Posted by Dan on 27th Sep 2024
Autocrossing the GR Supra
With break in behind us it is time to explore the GR Supra. First up is a regional SCCA autocross.
Autocross background:
To adequately judge a car at autocross we feel it is important to have a decent background in autocross (aka solo). My autocross career started in 2016. I have run multiple classes including AS, CS, DS, STR, CSP, and CSX. With the Supra adding BS to those classes. The cars in those classes include; C6 ZO6 Vettes, NA and NC Miatas, S2000, and GR Supra. I was able to pull out 5th place in Solo Nationals in 2024 in CSX class. It has been a long journey in autocross and a steep learning curve but a great experience. I highly recommend autocross GR owners interested in an affordable way to partake in motorsports. It is not very abusive on the car and is a unique form of motorsports that offers great competition. I continue to learn and become a better drive thanks to autocross.
Autocrossing the GR Supra:
I was supposed to be instructing and introducing a friend to autocross. However, my autocross family knows how to twist my arm into joining in the fun. Despite missing my permanent numbers and tire pressure gauge I found some tape and branded the Supra into B Street. For those who don’t know BS or B Street is a street class with a limited modification rule set. A brief overview of the class rules goes as follows; 200tw tires, 1 sway bar (front or rear), CAT back exhaust, wheels (provided they are within 1’’ of stock diameter, offset +/-7mm stock offset, and same width). For a more in depth overview of rules visit https://www.scca.com/pages/solo-cars-and-rules.
At the autocross I ran my Supra bone stock. This was ideal to see how the vehicle did in a stock configuration. Conditions were great, 75 degrees, overcast, and dry. Below is a summary of the 4 runs I had.
Run 1:
I ran the car in manual sport mode and all traction control on. This was the slowest run of the day. I shifted manually into 2nd quickly and ran out of gear about just as quick. On this particular course the 8-speed automatic needed to go to 3rd however I stayed in 2nd for the duration of the run. Being speed limited by staying in 2nd gear made it slow. But the full traction control was also very limiting. It was still a good learning opportunity. Full traction control holds the car back significantly.
Run 2:
This time I ran in automatic sport mode in with one press of traction control off. This does not turn everything off but this was a natural next step. I dropped about 3 seconds on this run thanks to less invasive traction control and higher MPH in 3rd gear. The car felt good. The stock brakes were fine, not the best bite but functioned well. The Supra drove small but had noticeable weight at 3,400lbs. It was easy to rotate with the brakes or rotate with the throttle. The biggest standout was some form of lag. The source of that lag I believe is due to the transmission and not turbo lag. Exiting tight elements the transmission found itself at times a gear too low.
Run 3:
On my 3rd run I aimed to improve/eliminate the lag exiting certain elements. So, I put the car in manual sport mode with the traction control with one press off. I managed to shift into 3rd just fine but in the tight elements I struggled to navigate to a lower gear. My struggles were likely due to this being my first paddle shifted car. But regardless not being able to select the gear I wanted made the run slower.
Run 4:
For my final run I ran the car in automatic sport mode with again one press of traction control off. The run still suffered from the lag from my 2nd run but I cleaned some things up and ran a run good enough to put me at 2nd in class out of 8 cars. Pretty solid for a stock Supra in a field of higher prepped BS cars.
To sum it up:
I was quite impressed by the supra in stock form. I put down times that were faster than they felt. I think the car could be a front running B Street car regionally and potentially nationally when fully prepped. The throttle provides enough power to turn the car easier than with a lower power car. I plan to explore the balance with all of the traction control off at a later event. I also hope to get a better feel for the paddle shifters and successfully shift the Supra to eliminate the minor lag/wrong gear in automatic mode. Having driven so many manual cars at autocross and not many automatics I think I may have been faster in a manual Supra but that may be an experiment for another day.