1997 Toyota Supra - Power Pages

When it comes to purchasing a vehicle, money is often the limiting factor. The more money you spend, the nicer the ride is going to be. Unfortunately, not everyone can win the state lottery or have Bill Gates for a dad, so you have to work with what you got. Purchasing a new or used car with all the bells and whistles might not be possible when you have a limited budget.

One prime example is the fourth-generation Supra twin-turbo. The Supra twin-turbo is probably the king of import turbo cars, but with a used sticker price of $20,000-plus, attaining one is not that easy. If you still want the stellar looks of the fourth-generation Supra without forking out 20Gs for it, a non-turbo platform might be what you're looking for. A non-turbo fourth-generation Supra can go for as little as $10,000, which is cheap for today's new vehicle prices. Unless you are a Supra guru, deciphering the difference between a non-turbo and twin-turbo is nearly impossible with the hood closed. In this section of Power Pages, we elected to soup-up a Supra non-turbo with some power enhancing products.

The EngineAlthough the 2JZ-GE (non-turbo) lacks considerable power compared with the more potent 2JZ-GTE (turbo), the engine is far from anemic. In stock trim, the engine produces 220 hp and 210 lb-ft of torque from the straight six. The head and block combination of the non-turbo engine is fairly similar to the turbo counterpart. Both feature the same bore and stroke and utilize DOHC 24-valve technology.

Besides the intake manifold, the only major difference between the two engines is the compression ratio, where the non-turbo runs a lofty 10.0:1 vs. the turbo, which is a more conservative 8.5:1. The engine is capable of producing more than 500 hp to the wheels in turbocharged trim without any engine fortification. The cast iron block can take the abuse of turbocharging without the problems normally associated with aluminum blocks.

Performance ComponentsFinding performance products for a non-turbo Supra is not an easy task. Luckily for us, some of the components made for the twin-turbo Supra are compatible with the non-turbo counterpart. The APEXi N1 exhaust system we elected to use was made for the turbocharged counterpart, but bolted nicely without any modifications. The monstrous mandrel-bent piping section of the exhaust enlarges from 3.34 inches to 3.75 inches before entering the polished, stainless-steel canister. All APEXi N1 canisters are computer TIG-welded, which equates to a clean, continuous bead on the welded section of the muffler. The exhaust exits through a 4.5-inch, stainless-steel tip.

For the intake system, we also went with an APEXi Power intake unit. When APEXi developed the Power intake, the company set out to complete one goal-produce an air filter with the least amount of air restriction that doesn't compromise filtration. The Power intake is a result of extensive R&D testing in the company's in-house engineering facility and limitless track testing. The successor to the highly successful Super intake, the Power intake retains the "dual funnel" technology. By utilizing an upper and lower air funnel turbulence within the filter, turbulence is reduced, thus creating a smooth airflow into the intake tract.

Oftentimes in Power Pages, the third and final modification on most normally aspirated vehicles is a header system. Unfortunately, locating a header unit for the non-turbo Supra unit is no easy task. To mix it up a bit, we went with a piggyback fuel computer from APEXi. The APEXi Super AFC is no stranger to the Import Tuner camp, as we have tested the unit with great results in many previous dyno sessions. As stated earlier, the Super AFC is a piggyback unit that works in conjunction with the factory ECU to control the fuel map. The unit is also capable of monitoring engine vitals, such as: engine rpm, intake manifold vacuum/boost pressure, airflow capacity, Karmann frequency, airflow correction percentage and throttle position.

Dyno TestingThe Import Tuner staff lives and thrives on the numbers ouput from the dyno. Not only can we tickle the keyboards to write this article, we can turn the wrenches with the best of them. First and foremost, we are gear heads and secondly, we are writers. Performance products should at least do one thing and that is perform. There is no better way to test a product than by performing before-and-after dyno runs with the products.

Surprisingly, our test mule only pounded 150.0 horses to the wheels. To make sure the Toy was running in top shape, we changed the spark plugs, cap, rotor, oil filter and oil. We re-baselined the Supra and came up with an identical horsepower rating. We performed a compression test and leak down test on the engine and everything seemed to be within the factory specifications. Either Toyota overrates its engine, or there is an incredible draw of power through the automatic transmission and differential.

First of the power trio to be installed was the APEXi N1 exhaust system. Although we were skeptical at first about the piping diameter of the turbo exhaust system on our non-turbo tester, we were however astounded with the horsepower gains of the unit. With just this simple bolt-on, we were able to extract an additional 14.3 hp, pushing peak power figures to 164.3 hp.

The APEXi Power intake was next in line. Installing the filter was a breeze, as it only took us a total of 5 minutes to finish. The Power intake replaces the restrictive factory air box. With airflow restriction decreased to the intake tract, peak power rose to 167.5 hp, an improvement of 3.2 hp.

Last of the power hitters was the APEXi Super AFC. By tickling the controls of the Super AFC, we were able to gain an additional 4.6 hp to the wheels. Peak power now checks in at 172.1 hp.

ConclusionWhen our Supra came into the dyno facility, it was only producing 150.0 hp to the wheels. Now with the APEXi performance components installed, the Supra is prancing around with 172.1 hp, an improvement of 22.1 hp. A tuning job well done. When an enthusiast purchases a product, they buy it for many reasons. The way it looks, the way it sounds and, of course, the way it makes power, is all taken into consideration. Power Pages opens the doors for manufacturers to display their products, but it also proves to the consumers that not only does their product look good or sound good, but it also performs. Until next time, let the rollers roll!.

The Parts