The stage was perfectly set - a clear road, traffic lights red-about-to-go-green, and both drivers revving their beasts' motors in anticipation.
"It's running about 16psi boost at the moment; how about you?" called Dino out the long window of the dark blue Supra. "About 15psi" replied Autospeed Editor Julian Edgar sitting at the helm of his Skyline GT-R.
Tacho needles wavered, the lights changed, and the big Supra crabbed sideways over the painted line, instantly pulling away a car's length. From behind, the 4 inch dump pipe of the Supra roared and whooshed furiously as it passed the massive volumes of exhaust gas. Feeling as strong as ever, the GT-R had launched at only 3500rpm - there was no way on earth it was ever going to get past. Not even up to 180 km/h, by which time the big blue Toyota had pulled out another half a car length...
Damn, we're talking about one fast car here!
And the action kept a-flowing - we asked Dino and his partner-in-crime Nick to smoke-up the rears for some good shots. Would they? Just try stopping them! This burning enthusiasm came as no shock though - we've already busted Dino lighting 'em up on more than one occasion!
First to take on the challenge, Nick idled over into position, loaded the engine up with the brake and proceeded to do the best burn-out I've ever seen done without the assistance of an oily road! With a deep growl, the car effortlessly churned out plumes of smoke and disappeared off into the distance - still cranking grey clouds 50 metres away!
Click
here to see an animated image of this burnout!
Then it was Dino's turn.
Not one to be outdone, he virtually destroyed the rear tyres spraying rubber everywhere in the car's wake, producing enough smoke to partially block out the sunlight - literally! Half way through the display he even had the state of mind to look over at Nick with a big grin spread over his face - cool or what?!
For now, Dino's car is the slightly quicker of the two and currently holds a 13.1 time card to its credit, while Nick's red machine has pulled a still impressive 13.5 second quarter mile. Both cars are powered by the Toyota 7M-GTE six cylinder engine, which displaces 3 litres, has twin cams, 24 valves, EFI and of course a turbo.
Producing a conservatively estimated 360hp, the blue winged warrior packs 7.5:1 forged TRD pistons and rods in addition to a polished and machined crankshaft. For safety's sake there's a high-volume oil pump and 9 litre magnesium TRD sump fitted down below. The multi-valve head has been ported and polished to aid flow and has been treated to TRD valves and valve springs. A strong metal 3mm TRD head gasket eliminates mixing oil with water.
The standard cast exhaust manifold connects to a high-flowed CT-28 turbo which is usually set at around 16psi boost, while a large TRD air-to-air intercooler cools the turbo'd intake air. An HKS air filter resides in the standard airbox. From the turbine side of the turbo, a 3 inch fully mandrel bent exhaust system flows through a high-flow cat and custom muffler. The stainless steel 4 inch tip pushes out the sounds.
To cope with the increased airflow, an extra Bosch injector is plumbed into the intake after the intercooler and is controlled by an aftermarket computer. This is in addition to an HKS fuel-cut defender and Bosch Motorsport fuel pump, but still the fuelling system is near its limit! Dino has plans to remove the factory management system and opt for a programmable MoTeC system for increased flexibility.
Nick's car is mechanically the same, but has standard engine internals with the exception of machined pistons and a cleaned-up head. It also uses the standard intercooler - soon to be replaced. Both of the guys would like to thank Adelaide Turbo Service for the turbo and EFI mods, and Exhaust Technology for - guess what!
A lot of the parts fitted to both cars came from John Smith, who used to race Group A Supras here in Australia in the late '80s. Rumour has it these (restricted) cars busted out 580hp at 28psi boost while sucking race fuel.
Both of the big Toys have 4-speed auto transmissions behind their power-plants that have been modified locally by Bruce Cussan's Automatics. These mods include custom clutches, a 3000rpm stall converter and twin oil coolers. Meanwhile, way back at the other end of the car, a 4.3:1 8½ inch LSD pulled from a normally aspirated Supra is bolted in place. What, a diff from the lesser model you ask? Apparently this was the only model to come with the 4.3 'limo' - none of the 3 litre turbo or 2 litre twin-turbo versions had the 4.3:1 ratio.
It's no surprise to hear the standard four wheel disc braking system fitted to each car is having trouble keeping pace. Even when fitted with the relatively soft factory Toyota pads, Dino told us he needed a brand new pair of front discs every year!
Cruising side-by-side on 17 inch Racing Hart and 16 inch Japanese-import wheels respectively, both Dino's and Nick's Supras look a million dollars. Suspending the cars closer to the road are King springs, while Nick's car also features Tokico shockers. Nick also has an HKS TEMS controller (a device which controls bump and rebound rates) and dampers coming which should give adjustability between 'straight-line' and 'handling' suspension settings. Plus there's also an HKS air-to-air intercooler kit, blow-off valve and larger diameter HKS intake manifold on their way from Rod Millen and Japanese Motorsport.
Both Dino's and Nick's cars are immaculate. Dino's is a custom mix Midnight Blue '89 model which has had the factory rear spoiler modified and refitted to stand high in the airstream - Ferrari F40 style. The 1988 example Nick owns is externally standard (other than the wheels) but comes with the optional removable roof panel - making it the perfect sunny-day cruiser. Grey fabric covers the interior of the cars while Dino's also has an Alpine sound system and Autometer boost and trans temp gauges. The sun shines down upon a Denon radio/cassette/CD with an amplified sub-woofer system in Nick's car.
Chatting with the guys, they mentioned ideas of eventually buying current model twin turbo import Supra turbos, but say they'll probably hold-off for a while to see the prices come down. Plus, these guys already have the grunt of the later model. Don't believe us? Dino tells an interesting story. He pulled up at the lights next to another guy's expensive current model twin-turbo Supra that was sporting slightly pretentious "CATCHME" number plates.
Dino just couldn't resist the urge to run against the 'latest and greatest' model. The black twin-turbo newie took off before the lights had changed but still got chewed up!
"PASSME" plates would have been more fitting, Dino says!
Contacts:
Adelaide Turbo Services +61 8 8377 2511
Exhaust Technology +61 8 8272 7500
Bruce Cussans Automatics +61 8 8298 7688
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