Sluggish Starts

[Suitcase Jefferson]

Is it just me, or is this a Supra thing...

I have an automatic Mark III, 7M-GTE.

When I hammer the gas, the pick-up seems very sluggish. Don't get me wrong, when it's rolling it picks up speed very, very quickly.

Keep in mind that I'm in the "Economy" mode on my ECT transmission. Should I be driving the Supra in sport mode?

Thanks for your time,
Suitcase

P.S. For those of you with Automatic Mark IIIs, do you keep the transmission in sport mode?

 

[te72]

I almost ALWAYS got better mileage with my 88 n/a in sport mode. Remember, these are heavy cars, and you gotta get a little torque out of the engine to get it going. I always found that a brisk pace of acceleration from a stop (as traffic allows) returned the best mileage. Being turbo though, I wouldn't know. Never driven a turbo auto. But switch it over to sport mode and leave it for a while. If you like it, leave it.

 

[Poodles]

From a stop or from a roll?

Yes, sport mode is more aggressive and will accelerate better...

 

[Kangae]

I know this isn't a supra but my ls400 in sport mode is quite a bit more brisk than normal mode.

 

[Suitcase Jefferson]

Would it be a good idea to just keep it in sport mode?

I was beat by a minivan at a stop light today.. (Caught me off guard).

...And not a newer dodge minivan, no.. an old decrepit transport minivan. :<

And yes, from stops.

 

[Poodles]

Is the car completely stock? Probably the tranny and turbo lag making it seem really bad, easy way to get around it is to brake boost, but I don't recommend it all the time :rofl:

 

[Suitcase Jefferson]

Is the car completely stock? Probably the tranny and turbo lag making it seem really bad, easy way to get around it is to brake boost, but I don't recommend it all the time :rofl:

Yes, completely original.

 

[Poodles]

Stock, you're a bit underpowered to say the least :rofl: Not to mention wear and tear (tired engine/tranny, clogged cats, boost leaks, ect...)

 

[Suitcase Jefferson]

Stock, you're a bit underpowered to say the least :rofl: Not to mention wear and tear (tired engine/tranny, clogged cats, boost leaks, ect...)

Well, guess it's time for a tune-up, eh?

 

[akito]

It's time to upgrade!!!! However, make sure your car is in tip top shape. Maintenance > upgrade

 

[RazoE]

BPU parts will really wake up your car, a down pipe and exhaust will help the turbo spool much faster, coupled with IC piping, and you're running like a beast..

 

[Poodles]

Also, don't forget an upgraded tranny cooler in that mix

 

[Suitcase Jefferson]

Lol! One thing at a time.

I think I'll start with a minor tune-up and oilchange, and get a pair of winter tires while I'm at it.

..And then maybe some nicer rims...

 

[yongai27]

I thought sport mode adjusted the stiffness of the suspension. that tems thing..

 

[te72]

I thought sport mode adjusted the stiffness of the suspension. that tems thing..

There's also a button to the side (I believe side, been a LONG time since I drove an auto Supra) of the shifter that allows you to switch between sport and economy modes.

Suitcase, I will give you a warning from experience here... once you start modifying your Supra, you'll probably never stop. Seriously, these things are like crack. Possibly worse, I'm sure crack is cheaper and easier to quit.

 

[Poodles]

I think the setting is "pwr" but I can't remmber what the normal setting is.

 

[Suitcase Jefferson]

Holy shit.

Sport mode really opened up my car. I notice a difference, a big difference.

It's turning me into a bad driver. >_>

I was coming down an off-ramp that was 60 km/h limit, to merge with traffic (not that there was any) -- I looked down at my speedo and the needle was cruising passed 120kph.

Damn. I love my car.

 

[RazoE]

Suitcase, I will give you a warning from experience here... once you start modifying your Supra, you'll probably never stop. Seriously, these things are like crack. Possibly worse, I'm sure crack is cheaper and easier to quit.

THIS...

seriously..

 

[Poodles]

LOL, yeah, Toyota actually knows how to make fun transmissions

 

[Keros]

My truck has the ECT transmission feature, it makes the trans much more sensitive to downshift under throttle and it forces the transmission to hold gears until redline when under more than ~60% throttle... or something like that. For a 3.4L V6, it moves pretty good, with or without the button. Without the button down, the transmission will hold gears to redline at WOT, so it doesn't effect highway passing at all. However, I'd imagine it'd make it feel a bit less sluggish in the city by holding gears longer.

I presume that the Supra's "sport" shift mode does much the same. They're both A340X transmissions, after all.