About
Trent Johnson
Fort Worth, TX
1988
trent@mvpmotorsports.com

Background
The car was originally given to me in June of 2000. It had 65,000 original miles and was absolutely bone stock. I knew next to nothing about modifying or building up a car and was very eager to get started. Being a poor kid just out of high school, didn’t give me much opportunity to do much modification to it at first. I started by modifying the stereo first. The stereo in the car was dead so I began by beefing it up first. Once the stereo was finished, I turned to the performance. I just did the basics at first. I added the exhaust, intake, manual boost controller, a few gauges, and a Cartech IC. I ran the stock turbo at 15psi for approximately a year with that configuration. Then the turbo blew and I decided to go bigger. This is where it gets interesting.

I added a t3/t4 hybrid turbo and shortly thereafter blew the motor. I added a low mileage JDM and had the HKS 1.2mm MHG while it was out. I also did the fuel system at that time as well. MKIV fuel pump, 550cc injectors, AFPR, Lexus AFM, Apex’I SAFC. The head was worked over a bit with a 3 angle valve job as well. Shortly after the car made 413rwhp and 390rwtq @ 18psi. This turbo proved to be a very troubled turbo. The turbo blew 5 times in less than a year. I then opted for a TO4E setup which got me to 440rwhp and 420rwtq on it’s best run. This is also when I added the PHR MAP ECU which removes the AFM and allows for a much better turning of the fuel curve.

At the beginning of this year I was approached by PHR to do a new custom setup for the car. It was put into the very capable hands of PHR in January 2004 and was finished just in time for TX2K4. During this buildup, aside from the motor itself, just about everything was replaced or redone. Some of the major parts added were the RPS tubular manifold, PHR Stage 1 turbo and Greddy 3 row Intercooler. The rest of the modifications will be discussed further down.

This new setup has yielded me 518rwhp and 482rqtq at only 19psi. This was also done at only 5300rpm. A full dyno pass was not done as the power was building so fast that we did not want to starve the fuel as I still only have the MKIV pump. I don’t know what it would have done had a full pass been done, but I am very satisfied with the results it has given me thus far.

Turbo
Since PHR has sponsored the car, the only natural choice for a turbo would be a PHR turbo. Since the motor has not been built, the smaller of the PHR turbo’s was the choice that was made. It is a modified GT60 with a 4” compressor housing. The exhaust side is a .68 A/R which allows for fantastic spool up. All I can say about this turbo is that it is fantastic! Spool is very quick and top end power is crazy.

Bottom End
The bottom end of this car has remained completely stock. Aside from the HKS 1.2mm MHG and ARP Head Bolts, nothing else has been touched. Tuning of the car has been fantastic on this car to this point and has allowed me to reliably run over 400rwhp for well over two years now.

Head
When the motor was replaced, the JDM head was all rebuilt with new stems and seals and a 3 angle valve job was done. Other than those very basic changes, the head is completely stock.

Intake
The turbo’s intake is right where the stock fog light used to be. The 4” pipe comes out of the front end of the car and does a 90 degree turn down right behind where the fog light used to be. This allows for a much cooler and denser air charge for the turbo to breathe through. The piping is 2.5” aluminum from the turbo to the driver side of the gigantic Greddy 3 Row and then 3” aluminum piping from the outlet of the intercooler to the throttle body. One HKS Racing Type 2 BOV mounted right next to the outlet of the IC takes care of venting off all that excess pressure when the throttle plate is closed. All IC piping is custom mandrel bent and is powdercoated in Anthracite. The valve covers, radiator brackets, alternator bracket, and coil pack bracket are all powdercoated candy apple red.

Exhaust
The heart of any cars exhaust system, whether it is naturally aspirated or not, is the header/exhaust manifold. There was no question in my mind what the choice was going to be when this car was being built. The RPS manifold is an equal length, tubular manifold featuring 1.50” primaries and a long tube design to maximize torque and low end power delivery. It is flanged for any T4 style turbocharger and features a prewelded EGT bung just below the collector and is flanged for either a Turbonetics Racing wastegate or ITS Progate. I opted for the 50mm ITS Progate to keep that turbo under control. A custom downpipe and midpipe both had to be built by PHR in order to mate up to the HKS Drager exhaust. The RPS Manifold, downpipe and midpipe have all been HPC heat coated to maximize efficiency and durability.

Fuel
The fuel system consists of a single MKIV fuel pump, 680cc injectors, PHR polished fuel rail, and Aeromotive AFPR. I use the PHR fuel pulsation dampener bypass line so to have the proper fittings to mate to the fuel rail. The rail has dual feeds and single return. I only utilize one of the feeds for now of course, but will soon have the need for both feeds.

Drivetrain
Holding that power through the stock tranny and differential is no easy task. Currently the clutch I use is the RPS Max Special. This is the RPS Max clutch with 6 puck disc, but with the upgraded 3200lb pressure plate. This allows for a much stronger clamping force and more torque capacity. This clutch is not for everyone. The pedal feel is nearly double as stiff as stock, but the strength of this clutch more than makes up for the increased pedal pressure. I also run a Fidanza 11lb flywheel for faster revving and less rotational mass.

Suspension
I don’t do very much hardcore racing or autocrossing of any type so I did not even explore the option of coilovers. I am currently running Tokico Illumina 2 TEMS adjustable struts wrapped with Eibach springs. I also recently added the Suspension Techniques sway bars. This combo of strut, spring, and sway bar gives me an incredible handling car. I have the rear struts on the full soft adjustment and the fronts on full firm adjustment. This gives the front a very stiff and strong feel and allows the rear to squat nicely and put as much power to the ground as possible. I also use a Cusco rear strut tower bar to maximize strut stabilization in the back and to keep as much tread on the ground to maximize traction.

Electronics
For fuel tuning, I use one of the best and most advanced piggy back systems out there. I use the PHR MAP ECU. This converts the car to a speed density system and allows the removal of the picky AFM. Tuning is done via laptop and has 419 different tuning points. It also has wideband and other data logging capabilities to ensure the most optimal tune is achieved for the car. Boost in controlled with the HKS EVC 5 and the PHR Turbo is cooled off nicely by the Blitz FATT-DC turbo timer.

Interior
The interior was left mostly stock up until recently. For gauges I use all Greddy. They are extremely accurate and very closely match the interior color of the Supra. I have boost, EGT, and water temp. All three are white faced and all three have the peak/hold/warning feature as well. For the standard gauges, I have the Speedhut Indiglos. I also have the SpeedHut aluminum dash bezel which beautifully accents the gauge cluster. The stock seats were removed in favor of the beautiful Sparco Torino 2’s in grey/black color. The stock truck size steering wheel was removed for the Sparco suede Lap 3 wheel. All interior trim panels, including the door panels are covered in a carbon fiber overlay kit.

My stereo has seen many different amplifiers, CD players, changers, etc over the years. The current setup is one I am very very satisfied with. The heart of the system is the top of the line Eclipse CD8053. Also used is the Eclipse 8 disc CD changer. For front speakers I use Focal 5 1/8” components with 1” tweeters mounted in the door panels. The rear speakers are 4” Blaupunkt Overdrives. The enclosure in the hatch area houses two MTX 8000 10” subs, a Kicker 400 watt 4 channel for the mid and high range speakers, and two Orion 250 watt amps for each of the subs. I also use a 1 farad Stinger capacitor to keep those interior lights and headlights from dimming from too much bass. The enclosure was built to allow for optimal sound delivery as well as being able to keep the stock targa mounts. I am still able to put the targa in the hatch without any difficulty.

Exterior
The stock body of the MK3 is so clean, I really haven’t made any changes to the body itself. I’m not at all a fan of any of the body kits available for the car so I have kept the stock body. The front end has been cut open to house the Greddy 3 Row core and the fog light holes have been enlarged for more airflow through that huge IC. The only other real body modification I have is the tail lights. I used the stock tail light housing and rebuilt it using fiberglass and put LED tail lamps in them. This is also wired directly to the stock wiring harness so it is now a plug and play kit. The rear wiper has also been removed.

Tires and wheels has been an ongoing escapade with this car. I have gone through 5 sets of wheels and tires now including the stock ones. I finally just decided to get some of the best out there and quit messing around with off brands and cheaper wheels. For my current setup, I wanted a wheel that was a bit less flashy and not quite as heavy as my previous setups were. I chose the Volk Racing GT-7’s in gunmetal finish. I was a bit concerned with how the gunmetal would match or not match my grey pain, but it matches absolutely perfectly. It has more of a stealthy look, while still having the great look of the huge polished lips on them. They are 18x9 with a +43 offset in the front and 18x10 with a +44 offset in the rear. I chose the Kuhmo Ecsta Supra 712 tires for their treadlife and better than average grip. 245/40 in front and 275/35 in the rear.

Writeup
First and foremost, I want to thank the guys at PowerHouse Racing for putting this most recent setup together. They did an incredible job and their experience and expertise has shown in the quality of workmanship in this car. I never ever thought that my stock car three and a half years ago would progress to over 500rwhp in this short time. It has been a long and fun process and I wouldn’t trade the experience of modifying and building this car for anything in the world.

The last three years have been very educational and very trying as well. There were many points at which I thought I was finished and ready to give up and had no desire to suffer any more heartache from the troubles this car had caused me. But I will say it is all completely worth it once it is done and you beat that first Corvette or first Viper or win that first award. That’s what will keep you going and get you to that next power level or goal that you want to achieve. If I counted or added up all the money spent on this car, I would probably slip into a coma from shock, but It has been by far the best investment I have ever made. I think that is how anyone needs to look at modifying a car. It may not pay off now or even a year from now, but when you start getting recognition for your car or winning awards or get sponsored or even appear in a magazine, the payoff begins. I have taken home seven awards to date including:

- Highest Horsepower MK3 @ Vegas 2002
- Best Stereo Install @ Vegas 2002
- Highest Horsepower MK3 @ Heart of Texas Shootout 2003
- Best Interior MK3 @ Texas 2K4
- Best Stereo Install @ Texas 2K4
- Best Engine Bay @ Texas 2k4
- Best Overall MK3 @ Texas 2k4

Future plans
The next natural progression for this car is going to be building the motor. I am pretty much at the limit of what the stock motor can reliably handle so the motor will probably be built pretty soon. I am looking to achieve 700rwhp or more, so a bigger turbo is definitely going to be necessary. A larger fuel system will be needed too. I am contemplating possible ECU changes and intake manifold changes too. The car is still on its original paint job so some body work and paint work is not far off either.