photographer: Henry Z. DeKuyper
Everything is big in Texas: the bravado, the beers, the houses, the steak dinners (free if you can eat them with out a doggie bag, or a barf bag for that matter), even the horizon looms large.
It only makes sense that the state itself is an imposing beast. It is no New England shire that you can pass through while programming your navigation system and not even know it. And cruising across the Midwest states is a nice way to spend an afternoon, but hardly a challenge compared to the vastness of Texas, which is roughly 657 miles across at its widest point. This predisposition to largeness also translates into the performance realm where big boost, big power and big displays are the norm in the Lone Star state. Those crazy Texans like using the power too. You may have seen some of the video clips of these exploits on the Net: Supras versus Vipers, Supras versus Supras, Supras versus Hayabusa motorcycles in Houston and Dallas. The inherent dangers of running insane speeds on public roads are quite obvious.
Enter the Texas Mile, a sanctioned, closed-course competition conducted over a standing mile in Goliad, TX. The speed trials are conducted at the Goliad Airport, a small regional facility with a lot of pristine pavement. The Texas Mile is a drag race meets Silver State Challenge proposition; and it has a number of categories for stock-spec cars, tuned street machines and purpose-built Bonneville land speed cars. It should be no surprise that a Supra is the top dog in the Ultimate Street class.
Tommy Banh is The Man with Texas-sized huevos and 1128 wheel horsepower under his right heel. "I set out to push the limits of a street car," Tommy said. "And the next thing I knew I was screaming past 200 mph and setting the Ultimate Street record." Tommy's shop, Autobanh Motorsports, was founded in 2004 and has played a role in the development of many high-power Supras.
Tommy's Supra once again solidifies the 2JZ-GTE as one of the all-time great engines. Tommy's engine features a stock crankshaft that has been knife-edged by G&G Performance, who also handled all the block and head machining. The 2JZ is stuffed with Autobanh-spec Weisco pistons, Carrillo H-beam rods and is held together with custom Autobanh Polydyn-coated bearings and ARP hardware. The short block is topped with a port-matched and polished head infested with top grade hardware. Ferrea 1mm-over stainless steel valves, titanium retainers and double spring valvesprings are actuated by 280-degree HKS bumpsticks. A pair of Unorthodox Racing cam gears are on call to fine tune the timing.
When it comes to turbos there is always a compromise between power and response. It is also critical to select a turbo based on the intended usage of the vehicle. So a top-speed turbo can be big, Texas big. It can be bigger than a drag turbo because it will not have to spool between gears like a quarter mile unit. Tommy's turbo makes a case that there is no such thing as too big. He runs a Precision Turbo & Engine GT4780 based on a Garrett GT series unit. It has a standard bearing center section and standard aerodynamics; only R-spec GT series turbos feature full ball-bearing cartridges and the GT42 is the biggest frame with Garrett's vented inducer aerodynamics. Rest assured the GT4780 has it where it counts.
The turbo has a .96 A/R on the turbine side with a GT47 turbine wheel and a 80mm compressor wheel. Top speed boost is 36 psi but Tommy backs this off to a 'conservative' 30 psi on the street. A trick Full Race custom manifold secures the Precision turbo via a strong T6 flange. The remainder of the turbo system features a 44mm Tial Sport wastegate with V-band clamp and a 50mm Tial Sport blow-off valve. An HKS EVC EZ controls the boost while a GReddy front-mount intercooler setup puts the chill on the charge air.
One of the real gems under the hood is the Virtual Works intake manifold. This large-plenum manifold is the new king of the castle, replacing the popular Veilside piece that's been out of production for a year or so. The Virtual manifold uses a humongous 90mm Accufab throttle body; and the importance of a high-flowing intake manifold in high boost applications cannot be overstated. Dana Westover of Virtual Works said that the rule of thumb is a T4 series turbo with a 74mm compressor wheel, which will realize big benefits from the intake. He also pointed out that a Supra making 500hp saw a 100hp gain with the intake. The problem is that most people decide to go big turbo and big intake all at once and add other things like intercoolers so there is little opportunity for strict before-and-after comparisons. Virtual Works' flow testing showed a 335-cfm flow rate and .02 percent cylinder-to-cylinder variance. Optimal cylinder-to-cylinder balance is key to making outlandish power reliably; never mind peak power for a full mile.