MK5 Toyota Supra with Clutch Masters 1000 Series Twin Disc by CES Motorsports

LONG LIVE THE MANUAL TRANSMISSION!! Hopefully Toyota has heard the rallying calls from enthusiasts around the world that the MK5 Supra was meant to come with a 6-Speed manual transmission. Now that they are available, it seems they are proving to be quite the popular option when people are purchasing the 2023 Supra. In fact, it seems Toyota even knows this because when you go to build a Supra on their website, it defaults to the manual transmission option and not the 8-speed automatic that has been the only option to sit behind the venerable 3.0L B58 6 cylinder engine since the car was first released in 2019.

Seeing as how shops and enthusiasts have had 4 years now to develop parts and tuning capabilities, making more power is a fairly simple task. In fact the B58 turbo engine is easily able to make over 600 whp with simple modifications and tuning. Toyota (cough BMW) did an excellent job designing the clutch with its dual mass flywheel and 6-speed transmission as you would expect and the car is a blast to drive. However, as the story usually goes, the clutch can’t handle much more than factory power output.

Our friends over at CES Motorsports in North Carolina got their hands on 6 Speed Supra thanks to one of their customers who picked up the car as soon as they were available, had it shipped to CES and they immediately started to put it through its paces. The guys at CES are no strangers to building high end BMWs and Supra’s and one of their shop cars is a 9 second MK5 Supra. With their formula basically solidified for a stock turbo Supra to max out the capabilities of the factory automatic transmission at about 600 ft lbs of torque to the wheels, they were curious what the manual transmission would take before the stock clutch started to slip. What they found was that the stock clutch started to slip at about 550-600 ft lbs of torque to the wheels. 

They knew that the factory turbo still had more in it even though the stock clutch was slipping. With bigger power goals in mind for this car down the road they opted to go with our 1000 Series Twin Disc clutch kit right off the bat. We also set them up with our hydraulic release bearing that does away with the factory slave cylinder, clutch fork and throwout bearing to make sure they were getting every little bit of performance out of the clutch setup as possible. The release bearing really makes a difference with the connection you feel at the pedal and the clutch engagement and disengagement points. The CES crew was so stoked on the Clutch Masters setup that they took the time to put together an amazing video detailing the install. 

After the break-in miles were completed CES put the car back on the dyno to do some more testing to see what they could get out of the stock turbo with their basic modifications and the new 1000 Series Twin Disc. The modifications to the car were exhaust, intake, methanol injection kit, ethanol fuel blend and tuning taken care of by an MHD Tuning flasher. When the car hit the rollers, well, we’ll just let the results speak for themselves (see dyno chart comparisons below). When upgrading the clutch, you never go into it expecting much of a power gain, with a lightened setup you might experience better throttle response, but the Supra responded wonderfully to the new clutch kit. While working through the different fuel mixtures the car was set up to run and doing comparisons with the stock single disc clutch vs the 1000 Series Twin Disc clutch, power was gained with every fuel combination (dyno chart below with comparisons). 

93 octane (Stock clutch had E10 blend, while dyno with 1000 Series had a bit more ethanol left in the fuel and ended up running at E14)

E40

E50 w/ methanol injection

In the end the crew at CES was able to get the Supra to consistently put down 550 whp and 650 ft lbs of torque! This is on an E50 blend with methanol injection. These are truly impressive numbers for a car with simple “bolt-on” modifications and some of CES’ magic in the tuning. This is basically maximizing the power the stock turbo is capable of making, and for many Supra owners out there we’re sure they would be more than happy with those kinds of numbers.

 

This is why we are offering several stages of clutch kits for the MK5 Supra. From mildly upgraded street driven cars, cars hitting the track, all the way to full blown big power cars we have a solution. Our Short Shift Billet Single Disc (for aftermarket single mass or OE dual mass) or the 1000 Series Twin Disc option, lightweight steel or aluminum flywheel, as well as upgraded hydraulics, we have something that will suit the needs of any Supra owner looking to upgrade the drivetrain in their 6-Speed manual transmission. 

Here is a brief overview of our options for the Supra

FX250SS Single Disc Clutch Kit - 475 ft.lbs Torque Capacity - Utilizes a combination of our Fiber Tough friction material on the side of the disc contacting the pressure plate, and steel backed organic friction material on the flywheel side of the disc. This clutch is designed for the street enthusiast or weekend racer who plans to abuse their vehicle on an occasional basis and has a very spirited driving style. 

FX350SS Single Disc Clutch Kit  - 550 ft.lbs Torque Capacity - Utilizing our Fiber-Tough friction material. This clutch has a slightly increased holding capacity over the FX250SS but will have a slightly more aggressive engagement and will produce some chatter. This clutch is designed for the serious street enthusiast who also might spend a weekend at the track and is running a setup that has been highly tuned. For years enthusiasts have had to compromise durability for longevity for drivability and vice versa, however with our Fiber-Tough material we have closed the gap between these two tradeoffs. 

FX400SS 8-Puck Single Disc Clutch Kit  - 575 ft.lbs Torque Capacity - This ceramic full face disc design creates a quick and rapid engagement and maintains minimal chatter due to the marcel cushion between the disc linings. This disc is designed for street driven vehicles. 

FX400SS 6-Puck Single Disc Clutch Kit - 600 ft. lbs Torque Capacity - The 6-puck ceramic segmented disc design creates a quick and rapid engagement. This clutch setup is designed primarily for track driven vehicles but can be used on the street. Just keep in mind this clutch engages very aggressively and may not be ideal or desired for a street car.

FX500SS 6-Puck Single Disc Clutch kit - 600 ft. lbs Torque Capacity - With a solid (rigid, unsprung) center 6 Puck Ceramic Button disc (sintered iron available on request), the FX500SS disc is designed for outstanding holding capacity and rapid heat dissipation.

The ceramic paddle design creates a quick and rapid engagement as well as clutch chatter that is not recommended for the street. 

A note on single disc clutch kits for the Supra. We can accommodate the factory dual-mass flywheel by providing any of these discs with an unsprung hub. Our clutch kits will bolt right on to the factory dual mass flywheel and an upgraded flywheel is not necessarily needed (although highly recommended). 

1000 Series Twin Disc Clutch Kit - 1200 ft. lbs Torque Capacity - Comes equipped with a single rigid hub clutch disc and a sprung hub disc both utilizing the highest grade ceramic friction material available to make sure you are getting every last drop of power from the engine to the wheels. Also included is an aluminum flywheel to help lighten up the rotating mass versus the factory dual mass flywheel for the ultimate driving experience

Lightweight Steel Flywheel - Weighing in at about 29lbs, the steel flywheel is a great upgrade for a street car looking to ditch the dual mass flywheel and maintain a more comfortable street driving experience. 

Lightweight Aluminum Flywheel - Weighing right at 16lbs, the aluminum flywheel is a more track focused upgrade. Although still very streetable, the aluminum flywheel may transfer more harmonics and vibrations from the gearbox into the cabin that may not be desired in a street driven car. 

Internal Hydraulic Release Bearing - Our internal hydraulic release bearing is a complete bolt in setup that bolts up where the factory quill does and replaces the OE throwout bearing, clutch fork and slave cylinder. Some advantages with the hydraulic release bearing are less moving parts, softer pedal feel, consistent pressure for easier and smoother engagement, reduced shock to the drivetrain.