BILSTEIN Track Tool Project Part 1: Interior Tuning and Safety for the Toyota Supra
Gong-gong: Round 1 of our Track Tool tuning project! Today the BILSTEIN Supra gets her first update in terms of safety and Interior Tuning.
One aspect that is often overlooked in tuning is safety. And in our Tuning Project, safety is the number one priority. After all, the BILSTEIN Supra is also to be used on the race track at Track Days. At Lightweight Performance, the BILSTEIN Track Tool received its first upgrade.
A Toyota at Lightweight Performance: an absolute premiere. Because the tuning professionals have specialized in models from BMW. And normally concentrate solely on vehicles from Bavarian production. For us, Marc Müller, founder and managing director of Lightweight Performance, is happy to make an exception. So let’s go, or as Marc says: “Let’s step on the gas, because that´s what we can do best!”
Classic Interior Tuning: Sports Seats, new Steering Wheel, Roll Bar
What’s going down today? In round 1 of the Track Tool project, we install new sports seats for a lower seating position and more lateral support. We also connect the sport seats to the “Profi II-FE asm” harness system from Schroth, which we anchor in the already mounted Clubsport roll bar.
New Steering Wheel with LED Shift Flashes
But it all starts with a steering wheel upgrade including a LED performance system from Neidfaktor. The killer feature is the additional LED at the top of the steering wheel, which allows Track Day drivers to focus even more on the road. Because the clearly visible shift flashes slightly below the driver’s field of vision, the Supra driver no longer has to keep an eye on the tachometer to shift in time.
More Safety thanks to “Clubsport” Bar from Wiechers Sport
One thing that often gets short shrift when it comes to tuning is the issue of safety. Because the Toyota Supra is performance tuned and used on the racetrack, the sports car needs the necessary safety in case of an accident. “We want to leave the car in one piece, of course,” smiles race driver and BILSTEIN presenter Nico Bastian. “But if something ever happens, we need stability.” That’s why we installed a Club Sport bar from Wiechers Sport made of chrome-molybdenum steel. In the event of a rollover, the reinforced bar at the level of the B-pillar protects the occupants from injury.
The roll bar is also an absolute eye-catcher: Wiechers powder-coated the bar in fresh BILSTEIN blue. The big advantage of the Clubsport bar from Wiechers Sport: Although we have various mounting points in the interior, we didn’t have to cut anything up.
Interior Tuning without new Sports Seats? Unthinkable!
Almost a must-have for Interior Tuning: sportier seats. The „Pole Position“ sports seats from Recaro in line with seat consoles from Wiechers Sport are our first choice. Especially compared to the standard seats, which offer hardly any lateral support. At least the seats are electrically adjustable. But that also makes them brutally heavy. No doubt: Anyone who wants to lift the seat risks serious back pain.
Sports Seats save 40 kilograms of Weight
In figures, we’re talking about 20 kilograms saved per seat! In addition, the Recaro seats offer significantly better support for the shoulder area and also clearly have more lateral support in the lower area. Thanks to the textile, the pilot no longer slips as he would in a leather seat.
At the end of the day, Nico is happy with our Interior Tuning: “The car already looks two seconds faster now.” And to make sure it really does, the BILSTEIN Track Tool will also be getting a performance boost and upgrades in the suspension area.
In the next part of our Track Tool Tuning Project, we’ll look at the exhaust system, performance measurement and decent tires in combination with track rims. Stay tuned!
All episodes of our Track Tool project can be found here: supra.bilstein.com
