Ok, I realize that I may be getting some biased answers on this, but I've gotta ask it cause its been bugging me for a while now. I am about to graduate college and have a pretty good job lined up (means lots more $$$ to spend on car). I currently own a 96 ls, and am debating on what I should do.
1. Keep an LS (may trade mine for newer/lower mileage one) and start sinking $$ into some heavy engine mods
2. Trade in LS for GSR, still spend $$ on engine
or......................................
3. Trade in LS for Supra and wait a while till I can go to work on the engine

This next car, whatever it may be, will be one I will have for years to come, and will definitely keep improving it over time. I'm not a big racer, but LOVE fast cars and have this pipe dream of someday geting my car somewhere in the 10 to 11 second range. Honest opinion, what is the best one to work with for the money?? I know next to nothing about toyotas, but keep hearing all sorts of pressure from friends. I love my teg, and kinda/really want to check out the GSR, but..............**** I don't know. I realize this may be trying to compare apples to oranges. Any opinion is a good one, cause I'm lost. I've still got a couple of months to mull it all over, but I wanted to hear some of your opinions.

 

first off congratulations, I remember the feeling in '99 when i was finally done..
well you could keep your LS and turbo it.. thats a good platform to go turbo... plus its probably the most economical (more money for mods)... you can get the Supra if you want but I dont know enough about the supra engine to comment on what can be done to it.. if i were in your situation i'd just keep the LS build the motor and turbo it..

 

id go supra
but for the bang do a ls-vtec turbo built up

 

Go Supra of LS turbo. Screw LS/VTEC, i know some people swear by them, but ive seen soooo damn many blow up. ALso, SUpra can make like 500 HP on stock internals, gives ya something to think about....

 

Here's something to think about. Is the Integra paid for? If so, that's a good starting point- you could spend a couple hundred bucks a month on mods that would otherwise go to a car payment. If you buy a Supra will you finance it? How much are the payments going to be? Will you have enough to spend on mods later?

Something to think about.

 

Alright, financing questions aside. My integra is paid for, but I'm not too worried about the monthly payment issue. What I'm mostly concerned with is what sort of platform I will have to work with. I realize the supra has probably the best stock internals, but i'm also not looking to create some giant 500+ hp machine. The styling of the integra and the supra are about equal in my book, although the supra can get a bit gaudy at times. I'm thinking 'what will I still want to work with a few years down the road? What will make the best project, the most fun, and still keep the cost of mods from going way out of control?'

 

the lv-vtec's blow up cus people don't kno how to build them
you can't just slp on a vtec head, lines,and ecu for a motor that wasn't made to handle all that power.

 

I'd go with the Ls Turbo, The Supra will need money dumped into it and will require constant tuneing and adjusting. Plus think about your job security too i had a good paying job i thought and worked there almost a year and was laid off and then terminated now stuck with high bills that i could of easily afforded before when i had my good paying job but now its tough.

 

Yeah, well actually, a LS turbo would require just as much attention as a Supra would, maybe even more. The supra is turbo from the factory, this fact alone makes it a MUCH better platform to turbo. It will always be more reliable and stronger than a Turbo Honda. Oh, and whats with the constant adjusting and tuning? I mean, really, you tune the thing on a dyno, and your pretty much done with it, unless you keep messing with it. Just think of this a BPU Supra will absolutely SMOKE a turbo LS. Sorry, but its the sad truth.

 

i'm sorry to say this, I love my LS turbo integra and all, but if there was anyway in hell that i could get a supra, trade or finance, whatever, i would have to do it, i love my car to death but supras are just flat out the tightest ******* cars that don't cost an insane amount(the newer body style supras of course)........on the other hand, the insurance rates on a turbo supra are absolutely insane, they suck gas like you wouldn't believe, and they are a very high crime target...... actually now that i think about it, a built turbo LS, would cost less than just a supra and it could probably be just as fast if not faster........dont try and argue with me about that cause i have proof of it..........

 

OK, so your built LS with full interior runs what, low 12s, maybe high 11s. You take a Supra with BPU and its already running 12s, make it single turbo, good tuning, and beef up the fuel system, your looking at mid-low 11s without much hassle, plus a Supra is sooo nice on the inside. Dont get me wrong, i love integras, hell, i own one, but a Supra is in a whole other league.

 

you can guarantee that if i had the money to do what i wanted to my teg i'd be running 11's all day, but i don't, cause i'm poor......

anyway, i agree with you totally, supras are in a league of their own, and i'd love to have one, but if it came down to buying a supra or completely building my ls, i would have a really tough time deciding because of the sheer awesomeness of supras, but also shying away from it because of price, insurance rates, and high risk auto theft........i don't know what i'd do, but i'll never have the chance to do it so end of story.....

 

Yeah, its really a tradeoff. When you move up to a car like a Supra, it really opens you up to lots of hidden expenses(gas, insurance, etc). Thats why im keeping my Integra until i get out of college, which will be in like, um, well, 5 years

 

noone has even mentioned that the base cost for these 2 cars are totally on different ends of the earth, a 94-96 teg here cost 12-15k a 95 supra....25-35k EAsy
canadian $$ but you see the huuuuuuuuuuuuge price gap, but still the all mighty supra is a beauty that not many have. you would be lucky to find a good one.

 

If you really want to run 10's or 11's with your next car, good luck getting there with a teg. You're looking at major amounts of money and it definitely won't be the easiest car to launch (esp. on the street). I would definitely just go with a Supra to begin with. Even if you do manage to get a teg into the 10's, it's still a fwd platform and *only* a teg.

If you're happy with 12's or 13's, stick with the teg. It's already paid for and adding a turbo will definitely be enough speed for that application. It'll be cheaper than getting a supra, that's for sure.