MKV Toyota Supra Master Thread

Joaquin Ruhi

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I remember reading that a future GRMN Supra would make at least some of those vents functional, but those links make it obvious that for many of them it's easier said than done.


I cracked up when I read the Motor1 article. I recently had a chance to sample the new Supra (the 2020) and made a Spanish-language Que Auto Compro video almost a month ago which showed how deeply conflicted about the new Supra I was, almost as a "good Joaquín / bad Joaquín" thing. My rant criticizing all the fake vents (between 3:43 and 4:18) was almost a word-for-word Spanish translation of the 3rd paragraph of that story, and I swear I hadn't read it until now.

 

Levi

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Why do they only talk about Toyota's fake vents and not every other for instance German car maker?
 
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A must have item for any owner it seems
 
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Why do they only talk about Toyota's fake vents and not every other for instance German car maker?

There's a high bar for any Supra to meet. As much as I adore the car, even I do admit that Toyota can rectify some things, and I'm confident that they will fix it. Toyota is not f*cking around anymore.

This is a bona-fide sports car and is a true knock out of the park from Toyota and BMW (the Z4 is pretty good too, but not as good as the Supra). Any unbiased reviewer knows that more than ever and have raved on this car but they also happen to give some constructive criticism where I agree with them.

With that being said, the Supra doesn't need to have any fake vents whatsoever. It could also do with a more unique interior design, more interior colors, a manual, and fix that stupid wind buffeting. We know that the GRMN is coming in a couple of years too.
 

ssun30

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This fake vent thing is way overblown by the media. We all know the reason is modern cars are so efficient they don't need that much cooling and opening up more vents does nothing other than adding drag. And Tada-san even said explicitly if you hate them you are always free to remove them to add more cooling. What's the freaking problem? They just complain at anything.
 
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You Can't Drive the Toyota Supra With the Windows Down

With both windows down, the Supra's wind buffeting is unbearable. It's an infuriating defect that's particularly frustrating in a sports car meant for joyrides.

A Supra showed up on my doorstep last week—the new 2.0-liter four-cylinder model, which you can read about here. It came at an opportune time. After months of dreary cold, the weather in New York City was starting to feel positively spring-like. I don't need to tell you that the past few months living in NYC have been challenging. So I relished the opportunity to hop in a sports car and spend a few blessed hours beyond the walls of my apartment, cruising some country roads on a glorious sunny day.

That daydream fell apart in the first five minutes of my drive. And it's all due to a design flaw that I assume a company like Toyota could easily fix.

See, if you roll both of the Supra's windows all the way down, and you drive faster than 35 mph, you're greeted by some of the loudest, most intense wind buffeting I've ever experienced in a car—that cyclic, low-pitched WHUM-WHUM-WHUM noise that sounds like you're standing underneath a hovering helicopter.

It's positively maddening. Plenty of cars demonstrate this phenomenon at a certain speed, or with the windows opened to a specific position. You've probably noticed it in your car. It seems to happen most often when you crack a single rear window on a four-door vehicle, alleviated by cracking a window on the opposite side.

The Supra has two windows. The buffeting seems to happen any time you've got both of them open. Doesn't matter if they're cracked an inch or all the way down—if you're driving faster than neighborhood speeds, you're sitting in the middle of a Toyota-shaped Helmholtz resonance chamber. I drove myself crazy trying to find a window arrangement that would cut the buffeting, and the racket nearly made my girlfriend carsick. If a perfect setup exists—some combination of driver's-side window 73-percent open, passenger-side 89-percent closed—I could not find it.

I understand why this problem exists. Modern cars have to be as aerodynamically slick as possible to meet today's fuel economy demands. That means controlling the airflow over every inch of the car's surface. When you open a window, you're wrecking that carefully-controlled airflow. A designer can't account for all of the infinitely varied window positions you can achieve, devilish window-switch maestro that you are, so there will inevitably be a spot that creates some unpleasant noises.

In the Supra, it happens any time you've got both windows open. But the buffeting is at its worst with both windows rolled all the way down—you know, the way we all like to drive when the weather's nice out. It's a small detail that points to a misunderstanding of this car's purpose. A sports car isn't meant for purely pragmatic transportation. You wouldn't build a car like this, with wide sticky tires, paddle shifters, and an exhaust that lets out little thunderclaps on deceleration, if you didn't want people to use it for aimless joyrides and country-road blasts, the idle wandering we all enjoy.

The Supra doesn't allow you to rest your arm on the windowsill while you're driving. Maybe that's a small sacrifice to you. To me, it feels like a shirt collar you can't unbutton, a tie you can't loosen, a stereo that falls into screeching feedback at any volume above a polite murmur.

On a recent conference call with Toyota engineers, a fellow journalist asked about the wind buffeting. Toyota's answer: Owners don't seem to mind. The company has not received enough complaints through its customer hotline to raise concerns. Next question.

Maybe Toyota's hands are tied. Maybe there's no easy solution to the problem. Perhaps a fix would involve drastic changes to the car's profile, or rearranging structural components that cannot budge, or hurting the aero in a way that would cause cascading problems. Let's not forget that this car is made hand-in-hand with BMW—maybe solving the buffeting would require uncomfortable conversations between the two automakers. Who knows.

All I can tell you is, it's a defect that leads to huge disappointment. And in a car that's meant to bring pure, joyful driving excitement, that doesn't sit right with me.
 

Sulu

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That daydream fell apart in the first five minutes of my drive. And it's all due to a design flaw that I assume a company like Toyota could easily fix.

See, if you roll both of the Supra's windows all the way down, and you drive faster than 35 mph, you're greeted by some of the loudest, most intense wind buffeting I've ever experienced in a car—that cyclic, low-pitched WHUM-WHUM-WHUM noise that sounds like you're standing underneath a hovering helicopter.

...

Maybe Toyota's hands are tied. Maybe there's no easy solution to the problem. Perhaps a fix would involve drastic changes to the car's profile, or rearranging structural components that cannot budge, or hurting the aero in a way that would cause cascading problems. Let's not forget that this car is made hand-in-hand with BMW—maybe solving the buffeting would require uncomfortable conversations between the two automakers. Who knows.
I think he answered his own question. No doubt the Supra's final shape was finely tuned in the wind tunnel (with the windows up) so I doubt that it would be as easy to fix as adding a spoiler or a few vortex generators (those ridges we usually see by the side mirrors or on the sides of the taillights).
 

Levi

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BMW designed the Z4 in such a way that the coupe version which they knew would have a Toyota badge should have wind buffeting so that it would have a big flaw in order not to hurt BMW's own 2 Series coupe.

It is also interesting to note that to down play Toyota, everybody called it the BMW Zupra, but nor that is has a flaw (can't drive windows down with sunglasses and your hand wearing a Rolex hanging out the window sitting beside a hot chick), it is called Toyota.
 
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BMW designed the Z4 in such a way that the coupe version which they knew would have a Toyota badge should have wind buffeting so that it would have a big flaw in order not to hurt BMW's own 2 Series coupe.

It is also interesting to note that to down play Toyota, everybody called it the BMW Zupra, but nor that is has a flaw (can't drive windows down with sunglasses and your hand wearing a Rolex hanging out the window sitting beside a hot chick), it is called Toyota.

Uh. What did I just read?
 

Will1991

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BMW designed the Z4 in such a way that the coupe version which they knew would have a Toyota badge should have wind buffeting so that it would have a big flaw in order not to hurt BMW's own 2 Series coupe.

It is also interesting to note that to down play Toyota, everybody called it the BMW Zupra, but nor that is has a flaw (can't drive windows down with sunglasses and your hand wearing a Rolex hanging out the window sitting beside a hot chick), it is called Toyota.

Yes, and there is a purpose built solution:



a90_toyota_supra_anti_buffeting_wind_deflector_3.jpg


I found Verus Engineering due to the GT86, they made solid work and well developed components. Follow them on Instagram.
 

suxeL

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Apparently its an excellent time to buy a SUPPPRAAAA 2020 have $3500 on the hood to move the metal

 

Joaquin Ruhi

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Apparently its an excellent time to buy a SUPPPRAAAA 2020 have $3500 on the hood to move the metal

If you read the article that @Tragic Bronson linked above, the 0% financing is a way better deal than the $3500 cash bonus. (You can't combine the two).
 

suxeL

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If you read the article that @Tragic Bronson linked above, the 0% financing is a way better deal than the $3500 cash bonus. (You can't combine the two).

Very True HOWEVER:

1- Their cost analysis is based on the buyer qualifying for a 0% loan from TFS vs a 5% loan elsewhere for a 60 month term.
2-The 0% offer is only available to the highest tier Credit Score
3-With a high tier score you can walk into a Credit Union and get a more reasonable 2.89%/60 months
4-Redoing their cost analysis with that, you can actually save $270 over the course of the loan by going with the Cash and externally financing

It then boils down to personal money values, is it better to save $270 over the course of the loan (hassle of going through a CU) or borrow free money and pay off the loan with zero net interest.
 
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Very True HOWEVER:

1- Their cost analysis is based on the buyer qualifying for a 0% loan from TFS vs a 5% loan elsewhere for a 60 month term.
2-The 0% offer is only available to the highest tier Credit Score
3-With a high tier score you can walk into a Credit Union and get a more reasonable 2.89%/60 months
4-Redoing their cost analysis with that, you can actually save $270 over the course of the loan.

It then boils down to personal money values, is it better to save $270 over the course of the loan or borrow free money and pay off the loan with zero net interest.
If it was up to me, the cash savings would be my route to go, and then take the loan to the CU. But of course, every deal is YMMV.