Some of the companies that make parts for MKIII and Suprasport.

[PIONEER]

I'm in a middle of a supra project for one of my customers. The car is complete but we can't seem to get it running right and have spent several weeks trouble shooting some of the issues.

Basically the car has a real lean condition at idle and driving.

car is done up from the bottom up, inside/out, front/back. Besides the subframe bushings, I don't think there's anything left we havn't touched on this car.

We started troubleshooting the lean condition with electronics at first and turns out all sensors, AFMs, 02, TPS, CPS, ISC, Ignitor, FP Relay, coilpacks, plugs, wires, Fuses, fuel pump, FPR,, injectors, fuelrail, pulsation damper, are not the cause of the Lean condition..

We then start checking the system for boost leaks.

1:- The Cartech Intercooler purchased new from suprasport... All 3 necks were leaking around the bends... Paid radiator shop to get it fixed..

2:- The I/C pipe kit that came from suprasport, was meant to mount to the stock intercooler and not the cartech so we had to hack the ends of the I/c for the pipe kit to fit.. Hacking the pipe kit caused the smooth surface on the ends to go away where original couplers were suppose to mate, and now we were left with a rough surface and the new couplers which suprasport also provided didn't seem to fit right and now caused the leak around the ends. We got around to fixing this, started the car and again had a abnormal mixture, lean/or extreeme rich condition.. and noticed the car would only build 4PSI of boost Max.

3:- now we pressurized the turbo to check it, b/c I am not expecting a $1800 ballbearing turbo to leak, and what we find, the compressor is leaking all around the edges in the back. Now the nuts/bolts are fully tight, the compressor is clocked and then reclocked and no go.. Suprasport says they don't really mess with the front of these turbos as they come from I.T.S. No problem, I can buy that.

The bigger question is, What the hell are these companies building for the MKIII and are they not testing to see if the crap fits or if the crap works. My frustration is really not on suprasport as they only sell what is provided to them, but what the hell is going on here. We dropped close to $3000 with the turbo/lines/I/c/Pipe kit and looks like none of this shit works, not to mention weeks of labor trying to figure out where the problem is.

Now Greg and company from suprasport have been helping us get through these issues as we find them but I want to find a way to bring the heat to the company that supplied these parts to suprasport in the first place. B/c the MKIII is a 20 year old car, its acceptable for a company to put out substandard parts in the market?

I purchased an I/C & pipe Kit from a group buy about 6 years ago from the old SOGI days and til this day, I have yet to have 1 leak or 1 crack in any of the welds and the fit is 100% true to a MKIII.

It just seems to me the standards are differnet today then they were 10 years ago!

 

[figgie]

I have to agree with you.

The issue with the mfg (not the vendor) is that it seems like they are caring less and less.

Unlike the ATI, Pauters, Ross of the world that happen to supply parts to the MKIII Supra. Our cars do not have a company/companies with that type of background that is soley dedicated to supra's.

Like a Lingenfelter, Rousche etc. Won't happen this late in the game unless the LExus LF-A has a trickle down effect if and whenever it comes to market.

with that said,

you are trying to fit a kit for a diff IC onto the cartech That is not a drop in affair!

 

[KeithH]

2:- The I/C pipe kit that came from suprasport, was meant to mount to the stock intercooler and not the cartech so we had to hack the ends of the I/c for the pipe kit to fit.. Hacking the pipe kit caused the smooth surface on the ends to go away where original couplers were suppose to mate, and now we were left with a rough surface and the new couplers which suprasport also provided didn't seem to fit right and now caused the leak around the ends. We got around to fixing this, started the car and again had a abnormal mixture, lean/or extreeme rich condition.. and noticed the car would only build 4PSI of boost Max.

I've been trying to fit a square peg in a round hole for years now - WHY WON'T IT FIT?

 

[tlo86]

is this your first time doing something like this?

 

[PIONEER]

Spending good money on new parts and then turning around and paying to get them fixed is something new to me yes.

 

[Justin727]

first thing that came to mind was the Lotek Pillar pods! ha

Man I feel your pain pioneer!

Luckily I can say a good bit of my stuff has been fabbed and pieced together.

 

[tlo86]

so how did you find out the intercooler was leaking? why didnt you have them replace it?

and the pipes didnt fit right after you hacked them up? do you have any pictures? what types of clamps did you use?

what exactly are you using to tune this car? whats the fuel setup like? i mean upgraded turbo and running lean? go figure... what are you using to determine its running lean even?

it really just looks like you dont know what you are doing, especially if you cant get a coupler to work with an intercooler pipe. correct me if im wrong

 

[PIONEER]

The car has big fuel upgrades to support the big turbo. We didn't start building supras yesterday.

1 You can hear the car is pissed
2 the Wideband confirms its pissed


When I have to add 30% fuel at idle, blimp the throttle, and then turn around and subtract 50%, there's a problem!

Again, you would start with electronics b/c you would never think your new intercooler would have leaking endtanks and your new turbo have a leaking compressor housing.

As for the intercooler, When you start with 2.5" and hack the ends off and you are left with a 2" rough surface, no matter how hard you crank that TBolt clamp, that 2.5" coupler won't seal the 2" hole!

 

[tlo86]

The car has big fuel upgrades to support the big turbo. We didn't start building supras yesterday.

1 You can hear the car is pissed
2 the Wideband confirms its pissed


When I have to add 30% fuel at idle, blimp the throttle, and then turn around and subtract 50%, there's a problem!

Again, you would start with electronics b/c you would never think your new intercooler would have leaking endtanks and your new turbo have a leaking compressor housing.

As for the intercooler, When you start with 2.5" and hack the ends off and you are left with a 2" rough surface, no matter how hard you crank that TBolt clamp, that 2.5" coupler won't seal the 2" hole!

thats better :biglaugh:

so the pipes went down to 2''? from 2.5''? odd but ok! time for you to get some 2'' couplers then they are about 10$ after all arent they

 

[PIONEER]

From what the welder said, The intercooler cores is welded by 1 person and the elbows on the intecooler are welded by another person b/c the weld pattern is different. It was the elows that were leaking.

we are past the I/C/ couplers now.

The leaking turbo is the next issue.

 

[tlo86]

From what the welder said, The intercooler cores is welded by 1 person and the elbows on the intecooler are welded by another person b/c the weld pattern is different. It was the elows that were leaking.

we are past the I/C/ couplers now.

The leaking turbo is the next issue.

it leaks when you hit boost or you put pressure into the turbo and it leaked?

 

[PIONEER]

the car doesn't build boost past 4PSi. when I check for boost leak, the compressor is leaking.

 

[tlo86]

the car doesn't build boost past 4PSi. when I check for boost leak, the compressor is leaking.

i know its a durr thing but how tight are the bolts on the back of the compressor housing? they arent stripped are they? and are there the plates on the bolts as well? im curious if there is another seal for the compressor housing (on some turbos ive seen a rubber seal, it couldve possibly fallen out if you have one once you clocked it)

 

[MDCmotorsports]

(Im not knocking you as I know you're a good guy) Pioneer - you're one of the few thats complaining about cheap parts for the MKIII.

Thats the problem - the masses (mostly cheap asses) all complained that the parts - even though right and properly working - were too expensive.

Fine.

Make cheap parts for the masses.

Oh noes.

Quality goes out the window.

It sucks, it really does.

Tiz what happens my friend....

 

[noah89t]

i feel you on the cartech ic leaking problem. they sent me 2 that leaked and finally the third one they sent me was leak free. and the cooleeze pipe kit that was supposed to fit, didn't and i had to cut some of the ic pipe to make it work. overall, i like the products, but 2 leaky ic's is just crappy on their part. (the maker of the ic) Charles at suprasport was very helpful in making the transactions go smoothly.

 

[PIONEER]

Hey jon, I know exactly what you mean. You cut cost, quality suffers. Lets be real, There are a lot of MKIII owners who use cornflakes box cardboard as gaskets on their engine, but they are responsable for their actions.

When a company makes a product, atleast make it so it functions.

KIA makes a car and Toyota makes a car. You don't expect the KIA to have its wheels fall off just b/c its cheaper and not Toyota quality.

 

[Justin727]

^^^ although that has happened unexpectingly

 

[noah89t]

KIA= keep it asshole!

 

[simpsons7s]

I have had great experiance with greg and charles from suprasport, great guys. I think that there is something to be said about being penny wise and pound foolish here. Alot of MKIII owners myself included have tried to take the cheap route and ended up paying alot more for it in the long run. I have gone through 4 exausts and downpipe combos trying to get one that fits and is inexpensive and satisfies my power needs and am still not happy, my current dp leaks because of crappy welds. I could have had the most expensive largest one from the beginning twice over by now with all the money Ive put into this.
There are correctly fitting well made expensive parts avaliable for our cars, especially with intercoolers, intakes, turbos, manifolds...ect. I see us as a community constantly banging our heads wondering why our chinese fuel regulator cought fire, and the big companies don't pay attention to us.

 

[sneakypete]

is the turbo new? from suprasport? which turbo? im sure youve already checked, but you have to adjust the actuator arm to raise the boost. my turbo which i got from suprasport was preset to 4psi.
-pete