Supra mk3 vs 87-89 starquest

[aramusha]

So here's the deal I have about 2-3k to spend

 

I have been researching booth cars for quite a while now.

 

I have driven an 1989 supra turbo 5sp I Tought man this ting is pull your pants off fast.

 

Are Starquests this fast stock??

 

I don't really like the look too much of the supra hmmm

 

 

Now the starquest they are frikkin beautiful!!! I really love the look. and they are so rare

I have never drove one how are they in comparison??

 

I hear Toyota's are bulletproof. (bedsides the head gasket on mk3 supras)

Am I right in saying the starquests give allot of trouble and take allot to maintain.

 

 

 

Now about me and what I'm lookin for:

 

I have a daily driver that I use prob 6 days out of the week. So which ever car i buy it would be a weekend car.

I want something that is fast the faster the better (this is important)!!!!.

Would like to be able to put the back end out every now and then but no serious drifting.

I would drive it hard when I have her out but would look after it and maintain it.

As far as modding it well I could prob do some farily basic mods. Time is the big issue here I am not looking for a car to rebuild or transplant any other motors into to it later.

I will not have the time to be spending every evening and every weekend fixing which ever car I buy. Seriously i can only see my self having time to maintain her. I have a million more things in my garage that need fixing rebuilding etc... I am also into motorcycles as well O and a wife ha ha. You know how it goes.

 

I know I am writing this on a starquest enthusiasts site but I would appreciate your input.

In your honest opinion which would be the best option for me.

 

Just think "Supra vs Starquest".

 

I would like to hear ANYTHING you have to say.

Edited December 6, 2008 by aramusha

[ESTurbo4]

My friend bought an '88 Supra N/A for 800 bucks. He later bought a 7M-GTE turbo engine and we converted it to turbo. After all was said and done he had a basically stock Turbo Supra. He could never beat me in my stock '88 Conquest the two cars seemed to be equally powered.

 

As far as reliability the Supra did need a lot of up keep. Maybe it was just his but things didn't hold up. He went through two CT-26 turbos, two clutches, a mass airflow sensor and loads of other small stuff. It was always something until he eventually blew it up by running it out of oil.

 

Having owned three Conquests they have their share of problems too. I'd say that neither is more reliable than the other, in my opinion. If I had to pick between the two though I would pick the Conquest. I don't like the long front end of that body Supra.

[Fanta]

You can probably make the Supra faster. Plain and simple. OR jsut drop in a 2jz.

 

I personally bought a Starion for the looks, and the sheer uniqueness of its styling. It was only up to the point of buying one that I found out it was a turbocharged rwd car, that has amazing handling.

 

As for reliability - well it comes down to with what starquest you start out with. Some are well taken care of, and all you have to do is change the fluids and maintain. Others have seen the far side of the river Styx in the blood bath fires of hell and back, and take a lot of upkeep and fixing to get them back up and going. That being said, find one that's been well taken care of, and you won't have too much trouble.

 

As for drifting - do you plan on pegging out the rev limiter? Bad idea for these cars. Due to how the oil pickup tube and oil pan is designed, lateral G's will make the oil pickup suck in air. Someone needs to fab up a GReddy SR20DET oil pan with the trap door for just this to an SQ oil pan...

 

Also, recently a member hit the mid 13s on the dragstrip with I want to say less than $1000 worth of mods. Mods that you really install and do it yourself. Supra's you take to a shop. Starions you take to your garage.

 

These cars will outhandle a MkIII Supra in the twisties. Straight drag racing, make a Starion MPI and then see what happens

 

So while I certainly appreciate the love for speed, I've come to realize that owning something this quirky, oddball, and inique is more worth than being the faster one. Not a week goes by that I do not get compliments on how nice my car is, what is it, having to correct those at a stop light or a gas station, or having someone screaming at me on the highway from their window saying they had one when they were younger, or wish they could have one again, or will come up to me and ask me flat out if I want to sell it. You tell me that a MkIII Supra does that. I wouldn't give it up for any other car. And if I did give it up for another car, I can promise you that in less than 6 months I would be having another one.

[spoolinturbo]

supra cons - heavy, price, uglier interior, seating position, insurance cost

 

pros - more opts for engines and parts. easier access to power

 

starion cons - parts availability, TBI, long stroke motor

 

starion pros - weight, weight dist, price, uniqueness, 2.6L 4 CYLINDER!!

 

both cars can make power easy, it all depends on the cond of the car when you get it and how you go about modding it. either make it as close to perfect running stock then mod, or just rip it out and build the whole car and go from there, dont add parts to a poor running car

 

*a 700HP 7mgte sounds like pure sex though

Edited December 6, 2008 by spoolinturbo

[Zack_Morris]

the 7M with a good exhaust sounds almost identical to a 2JZ...and we ALL know that sound stops hearts

[patra_is_here]

honestly the SQ is just cooler looking to me. i like it's smaller size and better proportions.

 

i do think a supra would be an easier car to own though.

[Dave-O]

Having owned an '89 Supra Turbo [junkyard-built car, had an open diff and an auto trans from a non-turbo, was originally an LSD 5-speed car lol] and driven a few Starquests recently, I'll make this comparison brief and to-the-point.

 

Handling - Starquest - Even having the steering box and pitman arm setup reminiscent of a Jeep, turn in still is surprisingly solid.

 

Acceleration - Starquest - The Supra had much more top-end power, and actually pulled past 5500revs [futile in a Starquest], though the sheer torque of the Starquest pulled it to better times. Carrol Shelby summed this one up best, "Horsepower sells cars, but torque wins races."

 

Braking - Supra - The brakes on my Supra were larger and had more bite than any of the SQs I drove, but that could be chalked up to age and upkeep. Still a good idea to get nice pads, good fluid, and make sure everything's top-notch in this department regardless of car you choose.

 

Looks - Starquest, hands down. Supras are too rounded and bulbous, where the SQ is a chiseled hunk of awesome. Not to mention the widebody and staggered wheel setup is ahead of its' time.

 

City Driving - Supra - I'm a bit biased as mine was an auto, but the Supra is a much softer car ... I tend to lean that to the sheer weight of the car and Toyota's choice of grand-touring suspension; the SQs are a rigid, sporty feeling ride, but it invokes confidence.

 

So 2/5 Daviticus factor going to the Supra; 3/5 going to the SQ line.

[BrazilBoy]

I like the question "what is that" you will never get that in a Supra. Stock vs Stock years back I had a stock 87 starquest and my bro had a stock 88 supra, My car was always faster even when we would driver switch my quest was so much quicker. Also driving position was more natural in the quest, the supra felt fat, heavy, and shifter position seemed odd in the supra especially going into 5th.The conquest nimble, quick, and certainly unique. I believe you should sit in both drive both. I would get the one you feel more confident and comfortable in. If I were you starquest all the way!!!!

[craig87]

I prefer the starquest body but I like the 2jz motor...... You do know it fits right...

 

these cars dont age worse than other cars. you have to remember many people that buy these are kids that are gonna cry when they suck air instead of oil doing donuts an spin a bearing. Or cry and sell the car because they ignored the half plugged 20 year old radiator and cracked a head.

[86TSiGuy]

All my starquest feeling's aside, buying a 20+ year old car for something to have fun in that won't require much work is an oxymoron. Especially if we're talking turbo muscle.

That being said, get a quest. Look for 88-89' and make cleanliness and low miles your biggest deal breaking points.

I have an 86' with 80k on it, it sat in my Dad's garage for close to 8 years, other than a fluid's change and some very minor trouble-shooting she has NEVER let me down.

If you compare either the Supra (and I do love Supra's too) or the Quest in stock trim to say an SRT-4 or a Cobalt-SS your going to be dissapointed.

These cars were fast in their era but now they squeeze 250hp out of 2L pretty easily.

If you are mechanically inclined and you read up a lot you can make fun of the SRT-4's and SS's pretty easily with about $1000 in mods.

 

And hey I like the long stroke truck block that's why we have 223lb/ft of torque at only 2500rpm.

 

And then there is the "what the hell was that" factor. Most people don't remember or know what these cars were. Especially the younger "ricer" crowd, and it is SO much fun to screw with the high school kids and K-fed's in their civic's.

 

I brought my 86' to Canada as a daily driver through the winter (I know guy's sacrelidge) while I look for another to build the way I want.

They were never sold here so I enjoy the "sleeper" factor even more. I can't even tell you how many civic's I've chirped and run on that followed me till I stopped just to ask what year Ferrari that is, or say "nice 944".

 

The big question for you is how much work do you want this toy to be?

If you don't mind becoming completely addicted to your car, emptying your saving's account regularly on voluntary mod's, and being divorced, Go quest all the way.

[patra_is_here]

Looks - Starquest, hands down. Supras are too rounded and bulbous, where the SQ is a chiseled hunk of awesome. Not to mention the widebody and staggered wheel setup is ahead of its' time.

 

i think you're thinking of a mk4 supra.

\

 

I prefer the starquest body but I like the 2jz motor...... You do know it fits right...

the mk3 supra came with the 7mgte motor, not the 2 jz

Edited December 6, 2008 by patra_is_here

[Dave-O]

i think you're thinking of a mk4 supra.

 

No no, I'm talking about the 3. In comparison to an SQ, it's entirely too-rounded in my opinion.

[patra_is_here]

ok. then i rescind my comment.

[Zack_Morris]

the mk3 supra came with the 7mgte motor, not the 2 jz

 

depending on what year mk3, it could be a 7M-GTE or a 1JZ

[Dave-O]

depending on what year/country mk3, it could be a 7M-GTE or a 1JZ

Fixed.

 

At least I'm under the impression the 1JZ wasn't a North-American-offered engine.

[craig87]

yes 2jz was mk4 and 1jz was not offered here.

 

My point was 2jz+conquest=the best of everything.

I'm not to up on the 7mgte but there has to be a reason they swap 1j and 2j in to the mk3s

[Guest]

CT-26 turbos on them Supras are garbage, but other than that they're pretty good cars, heavy, a little ugly stock, but good stuff... But nothing like a StarQuest....

[patra_is_here]

this is a sic mk3 though

 

http://www.japanesesportcars.com/galleries/data/media/41/supra_jza702.jpg

 

 

almost looks as good as a stock SQ

 

[edit: i didnt see the wing!!! =(

Edited December 6, 2008 by patra_is_here

[Dquick]

CT-26 turbos on them Supras are garbage, but other than that they're pretty good cars, heavy, a little ugly stock, but good stuff... But nothing like a StarQuest....

 

 

the quest is a car to be enjoyed and occasionally go out and spank the unsuspecting, who are many, i had a problem with my t/a, because the only people that wanted to race were people that could smoke me, corvettes, newer f-body's and very unstock imports. everyone else shy'd away an so, i never got to race my car, just drive like an a-hole and piss people off.

 

in the quest i can whip through traffic before people even saw me, ricers want a piece( and so far have been left behind) simply because they see a half faded "TSi", older guys leather neck to see my car, i literally caught someone snapping photo's at a light last night, the local dsm herd loves me, it's a very unique experience to own one.

 

and so far from what i've read, which is alot, quests have no particularly stupid problems that can't be worked or driven around. they just need to be respected and given care while driving them.

[patra_is_here]

lol i've been at an intersection and there was a dad with his 5 year old daughter, and the daughter was looking so long and my car and she said "daddy daddy look at that car!!" as she was hoping up and down with excitement. kid had good taste, what can i say.

[Dquick]

this is a sic mk3 though

 

http://www.japanesesportcars.com/galleries/data/media/41/supra_jza702.jpg

 

 

almost looks as good as a stock SQ

 

[edit: i didnt see the wing!!! =(

 

 

wing and mirrors are homo. other then that, i'll take my car. lol

[Dave-O]

Looks like I've found yet another alternative for a bumper and lip to hack up and ziptie to the bottom of my Starion.

 

Current project is a smashed BN Sports replica bumper/airdam for an S14 ... just need to find the Dremel.

[spoolinturbo]

i think uniqueness sells the car though.

 

some ppl see a supra and they are like "thats an old supra"

 

They see a SQ and its like.. "kinda looks like a 944, but...looks like they went a whole lot sexier with that style than porsche did...what is that???"