Best bang for your buck aftermarket supra parts
 

I recently bought a 1987 supra. And i was looking to add some upgrades to make some more power. what would you guys reccomend for the aftermarket parts that will give you alot of power for not alot of money. Basically I wanna know what to put on to get more power except for a turbo because i dont got the money now. soif you could give me some of the best aftermarket parts for a 87 non turbo supra thatd be great.

just trrying to help
 

if i were you i would look into a proformance cluch and fly wheel i am trying to do the same thing to my 88 non trubo but i am only 17 you know hit me be if you find any thing else cause i need to know.

If u got a NA dont expect alot of power. Intake, exhaust and tune-up will maybe give u 10-25hp more. Oh and hi-octane. he-he. Fun.

I'd suggest looking into replacing the headgasket before anything else, and any maintenance issues should be taken care of before looking for more power. ;)

Horsepower
 

Ya ill probably have to just start out with some of those things that you guys suggested but like i said right now im broke. mostly because of the fact that i just spent all my money on that car and because im only 16.

you don't have to replace the headgasket unless your going to go for major horsepower or if your car has a lot of miles on it

i have a N/A and i have a K&N cold air kit, 2 1/2" catback exhaust. i also blocked off the EGR valve and i loosened the tension of the spring in the AFM.

this next month i'm getting a header, dual electric fan, cam gears, timing belt, and a chip

this will be pretty much close to max power without tearing into the engine:D

get some basic performance upgrades...intake, header, exhaust system... make sure ur head gasket is ok...for quick power...you might want to look into nitrous...though i dont use it because i dont believe in temporary power haha

i dont believe in nitrous.i think its for fake, wanna be horsepower guys

ya those sound good ill probably start out with an intake and exhaust like you guys said. and we'll see where to go from there, depending on the money i have.

moneys always an issue

yes. money is always an issue. i started with an exhaust, and the intake. then spent some money on new performance tires. now im getting some headers, and maybe changing the cat converter. but everything is done in gradual steps. i just wish i would win the lottery and then i can bring my car to a local ricer shop and say "supe it up". hahaha

Ya i know what your saying about the lottery ive always wished that too. but anyways considering the fact that ive never put on aftermarket exhaust or intake if i was to put these on am i really going to feel a difference in power or are they mostly for looks? Oh ya one more question, considering that my supra is a non turbo could i put a turbo exhaust and downpipe on or will it not fit. i know these are dumb questions but i need all the help i can get. Thanks

First things first!!! Check and replace as needed...ALL the hoses and belts. Timing belt??? when was last change??
ALL the fluids !!!! Radiator cap and thermostat. Any funky looking electrical connectors and wires. Battery terminals?? Clean??

Brakes...brakes....it don't matter how it runs, if it won't stop !!!

Front end parts, and alignment.

Radiator??

All of this so you can DRIVE the car without the help of a tow truck !!!

yea he has a good point. make sure you check out the condition of the car before you add anything. i started adding my exhaust then my intake. and realised i needed some repairs. so i spent a lot on repairing, and replacing parts. getting new brake pads and calipers and belts. repair and make sure the car is in good working condition before you add anything aftermarket.

what about if you do have a turbo?

Well...you start your own thread !! Or you check this forum, or all the others, for their 'performance upgrade' sections.

Or...sell it and find a YUGO !!!!

So how much power do you think im gonna gain from an intake and exhaust?

About 10-15hp is the 'general' gain, assuming that the car is in good running condition, and the existing intake and exhaust are in good condition.

If the intake or exhaust are in poor, or restrictive condition, you are losing hps, so new systems will feel like a bigger gain.

ie: when I got my '89 N/A, the exhaust system was restricted starting from the cat back. Someone had done a crappy job on the system.

The pipes went from 2 1/2", ran about 18", then down to 2 1/4", ran back to about 12" from muffler, then down to 2" on into the muffler, and coming out the muffler was 1 7/8".

When I put a new 2 1/2" Magnaflow cat, resonator, pipes, and muffler on....WHAT A DIFFERENCE !!!!!

Headers (OBX) are next. I expect to gain at least 10hp from them.

PS. top speed before new system, 125mph....after, 140mph.
(disclaimer...not recommended for everyone...wear a helmet !!)

yea make sure that the car runs good. im putting in a new magnaflow cat soon and some headers (OBX as well). and that sounds like there was a really shitty exhaust job done on your car man. so much restriction. but its good to hear that you changed it all and gave it some power!

just a question mrnickleye, do you know any good stores online that sell the magnaflow cat converter? im trying to find some places that sell them. thanks.

Nickle and Bullz eye are right. Trying to squeeze power without getting back to stock condition is stupid. You'll bolt on a bunch of shit and melt your block because of a stupid mistake like a poorly functioning water pump or belts that are crap. Power can be as simple as changing your spark plugs (of course to iridiums) and gapping them properly. Seafoaming the engine. Changing ALL the fluids. hoopties don't make power. Cars in good condition with proper modding do.


And just for the record, Nitrous is usually just a show off toy... unless your crazy and decide to push the other button... the one that doesn't say purge. Hope you popped for the MHG and have your compression proper.

Cams, pistons and headers. For a naturally asperated car you need to get a lot of air in, squeeze it a lot and get it out fast. Without doing that stuff, you can advance the timing till just before it starts pinging. You can either advance or retard the cam timing for either low or high end power. Make sure that valve clearances are right. If it misses of course check the electrical parts. Not much else. You might find a higher numerically gear rear end for quicker starts off the line, but top speed suffers.


Turbo charge it. It seems to be the best. Mine is a N/A and if I shift between 4 and 6 thousand rpms, those are my quickest times. You can feel the cams coming in around there.

Russ

all those upgrades are good. but no one mentioned cam-gears. you can get about 25-35 more hp and im not sure how much torque for upgrading these. also getting new underdrive pulleys is a big deal. if i am correct for every pound or so you lose on the underdrive pulleys you gain about 1.5-2.5 hp. i upgraded my pulleys on my 1992 non-turbo supra and i can feel the difference.

I would focus on the headgasket first. My supra only had 60K when it blew it's head gasket. Get ARP bolts and a stock toy head gasket and you should be cool, unless you want to run massive boost then I'd get the HKS metal HG. It's a pretty common deal with the supra's, the headbolts were only torqued at 58 lbs. ft. when they should have been 75 lbs. from the factory. They tend to loosen up over time and the gasket wears out, normally in the #6 cylinder. Toyota should have issued a recall on it like they did with the v6 pickups.

Eh, that is a misconception: high octane does not give more power, but it only decreases the likelyhood of detonation.
High octane is needed in supercharged cars, and very high compression motors because forced induction and high compression ratio engines are more likely to have detonation problems.

^^^ This is true. But...7mge has 9.2 compression. You can run regular 87 octane under normal conditions, when the outside air temp is below 100*. The knock sensor will let the computer know if your getting any pinging, and it will back down the timing to stop the pinging, which is HP loss.

I've never heard it pinging, no matter what fuel I use.

In the summer it gets over 100* here most days. My a/c is on, day and nite, so I run 89 octane to keep the pinging away, and my timing advanced, thus keeping my HPs up.

I can tell the power difference between 87 and 89. Can't tell any between 89 and 91, so I must not be getting any timing retard with the 89.

BTW...I run my timing at 15*.

Someone should sticky this. :bouncy:

I disagree about the earlier statement about cams. From what I've gathered, the cams in the 7M are robust enough, in both the NA and the Turbo motors, to support high HP.

Besides maintenance issues, this is where I would search for "inexpensive" HP in an NA:

1) Intake
2) Exhaust
3) Header
4) Ignition
5) Fuel
6) Electric Fan
7) Flywheel
8) Underdrive Pulleys
9) Ceramic Coatings
* 50-80 Shot Dry Nitrous setup

This is for going all out:

1) Headwork
2) Cylinder Overbore
3) Rod/Piston Upgrade & Compression Bump
4) Tuning
* 90+ Shot Wet Nitrous setup

Great!
 

Great listing in there! .. It appears I started in the wrong order (?) as I've only so far gotten the 2.5" exhaust, with two resonators and I think no cat-back if that's what I think it is (they don't care for emissions in my country). By the way, anyone knows stock diameter on exhaust?

Cool thing that there are plenty of "cheap" mods that one can do with time. I've been thinking of staying N/A with my car.. I don't have a big need for speed anymore.. just want it to have enough power to make donuts and powerslides and that sort of things. I'd rather not have a turbo on the daily driver, although my previous 2 turbo cars never gave me a problem... but non-turbo's are.... simpler? :P

So intake/header/ignition should be the next few things. I've already found out that OBX is pretty much the only (or at least the best) way with the headers. And K&N is best for intake, although I went to 935motorsports.com and wasn't sure of WHAT exactly I should buy, when I decide to buy what everyone calls "intake". (Can anyone lighten me up a bit here?). And by ignition, I assume that means: good cables, iridium spark plugs, coil blaster and msd? (MSD being that thing that makes the plug discharge more than once, right? I could also use some explination on this).

God bless the forums. Too bad I'm probably the only dominican in here, heh. But I'll make ya guys proud of my Supra! =P

The list I've made is not necessarily meant to be followed in that specific order.

MSD stands for mulitple spark discharge. There are other companies that make similar products. A high powered coil is controlled by a computer allowing for mulitple sparks for several degrees (angle wise) throughout the duration of the spark cycle of each cylinder insuring complete ignition and combustion. This in turn gives more power, easier starts, and usually also translates to better gas mileage.

Yes, when I meant ignition, I meant the whole package. Wires, plugs, cap and rotor (if applicable), a coil, and a multi-spark box.

age is an issue
 

yeah i found a turbo 87 one for 300 bucks blown head gasket got some mods as well just waiting to put it in now done by me lol

turbo manifold
downpipe
elbow
new gaskets
boost controller
boost gauge
sheep dog blow off valve

What brands are good and where's a good place to get them at a reasonable price?

get a lexus afm

^^^ I would not bother with the lexus afm on a n/a engine. It won't really get you anything, as on a turbo motor. Also you'll need larger injectors to enjoy the lexus afm.

i didnt realize that we were talking about a na and no you do not have to have bigger injecters although it helps but i had the lafm on my car and boosted 16 lbs on stock turbo plus it helps stop fuel cut

True, But i know wit my friends camaro, tpi and running 10:1 pistons, on regular gas you never hear a ping or knock or anything, it runs beautiful. its just because the knock sensors and computer are fast/good enough to prevent it. but like you said there is power loss...so it does help to run higher octane if your compression is higher than about 9:1. But my point is (to others) that just because you dont hear the pinging, doesnt mean its not retarding the timing.

My n/a has plenty of power to get sideways, loop, spin wheels in 2nd gear, whatever you want really lol. MSD is a company, and i think what most people would be referring to is an aftermaket igniton coil, i guess. Also get a new cap and rotor, since the n/a has a distributor.

Yes by us si the same..Many "users" buy Supra, drive it and immediatelly ask me for more power - how to upgrade, which turbochrger to change , inejctors etc..

everytime I answered, "at first you must take you Supra to good condition, and you will see more power.."

My expierience is, that most of buyed supras has blown head gasket, or bad piston rings and about 90% has crankshaft bearing and crankshaft damaged...

I am getting 89' or 90' Supra in 1 yr and a half
 

Yeah I am getting an 89' or 90' supra in 1 year and a half and is there any supras that are manual with targa tops or is it just all automatics...?
Because all of the supras that I have looked at are automatic with targas because I hell wanna get some because my brother drives a 1993 Nissan 300ZX Man Targa and it is hell good.
I am only 15 atm but am a car fanatic, when I get the supra I am gonna replace all parts first for instance head gasket with copper/metal gasket, belts and then chuck a stezza system in with a pioneer head unit and a couple of 4 way 6x9s and yeah just take it from there, maybe king springs and coils, lowered, K&N Air Pod and Exhaust tip.

well to begin, the mk3 came in all combos: NA/turbo, manual/auto tranny, hardtop targa top. i have an 88 na mantranny, and a 87 turbo mantranny. as for the parts, looks like a good start with hg and belts. you also may want to look into replacing the vacuum hoses. you can buy a generic kit or whatever. i gotta system im tryin to sell if you're interested. pm me

am i the only one having a hard time finding performance parts? e-bay has been good to me, but thats about it

the headgasket and intake, a good ecu, maybe some new 50w oil and some stp. that will help you out a little. do some light weight deduction. replace some of your old piping and exuast and your car should be faster. i saw some intake parts (custom intake parts) at pepboys but its really low quality, i guess it does the same thing. its not metal its cheap plastic. thats a cheap way to get a custom intake