Meet the ghost of driftmas yet to come
Stock, it’s pretty sensible. But a specialist in rear-drive Japanese cars gives us a taste of the Supra’s potential.
AE86, 2JZ, S15, RB26, Sil80… if this sounds like an internet error code, you probably shouldn’t visit Garage-D, and if you do, you might be asked to leave. Based in converted farm buildings outside Watford, Garage-D is run by Julian Smith and specialises in drift and track preparation, most notably rear-drive Japanese cars to which those alphanumeric codes relate, though he’s also a BMW man.
I’ve known Julian for over 15 years, in which time he’s worked on my M3, lost none of his Kiwi-tinged Irish accent, and – more famously – prepared cars for the Fast & Furious films. He’s built a reputation partly on his talent for thinking outside the box like an old-school rally mechanic – he could probably rebuild a 2JZ Supra motor with a cable tie and a spanner from a Christmas cracker if he had to – but Julian’s also a highly accomplished driver.
He’s most associated with the ’90s/early-noughties peak of Japanese high performance including Mk4 Supras, S-body Nissans and R32-34 Skylines. But more recently he’s been investigating tuning options for the new BMW-based Mk5 Supra.
He asked if I’d like to bring the CAR Supra down for a comparison with a tuned example owned by customer Duncan Lang, the yellow car in these pictures. Mk4 Supra owners generally arrive in a Gold’s Gym T-shirt doing a rolling burnout, but the Mk5 is clearly attracting a different crowd if Duncan is representative. He’s enjoyed a long career working in project management for car makers and major suppliers, including ensuring Renault Sport and Ford RS/ST models were equipped with seats. Duncan was at Garage-D within weeks of getting his new Toyota. ‘I liked the Supra, but it could feel quite strangled, as though there was a restriction in the exhaust, and it perhaps wasn’t as exciting as I hoped,’ he sums up.
The first step was to treat the 3.0-litre straight-six turbo engine to a stage 1 ECU re-map. The stock baseline was recorded at 355bhp on what’s described as an independent and conservative rolling road. The re-map wasn’t immediately straightforward, as it transpired the third-party software had been written for US cars, but with some fine tuning it eventually recorded 402bhp – more than the 377bhp upgrade announced for US Supras in 2020 (if without the US models’ lower-compression pistons and six-port exhaust manifold).
More recently Duncan’s Supra has gone to a stage 2 ECU tune. Induction is standard, but there’s a new de-cat HKS exhaust that still works with the active flap in the driver’s-side exhaust outlet. An issue with the dyno means a reliable horsepower figure hasn’t yet been recorded, but subjectively I can tell you IT’S LOTS.
Much as I’m interested in the power upgrade, the conservative chassis upgrades on Duncan’s car are actually more intriguing; as I noted last month, our Supra seems to have much less traction than the car I first drove, and slides both early and very quickly.
Turns out the US cars have had suspension updates, but there’s evidence online of alignment inconsistencies on Euro-spec cars, and Garage-D found Duncan’s ⊲
example less than ideal. They’ve adjusted toe and camber to compensate and give the rear tyres more contact patch while cornering, but this car is also on Tein lowering springs, which drop the car 25mm at the front and 20mm at the rear. Running small wheel spacers, the result’s subtle, but does give the Supra a more purposeful stance.
Duncan kindly offers me a drive. I fire up his car and the HKS exhaust erupts like a fireworks display. It certainly gives the Supra a stronger voice, but the pops on the overrun make it sound like you’re misbehaving even when really you’re not. I’d pass.
I like the power upgrade, though – the throttle response feels much more urgent, and there’s more oomph brewing immediately under your right foot when you accelerate, as well as a far stronger and richer top end, where the stock car runs out of puff. It feels so much more potent even when you go steady that I’d guess at 450bhp.
It’s bucketing it down during my drive, so I never feel comfortable lighting it up and punching in shifts with the throttle pinned, but apparently the shift strategy for the eight-speed auto is more aggressive in Sport, and puts a bigger gap between Sport and Comfort.
The differences to the chassis are quite pronounced. Fitting lowering springs can often destroy ride quality, but these Tein springs might actually have improved it. Yes it feels firmer in some ways, but Duncan’s Supra doesn’t seem to suffer the abrupt checks at the rear on the rebound that the standard car sometimes does. It also feels more consistent when I carve into a roundabout off-throttle, as though the front and rear ends are better connected and the way it loses grip (within the confines of the fully activated stability control, given the conditions) is more progressive – though the alignment adjustments are all bundled up in this change of feel.
If I had to choose from all these mods, I’d play about with the chassis first, and it’s interesting that just changing the alignment could make a big impact, without actually modifying any of the standard parts at all.
Knowing Garage-D, though, this is just the first step on a journey that’ll one day lead to a full-house track car to rival the 800bhp Mk4 monster he has tucked away. Whatever Julian does, it’ll be well worth watching out for.
There’s a far stronger and richer top end where the stock car runs out of pu