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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I started driving camaros my last befor my 88 MKIII was a 1979 camaro that kept burning up stage 2 built trans. it would smoke ant import in a straight line. however i wanted to try something new and bought my mkiii. right now i have a blown head on it and i still drive it with no probs. i can respect any car when i know about it. i live my mkiii cuz of its handling. handles better then my old 92 camaro rs and my gfs 2000 firebird. im bout to drop and ls1 in my supra and solve alot of probs as far as power goes. i still love chevy and camaros but i love my lil supra, he musta had a lemon to make him hate his so much
Ok wow… I will try to make this as brief as possible.
10. While you mentioned one racer who drove a supra and succeeded with it, there are hundreds of others that get no credit and do well.
9. That is nowhere near the stock steering angle, I am sitting here looking at my UN modified setup on my 88 and it is much more than this shitty picture.
8. Your a dumbass if you think any mk3 weighs in at 3800 lbs. You must be obese or fill your car with lead. Mine started out as a bone stock 88, auto trans 7mgte, abs, targa top. It weighed in at 3500 on the nose. Btw I had a full sound system and a sub as well.
7. Other than that gay ass Ferrari Supra, you picked one of the worst examples of mk3 exterior styling. You clearly don’t know what’s available out there.
Ridox, shine auto, do-luck,regulus an greddy all make very high quality and saught after pieces for this chassis, just to name a few.
6. The Targa models are reenforced around the front windshield frame, hence the roughly 100 pound weight gain. Go tell a Porsche owner how gay they look while I cruise away with your girlfriend, her hair blowing in the wind of my targa.
5. Like previously stated, almost unnoticeable with the simplest strut upgrade, which for highly recommended Tockico’s is just shy of 400 bucks. If you wanna play you gotta pay, high quality parts with labor that’s better than your whopping 2 years experience (I’m only 20 and I’ve owned, wrenched on, daily driven, raced, and modified my Supra for 5 years now) will produce a responsive and reliable automobile.
4. Coilovers, done. Snuff said.
3. Such an educated statement. I’ll have you all know I can’t even get gas without it turning into a conversation about how classic and awesome of a car it is. Mk4 owners still appreciate these cars, I’ve had plenty park next to me for a good chat. Toyota Supra ownership is a brotherhood. Stay the fuck out of it.
2. Actually, in our not 3800lb car, the 7mgte lays down closer to 230hp, to the wheels. 1jz is 280 to the wheels. And if that isn’t fast enough there are endless opportunities in that sexy engine bay. Tell Duane on Supraforums how shitty the 7m is, and he’ll walk your ass with 1000+ponies, all 7m power. Headgasket problems weed out those who aren’t serious about the chassis.
And to conclude your stupidity,
1. Cool, one interior color option was a bust. Shadow Gray Cloth ftw. Or what about jza70 factory Recaro seats and momo steering wheel? Rhd digital dash and heads up display is pretty rare and neat too. Only thing I didn’t like was the factory green backlit gauges. So I took 15 minutes, a screwdriver, and a handful of super white leds and did something about it.
All in all you can have your opinion, just educate yourself before you face one of tho most tightly knit communities in the automotive industry. Try actually owning/building/maintaining/enjoying a Supra before you bash them so hard. I’ve turned Nissan fanatics into mk3 admirers. And all I did was drive by.
Cheers to those who read and educate themselves, Jza70 till the casket drops.
I believe that the OP meant that as a tongue in cheek remark. Suffice it to say that he’s got some points correct (or at least… kinda close), however on the bulk of the subject, its not a very informed web page. Those who own… know. Its kind of funny, because not many people would ever take that tilt with the MK3.
Most people who are a litte miffed at the topic are people who have put a lot of heart into their car and enjoy the pride of owning what is fast becoming a rare car.
tengo un 7mge y anda muy bien le adapte un turbo t3 bustiando 12 libras aumentandolo a 290 hp y anda de maravilla no creo que este comentario del mal supra tenga algo de sentido ademas fue producido por los mejores japoneses con mucha tecnologia para su epoca y alguien que no sabe fabricar pernos este
hablando sobre esto
I own a 1990 targa top turbo supra and a 2006 Nissan 350 z. The supra is my daily driver. I’ve owned it for 13 years and love this car. I’ve compared the quality of the interior of both cars and the Z doesn’t even come close. I always get compliments on my supra and people always want to race me while I go to and from work. Oh by the way mine is the white edition with blue interior remember, the mk3 was the top of the line Toyota until Toyota produced lexus.