Touring Supra
 

We all have different reasons to own our mk III's. I am NOT a racer or drifter and the thought of doing such bores me. Saying that I want my guy to be a pleasure to drive, top on or off. So what can I do to make my guy a touring car? I want to drive route 66 and do it well even in the old areas. So what can I do?

Well, if you're not driving on rough roads then I'd lower the car a bit. I found that on the stock suspension they tend to feel a bit like the tail is floating. Nice quiet tires, new weather stripping around the windows and targa for less wind noise and replacing the old noise dampening material with newer, lighter and more effective sound insulation makes a huge difference on those long, casual cruises. A well dialed in alignment and new wheel bearing often makes a huge difference in comfort as well.

CUP HOLDERS!!! Add cup holders! I never understood why the Supra's (and MR-2's for that matter) never came with cup holders... GT my hind end! :p

Oh, and a good sound system NEVER hurts. :bigthumb:

A piggyback setup which allows you run a bit leaner at cruise is very nice... I can't think of anything else at the moment... Okay, yes I can, new foam in the seats.

i thought they did. my mk3 comes whith the 2 cup holder in the center concel but the lift piece will crush it if the drink is not big enough

I forgot about those... later models only and still no good. I kept crushing cups with my elbow so I stopped using it. Wow, how did I forget about those?

I think they should've molded them into the door panel or beside the e-brake.

that would have been great if they would have put it by the ebrake or even like the toyota pickup which had the slide out one under the ac concel

Toyota and a couple other manufacturers used cup holders which fit in a single DIN location under or above a single DIN head unit... It's not the best of locations in the MKIII though and interferes with accessing other items to a significant degree if driving alone (no one to hold your cup for you while you change CDs or search for an MP3 to listen to. They're easy enough to find in salvage yards though.

Not sure if I want to lower my guy. Is there something I can put on his rear end to stiffen him up? *looks innocent*

To what are you responding? The float issue? A stiffer suspension will do very little... The goal is to reduce the volume of air moving under the vehicle, remove turbulence and limit the amount of air pushing against and trying to get under the tires. Air dams and a low lip will help more than stiffer suspension, but clearance remains just as much of an issue.

He just seems a bit soft in hard turns. Of course a continuing problem is the car seems to be "flexing" in hard turns and with the top off it becomes a downright problem.

Anyhow, where can I get air dams for under my car? The previous owner destroyed the ones that came with the car.

The MKIII never came with air dams. If you're asking about the front undercovers your only options are the dealership or used. Air dams you'd have to fabricate, there's not a lot to them and you can look at many modern vehicles to see how they're employed and to get an idea of placement. They're just rigid plastic sheets which extend down below the car to divert air from going under the car and away from the tires. Even Prius have them.

EDIT: Air dams for tires look like small (usually hidden) reversed mud flaps for the front wheels.

For turning performance a much stronger anti-sway bar will make a very big difference without sacrificing ride quality in a straight line. It does nothing for stabilization at high speeds though... different problem, different solution. Naturally, stiffer suspension will help too but the ride will get a bit rougher.

white line makes the best four mk3 or so iv been told by others who have tryed variouse one. somthing that might be good is toe kit that says it can handle the extra stress of a bigger sway bar. iv seen one on hpf correct me if im wrong

http://www.horsepowerfreaks.com/part...Kits/Rear/9087

Note that '89+ use plastic end links. When using a significantly tighter anti-sway bar they may break.

so whith 88 and 87 dont worry to much about it? dident know they used plasitc in 89

Unless they've been replaced '88 and earlier will have metal end links.

thats cool little fact to know, u think the 87 will handle a whitle line 30mm swaybar whith no issues then?

Should be just fine. I can't remember if that bar has multiple mount points for the end links like the ST... If it does I'd recommend not using the stiffer settings except for track days.

i bet even on its softest setting its probably much stiffer than factory, cant wait to see it in its stiffest setting

Use caution. I can't remember if it plagued the MKIII Supra but some other Toyota's were found to have other things break if the anti-sway bar was too stiff.

So how do I know which sway bar to buy? The other car I want is a Toyota Century, dress up my brother and get him to drive me around *grins*

Depends on just how tight you want the ride. If you just want firmer handling in the turns but only a little difference over stock in ride quality the rest of the time, I'd just go with ST and play with the low and medium settings. No need for a super beefy bar unless you're regularly taking the car to the track on weekends.

yes sir! 89 plus!

I do not race due to my medical condition, so I want to make him a bit tighter without too hard a ride. So which st sway bar do you recommend? I am willing to pay more for quality, going cheap has burned me too many times.

Oh my guy is still turning policemen's heads. Crossed the mother road on the QT and got up to 35 and noticed one on my tail and another ahead of me. Think they are attracted to the sound. While not loud it carries. 35 is the speed limit though most people take longer getting to it *looks innocent*

ST is a brand: Suspension Techniques. If you get a sway bar that feels too stiff you can always buy adjustable end-links or have longer ones made; So don't concern yourself too much with it being too stiff. :bigthumb:

Whiteline also makes a good set dont they?

Yes, from what I've been told Whiteline is one of the best if you're looking for a rigid bar. I've only got reviews to go on, but they're from people that I know who've tried them along with other bars such as ST's. I liked the Suspension Techniques sway bar and for an aggressive yet still casual DD this is what I'd recommend for most people and even then probably only on the first or second tension level. As I mentioned, the rigidity of the bar isn't all that's involved in determining the rigidity of the ride and you can make adjustments to mellow out a bar that's too aggressive, but only to a degree and it usually requires additional hardware.

A word of warning for those looking for a teeth rattling rigid experience: The lower mount for the end links MUST have reinforcements welded on. People have found these mounting tabs are VERY prone to snapping off the arm even with ST's when under significant preload or when a very solid bar is used.

will the toe kit i mentiond on the previouse page take care of that or would it still need to be renforced

The sway bar mounts don't look any beefier than the factory ones... They're just not 20+years old.

One of the reviews:

confused
 

So why would new ones be any better? When I got him replaced the bushings in the rear end. One was rather dry rotted and the others did not seem much better.
I am not an auto mechanic and my thing is aircraft structures. So how would putting in a newer model be any better?

Why would new what be better? Front and rear sway bars? Well for one I've seen some stockers which were warped... not from any mad racing, just 20 years of stress. But also they're desirable because the replacements we're referring to are thicker and reduce body roll to a greater degree than even new OEM bars will (very desirable for cruising twisty mountain roads or for drifting like a madman).

There is such a thing as too much; If excessive you may loose traction on both wheels if you hit a significant bump. The tighter the bar the more of any given shock is transferred to the opposite Wheel. So, for every bit of dampening you remove, you remove the some of the suspension's ability to cope with significant and sudden changes in the vehicle's yaw and roll. To put it simply: Stiff suspension may only be preferable for smooth and predictable turns. It is possible to turn this to your advantage with additional mods and learning to drive differently.

this is geting to be a very intresting thread!

CRE, I am having my mechanic look while he changes the seals, targa top, doors rear hatch. Oddly enough after he fixed the under hood fuse box and replace the computer, the battery does no long go dead

i had the same problem a while ago. what a pain...