Project GR-75 Build log - Mod List and Short Ratings

[Gabe]

A little note on cable management on your project.

Rusting is a real problem for your car. The stock materials and design will, mostly prevent those issues, but most of the comercial mods are not designed in the same way.

It is critical to be absolutely careful on the wire tapings on your car and prevent rusting of the equipment you install.

I recommend to:

buy automotive grade cable - any auto parts store has it. 16-18 gauge is the usual size (copper fibers resistant to rust)

cut and / or splice your connections, Do NOT use vampire clamps

solder your cables! That will not only prevent the wires to come undone, it will prevent moisture to go in and the electricity will not arch due to a lose connection. It is a very easy skill to learn. A soldering kit from Amazon is cheap and has all the elements required.

isolate, isolate, isolate. I use liquid electrical tape, is great and easy to apply.

apply electrical tape or, in my case, shrinking tube to complete.

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[Gabe]

Stage Mods

1st Oil change (1500 miles)
Why: personal preference: engine has been broken in, had my first session on the track, live in south Florida with temperatures in the upper 90s to lower 100s.
?Difficulty level: 1/5 (need to lift car)
? Equipment / products needed
- Liqui Moly Special Tec LL 5W/30 Tec $84 Amazon
- Mann-Filter HU 6022 Z Oil filter $14 Amazon
-32mm wrench socket $7 Amazon
? Installation: Self. 1 hr. $0
?Total cost: $105
Result: oil change
?Notes:
Stock and dealer recommended oil for the car is 0W/20, but due to heat in FL and the plan to run the car in the track, a heavier, more viscous oil that can take on higher operating temperatures was needed. Liqui Moly is a German produced, high performance oil that complies with all the requirements of the B58 engine. Will plan to continue doing oil changes at: Every 5000 miles / After track sessions / every year - whichever comes first. Caution, cover the filter cap with painter’s tape before using the 32mm socket. It will scuff if you don’t. Torque everything back to spec.
? Rating 10/10

 

[Gabe]

Stage Mods

Add Rock guards
Why: small rocks and debris hit the bumper and leave both stains and small chips on the paint.
?Difficulty level: 1/5
? Equipment / products needed
- front and rear rock guards $60. ZL1addons
? Installation: Self. 0.5 hrs (expected)
?Total cost: $$60
Result: protection from rock and debris on the 4 corners

?Notes: one of the easiest, best mods for the car. It does NOT take away the sporty look of the car. This should be Stage 1 mod. Will look better with wider/spaced flush Wheels. Only downside is that the rear ones attach to the underside of the wheel well with silver screws (will get black screws to make it look more elegant). The rear guards will require to remove the wheels.

? Rating 10/10 - a must for your Supra. Get it as soon as you get the car!

 

[Gabe]

Stage Mods

Improve Suspension
Why: the OEM suspension is very good and enough for highway and decent for the track, however a stiffer suspension will limit the dive and squat on braking /accelerating, and will decrease the roll on the corners. That improved resistance to inertia will give the car better control. Also, most suspension mods will lower the car and a few will allow the height to be adjusted.
?Difficulty level: 3.5/5 (it’s truly a 3/5 on difficulty, but having a quickjack is almost a necessity to do it. )
? Equipment / products needed
- MSS sport suspension kit $883 EliteRaceFab
-extra Jack (a scissor jack from any car is enough)
? Installation: Self. 6hrs $0
?Total cost: $883
Result: lowers the car, increases stiffness and responsiveness on the suspension
?Notes:
Decided to go with MSS because it retains the OEM shock absorbers and the dampening function (sport / comfort). Installation is very simple. The front springs sit awkwardly, but do work in the end. I started with the lowest setting which brings the car down about 1 full inch. You will absolutely need a pass-through wrench kit like this One as the front absorbers rotate on the camber plates and make it impossible to torque at spec.
The driving experience changes completely. The car feels alive and, in a good way, snappy; cornering is done with confidence, and both braking and going feel more “direct” - this mod gives the car a resemblance of a Porsche feeling.
Remember that the suspension will be stiffened. Expect about 15% or so stiffer when compared to the OEM feeling: the comfort mode Will feel like the OEM sport mode, and the sport mode will be hard on the irregularities of the road. If you want pure comfort over drivability and sportiness, this is not for you.
The car will need alignment and the springs will break in over a period of several hundred miles. Did I say the car is slammed now?
? Rating 9/10: I would’ve love the fit on the OEM sitting pieces to be better. Made me stop and research mid installation.

IMPORTANT EDIT!!!!!
The MSS instructional video for the rear suspension HERE at min 18:15 shows that the lower seat for the spring is removed and “put away”. A few minutes later when the installer places the MSS kit, he clearly does not Include the lower seat.
THIS IS A MISTAKE!!!!!
The rear spring kit MUST include the lower spring seat piece.
Failing to place the seat will result in an uncomfortable clicking metal-on-metal sound when the springs compress and decompress over the control arm.

Furthermore, the paper instructions state that the seat must be kept (“retain the lower OE seats”).

IMPORTANT EDIT 2:

If you can, buy the dust boots sold by MSS separately. dust and little grains of dirt get in the adjustable thread and make it really hard to rotate. Making the adjustment very hard.

Also, due to tension of the spring, raising the car will be hard. You will need a coil compressor and fitting it in the cramped space of the suspension requires a lot of work.

So my advice is set them as high as possible. Let the car settle (about 50 miles and then lower the car to your preferred height. Is very hard to unscrew the kit and raise the car without dismounting the whole thing.

finally: measure your wheel height from the edge of the bumper to the opposite edge of the rim (makes the measurement much more accurate and ALWAYS keep the rear at a minimum 5mm higher than the front. (Bad quality pic from a video of my install - but you get the idea )

—————————

The hardest part is getting the strut out. Gotta compress and pull

Comparison between old and new springs ??

 

[FLtrackdays]

Excellent detail! Love it ?

 

[Crool88]

This is great info. Thank you for taking the time.

How is the "poke" on the tires with the +38 Titans? Will those rock guards still provide good protection?

 

[Gabe]

This is great info. Thank you for taking the time.

How is the "poke" on the tires with the +38 Titans? Will those rock guards still provide good protection?

Yes. The rock guards are all the way out and flushed with the edge of the wheel well. I just went and took a couple of pics to show. (Red line to show where they are in relation to the tire)

Front and rear

Protection is great. I drove in the rain. No mud stains or chips on the fender.

(Note that I did this at 1500 miles, so I had a few stains and tiny chips BEFORE I installed the rock guards)

 

[Crool88]

Stage Mods

Anti wind buffeting window trim
Why: at speeds >40mph or so there is strong wind buffeting coming in top of the inner aspect of the side mirrors. Sound can get really Lou d and mildly uncomfortable.
?Difficulty level: 1/5
? Equipment / products needed
- Hypersonic Black Door edges Amazon. $9.99
? Installation: self. <10 min. $0
?Total cost: $9.99
Result: eliminates wind buffeting
?Notes:
Wide set of selection of trims from this one (cheapest) to CF trims costing 100s of dollars. Need to cut 1/3 of the piece with a heavy scissor. Once in place you can’t tell you added the piece. Holds with time. Will probably change to CF trim in the future, but for now, it does the job well.
? Rating 10/10

I installed these as well. I still get a little bit of buffeting at high speed. 80-90 MPH. Have you experienced this? Thinking about trying something different. Mine appear to be installed exactly like yours.

 

[Crool88]

Which tires/size did you end up putting on the Titans? Are you planning on having a set of dedicated track wheels/tires?

I was planning on a dedicated track wheel/tire set up, but the Titans look so good that I'd like to run them all summer. Then swap to the stock wheels with some all seasons for the winter.

If I run the Titans all summer with street and track, then I'll probably go with an endurance tire.

 

[Gabe]

I installed these as well. I still get a little bit of buffeting at high speed. 80-90 MPH. Have you experienced this? Thinking about trying something different. Mine appear to be installed exactly like yours.

Yes. I get some y very high speeds (80 or so) not sure that other solutions will be better.
I kind of tolerate it, most cars have wind buffeting at those speeds.

 

[Gabe]

Which tires/size did you end up putting on the Titans? Are you planning on having a set of dedicated track wheels/tires?

I was planning on a dedicated track wheel/tire set up, but the Titans look so good that I'd like to run them all summer. Then swap to the stock wheels with some all seasons for the winter.

If I run the Titans all summer with street and track, then I'll probably go with an endurance tire.

Stay tuned for wheels and tires write up. but, in short, I went with Titans TS5s. I am planning a separate set for the track as what I want for street driving goes in conflict with best tire set up for the track.

I live in Miami. We run summer tires all year round.

 

[Gabe]

Stage 2 Mods

improve wheels
Why: OEM wheels are, in my opinion, too narrow for the wheel well giving that “non sporty” Toyota corolla look. Also looking for some weight savings and better looks.
?Difficulty level: 1/5
? Equipment / products needed
- Titan 7 TS-5 . $3,090 - free shipping with discount code
-2022 Toyota GR Supra 3.0 New TPMS Sensor Set Black Stem 433mhz 42607-WAA02: $125 eBay
? Installation: $120
?Total cost: $3335
Result: wider low weight forged wheels
?Notes:
Selecting the “right” set of wheels and tires was really hard. Your First read should be the great fitment write up by APEX Here

Take some measurements, including tire and well clearances and go to a wheel sizing site like this One to have a better idea whether your tires will fit or not.
When it comes to choosing, lots of things come into play. I am sure there is more than one right answer, but if you are looking change the OEM set, read along on my thought process.

My goal was to have wider wheels and, at the same time, minimize the use, or at least, the size of spacers, and get a flush look.

A note on spacers: Spacers are generally safe, as long as they are good quality, however, The engineering on the suspension and general ride of the car was done without spacers, and in situations of very high torque, the force transmitted to the wheels may encounter a weak point on the spacers if they are not well thought through: I’d be cautious to push, let’s say, 500 lb/feet on very sticky tires and very wide spacers/longer studs.

Having that in mind, there were some additional factors involved in the decision:

1. Number of wheel set ups. In FL we don’t use winter tires. so one, all-season set for the street is enough.
2. I wanted wider wheels, better grip, awesome looks, no spacers, and drivability, while at the same time was open to compromise a little on comfort, ultimate traction, fuel economy, and consumable prices.
3. I am planning to have a separate track set up (smaller wheels with thicker sidewall and sticky rubber) - will do the write up on that one when I get to that point.

In the end, I decided to get a staggered set up, on wide 19 inch wheels and no spacers.

If I were planning to have only 1 set of wheels, I would definitely go with square 18 inch. Something like the Apex 18x10” ET30 and 275/35/18 continental plus a 5-10mm spacers to pull the wheels out to flush.

When it comes to wheels for the Supra, APEX is probably the best entry level low weight forged wheels option. But some of their offerings were in back order so I went for Titan 7s. Similar quality, just a little heavier than Apex, but comparatively better price. My final decision was then:

Titan 7 TS-5

• Front :19x9.5” ET34
• Rear: 19x11" ET40
  
  
• 
  
  
  
• 
  ??this was on OEM suspension, MSS suspension brings down the edge of the wheel well about 1 inch. Also, now I think I need to paint the calipers.

? Rating 10/10 - beautiful wheels. Tire write up will follow.

 

[FLtrackdays]

Selecting the “right” set of wheels and tires was really hard. Your First read should be the great fitment write up by APEX Here

If I were planning to have only 1 set of wheels, I would definitely go with square 18 inch. Something like the Apex 18x10” ET30 and 275/35/18 continental plus a 5-10mm spacers to pull the wheels out to flush.

When it comes to wheels for the Supra, APEX is probably the best entry level low weight forged wheels option.

Why I didn’t do just this when I 1st got the car?!? So spot on! I’ve got two sets of those wheels for track and my OEM ones for the 6 month summers down here. Turner MS 10 mm spacers all around to get maximum tilt w/out rub. Keep this beautiful write up going ? ?

 

[Gabe]

Writing this post because I found out that there is a mistake on the instructional video provided by MSS on the installation of the rear lowering adjustable springs that required an edit on my initial post HERE

???

 

[Gabe]

Stage Mods

New Tires
Why: got wider wheels.. so needed new stuff to wrap them.
?Difficulty level: 1/5
? Equipment / products needed
- Front: Continental ExtremeContact Sport 02 275/30ZR19 96Y XL
- Rear: ExtremeContact Sport 02 305/30ZR19 102Y XL.
$1465. SimpleTire
? Installation: self. <20 min. $0
?Total cost: $1465
Result: changed wheels
?Notes:
The 19 inch wheels don’t have as many options for tire sizes as the 18 and nah wheels, so consider that carefully before you go for 19 inches and do it only if you have a very specific plan on you build. Check my reasons on the wheels post.

With that in mind, if you go for 19 inches you have 2 options for front and Rear.


265/35
275/35

Rear
295/35
305/30

If you want a flush fit, you’d need 10 mm spacers for the front and 15 for the rear for the 265/35 and the 295/35

The 305/30 sidewall, and therefore size of the tire is smaller than the 295. (Remember that the second number n the tire is percentage of the first.)

I wanted No spacers, so my options were clear: Front 275/30, Rear: 305/30. The tires are low profile but very wide. if that is the look you are going for, is perfect. If you want more side wall and are ok with spacers, go for 295/30 in the rear.

A word on the brand selection.

The OEM tire in the 2024 Supra is the Michelin PSS. It’s a great tire with a compromise between grip / handling and wear. Has good dry and wet performance, which makes it an excellent option in the track.

The Michelin PS4S is considered the gold standard for sports cars, has higher grip and better cornering response. Excellent performance for wet and dry tracks and its ideal application is the dual purpose car that gets driven spiritedly in the street and taken to the track.

Intercontinental’s second iteration of the ExtremeConctact Sport has proven to be, at a minimum, equal; and in some aspects superior on both applications, its price is lower and has frequent promotions. It’s a no brainer, in terms of looks/performance and price.

? Rating 10/10 - loving my new wheels

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