Toyota GR Supra A90 Upgrade Guide: Stage 1 to Big Turbo

The GR Supra 3.0 uses BMW's B58 turbo six, and it takes to modifications the same way the BMW cars do. You can stop at a tune and a few bolt-ons, or keep going to a bigger turbo. Either way, the order matters: do the parts that protect the engine first, then add power, then build the fuel, cooling and drivetrain to match.

This guide covers the 3.0 Supra. The 2.0 four-cylinder uses a different engine and different parts.

How the Supra's B58 is laid out

From the air filter to the exhaust:

1. Airbox and intake, feeding a plastic turbo inlet pipe.
2. A single twin-scroll turbo.
3. Charge pipe: the plastic pipe that carries boost to the intake manifold.
4. Charge-air cooler: built into the intake manifold and cooled by water, with a heat exchanger behind the front bumper. There's no front-mount intercooler.
5. Downpipe with the main catalyst, then the cat-back exhaust.

Shared with BMW, but not everything: the A90 and the G-series BMWs (G20 M340i, G22 M440i, G42 M240i, G29 Z4 M40i, G30 540i) share many B58 parts, especially fuel and engine parts. Intercoolers, downpipes and charge pipes are often chassis-specific. Buy the Supra version from the Supra page, not a part listed only for the BMW.

Stage 1: charge pipe, intake, tune

Charge pipe first. The plastic charge pipe is the part that lets go when boost goes up. Replace it before or at the same time as the tune.

• Mishimoto charge pipe kit: replaces the plastic pipe, whether the car is stock or has a bigger turbo.
• Forge boost pipes: a free-flowing kit aimed at flow and reliability.
• AMS 3" aluminum charge pipe: a larger aluminum pipe.
• VTT single-piece silicone charge pipe: a silicone kit with a blow-off valve version.

Intake. An intake adds turbo sound and helps a tuned car breathe. It's optional at stock power.

• AWE S-FLO carbon intake: a full carbon replacement for the factory intake.
• Mishimoto performance intake: a simpler, lower-cost option.
• CTS 4" intake with velocity stack: replaces the factory system completely.
• CTS high-flow turbo inlet: swaps out the plastic inlet, worth doing on a tuned car.

Tune. The parts above don't do much without one.

• Burger Tuning JB4: a piggyback tuner that doesn't flash the ECU.
• Active Autowerke software: a flash tune. It ships with an off-road-use-only waiver you have to sign.

Stage 2: downpipe and heat

A catted downpipe helps a tuned Supra spool faster and run cooler. On a stock car it mostly adds sound.

• Active Autowerke Signature GESI catted downpipe: Active Autowerke says it doesn't need a tune, though a tune gets the most from it.
• AMS street downpipe with GESI cat: mandrel-bent, with a GESI catalyst.
• CTS high-flow cat: a 4.5" catted downpipe.
• The CTS race downpipe is catless and for off-road and competition use only.

Most downpipes need a tune to run properly. Plan the two together.

Keep intake air cool. More boost means more heat in the charge-air cooler. The heat exchanger is the cheap fix.

• CSF heat exchanger or Mishimoto heat exchanger: more capacity for the charge-air cooling circuit.
• CSF Gen 2 charge-air cooler manifold: replaces the intake manifold and its cooler core, for track cars and big power.
• Mishimoto radiator and auxiliary radiators: for engine cooling on hot days and at the track.

Fuel: before ethanol or a bigger turbo

Pump gas and a basic tune run fine on the stock fuel system. Ethanol blends and bigger turbos need more fuel, and every fuel upgrade needs a tune set up for it.

• Spool Stage 3 low-pressure fuel pump: a plug-and-play pump kit for the Supra, usually the first fuel part.
• Spool FX-350 high-pressure pump: for high ethanol content.
• Spool IFX350 injectors: larger direct injectors.
• Spool auxiliary split fuel system or the CTS port injection kit: extra fuel for big-turbo builds.
• Spool wireless ethanol analyzer: shows your ethanol content on your phone.

Big turbo

Once the stock turbo runs out, an upgraded turbo is the next step. Plan the fuel system, the cooling and a custom tune with it. Turbo kits are specific to the engine version, so check the listing against your model year.

• Pure Turbos Pure650: an upgraded turbo for the Gen 2 B58, with larger Pure800 and Pure900 versions.
• TTE6XX turbo and inlet: a hybrid turbo upgrade.
• CTS BOSS turbo kit: a ball-bearing turbo with a stainless exhaust housing.
• Spool top-mount turbo kit: a billet manifold and top-mount turbo for full builds.

Drivetrain

More torque finds the weak links behind the engine.

• Automatic cars: the Spool billet race torque converter is built for high-power B58 cars.
• Manual cars: the XClutch twin-plate clutch is made for the 3.0 Supra.
• Driveshaft: the VTT carbon fiber driveshaft or the 4130 chromoly driveshaft for competition cars.

What we'd do

• Daily driver: a charge pipe and a tune. Add an intake for sound.
• Weekend car: charge pipe, intake, a catted downpipe, a tune and an upgraded heat exchanger.
• Tuned car chasing power: all of the above, then a low-pressure fuel pump and ethanol. For a bigger turbo, add the high-pressure pump or port injection, a charge-air cooler manifold and drivetrain parts.

See everything that fits on the GR Supra A90 page, or go straight to intercoolers and charge pipes, exhaust, intakes, turbos, fuel and cooling.