Your track car is no fun in the garage. Sure, maybe you give it a celebratory detail job after a weekend of hard lapping, but the place where you want your track car to excel is on track. And it can’t do that if it’s broken, or acting suspicious, or constantly being a hassle.
Dale Loma…
I never thought I'd want the four-cylinder Supra as much as the six-cylinder, but this article has me questioning that.
In reply to Colin Wood :
Same. I've lost out of enough track time due to reliability issues that outright power is much further down the list than ever.
I once had a very fast but somewhat unreliable car (most of it was teething problems) and vowed never to do that again.
One thing that did make me laugh was the brake fluid and pads, not because they are wrong, on the Datsun I use cheap off the shelf street pads and fluid. The brakes are off much heavier Datsuns so the system is really under stressed.
I'd carry this over to race cars as well; I'm of the opinion that working on your car trackside should be a very rare occurrence.
I build the Datsun motors to about 75% of full racing engines; past that is the point were they start to become less and less reliable, driving around the track having to keep constantly an eye on everything sucks the fun out of being on track.
As a young man I went to the track with more spare and tools in weight than the race car. I had spare engines, transmissions suspension, body parts, etc.
As The car ran races I started leaving a lot of the spares at home and the tools went from a big roll around chest filled with everything to a little 3 drawer tool box.
I did carry at least one spare tire, fluids and a few small band aides. Like wires, Holley fuel pump, hoses, etc.
In reply to Colin Wood :
As a six-cylinder Supra owner, I don't know that I'd say it is less reliable and that would drive me to the 4. The motor and tranny are historically pretty bomb proof and tested. Personally I think that the issue is that the 6 platform is the target of lots of 3rd party modding potential and therein lies the tie to unreliability, lots of CELs, heat issues, etc.
I've left mine bone stock on the drivetrain side and find it super reliable so far (it is a 2021). Stays super cool on hot Colorado track days and at our altitude - this Sunday was 95 degrees and I stayed well within comfort zone. It has plenty of power to keep up with the Joneses.
The power and the amazing 8 spd double clutch auto to me are well worth it on the 6, especially in the altitude and the hilly nature of my home track, High Plains Raceway, with a few uphills after slow tight turns. Just food for thought.
BTW, on both models gauging is a little lacking for a true sports/track car IMO, so the addition of a P3 or Wagner Tuning add-on is well worth the price so you can monitor stuff like oil temp, oil pressure at a more granular level than dummy lights.
gschwarzer said:In reply to Colin Wood :
As a six-cylinder Supra owner, I don't know that I'd say it is less reliable and that would drive me to the 4. The motor and tranny are historically pretty bomb proof and tested. Personally I think that the issue is that the 6 platform is the target of lots of 3rd party modding potential and therein lies the tie to unreliability, lots of CELs, heat issues, etc.
I've left mine bone stock on the drivetrain side and find it super reliable so far (it is a 2021). Stays super cool on hot Colorado track days and at our altitude - this Sunday was 95 degrees and I stayed well within comfort zone. It has plenty of power to keep up with the Joneses.
The power and the amazing 8 spd double clutch auto to me are well worth it on the 6, especially in the altitude and the hilly nature of my home track, High Plains Raceway, with a few uphills after slow tight turns. Just food for thought.
BTW, on both models gauging is a little lacking for a true sports/track car IMO, so the addition of a P3 or Wagner Tuning add-on is well worth the price so you can monitor stuff like oil temp, oil pressure at a more granular level than dummy lights.
The "more reliable" designation wasn't really meant as an absolute, but more as a qualified conditiona descriptor meaning that in that particular situation—with hundreds of drivers of varysing skill and experience cycling through—the more understressed four-cylinder variant is probably going to be easier on consumables and general wear and tear than a more powerful option.
And, yeah, Supras in general are amazing track toys, and I'm glad to hear yours is treating you well. It's just uch a capable platform.
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