[Black Dawg]

Im planning to go turbo on my car eventually. Everyone always says make sure you upgrade the rest of your car first. Well, there just isn't much I can do to upgrade my suspension or brakes, as there is little to no aftermarket left. Anyone running upgraded stuff? Anyone not, with a turbo? The only thing I could think of would be replacing the struts, and maybe having some upgraded sway bars made, and A buddy of mine suggested running air shocks in the back to stiffen it up a bit. Any suggestions for brakes? Do any MKII brake components swap over?

 

[jdk_ii]

First, you are wise to upgrade the suspension and brakes before any
major performance increase.

The MK2 brakes are really no upgrade.

Retro-fitting anything will be difficult, as Toyota parts interchange
is lousy. Plus I've been down that path.

 

[Black Dawg]

so then......just make sure everything is new and in good working order then? Why oh why did I have to buy such a rare car?

 

[CJSREDPRA]

Okay Sam, try not to panic....

Am not sure what is available for brake rotors. Check w/ a dealer that can acquire Brembo's & see if something is available for the MKI's.

Brake pads: WOOHOO!!!!!!!!!!!! 8) Just for giggles, I checked to see if KVR Carbon/Fiber pads are available for the MKI's. YES INDEEDEE!!!! They are available for the front & rears!!!! In fact, they are about $5 - $8 cheaper than stock OE Toyota pads WITH my price discounts (did a price comparo)!!!! So as soon as the stock pads wear out on the Silver Slug, I'll be installing KVR's. I already have a set of KVR's waiting for the MKII & I already have Brembo OE rotors installed. I just need to check on availablility for the MKI's.

Suspension. Don't know of anyone who still has sway bars available, am doubtful Addco has anything. I'll be going the "lazy route" & am waiting for a 81 MKI w/ the Performance Package option to hit the junkyards, so that I can snag the stiffer springs & bigger sway bars from it (I'll be in for a long wait...) I already have done the Tokico HP shocks & struts. P-S-T DOES have a PolyGraphite bushing kit from the front suspension (listed for $139), but does not have anything for the rear that I know of (I need to speak to a human @ P-S-T and find out what the story is).

As Jim King mentioned, nothing from the MKII's suspension can be interchanged into the MKI. Way too many things fitment & design wise are different.

 

[Black Dawg]

Thanks for the info Chris. I'll be keeping my eyes open in the junkyards, and all my toes crossed. As far as the strut/shock upgrade you made, would you say that it was worth the money? Did it improve handling, or just make the ride stiffer? I'm actually pretty happy with how the car handles right now.....but I've been driving a lifted truck for 5 years so........ 8)

 

[FWDsux]

PST also has a rear bushing set fir the MKI that lists for $80.....whereas the rear set for the MKII is $30. I wish they'd tell you all that comes with these kits. :? Is the Celica anything like the Supra of those years? If so, then PST also has sway bars for, to quote my brand new catalog:
"1971-1977 celicas.........1" front........3/4" rear
1978-1985 celicas.........1" front........3/4" rear"

HTH
Nick

 

[Black Dawg]

PST also has a rear bushing set fir the MKI that lists for $80.....whereas the rear set for the MKII is $30. I wish they'd tell you all that comes with these kits. :? Is the Celica anything like the Supra of those years? If so, then PST also has sway bars for, to quote my brand new catalog:
"1971-1977 celicas.........1" front........3/4" rear
1978-1985 celicas.........1" front........3/4" rear"

HTH
Nick

I'll need to go check my sway bar sizes, but I think those sound like upgrades.....can anyone comment as to wheather they are so much the same, or not?

 

[CJSREDPRA]

Sam & FWDsux,

FWD: Until I ACTUALLY SPOKE W/ A HUMAN @ P-S-T, both their online & mailing catalogs listed a rear suspension bushing kit for the 79 - 85 Supra's for $80. Upon speaking to a human on the phone, I discovered that a FULL BUSHING kit for the rear actually DOES NOT EXIST!!!!! This is actually a missinformation booboo. The only reason why a rear suspension kit is now listed for $30 for the MKII, is because all it is, is bushings for the rear control arms.... And nothing more!!!!! :shock: :shock: I did order these for my MKII and installed them. The rest of the rear bushing kit is new OE Toyota items, and they are becoming VERY scarce!!!! (like they are now either CLASS D or CLASS E items).

As for a P-S-T rear bushing kit for the MKI, the BEST thing to do now is call P-S-T & speak to a human!!!!!! And confirm what is actually available!!!

Also, yes, P-S-T does sell swaybar upgrades for the RA Celica's, but they are basically the size of stock swaybars for the MKII's. Not worth it for a MKII.

Sam: The Tokico upgrades did help quite a bit, considering that the Monroe's that were previously in there, were dead on all 4 corners. The ride is much stiffer & it does not lean as much through the corners anymore, but it's still leans a bit more than what I'm used to on the MKII. I try NOT to push the MKI through the corners too much or too aggressively, since the MKI has a NOTORIOUS UNDERSTEER problem that all of the magazine articles (back in the day) complained about. It's still better than the severe lean that it had, when I first purchased it. :multi:

 

[Black Dawg]

Bringing a dead post back to life.....

Where did you get your Tokicos from, and how much were they? I've found a place that sells Koni's, but they are $90 a piece for the fronts! I guess I may have to suck it up, but I was wondering about the Tokicos. Thanks.

 

[CJSREDPRA]

Ordered mine from Burien Toyota Parts Shop (aka TRD Northwest), who ordered them from Tokico Direct.

And now of course, I can't remember the price... The MKI Tokico's were purchased over a year ago. The receipt is "somewhere", didn't toss it out.

Don't recall the Tokico MKI front struts costing ~$90...

 

[FWDsux]

Sam,

I got my Tokicos here. The MKI listsfor the same price as the MKII and I paid $179.28. FREE SHIPPING!

http://www.machiii.net/machiii/html/suspension/tokico/tokico_Toyota_parts.html

Good customer service and the best prices Ifound out of a whole bunch of sites.

HTH,

Nick

 

[Black Dawg]

One more thing, Chris :roll: Where did you get your brake pads from? If I can't find Brembo rotors, which I doubt I'll be able to, what would you recommend, Toyota OE? Thanks again.

Oh, and thanks for the link, FWD.

 

[CJSREDPRA]

DOH!!!!

Forgot to ask if Brembo's are available for the MKI.... Will have to bug them again on my next visit. If you can find someone who is a Brembo dealer, have then check the catalog. I just tried checking the Brembo website (www.brembo.com), and they were pretty useless, they only list components for the MKIV.

If you are unable to get Brembo OE's for the MKI, then go w/ the Toyota's.

Am slowly starting to hear minor squeaking noises from the rear brakes. Have noticed that there is a bit of wear on the rear rotors, while the fronts are still smooth.

Did some price comparison's several months ago on MKI Brake pads & I discovered that the KVR Carbon/Fiber's are a bit cheaper than the Toyota OE's. Toyota wanted $49 & $53 for their pads. KVR's were $43.something for both the front & rears. Just placed my order for them last Friday. Again, I ordered them from Burien Toyota Parts Dept (TRD Northwest), and they ordered them from KVR Directly. Says it's going to be about 2 - 3 weeks delivery, they are coming from Toronto I believe.

So now eventually both Supra's will have KVR's. I already have a set waiting for the MKII set aside in the parts closet.

 

[Black Dawg]

Measured my sway bars finally....

without a caliper as accurate as I can be is the front is about 7/8" and the rear is a 1/2". So would the P-S-T 1" for the front be worth it, that's not much of an upgrade. They offer a 3/4" rear which is quite a bit larger though....

 

[SilverMk2]

An 1/8" difference in sway bars is actually quite a bit. You outta see if the Mk2 sway bar will fit in the front. The front suspension between MkI and Mk2 are pretty similar front what I've seen.

 

[CJSREDPRA]

Sam,

Eventually, I do plan to get the PST front kit for the Silver Slug, this will be one of the things that I do plan to upgrade. The only thing that is holding me up at the moment, is 'when" do I want to add this on..... Do I want to go ahead & install the sway bar bushings onto the current front stock swaybar, or wait it out, until I can find all of the upgraded suspension components in a junkyard from a 81 that had the Performance Package option it (w/ the upgraded springs & swaybars). Plus I will also need to find out the diameter of the upgraded front swaybar, before I order the swaybar bushings...

So I'm doing a wait & see game at the moment.... Then again, I've still have not come across a 81 MKI w/ the Performance Package option in the local yards yet... So who knows....

Am not sure if the upgraded 78 - 81 Celica bars will fit on the MKI.... Another one of those "I don't have the answer to this one yet" kind of things. Much less the front MKII bars....

 

[Allan-MA45]

Im converting to 5 stud on mine with MA70 rears (incl backing plates and calipers ((use RA40 handbrake cable))) on a hi-lux diff.
For the front UZZ30 (sc400/soarer) front rotors and calipers on crown MS65 hubs

Suspension will be stock oil filled front struts reco'ed with heavyer oil and not shure with the back yet would not mind some oil filled rears too..

Engine will be a 5M-TE (was going 7M-GTE but im going to use that engine for my MA70 build up)

Allan