Hello,Im planning a Supra,convince me!!!!

Hello,all

My name is Chris,I have been loitering on your forum for a while and thought I had better introduce myself! I am considering buying a Supra,after having owned 2 Subarus and an Evo I am currently looking for something else.I really liked the Evo and would have another,but I have always liked the Supra.

The main difference for me will be rear wheel drive.Has anyone come from owning Subarus or Evos to the Supra and how did you find not having 4 wheel drive?

Has anyone regretted having swapped over to the Supra,and why?

I have never driven,or even sat in a Supra! There arent many where I stay(small town near Inverness) and I was wondering if any of you stayed near me so I could get a run in a Supra to see if it would suit me.I know its a bit cheeky,but the car I am interested in is in Kent and I would hate to travel all the way down there to discover that I didnt like the seating position or something stupid like that!

Thanks for taking the time to read this and any information received would be very grateful,

Chris

they are not as common as evo's a scoobies, more style involved more speed (compared to standard vs standard)

go drive one and make sure its a tt then you will see why you should

Hi Mate,

I came from the rally hybrid car myself to the Supra twin turbo 6 speed man, before that i had a GT4 rally spec st185rc. The seating position is much the same in the supra as the Celica which is mostly like the scoobie.

The main differance is the 4 wheel drive system on the rally hybrids to the F1 rear wheel drive on the supra. You really cant be confident when first setting off in the supra as you could in the rally cars, itll more than likely bite you if you did, weigth distribution is 49/51 to the front on the supra so good balance, but its still a heavy car, and if you start to spin and are not used to the rear wheel drive youll probably be facing the other way.

The only other differance is the sheer power of the car, its fast, and i mean fast, unless in the wet, then its just a hazard, lol.

If your running stock scoobie and get a stock supra turbo then youll defiantely notice the differance.

So to sun it up, highend monster, good handling if you know how to drive, unless in the wet.

Hope this helps

regards Aaron

Thanks for your quick replies!

The Evo was running just under 400bhp,so I am used to a little bit of power. The rear wheel drive would take a bit of getting used to,I am prepared for a slow learning curve,I dont want to wrap it round a lampost the first time it rains! Which up here is more often than not!

Keep the replies coming,they are very helpfull.

Thanks,again

Chris

Location: Highlands

Hmm, how are you even able to send us these messages? Are they via carrier pigeon

Only joking mate... I live in Merthyr, and it rains 99% of the time here also.

The only thing I think you will miss is the confidence of the 4WD in the wet. But other than that, its all good..

More powerful, Style, shape, not common, good interior, cockpit like shaped dash for the driver, 3ltr straight 6, RWD fun, the list goes on..

Just get a mod for the traction like the Racelogic Traction Control System which will help you out in the wet.

Are there any Supra owners,on this site,that live in the Inverness area? If so could you pm me please.

Thanks very much,

Chris

Not sure if it's any use but there was THIS thread not so long back.

By the way, if you're worried about room when your driving, I'm 6ft 4 and amazingly I've not had as much headroom in any other car I've owned, and it's the first car I've ever driven that I can put my knees together! Just thought I'd let you know in case this was a concern!

No point trying to convince you, drive one and you will convince yourself to buy one

I think the Supras a great car, especially for the price but if I had two cars outside an evo and a Supra and it was raining I'd take the Evo.

Not that I've actually driven an evo, i just don’t get the feeling of confidence in the supra in the wet and I’m not talking about thrashing it either just normal driving.

Markie:Pigeons!! Whoever heard of such a thing! When did they start delivering messages with birds.I will need to look into this!!!!!!

We really are behind up here! (stunning car,mate is it for sale!!!!!!!!!!)

Thanks for all your comments,not a negative one,yet!

So nobody has regretted trading their Supra for an Evo,or similar?

I just need to choose my Supra,now.I am definetly going for TT and manual,although on this site I have noticed a lot of positive discussion on the Supra automatic gearbox.Its probably handy to have both hands on the wheel at this time of year!

Thanks again

Chris

As your an obvious fan of 4wd, buy and R34, as on a supra you'll probably forget the number of drive wheels some day, expect the car to forgive you for too much steering like a 4wd does, it wont, and you'll wrap it.

Good luck

Hello,mate

I do like 4 wheel drive,but I would like to try something different.I wasnt one for driving the Evo really hard in the wet.There is no way I would forget I was driving rear wheel drive,with the Supra,as I would NOT be driving it hard in the wet or dry,till I got used to it.I will practice on the Playstation for the moment!!

I was given a driver training day for Christmas so would be putting that to good use if I get a Supra.I just need to find a good one,now.

Cheers,

Chris

As your an obvious fan of 4wd, buy and R34, as on a supra you'll probably forget the number of drive wheels some day, expect the car to forgive you for too much steering like a 4wd does, it wont, and you'll wrap it.

Good luck

Yup - have to agree with CG here. I owned a scooby it was safe as houses, Loved the sup, and went through the ritual of poking it with a stick (under what I thought were safe conditions), until eventually it bit me. The scooby is the labrador, but very boring and uninvolving.

Bought another Sup after, and have a lot more respect but should really have got a GTR for saftey - but there is something about Sup - looks, power and respect they require, make the whole driving thing so much more involving. It's like an event every time you step in it.

Family made me put a roll cage in Sup 2.

I used to own a 4wd car, for a number of years, (integrale) and yes the difference shows up in the wet more than anything. The supra TT is very powerful and torquey and you just need to learn to drive it with your head and not your foot, especially on slippery days. On warm dry days it's untouchable by most things!

I never really pushed the 4wd in the wet as much as you might expect, because although you may have the traction of the line, you still can't stop any quicker or even get more lateral g force - a lot of people seem to forget this. The supra is mega stable at speed and when traction isn't an issue I reckon on high speed twisties it would match or beat the best of the 4wd bunch

.....The supra is mega stable at speed and when traction isn't an issue .....

what, like when the handbrake is on?

IMO, every Supra needs a caster/camber/toe settings change. I had this done on mine and it was a totally different car after that. Safer handling, as it turned in gradually instead of the usual nothing then everything, it had immense grip and traction, and a heavy steering feel to stop the creless movements.

To cut to the chase........buy one and first thing take it to CW and have him sort the handling out. First comes this, the most important bit, then the brakes (better pads e.g endless ccx or sss models) then think about tuning it up some e.g BPU.

Well thats my 10 cents worth!.

it has reclining seats

what, like when the handbrake is on?

hehe no it's not that bad, but you need good conditions obviously, glad I got mine during the spring/summer so I had a chance to get used to it first though!

IMO, every Supra needs a caster/camber/toe settings change. I had this done on mine and it was a totally different car after that. Safer handling, as it turned in gradually instead of the usual nothing then everything, it had immense grip and traction, and a heavy steering feel to stop the creless movements.

To cut to the chase........buy one and first thing take it to CW and have him sort the handling out. First comes this, the most important bit, then the brakes (better pads e.g endless ccx or sss models) then think about tuning it up some e.g BPU.

Well thats my 10 cents worth!.

your probably right there, I've actually only known my supe and it came with fully adjustable suspension, lowered with large wheels and fat tryes etc and I suspect the suspension has been set up very well to match it (although it's set up for dry not wet really).

so if you get a standard car, spending a little money on suspension and adjustments, brakes if it has j-spec, de-cat and going bpu and RLTC are probably some of the best things you can spend your £ on before thinking of things like big singles

This is just the sort of feedback I wanted,you have all given some valid points.The main one being the wet weather driving.I was worried about this and it seems I should be,but I am not one for taking chances in the wet,so I should(hope!) be all right.

I managed to find a local Supra but it is off the road getting work done on the brakes.I didnt realise they were so scarce up here!

Thanks for all your input. :thanku:

Chris

As with all things its personal pref' really..

If you can take one out for a test.. i am sure you'll love it!..

if you have the readys in your hand, just standing next to it is good enough matey,

i stupidly had no test drive, never driven a rearwheel drive. infact never drove any thing above 100bhp. the people swarming all over it as i drove it away proved to me i had made the right choise.

the car was fine, no probs luckly. drove for about 2 miles to the motor way. at 40.!. then thought ok lets seeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee....................shit shitttttttttttttttttttttt. grind all the way home.. :ecstatic:

the bestest day

tt steve

first thing is once you stand next to one, you will want a Supra no matter what. i feel it has the perfect look for this type of car.

i have to say the driving position is near on perfect for me (over 6ft 4), and having everything surrounding you makes life so much easier, even when cornering the controls fall easily to hand with no stretching. pretty much feels like you are in the cockpit of a fast jet.

my main concern was the rear visibility as i thought it would be restrictive, it wasnt. even reverse parking is ok, and driving around town is no problem at all.

you may feel sitting in a Supra that visibility is bad to the rear, but it isnt and give it a couple of minutes and you adjust easily the first time.

i went from a Vauxhall Carlton to this Supra. it was no trouble at all getting used to the Supra.

only thing i have problems with at times, is when the sun is shining on the rear window, it kills visibility until sun moves off. so have to use wing mirrors.

for performance, everyone has covered that so well. so dont really have anything to add. just take driving in the wet safely, and you will be fine.

dont accelerate out of corners in the wet to quickly or your life will pass in front of you, lol.

saying that in the wet and a straight line you can still have fun, if you choose.

today i was out and roads were wet, had an Audi TT in front of me at 50 and he wouldnt overtake the car in front. Supra TT acceleration is great, flew past him and the car in front of him. he then overtook the car after i was past and couldnt keep up

i am a safe driver, but sometimes, you just can't help it with a Supra, hehe

my Supra is still in basic config. but will be getting the business soon, i hope

i can say, you wont look back if you buy a Supra, it becomes part of you

oh, and this forum is great place to hang out, everyone is friendly and helpful.

btw, welcome to the forum, nearly forgot

all the best

Ian

.....drove for about 2 miles to the motor way. at 40.!. then thought ok lets seeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee....................shit shitttttttttttttttttttttt.

 

the bestest day....

You've just brought back the memory of my first drive in the Supra. My previous car was a 200bhp Beemer, but still didn't prepare me in any way for the TT. Again - previously hadn't driven one - my brother had sourced and checked it out for me - drove it nervously away for the first few miles. At the first straight stretch, I floored it. My first thought was "woh - that's a bit quicker than I'm used to". And THEN the 2nd turbo came on and damn, if I didn't near crap myself right there!!!!

As for comparison to an Evo, I'm an RWD man, so I have to accept the shortcomings in the wet weather, but one other thing that no-one has mentioned yet is suspension - I'm set up only slightly stiffer than standard, but the Supra can also be a real handful on some of the local bouncy, rough backroads - I've had plenty scary moments where I thought I might seriously damage wheels or something, where my rally-hybrid-owning friends would be throwing their cars about happily. I wouldn't change the Supra for anything, but sometimes I think it's a shame, as these are often the type of roads where you can get away from the traffic and push it a bit.....