In about 5 more years you're actually legally obligated to buy a Vette or a Porsche.

 

Outside of the OP, who obviously owns one, I still am confused by the gushing love for the Supra in this thread. Bryan and I were talking, and he mentions how Lightning Lap (V.I.R. Grand Valley East) is more of a horsepower track. I can't really disagree with that, because there are a couple of monster straights on it.

The 2021 Supra definitely has the horsepower, though, it traps within 1mph in the quarter mile of the C7 Grand Sport in the quarter mile. But that didn't stop the GS from giving it more than a 12 second *** beating in Lightning Lap. https://www.caranddriver.com/feature...storical-data/

I understand and appreciate the historical love for Japanese cars. Most all of us were/are Evo guys, and know that "boost is the way", because gains through tuning alone are huge. Being that the Supra is no Japanese car this time around, and it is a Z4 is hard for me to get around. I will always put Supra/Z4 deeply behind a Corvette or Cayman in my book, particularly for those who value handling. The fact that my height is an issue is a solid second reason why owning one could never work.

That said, my opinion means little. A lot of you like them, and I'm sure for good reason.

The big bummer for us enthusiasts right now for all these fun cars are these horrible shortages causing everything to hike in price like $10k+ minimum.

 

I was following this mainly for how "life after evo" is, as I am highly considering selling mine. But got tired of reading how this car is better than that car, no its not, well have you seen this car? It is twice the price but way better. (No offense to anyone, really, including you warmmilk. Just my opinion.)

I am a firm believer in buying a performance car with how the car makes you feel, or for a specific purpose such as drag, autoX ect. Its never a financial investment, and anything else really will always be a "ford vs. chevy" type argument. Although I do like seeing people do the challenges on youtube where a budget is set and two or more cars are built and compared on a variety of tests.

I do think in this case, its just people talking cars which is great.

 

@Noize
That 2017 C7 Grand Sport had the Z07 package that includes Carbon Ceramics plus Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires. That could be the reason for the big gap in times? The specs match up close on paper too.

C7 Grand Sport
Class: LL3
Lap time: 2:47.1
Base Price: $79,930
As-tested price: $92,060
460 hp • 3445 lb • 7.5 lb/hp
Tires: Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 ZP
F: P285/30ZR-19 (94Y), R: P335/25ZR-20 (99Y)

Toyota Supra
Lap time: 2:59.3
Class: LL2 | Base: $51,985 | As Tested: $56,680
Power and Weight: 382 hp • 3402 lb • 8.9 lb/hp
Tires: Michelin Pilot Super Sport, F:255/35ZR-19 (96Y) ★ R: 275/35ZR-19 (100Y)

 

The stock Supra tires suck so bad its not even funny. Definitely played a big part in that test. Also note the nearly $35k price difference. Buy a Supra, dump $35k in it and see whats faster then.

All I have to say is that the Supra is ok in stock form. It needs some work to be a competitive car. Honestly though, wheels and tires alone have turned it into a completely different car. Cant wait to see what the rest of my mods do when I finally get them installed. I am loving the new bump in power though!

 

Yeah. I'm not gonna compare those two cars. They are (literally) in different classes.

 

I think the C8 ($62K MSRP) is a better comparison to a modified Supra.

Jackie Ding did an informal comparison between his Time Attack Supra on A052s versus a basically stock C8 Corvette:
The Corvette had Goodyear SC3 tires (mild disadvantage against Supra's A052s), an alignment, and brake pads. That's it. And it was still within 2 seconds of Jackie Ding's TA Supra build on a 2-minute course.

I like the Supra a lot but it's hard to ignore the C8's track performance in totally stock form. Put those A052s on the C8 (or even size up a bit) and that might have closed the gap. Tire Rack's testing showed about the SC3 trailing the A052 by about 0.9 seconds per minute ( https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests...y.jsp?ttid=255 ) which is more or less how much the C8 trailed the modified Supra in that test.

All informal testing, of course, but the C8 is hard to ignore for track performance.

 

I havent seen that video! Will definitely watch it tonight as that does seem like a much better comparison.

On another note, I just went to lunch and made a new Camaro owner very sad. Once I got decent traction (3rd gear), it was like he was sitting still. Fun times.

 

If only the c8 weren't so ugly.

 

So, I FINALLY found a dealer that would "allow" me to test drive a Supra.

Test drove a 2020 Supra Premium 3.0 with 900 miles on it.

First off, @Lumpy Sticks , you are right, the silver is very blah in person. So, striking that color option off the list.

It was a short 10 minute test drive and just around town so I wasn't able to open it up much. The car is much much much smaller in person than any photo leads you to believe. It's also very short height-wise, I think I could probably jump over the car with a running start and I'm not athletic by any means. Lots of blind spots once you are in the car, but I am sure you will get used to it. Reminded me a bit of a Camaro that way but the Supra has way better forward visability.

This thing has some hips, it's all you see in the side view mirrors. Seats feel good. People seem to talk trash on the steering wheel design but I liked it. The gauge cluster is much smaller in person than photos make it out to be but it's nice and simple and easy to read.

The car was much firmer than I anticipated since I keep reading about how people say it feels soft. Felt firm to me but I also wasn't chucking it into corners yet.

The synthesized engine sound just sucks. First thing I would do would turn off. The dash rattled every time I gave it throttle, which my GTI did as well until I turned it off.

It feels very very sporty overall. It's so different feeling than any car I have owned save maybe my Talons and Eclipses decades ago.

The steering feel is so much better than EVERY SINGLE BMW I HAVE EVER DRIVEN, including the M2 Comp. Toyota def changed that for the better.

The fit and finish is really not that good on these cars. This one also had misaligned panels and the hood didn't close completely square but that could probably be adjusted.

Either way, I think the pros outweigh the cons to me so I will be picking one up whenever I can find the right one...

As far as the Lightning Lap comparison noted above. I don't put much into it. The Evo is WAYYYYYYYYY down the list at almost #200 and we all know how capable they can be.

 

First one I saw in person on public roads I was also shocked at how small the thing is in person. At an autox they look normal next to all the BRZs and Miatas but around SUVs its tiny.

 

I think a couple pages back I mentioned how short the car is and how much fun getting in it is without whacking your head but I could be wrong. You kind of get used to it but at the end of the day, its a very low car. Seriously about the same size as a FRS/BRZ.

The fake exhaust noise is super annoying. Did you put it in sport mode? It only gets worse. Easy to code out.

Speaking of sport mode, if you were driving around in normal mode and thought it was stiff and also liked the steering, then sport mode only makes it stiffer and the steering feel much better. Its amazing what the click of a button can do these days.

You said its different feeling compared to other cars and this I 100% agree on. The long nose takes some time to get used to, especially if you are used to driving an Evo. The way the car turns just feels odd.

Also, you drove a 2020. Big changes for the 21+ model and its all for the good. The only downside is the tuning problem.... So if you liked the 2020, you will love the 2021+. The center screen on the 2020 is tiny. Huge upgrade for the 21+ models, like twice the size.

Anyways, glad you liked it and hope to see you on the other side here soon!

 

Dimension wise, it's actually smaller than the BRZ/FRS, if you can believe it!

EDIT. I actually had it backwards, but you are right, they are basically the same size with the supra being slightly wider and longer.

Supra: 172.5″ L x 73″ W x 50.9″ H
BRZ: 167.9″ L x 69.9″ W x 51.6″ H

Yes, drove it in normal and sport mode. Sport mode crackles in the 2020 are annoying. Also something I would tune out.

Are you talking about the iPad thing on the dash? It's the same size on the premium from 2020 to 21+. Only the 2020 non-premium had the small screen.

 

Supras need to be tuned in order to to get rid of the noises from the speakers??
How does that affect the whole OBD-II/smog/BAR thing?

 

No, coded, just like VW's. Doesn't change the actual ECU rom or CVN. Totally separate unit.