Actually, let's be honest here, they are most likely the worst Toyota ever built.
These are my top 10 reasons for hating the mk3 supra. How do I know them so well? I worked on them for nearly 2 years, I drove both RHD and LHD mk3's with all sorts of different engines, stock and modified. I've spent a lot of time wrenching on them, and man do they suck badly. Let's begin:
10. Racing History: Let's be honest, there's really nothing special here, Bjorn Waldergard won one event with the MK3 supra in a Beijing Rally, and a few British fellows ran it in BTCC for a while. No real pedigree here.
9. Steering Angle: This is straight up a joke, it can't be real, no way it's even considered safe or functional to have so little steering lock for daily use. You think I'm kidding, but that's full lock below.
8. Weight: This really should be the #1 reason why there's no point in driving an mk3 Supra for any sort of 'sporting' purposes. What's that? you've never known what the weight of a mk3 supra was? Pictured below is a vehicle that weighs nearly identical, and actually produces more power.
(Note: 3800lbs, that's right, the CK short bed, short cab, not only weighed 3800lbs, but it actually produced 230hp and 300ft/lb of torque. Although the 1JZ variant is comparable)
7. Aftermarket Styling: Yes it's a slick looking exterior, simply put, it's the only selling point of the car. However, the aftermarket stuff? yeah, look below...
6.Targa Top: So you have an oval, pretty strong shape, egg's are 3d ovals and resist deformation pretty well. Then you cut a huge chunk out of it. Now you've got an easily crushable "C" shape. Thus is the Targa roof. How bad is it for chassis flex? Toyota actually had high grade, long threaded allen bolts to hold it square when in. When out, people started putting in targa supports to help reduce the horrible flex.
5. Steering Stablizer: The whole Geometry of the MK3 Supra suspension is fucked, and to help reduce bump steer, and ultimately any sort of driver feedback that's left after the hefty power steering, was a shock, bolted to the steering rack to help reduce...something. Road feel mostly, or resist the horrible bumper steer associated with #4. This Stablizer, much like the Cressidas (Although they had different front suspensions and shared the rear) resists and sometimes completely removes the affects of caster during cornering. It reduces the speed of turn by adding a dramatic amount of resistance.
4.Suspension Dynamics: These are just plain FUCKED. For some reason, Toyota decided that going from a single lower control arm McPherson strut setup, that had proven extremely well in the Corolla's, Celica's, and Celica Supras of the past, had to go, and in place a needlessly complex, and albeit poorly designed multi-link/double wishbone setup in it's place. You want to know how bad it is? Camber actually becomes positive on compression and negative on extension. Seriously look vvv.
3. Cock Riders: This isn't about the owners. The amount of people floating around the internet praising the mk3, simply because of it's loose relation to that of an mk4 Supra most of them having never owned a Supra in their lives. Although this makes me curious of the dynamic of buying and polishing a turd.
2. 7M/1G: Pretty weak sauce. So you buy a 3800lb driveway ornament and want to go fast. In North America, your faced with the 7M, and Japan, luckily enough got the 1jz, however, they too got the 7M and even worse, the 1G. Every other M series engine was decent, the 7M screwed that right up. It's head design is the fault. People will tell you it was a bad factory gasket, or under torqued bolts. However, even with those factors coverd, the real core of the issue was a bad head design. Getting past the common, and often debilitating issue of 7m's blowing gaskets (try pushing that thing!) The power of a 7m is a joke. Remember that Toyota publishes not the wheel horse power, but the crank. By the time that inline 6 delivers it's 200hp N/a to the rear, it's about 160hp, got a turbo? Roughly 190hp. Brutal for that amount of weight, but look out! There's even a worse motor: the 1GGTE. Although not plagued with head gasket failures and people thinking they can build the ultimate 7m, only to fail like the next guy, the 1ggte had it's own issues, spinning bearings, and well, being 2 liters! Such a tiny inline 6, and it needed twin turbo's just to make the 210hp. Unless your supra screwed and end up with an n/a 1GGE at 150hp.
And the Number 1 reason MK3 supra's are garbage! *Drum Roll*
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1. Burgandy:
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Speed Hero is based in Victoria B.C. now. We’re happy to discuss the merits of the MK3 Supras in person, since the owners seem to be a reasonable and articulate group of enthusiasts.
10 reasons the writer of this article is an idiot and can’t modify the problems he addressed himself. Your obviously too stupid and incompetent to work on cars so you bash on the car instead. If you fix up a mk3 supra properly there is no reason you should be complaining!
This is a great comment on a car he has never owned, I take my 25 year old 1986 Supra Targa top (we call it in the club a wobble top) to my local Mr.T dealer and I wouldn’t let a grease monkey near it. My car was made 5 years before the oldest meco in there was born. I have had a lot of “Performance” cars in my life, a Ferrari 246 Dino, Jensen Interceptor, Iso Revolta (yank engine) and many more, I only kept the Supra, I wonder why? Maybe because it has given me 25 years and a 178000 Kilometres of fun driving, Never had a BHG, And only ever had consumables spent on it. I do admit to going a little overboard on After Market Extras, Koni shocs, 35mm lowered and 18inch wheels. No rust on my car, and I am now planning to use my lovely MA70 for a show car as it still causes you kids to turn their heads with their jaws dropped and often with the comment “WOW look at that”.
You as a slimy turd that should be wiped off the soul of a shoe on the curbstone, with what was that 2 years knowledge of the car, when you have owned from new and driven one for the same amount of time, then you can pass comment. And I wouldn’t compare it with a Chevy pick up truck “yipidy yipidy I got me a redneck truck” of a HUmmmmm a hummer, talk about agricultural. What lie was it that the company that makes them oh yeh " it will protect your life" yeah right, tell that to the families that have lose brave soldiers who died in them. The supra has never aspired to be the fastest, or the most expensive. But YOU dip stick won’t ever get one, cos ya don’t earn enough on well fair.
ATTENTION EVERYONE!
The writer’s name is apparently Quinn Howling he lives in the British Columbia/Victoria area
If you go to the link in the upper right corner “Speedhero, what is we” you can see what the little gay boy looks like. He’s wearing a pink jacket, and a red bandanna on his leg(very gay looking). He’s even stupid enough to have his phone number, email address, and facebook link LOL!. It looks like some one could find him at the Capital drift event so you can punch him and his baby in the face!
I love how you guys are reacting to this article. Shows what kind of people own mk3 supras.