Thats funny when i went to the "import vs. domestic day" at MIR, Every, and I do mean EVERY, Supra that went down the track broke in some way. Whether it be off the tree and snaping a CV shaft of blowing something up half way down the track. Thats why the Anderson Buick T-Type won the wild street class (lifting the tires at the 60' mark when it hit boost). All that i know is that all supras that i saw were on a trailer when they left (for a street car event mind you...wtf?) but what i did see was the buick driving home after a long day of hot laps....

good kill either way....

 

The reason they blow up so frequently is that the cars you're watching are on stock parts. They can make 750+ whp on a stock block. Any time a car is putting three times the factory power on stock parts, stuff is going to break. The big difference between the GNs and the Supra is there are aftermarket components for nearly everything on a GN but very little for the Supra. For example, it's no secret that the fastest Supras run a GM automatic -- usually a TH400; sometimes a Powerglide. They can't order billet this and heavy-duty that, or choose from several full-drag suspension setups. They either have "stock" or whatever a vendor was able to make up locally.

I completely understand the trailered "street cars." If you're away from home racing a car that's likely to break something, it makes sense to have a trailer just in case. It's not that the car couldn't drive to the event; it's that you need to make sure it's going home when you are. My closest 1/4 track is over 2 hours away -- I'd hate to have my car stuck there while I went to get a trailer. A trailer is basically mandatory for anyone who drove from several states away.

I do respect fast street cars. I've seen a friend drive his 3rd gen Firebird to the same track I spoke of earlier. It's impressive in his case because it runs mid-low 9's. You can imagine the gas mileage though so he trailers it now. At least when he needed to pass someone he didn't have to worry about having enough room to do it

 

And alot of GN's are on thier originall trannys and shortblocks and still run 10's (high 10's but 10's all the same) all day long and drive home after. The GN motor was extremely stout and bullet proof. The stock components were just very strong so there is no need to upgrade unless you are looking for alot better numbers (low 10's and below) I am not saying that the GN is worlds better than the Supra but a much better platform to start with in the first place, IMHO. why fix somthing if it aint broke?

 

I'll bet those 10-sec GN's stock transmissions aren't stock on the inside! That's my point -- you can beef up a stock Supra's transmission a bit but nowhere near as much as a GM product. The "fortified" transmission in my brother's Supra could support a 10-sec run but 8s would be another story entirely. They just don't make the parts to make that possible. Need stronger axles for a GN? No problem -- just pick a vendor. Need 'em for the Supra? Tough luck -- hope the factory made 'em strong enough.

I think people know a GN is a better drag platform than a Supra. Put some drag shocks on a GN, give it some tires, and it'll turn in 10-sec timeslips with traps barely in the 120 range. A Supra in the 10s is clicking off 140+ mph traps to do the same deed. Both are on stock engines but who's making more power? Therefore, who's more likely to break something?

Personally, I don't want either car. I'd rather have horsepower and traction to go with it. I don't want to require slicks or a prepped track to make use of what I have. Will I ever make 500 whp or run 10s? Of course not. However, when I do hit say 400whp, I'll be able to use it any time I want.

 

John already said everything I wanted to say about the supra/gn thing, but when you talk about driving home, let's put it in perspective. What matters to me is what my street car is gonna do, not what my car is gonna do if I gut it and crank it up to 1000 hp. My first supra ran 20 lbs. of boost and 100 shot of NOS for 3 years. It made 535 rwhp on a fuel system known to max out at 500 rwhp. I drove it to and from the atlanta dragway (3 hours from me) over 50 times during those 3 years and it never let me down. I made it home everytime and never had a repair issue accept for the clutch. In contrast, I've owned four corvettes and combined I have spent over $13000 in repairs to these cars (I have every bill in a shoe box). I've replaced 2 automatic trannies on cars with less than 50k miles. I've also blown one engine and one rear end. These were stock or bolt on cars! I've been left at the strip 3 seperate times in these cars. Quality wise those corvettes couldn't hold a Supra's jock.

The GN rocks, but I specified "modern sports car"...so it doesn't count

 

Did I go to far? Everything I said is true though. And I don't own either car and have no bias towards either car company, but I've had 2 Supras and 4 Vettes, so I feel qualified to make that comment.

 

Well, to make you feel a little worse, my brother had a 91 L98 vette and a 96 LT1 vette. Between those 2 cars he went through 3 transmissions (all auto) and an engine. The engine he blew was s/c'd though, so it's not GM's fault. But when the tranny went out in his 91, the car was stock! It happened one week after he bought it from Kevin Whittaker Chevy in Greenville and they wouldn't do anything about it! The 96 had only minor bolt on's when the tranny blew the first time. On a brighter note I had a 94 Corvette that was supercharged and ran low 12's@122 mph. Never had a glitch from the Z/F 6 spd or the Dana 46 rear end and I made at least 40 passes with that car. Moral of the story is if you ever get a Vette, get a manual tranny!

 

They're definitely getting better. I've owned all LT1's, so I can't comment on the LS1's. It's just ridiculous how many problems I had with Chevy's flagship $45k sports car.

 

So you just got done praising Supras for what they do on stock parts and then when people talk about them breaking you say it is because of stock parts?????


Make up your mind. Yea Supras are cool but they aren't God's gift to man kind.

 

The overall theme of all my posts is that they're not magic -- they're not worthy of worship but they're not crap either. Too many people are on one extreme or the other and most have no hands-on experience with the car.

The engine is bulletproof, with many people over 700 whp on a totally stock engine. The rest of the drivetrain just may not stand up to more than triple the power it was designed for. That's a flaw? The fact that few aftermarket upgrade parts are available is the fault of the car?

Their popularity (except for the stupid F&F movies) is due not just to their max horsepower potential but for the ease of modding in general. You can take a bone stock car, add exhaust and a boost controller, and trap 117-118 mph. The stock fuel system, pump and injectors, can support 500whp. That's an impressive feat, especially for a car that made around 275whp in stock form.

The fact is that nobody with a fast car (say, 500+ whp) expects to run on a stock drivetrain. You just can't do it with any reliability in any car that costs under around $150k. Like they say -- you've got to pay to play. Power may be easy to make but the supporting mods will cost you too.

 

It's not the high hp that can make a car unreliable; it's trying to do it using stock parts. You won't do it on a stock tranny (moreso for an auto), a stock rear end, stock axles, etc. without running the risk of breaking something - esp. if you run a stickier tire. Once you address these concerns, then you'll have a very reliable car. Slap a ton of HP into an otherwise stock car and you won't go very far without needing a tow.

Every time you beef up one component, the next weakest is the one that will fail. It's just how modding cars works.

 

Also let me clarify the other post. I didn't mean $150k as in "for a reliable 500hp car the mods will cost $150k."

I meant that as in "if the car costs over $150k new (like a Ford GT or something) then you are more likely to run 500+ whp without needing any supporting driveline mods."

 

Talk about missing the point! Sure, sooner or later every car will break if you make enough passes with sticky tires and 800 hp. There's no way around it no matter what you drive. But for those of us who don't try to turn 9's on a daily basis, the Supra will make huge horsepower, reliably, for a very long time without a single change to the engine or tranny. See the distinction? While it may not be God's gift to mankind, can you name another modern car that could even survive a dyno run at 800 hp with the stock engine and tranny? Sh*t, I tried with 4 different Vettes and couldn't make them hold together at 400 rwhp, let alone twice that!

 

You've seen plenty of vehicles do it without engine/tranny mods? Clue me in, cause I've been trying to find a reliable alternative to the Supra for years. I'll never own another one since Fast and Furious came out, but I'd love to find something else that can make the power and take the abuse without killing my wallet.

 

Good post!