This was the car in 1973, launched the brand, and the outfit that will grow to being one of Toyota's right hand teams to set the world straight on how to build a fast car.
The KP47 by Tom's won Japan's Grand Championship series with it's fully modified and meticulously honed and balanced K-series engine that revved sky high at 11,000 rpm. This engine, 3K-R was the benchmark reference for all of the Toyota DOHC engines that followed from the 4A-G, 3S-G, 5M-G, 7M-G, G-G,and JZ-G. It was a puny 1300cc, that packed over 190 horses breathing natural atmosphere. No turbo.
With maximum torque at a very narrow peak and 100 lbs-ft at that, those who could drive it fast was far and few in between.

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It isn't so much a fan-zone, but more a very good reference of cars around the world in one of the best restoration crafted state, performed by the extremely capable fabricators and curators within the museum.

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Here are a few established journalists and seasoned professional driver's first impressions of the A90 Supra on the raceway.
Though still a pre-production versions, these are final versions of the prototype and pretty close to the real thing which will release in 2019.
Translated here for English audience, here is what they had to say.

Shimizu Kazuo, a veteran of the Japan Group A's legendary R32~33 Skyline Era, and JGTC, and a long established performance driving instructor and journalist, reviews the Supra at the very limits.

"Here is the Z4, err Supra...  OK jokes aside the Supra in comparison to the Z4, feels lighter, and as such allowing the car to be softer but with higher tactility.  It's a nice balance.
You can see that the interior is similar to the BMW, here so there isn't much to comment in addition to the already released Z4.
The nose of the car responds extremely well, so it is easy to induce an oversteer, optionally corrected by VDC or left to dance.  Either way, pleasurably.
It's half wet on the track today, but it seems to stabilize well.  Michelin Pilot Sport and it isn't a run-flat I think.
A typical well made front engine rear drive car.  A good balance as such indeed.  It has the character almost of what I recall driving the classic Hakosuka FR GTR, with a touch of that rawness in dynamics with a dose of stability of the A80 Supra.
The straight six just feels fantastic, and is something missing in feel today from even comparable target that is the Porsche Cayman, as those are now inline 4's.
The response and linearity of this engine, just makes so much pleasure in driving.
Despite the long nose, the wheel base is short, and the driving position in relation to the car is cabin forward in feel compared to traditional long nose, long wheelbase sports cars of the past.
Your  shoulder lands about in the middle between the front and rear wheels, hence the rotational center of your vision is just ahead of the wheel base center, with a near 50-50 balance.
Feedback, hence, is similar to the visual and inertially, similar to the Ferrari's modern front engine mid-ship cars.
It's about the price of two Mazda MX5 Roadsters today I assume, but well fitting of that pricepoint.
Humm.  Steering weight feels slightly more lively than the Z4.  VSC behavior is yet to be seen on the production models, as this prototype still has a few quirks to me.
I'm hoping to see how the final production car will feel, as it seems really promising. "

Yuki Imai, an established motor journalist and a FIA licensed driver, test drives the new A90 Supra.
Notice the letter S in the Supra name plate on the side sill? It is the shape and the view of the Adenauer-Frost Corner of the Nurburgring, from driver's seat!
And upon driving, she's shocked with the sound level being quite potent in cabin, and with a beautiful, strong note of the inline 6. It just feels fantastic on throttle!
The acceleration and exhaust note, blending with the mechanical song, just has this impeccable balance in this car to just feel very much connected seamlessly to emotions.
In this day and era, a car like this is rare. It needs to be celebrated.
The overall tactility from especially the suspension, has a strong flavor of Toyota cars, and quite different from its BMW siblings.
BMW of recent, loves to play with very strong flavoring differences among their line of car selection, some being ultra sharp and added harshness, and others being calmer and gentle to cater to a specific buyer.
This car however, has that Toyota philosophy where it focuses on the purity to what the car is intended, and refined with the proper balance of what is "proper," given the specific car.
It really strikes the right emotion, and one that is in accord with the GR movement at Toyota.
It's been a while since I am on Sodegawara Circuit, so I'm seeking the road a bit, but despite this, the car has phenomenal stability so as not to make me feel nervous.
I can confidently catch up to the visual feed with precise input on this raceway. It's great.
It's both communicative and dare I say, easy to take to the limits. That's my feeling, really in a nutshell.
Definitely a winner.

GT500 and TS020, and Nurburgring LFA Meister, Iida Akira takes a drive in the A90 Supra, and here is what he has to say.
We've enjoyed the return of the GT-R a decade ago, and now we are extremely happy to welcome a Supra returning.
It seems like an extension of the 86 in the best way. Added refinement and capability, with purposeful cabin, really lends to those who might graduate out of an 86, as the next step.
For those who feel the 86 is too youthful, it may be the best ticket.
For those who drive a Porsche or Mercedes Benz sports offerings, the Supra seems to have found enough class and refined luxury to give this Toyota a spin.
The steering is weighed nicely, with enough weight and road feel, unlike the lighter feel of stronger-assisted steer feeling of a typical BMW.
Interior is all hidden, but you can take a guess from the already released BMW Z4, and use your imagination.
His driving partner, Katsura san, feels that the throttle pedal weight and steering feel are a little different than a typical Toyota and through this project, hopes that this excellent feel is reflected in other future Toyota offering.
They both feel that the Supra has hit a point of refinement that should be well-deserving of praise, and despite the controversial topic of collaboration for a flagship, as a sports car, it's just on a different level.
They say the driver tactility is precise, and spot-on for this size and being what this is, a real sports car for drivers.
VSC is fine, safety is fine, and efficiency too is promising. And it is the driver who will have the ultimate effect on automobile safety, and for that, this is one of the best tools to engage that too.
They both will, buy one.
That's a good sign

Manabu Kawaguchi posts a wet track experience in the A90 Supra 
See it making a pretty good engine noise?
From the tone and note it sounds definitely like a straight six version.
It was a preview day so he wasn’t pushing it to risk but he was sliding the car out of composure to check for recoverability. Interior still covered but you can start to see this is a fun little car.
"It's a lively car, plenty of power felt despite the modest numbers on paper.  This is a light car!
It's wet today so I'll be careful.   It's an aggressive shape, but the driving feel is a much nicer, tactile, and well tuned balance with dose of comfort too.
It is truly a blend of what BMW does well, coupled with a strong feed of Toyota's current philosophy of car tuning.
The car can be darty with instant response when the driver wishes to flick the nose in, but and can be rocked loose, but will come back sharply with great corrective inputs of the systems within.
In normal mode VDC, the car will correct your aggression calmly and positively keeping you safe.
In sport mode, it allows you to hang a little looser but with a very good safety net where it counts.
With the VDC completely off, things seem to respond more tenaciously to driver's wishes.  But do be careful, it is a very capable car, and as such, drivers will need a bit of skills too.
What a mature car...  It's fun, docile, and refined.  It is what the Supra should have been all along?  Sure.
BMW flavors included?  That too.  But forget about that, we shall all celebrate that this definitely is a fine sports car."

And finally, without need for much translation, all of the premier Japanese tuner's reactions.

Masahiro Fujitsubo of Fujitsubo Exhaust Systems - "Damn it looks good, I wish we had it sooner so we could have a muffler ready by Tokyo Auto Salon, but we will in 2019!"
Ikeda of Trust/Greddy "Totally anticipated, and we will get right on it, we have to!"
Fujimura Auto - "Oh it's beautiful~"
Yokoyama of Phoenix Power - "It's great!  I see it has potential, and they even left a bit of room for me to put my work into it, I see it!  Hoping this will be the standard of next tuner car once again"
Yokomaku of VeilSide - "I'm so excited I wanted to just peel the making off the car!  It's been years. I want to work on it again...Seriously"
Tarzan Yamada - "They didn't let me drive it,  so I don't give a crap...  Err, ok I'm kidding, It's SPECTACULAR!!!"
Hiroyuki Iiri - "Yeah I saw it, it's smaller than I expected, and I really see something here.  It's a sports car!

The post Toyota A90 Supra Prototype, Japanese Racetrack First-Drive. Get Ready! appeared first on Club4AG.

Toyota MEGAWEB Odaiba Tokyo

 — at Toyota Megaweb.

The post Toyota MEGAWEB Odaiba Tokyo, an amusement park for the Toyota nuts! appeared first on Club4AG.

Today, I had seen definitely, the most mintiest, all-original Mazda RX7 FC3S I would see for the rest of my life.

This 1988 RX-7 Turbo "10th Anniversary" (US Spec) is completely original. 1443 miles on the odometer, untouched, unmolested, and hardly ever driven, but completely maintained by Mazda dealer. The current owner is the 2nd, and the first owner only drove it 1000 miles and was put into an air-conditioned garage, and taken out only twice a year for check up at a Mazda dealer in Oregon, that for the last 28 years with records.

It has never, EVER seen rain, it has all factory option since day 1 off the lot, including box full of dealer accessories that has never been installed, like the original front bra, and mud flaps as it did not ever go back for PDI after delivery. In fact, I am the 5th person to ever drive this car, after the original owner, his son, the trucking company man who delivered it on to the current owner, the current owner, then me. Even the ultra-rare factory rear louvers is free of dust or UV fade.

None of the rubber pieces both inside or out has any sign of dryness, or any hint of it ever getting an once of UV. The wheels still have tire alignment dot marking from factory tire mounting. The spare tire has no cracks or even dust. The seat is not only brand new, but still smells new. The gas cap isn't worn out at all since today was the 7th time it was ever opened for refueling.

The only, and I mean only thing that isn't original to this car from new, is the battery, couple of hoses, spark plugs, and the tire, which only were replaced from simply age of just sitting there.

Mind you this is a 28 year old car...

It starts with one crank, and apex seal seems to be fine, unlike most all parked RX7. It does not smoke, and it's still blowing ice cold air on the original R12 AC refrigerant.

Cassette deck auto reverse and all features work perfectly. Original CIBIE headlights, still working on the original bulbs.... Automatic antenna mast makes no aged noises, and goes up and down as new.

A true "time-capsule" car....

It was truly one of the best days of my life to have seen this, and was lucky enough to put 5 miles on it with my own driving. The shifter feels stiff and new, the engine revs just as it had once for the original owner on his test drive before purchase in 1987.
I mean think about it. This 13B at 1144 miles has barely been broken in yet!

Imagine THAT!

The post 1443 mile ALL ORIGINAL MAZDA RX7 FC3S... appeared first on Club4AG.

*some of the items have been discontinued, however left in there as reference historical.

DOWNLOAD PDF VERSION HERE

The post AE86 - TOYOTA Corolla GT-S / LEVIN / TRUENO - CUSCO PARTS LISTING appeared first on Club4AG.

• Toyota Pillow Ball Tension Rods
  OEM Bracket Compatible, available for:

  Nissan Skyline (GC10/110)
  Nissan Fairlady Z (S30/S130)

  Toyota Corolla Levin/Trueno/GT-S (TE27/AE86)
  Toyota Celica (TA22/RA22)

   

  There is a renewed intersest for "old school" vintage Japanese cars these days, and we can't be more thrilled to see such trends taking place.
  Cusco has been racing and rallying since 1977 and Toyota Corolla, Celica, Nissan GTR, Fairlady Z were all part of cars central to our team's racing and rallying history.
  We've taken some time to revisit some of these parts we made over the years and decided to update some with new designs.

  The inner rod portion of the rod used in this front tension rod set is forged, yet offered at reasonable prices with new manufacturing technologies possible today.
  Designed with the same durability in mind for rallyists as well as racing enthusiasts, the tension rods will help retain the critical front wheel alignment under loads, and offer adjustments beyond the factory fixed positions to cater the response and precision of the vintage cars.
  It is part of a critical suspension system upgrade for the classic cars, to ensure it is both competitive, and in tune with modern tacitly.

  • Forged rod construction
  • Chromoly case construction
  • Prevents toe alignment changes under load
  • Allows a finer level of alignment changes
  • Bolsters front suspension for higher braking forces applied by today's high performance tire loads.
  • Bolt-on installation
  • Dust boots and aircraft-grade pillow ball joints.
  • Turn Buckle Adjustment range (-10mm ~ +10mm, 20mm overall)
  • Estimated Installation Time 1 Hour.

The post Vintage Japanese Car Pillow Ball Tension Rods appeared first on Club4AG.

Cusco 1-2 gear set and Final Drive Gear set and Limited Slip Differential
1st - 2.946 vs 3.626 (stock)
2nd - 2.011 vs 2.188 (stock)
Final Drive gear available in 4.556

The post Toyota 86 Drivetrain, Close Ratio Gears, and Final Drive appeared first on Club4AG.

The post Tokyo Auto Salon 2016, Part 2 Celebrities and Event Companions appeared first on Club4AG.

This year's Tokyo Auto Salon 2016, was the largest event in terms of both surface area as well as attendance.
Recently becoming more of an international showcase, what started out as strictly aftermarket based show, now has a whole list of major automobile manufacturers.
Not only makers from Japan but this year marks the participation of companies like AUDI, Mercedes-Benz, and Fiat, for the first time.
Here are the highlights from my camera lens, from the two days I was there...

Highlight of the show was definitely the huge display by Gazoo Racing of Toyota. All 8 of the Nurburgring winning Lexus LFA were on historical timeline display, along with the Toyota GT86 Race Cars that accompanied it. Also on display was the new Toyota 86 GRMN, as well as SF-R GT and Vitz/Yaris WRC concepts.

Toyota 86 was the center of stage once again at the Green Bell's Toyota Garage, where a concept was shown for many of the latest 86 aftermarket and accessories divisions. From Suitcases to the snacks and coffee by Juneberry Cafe, the very cafe owned by the Chief Designer of the 86.

Many of the attending cars were also works of factory operations, a change for a show which originated as the showcase for the aftermarket. Skunkworks like Mugen, TRD, Toyota College, NISMO, as well as AMG, M Sport and Lexus F division also had stuff on display.

Part 1 : Automobiles, Gadgets, and Booths...

Toyota Alphard

86 Suitcase

86 Suitcase

Part 2:  People, Celebrities, Booth Girls click here.

The post Tokyo Auto Salon 2016, Part 1 - Automobiles, Gadgets, and Booths... appeared first on Club4AG.