A new angle on a familiar breed
by James Tate
photography by Steve Demmitt
Ryan Hawkins is no stranger to Sport Compact Car. Fact is, if it weren't for him, the Toyota Supra Turbo would never have received as much coverage as it has over the years. That's not to say we don't like Toyota's supercar-we certainly do. But Hawkins calls us roughly once a week to tell us about a Supra that needs to be featured, or an owner's event that needs to be covered.
He's the guy on his hands and knees in Las Vegas and in Texas, taking pictures and writing stories on the Supra community's two biggest meets. Hawkins has even gone so far as to coordinate mini-meets himself, rallying up 200 Supras to watch the three The Fast and the Furious movies. But in all the Supra-related events Hawkins has covered, he's never once featured his own car. When USCC 2007 came around, it was our turn to call him.
With the aforementioned event coverage and a general obsession for all things Supra, Hawkins has easily developed the recipe for a proper ass-kicker. He's used his connections to figure out what works and what doesn't. And he has the accumulated knowledge from people painstakingly piecing these cars together over 14 years. Hawkins must have more than a feature car by now-he ought to have a USCC contender.
We could spend an entire issue listing the hundreds of modifications on Hawkins' Supra. But more than any other single characteristic, the MkIV Supra is known for its ability to create massive horsepower.
By any normal measurement, Hawkins' 600hp, 3.4-liter example is no exception, but Supra owners know that he clearly exercised restraint in order to achieve a broad powerband. Powerhouse Racing's Stage I + kit deploys a single turbo to work with an HKS tubular exhaust manifold. An external wastegate and two HKS SSQV blow-off valves regulate and relieve boost pressure, while a Type-R intercooler from the same company keeps the incoming charge dense.
The new turbocharger fires air into a fully-built 3.4-liter stroker engine, stuffed with CP forged aluminum pistons, 4340 billet steel balanced connecting rods and a Brian Crower 4340 billet steel crankshaft. Up top, dual HKS 264-duration camshafts bump the valves on Powerhouse Racing street valve springs, while a five-angle valve job with pocket port allows air to flow unrestricted.
The resulting hot gas is expunged through a Powerhouse Racing four-inch downpipe and mid-pipe, then into a 3.75-inch HKS Super Drager exhaust. So as not to bomb our emissions test, Hawkins has even gone to the trouble of installing a four-inch Random Technology catalytic converter. Though there's an electronic exhaust cut-out for when the time comes to set some real performance benchmarks.
Hawkins was initially in the hunt to buy a pristine six-speed Supra Turbo. But when this extra-clean automatic (previously owned by RS Akimoto) popped onto the market, he knew he had to bite. Before you start hating, note that it's one stout automatic, fitted with a Precision Industries 2800rpm stall torque converter. And, after all, an automatic transmission is easier to use in real-life situations, like going to showings of The Fast and the Furious.
Past Supras have taught us that it takes more than horsepower to win at the USCC. So the car was sent to M-Workz in Gardena, California, where Steve Mitchell dialed in the HKS Hipermax coilover suspension. Working in conjunction with the springs and shocks, TRD anti-roll bars (27 percent stiffer than stock) should help keep the wheels stuck to the hot pavement at The Streets of Willow. Finally, TM Engineering bushings, a Cusco carbon fiber strut tower bar and a set of adjustable upper control arms from Colorado Performance round the package out.
While most of the Toyota aftermarket world is concerned with fitting Supra brakes onto their cars, Supra owners are concerned with taking them off and fitting bigger ones. Such as this four-piston set-up from StopTech, with 13-inch front rotors and Darnall Fabrication 2.5-inch brake ducts. In the rear, Brembo 12.6-inch rotors are squeezed by stock two-piston calipers. A strategic mix of BHP XPS Club Race pads up front and Hawk HP+ out back conspire to keep braking distances down and eliminate fade on the track.
Before heading out to the USCC, Hawkins stopped at The Wheel Supply in Walnut, California, to have massive 285/30/18 front and 315/30/18 rear Yokohama A048 rubber mounted onto 18x10 and 18x11 Work Meister S1 three-piece wheels.
We still haven't scratched the surface of Hawkins' long list of parts, but the question remains: will this combination be the right one to emerge victorious from the USCC's 15 grueling tests?