Have you ever wondered whether it's better to get that NA tune up, or that turbo kit? Or which one to purchase? Now you don't have to! Using a 1983 Toyota Corolla Levin 1600GT Apex (6.2 miles, used), I equipped every type of induction kit, went to the Las Vegas Drag Strip, and measured the time for each configuration. I used an automatic transmission with no holding gears to ensure that my reaction time wouldn't be a component and that my results will hopefully be reproduceable. The car was chosen because it can be equipped with NA tune ups, turbo kits (including the "original" kit), or a supercharger. Additionally, the Stage 3 NA tune-up, the Stage 2 turbo, and the "original" turbo all produce nearly the same level of power, as do the Stage 1 NA tune-up, the Stage 1 turbo, and the supercharger, allowing for an unusually level playing field. All available performance modifications were performed on the car, but all settings were left stock (besides those changed by installing a full-customize LSD and "original" suspension). Nitrous was set to 100, and runs with TCS used the setting that produced the fastest time. All runs used R5 (super-soft) tires all around, to minimize wheelspin.
Without further ado, the results of the comparison:
Indicated HP levels (in settings screen):
None: 158
NA stage 1: 192
Supercharger: 193
Stage 1 turbo: 201
NA stage 2: 225
Original turbo: 256
NA stage 3: 257
Stage 2 turbo: 259
400m times:
Stage 2 turbo, nitrous, TCS @ 8: 11.553 @ 135 MPH
NA stage 3, nitrous, TCS @ 8: 11.559 @ 135 MPH
Original turbo, nitrous, TCS @ 8: 11.570 @ 135 MPH
NA stage 2, nitrous, TCS @ 8: 11.734 @ 131 MPH
Stage 1 turbo, nitrous, TCS @ 8: 11.916 @ 127 MPH
Supercharger, nitrous, TCS @ 7: 11.931 @ 126 MPH
NA stage 1, nitrous, TCS @ 8: 11.970 @ 126 MPH
None, nitrous, TCS @ 7: 12.421 @ 118 MPH
Stage 2 turbo, nitrous, no TCS: 12.606 @ 135 MPH
Original turbo, nitrous, no TCS: 12.612 @ 135 MPH
NA stage 3, nitrous, no TCS: 12.699 @ 136 MPH
NA stage 2, nitrous, no TCS: 12.702 @ 131 MPH
Supercharger, nitrous, no TCS: 12.832 @ 126 MPH
Stage 1 turbo, nitrous, no TCS: 12.856 @ 127 MPH
NA stage 1, nitrous, no TCS: 12.904 @ 126 MPH
NA stage 3, no nitrous, TCS @ 7: 12.908 @ 110 MPH
Stage 2 turbo, no nitrous, TCS @ 7: 12.974 @ 110 MPH
Original turbo, no nitrous, TCS @ 7: 13.005 @ 110 MPH
None, nitrous, no TCS: 13.227 @ 118 MPH
NA stage 2, no nitrous, TCS @ 6: 13.321 @ 107 MPH
NA stage 3, no nitrous, no TCS: 13.613 @ 110 MPH
Stage 2 turbo, no nitrous, no TCS: 13.660 @ 110 MPH
Original turbo, no nitrous, no TCS: 13.676 @ 110 MPH
NA stage 2, no nitrous, no TCS: 13.767 @ 107 MPH
Stage 1 turbo, no nitrous, no TCS: 13.793 @ 102 MPH (no change with or without TCS)
NA stage 1, no nitrous: 13.913 @ 101 MPH (no change with or without TCS)
Supercharger, no nitrous: 14.044 @ 101 MPH (no change with or without TCS)
None, no nitrous: 14.867 @ 94 MPH (no change with or without TCS)
Objectively, there was little difference in performance between different options at similar horsepower levels. Nor were there any major surprises. The Stage 2 and "original" turbos generally performed very slightly worse than the NA Stage 3, which would no doubt be magnified in a "real-world" application due to the NA set-up's wider powerband. However, the much cheaper turbo options have similar enough performance that they are clearly a better performance bargain. Both turbos easily outperform the similarly-priced Stage 2 NA tune-up. Somewhat surprisingly, the "original" turbo performed slightly worse than the Stage 2 in every test, although this might not be the case in applications where it corresponds to a Stage 3 or 4 turbo kit instead of a Stage 2. The Stage 1 turbo kit generally outperformed the more expensive Stage 1 NA tune-up and supercharger. Nitrous provided a very significant performance increase (c. 150 hp, I'd estimate), which was slightly greater with forced induction. At power levels above 200 hp, there was also a very significant performance increase from aggressive use of the traction control, although even going from 0 to 1 generally shaved off about .7 of a second. Trap speeds appear to be a very consistent function of horsepower without any relation to time, which may be due to the car's gearing or to a flaw in GT4's physics entire.
Without further ado, the results of the comparison:
Indicated HP levels (in settings screen):
None: 158
NA stage 1: 192
Supercharger: 193
Stage 1 turbo: 201
NA stage 2: 225
Original turbo: 256
NA stage 3: 257
Stage 2 turbo: 259
400m times:
Stage 2 turbo, nitrous, TCS @ 8: 11.553 @ 135 MPH
NA stage 3, nitrous, TCS @ 8: 11.559 @ 135 MPH
Original turbo, nitrous, TCS @ 8: 11.570 @ 135 MPH
NA stage 2, nitrous, TCS @ 8: 11.734 @ 131 MPH
Stage 1 turbo, nitrous, TCS @ 8: 11.916 @ 127 MPH
Supercharger, nitrous, TCS @ 7: 11.931 @ 126 MPH
NA stage 1, nitrous, TCS @ 8: 11.970 @ 126 MPH
None, nitrous, TCS @ 7: 12.421 @ 118 MPH
Stage 2 turbo, nitrous, no TCS: 12.606 @ 135 MPH
Original turbo, nitrous, no TCS: 12.612 @ 135 MPH
NA stage 3, nitrous, no TCS: 12.699 @ 136 MPH
NA stage 2, nitrous, no TCS: 12.702 @ 131 MPH
Supercharger, nitrous, no TCS: 12.832 @ 126 MPH
Stage 1 turbo, nitrous, no TCS: 12.856 @ 127 MPH
NA stage 1, nitrous, no TCS: 12.904 @ 126 MPH
NA stage 3, no nitrous, TCS @ 7: 12.908 @ 110 MPH
Stage 2 turbo, no nitrous, TCS @ 7: 12.974 @ 110 MPH
Original turbo, no nitrous, TCS @ 7: 13.005 @ 110 MPH
None, nitrous, no TCS: 13.227 @ 118 MPH
NA stage 2, no nitrous, TCS @ 6: 13.321 @ 107 MPH
NA stage 3, no nitrous, no TCS: 13.613 @ 110 MPH
Stage 2 turbo, no nitrous, no TCS: 13.660 @ 110 MPH
Original turbo, no nitrous, no TCS: 13.676 @ 110 MPH
NA stage 2, no nitrous, no TCS: 13.767 @ 107 MPH
Stage 1 turbo, no nitrous, no TCS: 13.793 @ 102 MPH (no change with or without TCS)
NA stage 1, no nitrous: 13.913 @ 101 MPH (no change with or without TCS)
Supercharger, no nitrous: 14.044 @ 101 MPH (no change with or without TCS)
None, no nitrous: 14.867 @ 94 MPH (no change with or without TCS)
Objectively, there was little difference in performance between different options at similar horsepower levels. Nor were there any major surprises. The Stage 2 and "original" turbos generally performed very slightly worse than the NA Stage 3, which would no doubt be magnified in a "real-world" application due to the NA set-up's wider powerband. However, the much cheaper turbo options have similar enough performance that they are clearly a better performance bargain. Both turbos easily outperform the similarly-priced Stage 2 NA tune-up. Somewhat surprisingly, the "original" turbo performed slightly worse than the Stage 2 in every test, although this might not be the case in applications where it corresponds to a Stage 3 or 4 turbo kit instead of a Stage 2. The Stage 1 turbo kit generally outperformed the more expensive Stage 1 NA tune-up and supercharger. Nitrous provided a very significant performance increase (c. 150 hp, I'd estimate), which was slightly greater with forced induction. At power levels above 200 hp, there was also a very significant performance increase from aggressive use of the traction control, although even going from 0 to 1 generally shaved off about .7 of a second. Trap speeds appear to be a very consistent function of horsepower without any relation to time, which may be due to the car's gearing or to a flaw in GT4's physics entire.
