The Toyota GR Supra Has 1 Glaring Issue That Should Fix Itself With the Push of a Button. But It Doesn’t.
The Toyota GR Supra exploded into the mid-range sports car market with two engine options and dramatic styling. Still, despite the Mk V Supra’s obvious high points, the Toyota sports coupe has an issue: noise. While noise is a mild irritation compared to, say, catastrophic quality defects, it’s still enough to make drivers grind their teeth. Unfortunately, pushing a button won’t fix the Supra’s noisy wind buffeting issue.
The Toyota GR Supra’s lesser-known issue is wind buffeting
The Mk V Toyota Supra’s revolutionary shape establishes it as a world-class option in the mid-range sports car market. However, the vehicle’s unique shape and seals funnel air into the cabin with the windows down. While the rhythmic, irritating drumming noise is present in most cars, the GR Supra will drive you nuts at 50 mph.
Car and Driver says the Supra suffers from an exceptional case of “Helmholtz resonance.” The phenomenon results from the air in a given space, like a cartoon hobo performing a melody with a moonshine bottle. In the case of vehicles, air enters the cabin through an open window, creating a Helmholtz-esque throbbing. In the case of the Toyota GR Supra, the acoustic irritation is headache-inducing at over 50 mph.
How do you fix wind buffeting?
Typically, drivers disrupt the annoying thumping by pushing a button and dropping the opposite window. Unfortunately, the Supra is immune to the window remedy. In fact, testers claim that the noise is at its worst with both windows retracted entirely. Still, there are wind-buffeting solutions for the razor-sharp Toyota sports car.
For instance, aftermarket manufacturers produce diffusers. Like a rear diffuser, the parts shift air around to achieve the desired impact. In this case, the wind diffusers redirect airflow to mitigate noisy, irritating interior drumming noises. Better yet, some diffusers on the market retail for under $100. Alas, driving your Toyota GR Supra with the windows down isn’t out of the question.
Still, the Toyota GR Supra is very much a livable daily driver with the windows up
Despite the wind buffeting issue, the A90 Toyota GR Supra is a surprisingly compliant daily driver. For instance, despite being smaller and lighter, the GR Supra’s 10.2 cubic inches of cargo volume out-accommodates the doomed Chevrolet Camaro. What’s more, the GR Supra 3.0’s inline-six isn’t as thirsty as V8-powered competition like the Ford Mustang Mach 1.
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