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1998 Toyota Supra
The 1998 Toyota Supra still had the familiar body shape with the twin turbo engine and a Formula one inspired braking system. The Supra was still a very popular choice for all forms of motor sport due to good chassis dynamics. The 1998 Toyota Supra even though this particular body shape designated the Mark IV has been in production since 1992, the 1998 Toyota Supra is our personal favorite. The twin turbo powered engine The 1998 Toyota Supra still retained the new Gertrag 6 Speed on the turbo models and a 5 speed for the non turbo. The braking system on the turbo model utilized a large 4 piston front with a 2 piston rear fitted with a 4 sensor, 4 channel track tuned ABS system, this Formula One inspired braking system allowed the Toyota Supra to record a 70mph to 0 braking distance of 149 feet the best for any production car made in 1998. This record was only beaten by the Porsche Carrera GT in 2004. Also the 1998 Toyota Supra had 5 spoke alloy wheels, a donut spare wheel on a steel rim for weight and space
.jpg) saving, in fact Toyota went to great lengths with the Supra not only in 1998 but on all Mk IV’s to save weight. Aluminium was used for the hood, targa top, front crossmember, oil and transmission pans and suspension upper arms. There were other measures included such as magnesium steering wheel, plastic fuel tank, gas injected rear spoiler and a single exhaust pipe. This made the Toyota Supra Mk IV for 1998 at least 200lb (91kgs) lighter than its predecessor. With these weight saving aids plus the way it was setup gave the Toyota Supra for 1998 a weight distribution of 53% front and 47% rear which gave it superb handling.Also the 1998 Toyota Supra had a redesigned steering wheel and a redesigned radio, the naturally aspirated engine came with VVT (Variable Valve Timing) which upped the horsepower by 5 and gave 10ft lb more torque. In Japan the turbo engines were also fitted with VVT.
.jpg) The stock Mk IV Toyota Supra chassis not only for 1998 but for all Mk IV’s proved to be a very popular platform for road racing with several top 20 and top 10 One Lap of America finishes. The Toyota Supra is a heavy door sports car but it still is lighter than its traditional rival the Nissan Skyline R33 and R34. So next time your at the drift meet and you see a blur and a pile of smoke shoot past then its probably the legendary 1998 Toyota Supra Mk IV twin turbo. |
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in the 1998 Toyota Supra still operated in the sequential mode over the more common parallel mode. What this means is the sequential setup had a pair of CT-12lb turbos with ceramic blades, initially all the exhaust is sent to the first turbo for reduced turbo lag, producing boost and torque at 1800rpm. Approaching 3500rpm some exhaust is routed to the second turbo for the “pre boost mode” but this boost was not used by the engine until 4000rpm when the second turbos output is used to augment the first turbo thus resulting in a quicker low rpm response and increased high rpm boost.