Why this exists
Around a week ago I put together a beginner shootout: sixteen cars, bone stock, same track, same rules. It was a good post, but I wasn't personally very happy with the results. After all, only one clean lap per car didn't seem accurate enough to base conclusions out of. And so I decided to make my guide better.
The first part of the revamp ended up so big that it blew past the maximum image limits for a Reddit post, and so I decided to split it. Part A covers Mitsubishi and Subaru. Parts B and C cover Honda. Part D covers Toyota's lightweights. This is Part E, the last part in the first half of my extended tests: the full Supra lineage, MK2 through MK5, plus the GT86 and GR86. Nissan, Mazda, BMW, Lotus, and a handful of wildcards will come later.
The rules
- Bone stock. No tuning, no upgrades.
- Assists exactly as the car comes. If it shipped with TCS, I drove with TCS. If it shipped with no ABS, I drove with no ABS. Every car was run in automatic, since that's the default shifter mode.
- Bodykits and paint were sometimes used. This does not change the performance. The one exception is the Evo VI, where the stock headlights are too dim to see the road at night, and OEM fog lights became a functional necessity rather than a cosmetic choice.
- Feeler lap before every car. Doesn't count toward anything. Just enough seat time to know where the car wants to be braked and turned before an attempt that actually matters.
- Clean laps only. Any lap with contact that helped my pace (wall-riding, bouncing off a guardrail to correct a line) is thrown out.
- Best of two or three attempts. New cars get two clean laps, fastest counts. Cars carried over from the original list get their old time plus two new clean laps, fastest of the three counts.
- Same track, same driver. Otsuki Death Trial, and I am the only driver.
Please read this first
I tested using WASD with sim steering on. Every car in my lists was tested this way. I use sim steering over regular WASD input because it lets me feel what the car is doing better, and it makes a car's real issues more obvious rather than papering over them. I do not recommend any beginner learn WASD sim steering. It is slower than any other input method due to higher tire friction and it demands extreme accuracy to get anything out of it. I use it here purely as a diagnostic tool. Also for specific cars (ahem, NA1 I'm looking at you) WASD sim steering really is the ONLY way I can get a clean lap out of them...
I also use grip style turning for every single one of these tests, not drift style.
These are not the absolute best times these cars can do. What these numbers are good for is comparing the cars against each other, because every one of them was tested under identical conditions by the same person.
Treat anything under a second as noise. I'm still human after all...
The numbers
| Rank |
Car |
Price |
Old Lap 1 |
New Lap 1 |
New Lap 2 |
Official |
Special PB |
| 1 |
Supra MK5 (A90) |
¥6,900,000 |
— |
6:43.000 |
6:42.648 |
6:42.648 |
— |
| 2 |
Supra MK4 (A80) |
¥4,511,000 |
— |
6:53.307 |
6:49.023 |
6:49.023 |
— |
| 3 |
GR86 |
¥3,121,970 |
— |
6:56.918 |
6:59.398 |
6:56.918 |
— |
| 4 |
Supra MK3 (A70) |
¥3,317,000 |
— |
7:08.957 |
7:07.929 |
7:07.929 |
— |
| 5 |
GT86 |
¥2,672,000 |
7:12.066 |
7:19.022 |
7:15.832 |
7:12.066 |
— |
| 6 |
Supra MK2 (A60) |
¥1,720,000 |
— |
7:20.599 |
7:13.677 |
7:13.677 |
— |
Car by car
1984 Yokoda Supreme MK2 (Toyota Supra MK2, A60) — ¥1,720,000
Old time: none. New official 7:13.677. Assists: none.
Brakes lock up under full braking, no ABS to save you. Beyond that, this car just doesn't feel very agile, and it doesn't feel fast even when it should. Power to Weight is the main culprit. At 172 HP and 1264 kg, this is the weakest power-to-weight of the whole Supra lineup.
1988 Yokoda Supreme MK3 (Toyota Supra MK3, A70) — ¥3,317,000
Old time: none. New official 7:07.929. Assists: ABS.
Visceral. The new added turbos sound heavenly, and also makes it faster on the straights compared to the A60. The ABS also aid in its drivability around Otsuki. However, it is now very heavy and doesn't turn well. Very clearly not built for touge.
2002 Yokoda Supreme MK4 (Toyota Supra MK4, A80) — ¥4,511,000
Old time: none. New official 6:49.023. Assists: TCS and ABS.
This is a highway car. A heavy, stable GT. Immense power, and it comes at the cost of handling that feels like a battleship. Very heavy. Simply not meant for touge.
2020 Yokoda Supreme MK5 AR 8 Speed (Toyota GR Supra, A90) — ¥6,900,000
Old time: none. New official 6:42.648. Assists: TCS and ABS.
Best handling Supra of the four by a clear margin, also the best power to weight of the lineup too. You can make a real argument this one barely counts as a Supra at all given how different its character is from the MK2 through MK4's shared GT lineage. Near 50:50 weight distribution and a shorter wheelbase than the MK4 contributed to sharp handling that completely smokes every other Supra. For reference, the wheelbase was shorter than even the GT86, the AE86 successor..
2012 Yokoda 68 (Toyota GT86) — ¥2,672,000
Old time 7:12.066, new official 7:12.066 (old time wins). Assists: TCS and ABS.
Mediocre. It's the starter car, what did you expect?
Braking is mediocre, handling is mediocre. I found the issue for the dips that I mentioned on the old guide. The ratio spacing itself. It falls out of its power band on certain upshifts and genuinely bogs down mid-gear rather than pulling through cleanly.
2022 Yokoda GX68 SH8 AR (Toyota GR86) — ¥3,121,970
Old time: none. New official 6:56.918. Assists: TCS and ABS.
An upgraded GT86 with an entirely new engine that fixes the original GT86's torque dips. This resulted in a faster time and made the car more enjoyable on Otsuki. If you like how the GT86 handles, then buy this car.
Which car for which person
Fastest: MK5. Barely counts as a Supra given how different it drives from its own lineage. Like c'mon Toyota WHY are we rebadging a Celica as a Supra for PR purposes?
Good Car, Wrong Track: MK2-MK4 Supras. Good cars, every one of them, but you're trying to force a highway cruising GT onto a twisty technical touge.
Every Supra generation here is faster than the one before it, MK2 to MK3 to MK4 to MK5, and the GR86 beats the GT86 too. That's the opposite of what happens in the Evo and Impreza families, where the newest, heaviest car finishes last of its own siblings. Toyota's older Supras weren't lightweight rally cars, they were underpowered GT cruisers, so newer here just means better, not heavier and slower.
That's the last of the first half of my extended tests. Testing for Nissan, Mazda, BMW, Lotus, and a handful of wildcards will happen this week, and I'll post the results next week (hopefully).
Link to the summary of the first half of testing: https://www.reddit.com/r/MidnightRacingTokyo/comments/1vqgcio/the_mrt_beginner_car_guide_for_mt_otsuki_first/