RE: Driven: Toyota GT 86

RE: Driven: Toyota GT 86

Author
Discussion

JonathanLegard

5,187 posts

237 months

Wednesday 11th July 2012
quotequote all
otolith said:
It was a superb car because it handled like a sports car while having four proper seats. OK. Rebuild it around a piston engine. Now it either doesn't handle like a sports car, or it doesn't have four proper seats. Oh, and the styling doesn't work either, because the low bonnet line is now impossible.
They manage to put LS1 V8s in both RX7s and RX8s. The transmission tunnel is huge and allows the engine and gearbox to be positioned nicely backwards for a front/mid engined weight balance. And once the rotary is dressed it actually weighs quite a bit. An aluminium LS1 adds about 100kg to the weight of the car, massively improves PWR and driveability and results in a perfect 50:50 weight distribution.

In short, you get a better car.

Fittster

20,120 posts

213 months

Wednesday 11th July 2012
quotequote all
bigfish786 said:
why would it? for 25k you can have some really good,fast,attractive,practical "drivers" cars.
.
Name the "drivers" cars you can have new for 25K?

Fittster

20,120 posts

213 months

Wednesday 11th July 2012
quotequote all
marcosgt said:
The RX8 will always divide opinion, but as a practical and affordable way to go quickly on a twisty road it takes a lot of beating.
It's consumption of petrol / oil combined with the reputation for poor reliability mean it's a dead duck.

The second hand prices show how most people see it.

kambites

67,554 posts

221 months

Wednesday 11th July 2012
quotequote all
Fittster said:
bigfish786 said:
why would it? for 25k you can have some really good,fast,attractive,practical "drivers" cars.
.
Name the "drivers" cars you can have new for 25K?
There are plenty of "drivers" cars for 25k. I can't think of any that meet the "practical" criteria whilst driving as well as this apparently does, though.

otolith

56,078 posts

204 months

Wednesday 11th July 2012
quotequote all
JonathanLegard said:
otolith said:
It was a superb car because it handled like a sports car while having four proper seats. OK. Rebuild it around a piston engine. Now it either doesn't handle like a sports car, or it doesn't have four proper seats. Oh, and the styling doesn't work either, because the low bonnet line is now impossible.
They manage to put LS1 V8s in both RX7s and RX8s. The transmission tunnel is huge and allows the engine and gearbox to be positioned nicely backwards for a front/mid engined weight balance. And once the rotary is dressed it actually weighs quite a bit. An aluminium LS1 adds about 100kg to the weight of the car, massively improves PWR and driveability and results in a perfect 50:50 weight distribution.

In short, you get a better car.
The nice thing about shoehorning a V8 into a sportscar in a garage under the railway arches is that you don't have to worry about things like clearance between hard points and the bonnet, crash performance, high temperature testing, ease of access for routine servicing, etc. There is a big difference between what you can lash up in the aftermarket and what an OEM can sell in volume.

How many other sportscars seat four adults and have the engine behind the front axle line? I can only think of the Ferrari FF, which is huge. There are a few 2+2s which will fit a legless midget in the back, but I can't think of any more four seaters.

If it would be so easy to build a car with the RX-8's packaging and a piston engine, why can't I buy one?

marcosgt

11,018 posts

176 months

Wednesday 11th July 2012
quotequote all
Fittster said:
marcosgt said:
The RX8 will always divide opinion, but as a practical and affordable way to go quickly on a twisty road it takes a lot of beating.
It's consumption of petrol / oil combined with the reputation for poor reliability mean it's a dead duck.

The second hand prices show how most people see it.
Of course, it's the fuel consumption that's killed prices (I don't suppose anyone's EVER not bought one because you need to put in half a litre of cheap oil every month) combined with plentiful supply as they were extremely popular new, for good reason.

That doesn't nullify its carrying capacity, even if it does mean pub-experts tell you it will go AND handle better with a boat anchor bolted in the front biggrin

The point is that the GT86 isn't a 4 seater the way the RX8 is (or any more than a 911 is!), so it's not 'the car the RX8 could have been' - It's a modern RX7 with a piston engine.

M

PS JL's point about V8s applies to FD RX7s because the turbos and intercoolers weigh as much as the engine, which is not true of the RX8, which has the engine lower and further back in the chassis than the FD RX7. If someone can find a proper road car RX8 with an LS1 (Without tractor like ground clearance), they're doing better than me - The best one I've found on the web was a Dragster!!!!!

Anyway, this is supposed to be about the GT86, not the much better RX8 biggrin

Edited by marcosgt on Wednesday 11th July 15:35

Zed Ed

1,106 posts

183 months

Wednesday 11th July 2012
quotequote all
marcosgt said:
Of course, it's the fuel consumption that's killed prices
Ok, still running in the BRZ, but 36.7 avg mpg can't be bad.

marcosgt

11,018 posts

176 months

Wednesday 11th July 2012
quotequote all
Zed Ed said:
marcosgt said:
Of course, it's the fuel consumption that's killed prices
Ok, still running in the BRZ, but 36.7 avg mpg can't be bad.
Sounds pretty good - I never got that out of my Puma! biggrin

M.

aspen

1,419 posts

263 months

Wednesday 11th July 2012
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Crikey, I average under 26mpg in the clio. Same engine size and power.

DanDC5

18,786 posts

167 months

Wednesday 11th July 2012
quotequote all
Zed Ed said:
marcosgt said:
Of course, it's the fuel consumption that's killed prices
Ok, still running in the BRZ, but 36.7 avg mpg can't be bad.
How much of this has been hard driving? Just out of curiosity?

JonathanLegard

5,187 posts

237 months

Wednesday 11th July 2012
quotequote all
marcosgt said:
That doesn't nullify its carrying capacity, even if it does mean pub-experts tell you it will go AND handle better with a boat anchor bolted in the front biggrin
Porsche installed lead weights in the 911's front bumper to improve weight distribution. Clearly a company run by pub-experts.

Zed Ed

1,106 posts

183 months

Wednesday 11th July 2012
quotequote all
DanDC5 said:
How much of this has been hard driving? Just out of curiosity?
keeping mostly below 4500 rpm, 600 road miles; town, A road, country lanes, motorway

still running in

marcosgt

11,018 posts

176 months

Wednesday 11th July 2012
quotequote all
JonathanLegard said:
marcosgt said:
That doesn't nullify its carrying capacity, even if it does mean pub-experts tell you it will go AND handle better with a boat anchor bolted in the front biggrin
Porsche installed lead weights in the 911's front bumper to improve weight distribution. Clearly a company run by pub-experts.
Clearly, they designed a car with the engine behind the rear axle - Any idiot could tell them that wouldn't work!

They've spent 50 years engineering solutions to make the cars drivable! biggrin

M.