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Q&A with Tada San by @Guff
Here's an overview of the conversation we had with Tada-San this morning. There were 5 main points we discussed.
1. The vents all over the car, are they/can they be functional?
Tada-San:
The vents on the production car are blocked off because, on the street, none of them are necessary. However, the placement of every single vent was designed with function in mind (regarding aero and cooling etc) for use in racing. When you remove them, they can be used for downforce and cooling (even the side vents apparently). Some of these things may look unnecessary, but there is purpose behind all of the details on the car.
2. The people of the tuning world are wondering if itāll have a Toyota ECU or a BMW ECU?
Tada-San:
BMW. I want to make sure itās open for tuners.
3. Why is the screen high up on the center console, it looks like it interferes with the driverās view?
Tada-San:
I made sure that the screen doesnāt interfere with the driverās view, like if you are looking at the fenders to place the car on the road. But I also kept it high enough so that you can see it while driving. But again, it is a compromise with design and function to have it like it is.
4. Why does the Z4 have more horsepower than the Supra?
Tada-San:
I always get this question about numbers. My answer is: Just drive it first.
@ichitaka05:
Oh yeah, like with the 86 Launch?
Tada-San:
Yes.
5. Why did you choose a BMW engine, why didnāt you make your own in-house Inline 6?
Tada-San:
We could have done it, but it would have taken significantly more time. And I didnāt want the car take any longer than it already did.
(Guff Notes: This is likely hinting at the fact that there wasnāt enough time for Tada to develop an engine because he would have missed his window to actually make the car, due to ever-constricting emissions regulations as well as the financial viability of developing a new engine. Or even his time as an engineer at Toyota (heās technically retired))
Something I wanted to mention, and this is not corroborated by anything from Toyota, Tada-San, GR, or BMW. But, I have been looking into the development story of the Z4 and Supra, from the very first meeting in Q1 2012 til now, and there's one thing that has been racking my brain: The GR Team and Tada-San have been working with BMW since 2012 on this project. The idea to use the BMW inline 6 was present since the nascency of this project's development, and was one of the things they first started working on.
The BMW B58 was first released in 2015. It is a clean-sheet design over the previous N55 with a heavy emphasis on strength and durability compared to the N-series motors. It is part of BMW's modular engine design, so it has plenty in common with the other B-series engines including the diesels and the 4-cylinders, which does allow for more efficient/cost effective design.
Now, I am not saying that Toyota designed the B58, not by any stretch, but considering that we know that GR spent a significant amount of money and time breaking down engine/drivetrain parts and sending them back to Japan for testing and analysis, it makes sense that they were testing and improving parts on the B58 prior to its eventual release in the F30 340i in 2015. Whatever revision of the B58 that we ended up with in the Supra is unlikely to be just an off the shelf BMW unit, considering how much development time Toyota spent on it. In other interviews, Tada-San has specifically stated that there was a significant back and forth with BMW with "thousands of parts" sent back for analysis and development. Things like the chassis components, suspension, etc may account for some of that, but the engine is the one thing with the most question marks in terms of the specific components that lay within.
Anyways, that's just a sidebar, take from that what you will . I am working on researching all the specifics of the development of this car and cataloging it, and this is just one of the things I am working on.
Our intro video:
And a quick interview with Tada-San:
View attachment 11225
View attachment 11226
View attachment 11228
Here's an overview of the conversation we had with Tada-San this morning. There were 5 main points we discussed.
1. The vents all over the car, are they/can they be functional?
Tada-San:
The vents on the production car are blocked off because, on the street, none of them are necessary. However, the placement of every single vent was designed with function in mind (regarding aero and cooling etc) for use in racing. When you remove them, they can be used for downforce and cooling (even the side vents apparently). Some of these things may look unnecessary, but there is purpose behind all of the details on the car.
2. The people of the tuning world are wondering if itāll have a Toyota ECU or a BMW ECU?
Tada-San:
BMW. I want to make sure itās open for tuners.
3. Why is the screen high up on the center console, it looks like it interferes with the driverās view?
Tada-San:
I made sure that the screen doesnāt interfere with the driverās view, like if you are looking at the fenders to place the car on the road. But I also kept it high enough so that you can see it while driving. But again, it is a compromise with design and function to have it like it is.
4. Why does the Z4 have more horsepower than the Supra?
Tada-San:
I always get this question about numbers. My answer is: Just drive it first.
@ichitaka05:
Oh yeah, like with the 86 Launch?
Tada-San:
Yes.
5. Why did you choose a BMW engine, why didnāt you make your own in-house Inline 6?
Tada-San:
We could have done it, but it would have taken significantly more time. And I didnāt want the car take any longer than it already did.
(Guff Notes: This is likely hinting at the fact that there wasnāt enough time for Tada to develop an engine because he would have missed his window to actually make the car, due to ever-constricting emissions regulations as well as the financial viability of developing a new engine. Or even his time as an engineer at Toyota (heās technically retired))
Something I wanted to mention, and this is not corroborated by anything from Toyota, Tada-San, GR, or BMW. But, I have been looking into the development story of the Z4 and Supra, from the very first meeting in Q1 2012 til now, and there's one thing that has been racking my brain: The GR Team and Tada-San have been working with BMW since 2012 on this project. The idea to use the BMW inline 6 was present since the nascency of this project's development, and was one of the things they first started working on.
The BMW B58 was first released in 2015. It is a clean-sheet design over the previous N55 with a heavy emphasis on strength and durability compared to the N-series motors. It is part of BMW's modular engine design, so it has plenty in common with the other B-series engines including the diesels and the 4-cylinders, which does allow for more efficient/cost effective design.
Now, I am not saying that Toyota designed the B58, not by any stretch, but considering that we know that GR spent a significant amount of money and time breaking down engine/drivetrain parts and sending them back to Japan for testing and analysis, it makes sense that they were testing and improving parts on the B58 prior to its eventual release in the F30 340i in 2015. Whatever revision of the B58 that we ended up with in the Supra is unlikely to be just an off the shelf BMW unit, considering how much development time Toyota spent on it. In other interviews, Tada-San has specifically stated that there was a significant back and forth with BMW with "thousands of parts" sent back for analysis and development. Things like the chassis components, suspension, etc may account for some of that, but the engine is the one thing with the most question marks in terms of the specific components that lay within.
Anyways, that's just a sidebar, take from that what you will . I am working on researching all the specifics of the development of this car and cataloging it, and this is just one of the things I am working on.
Our intro video:
And a quick interview with Tada-San:
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