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The mkiv Supra Owners Club

New MKIV Worshop


Guest Ash
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For a while now I've been in discussion with a few members of the UK-Supras list and our idea is to set up a new workshop somewhere in the Surrey area.

 

The workshop will be specifically to serve the tuning needs of MKIV owners, which may be extended to cover work on other sportscars such as EVO's, and such like. Depending on how everything goes.

 

The basic idea is to try and create a specialist MKIV centre. Something along the lines of Powerhouse Racing in the USA. Plus, it can be a place where members can meet up and discuss tuning options, or diagnose problems, in a more relaxed, i.e. non-commercialised atmosphere.

 

Although the centre will have to run at a profit, it is hoped we can run it as member-friendly as possible. In the sense that one of the primary aims will be to source parts from companies, such as HKS, as cheaply as we can by organising "group buy" purchases and such like.

 

One of our longer-term goals is to be able to source tuning parts at such a discount, that it will be possible to supply parts actually fitted... for the same price you would pay for just the part at UK retail prices.  

 

Labour rates would be kept as low as possible. And, if it all comes off, we hope to offer several stages of "all in" tuning packages so that you know exactly what everything is going to cost from the outset. So there's no chance of any surprise big bill at the end.

 

Right now, though, what I am after is feedback.

 

Based on the above, do you have any thoughts, ideas, opinions, etc. that you wish to contribute?

 

All posts gratefully received.

 

Yours,

J

 

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I'll do the web site! But Surrey itself is too far away!!! If you put it on the North side of London around the Harrow area I'm sure you could get more customers M25, A1(M), M1, M11, A12, M40 are all in stricking distance. Plus a full body shop (as Flipfinger says) so that we can actually start to think about those wild Ab-Flug and Veilside kits. Also stock the consumables like oils, additives, brakes (jap and uk spec). For the best results you may need to form an alliance with Powerhouse Racing in the US as they can no doubt get hold of more parts especially the diverse ones! Find a translator and get in touch with all the best tuning companies in Japan itself and call up HKS Europe to see what they're willing to let you stock.....

 

Most importnantly - give the buisness an name which will be pronouncable and roll off the tongue without it being gay like "J's Garage"! or something equally camp!!

 

Well I could go on but I'll bore the T*ts off of everyone!

 

Regards

 

Alex H

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Thanks for your input!

 

You are right about the HKS contacts. People are working on that as I type. The US is the preferred place for sourcing products despite the lower exchange rates. Managed to get my hands on an HKS trade catalogue the other day and you really would not believe how much profit there is on these parts.

 

Obviously, any business has to make a profit in order to survive. But in many ways it is rather like the situation we had in this country in the 90's with the price of cars.

 

Well, it first started with motorcycles which were terribly overpriced compared to the same machine on sale in Europe. So people began importing machines by their thousand (and no problems with the drive side either). Manufacturers got pretty angry, especially Honda, who tried to sue people selling privately imported Honda motorcycles into the UK. Eventually, however, they lost their case and were forced to bring down their rip-off-Britain prices.

 

Then the same started happening with cars, and now it's happening with all kinds of stuff.  

 

Yours,

J

 

 

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A club based workshop and accessories centre would be great.

 

It would have to cover costs and have sufficient for future development etc, but I am sure members would rather see their money go into a club resource rather than Mr Toyota's pocket.

 

I am sure we would all like to get our parts at levels closer to the trade price.

 

The mark-up on wheels is just the same, huge savings can made if you have the contacts.

 

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Thank you for your ideas, but the accent will have to be more on the workshop side of things. I don't know if there will be the demand to specialise solely on the MKIV, but that is what I would prefer.

 

The whole workshop thing came about because I have outgrown my own garage-cum-workshop and was looking for somewhere I could work on my own cars. Then I thought, well, maybe if there is the demand I could subsidise the cost by offering specialist tuning services to other enthusiasts.

 

The ecstatic response I have received from the people whose cars I have worked on to date, has taken me quite by surprise. Especially considering the ideas I put into practice have been the tip of an iceberg.

 

For instance, no-one to my knowledge has touched the MKIV cylinder head. Which, to my way of thinking, is a bit strange. Especially as the valves are prone to both detonation damage and seat erosion when running high boost levels. So what we've done with Justin's car is to make some modifications to the valves and to the valve guides in order to give better flow and to sink more heat from the valve-head into the coolant.  

 

You see, what I really enjoy doing is taking a component, such as the Racelogic traction control, and making it better. The system, as it stands, is by all accounts flaming brilliant. However, what I instantly see lets it down is the control box. So, rather than simply fixing the unit to the dash somewhere, I'll integrate it into the dash such that it looks as if Toyota had designed it from the outset. Which is always my yardstick.

 

Likewise with the Apexi AVC-R and AFC: the units themselves are second to none, but the problem is where do you fit them? Justin had his simply stuck to the LH dash panel. But that is not what Toyota would have done.

 

Again, I like to keep the whole thing looking exactly as if Toyota had designed it from the outset. There are exceptions to this, however, and one of them is the intake.  

 

The stock filtration system is well designed and perfectly adequate for the task in hand. Ducting takes ambient air from the front of the car; the filter size is sufficient for stock flow; and it does a perfect job of silencing the intake... BORING !!!!

 

The sound of a MKIV intake, when the car is coming towards you under full power, is pure sex. It's like a jet fighter taking off. And the best filter to bring out this sound IMO is the HKS mushroom filter.

 

The big problem with the filter, however, is its stated location. Firstly, the engine bay is fairly well sealed so all that gorgeous sound of the intake gets rather muffled (it's heard in the cabin more than anywhere else). Secondly, the fact the engine-bay *is* fairly well sealed means the filter takes in higher than ambient air.

 

These two shortcomings are easily ironed out by locating the filter outside the engine-bay... after fitment of a front-mount intercooler.

 

That way the frantic whooshing noise, under full power acceleration, is heard more outside the car. And it sounds even better if you junk the stock mechanical fan.

 

Plus, I have done tons of other things like design new seat sub-frames in order to fit Cobra Sidewinder seats. I had mine specially done in black and red leather and they look ace.  

 

And so it goes...

 

Okay, I do realise there are always going to be those enthusiasts who have their tuning bits and bobs just stuck to the dash, or situated wherever, and who are perfectly happy with them.  

 

The problem I had in the past, coming from a military electronics and engineering background, was that I instinctively viewed that level of fitment with some degree of cynicism. To the extent where I have only recently begun to accept that that *is* how it is generally done in commercial tuning-land.  

 

But I believe there are sufficient numbers of people who want something more. And it is to those people that I am primarily offering my services. People whose ownership of a MKIV is something much more than mere transportation... it is a statement of individualism.

 

To have the means to own and run a MKIV is a thing in itself. But to have one that has been specifically tailored to suit, is out of this world. Like Justin says, he gets a big silly grin on his face everytime he sees his Apexi units mounted in the headlining. Likewise, I cannot help but do the same everytime I look at my 20" wheels or turn up my sound system when playing a particularly favourite track.    

 

I don't know what it is that makes people want to modify their cars, but that inner yearning has created a massive aftermarket tuning industry - which only seems to grow larger every year. The industry, however, does seem to attract more than it's fair share of those types of people who love to first take your money... and then provide as little as possible in return.  

 

So my dream is to create a small place that is specifically tailored towards those people who want something special: tuning options that really get people crowding around your car at one of the meets, for instance.

 

Plus, it will be a place where people can get honest, down-to-earth advice. And where modifications are designed in accordance with the rules of physics, coupled with sound engineering practise.

 

Yours,

J

 

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