine was a 6 sp manual and I drove it in Central London for 9 years. if driven sensibly they are easy to drive (autos - manuals are very hardcore) - however due to the torque you have to be watchful of your speed. If you drive quick then it gets dangerous very quickly as the power should not be underestimated.

be safe.

imi