Toyota Racing Development Focuses Efforts On Superchargers
Embracing the philosophy that superchargers possess the greatest potential for increasing horsepower in their stock Toyota engines, Toyota Racing Development (TRD) provides a range of supercharger units for Scion, Toyota and Lexus cars, none more impressive than that applied to the Toyota Tundra’s 5.7-liter V8 pictured above. The result? 504 horsepower and 550 pounds feet of torque.
Spercharger units are available through authorized Toyota dealerships at $3,000-5,000 and depending on year and engine, also fit many late model Toyota trucks, Corolla, Matrix, and Scion products. In fact, those with an endless amount of creativity (and money) have been known to drop the Tundra’s V8 with supercharger into their xB. As a more mild example, horsepower of a 2008 Scion tC or xB’s  2.4-liter engine is increased 25% to 200 horsepower with a 6 PSI centrifugal supercharger installed.Â
In the aforementioned application with the 5.7-liter V8 in the Toyota Sequoia and Toyota Tundra, the supercharger features a Roots-type system that produces 8.5 psi and 504 hp at 5,500 rpm and 550 pound-feet of torque at 4,000 rpm. The $5,875 kit includes a water-to-air intercooler and requires 8-10 hours of installation time. This new package follows TRD’s offering of a Roots-type Eaton supercharger for the 4.0-liter V6 of the Toyota Tacoma and Toyota FJ Cruiser, which increases output to 304 hp.
As long as they are installed by the dealer, new car warranties are unchanged with the addition of these TRD parts.
Toyota has plenty of TRD parts that help boost the driving fun of the Scion tC. EDITORIAL ASSISTANT JONATHAN WONG: While the xB is Scion's most recognizable