Toyota GT86 build thread
Discussion
tonyb1968 said:
I do like the GT86, what seems to get me is that everyone HAS to modify them for some reason or other.
Now I am not against modifying cars, i've done my fair bit in the past, normally brakes/wheels and remap/exhaust, but those are on turbocharged cars, and even then I didn't go too far with the mods.
My point being is that if you go too far with mods then its normally down to the fact that you don't have the right car, though at the moment you seem to be keeping the mods tasteful, not over keen on your new wheels though, look like something from the early 2000's
Keep up the good work though, not every mod will please every person
That's sort of the point of these cars though to some extent, they give you a solid base on which to work. As I'm sure you know Toyota(or is it Subaru?) even sell a specific model for modifiers which has steel wheels, unpainted bumpers and I think maybe a hole in the dash for your own head unit? We don't get that here, so people have to start from the regular model. Now I am not against modifying cars, i've done my fair bit in the past, normally brakes/wheels and remap/exhaust, but those are on turbocharged cars, and even then I didn't go too far with the mods.
My point being is that if you go too far with mods then its normally down to the fact that you don't have the right car, though at the moment you seem to be keeping the mods tasteful, not over keen on your new wheels though, look like something from the early 2000's
Keep up the good work though, not every mod will please every person
The car looks great OP, but as you said a little 4x4-ish. Looking forward to seeing what it looks like a bit lower.
leglessAlex said:
That's sort of the point of these cars though to some extent, they give you a solid base on which to work. As I'm sure you know Toyota(or is it Subaru?) even sell a specific model for modifiers which has steel wheels, unpainted bumpers and I think maybe a hole in the dash for your own head unit? We don't get that here, so people have to start from the regular model.
The car looks great OP, but as you said a little 4x4-ish. Looking forward to seeing what it looks like a bit lower.
You mean the motorsport version, not exactly for your average joe as they come with cheap parts that you throw away and are normally the lowest spec available, subaru still do it with the STI with competition models.The car looks great OP, but as you said a little 4x4-ish. Looking forward to seeing what it looks like a bit lower.
The point is that if you have to modify a car so much that its not what it was designed to be (in the case of the BRZ/GT86, a really good A-B car and not a drag racer), then its not the right car to start with, and so many people seem to have the need to turbocharge or supercharge these FA engines (which no doubt still run with the cast pistons Subaru like to use now), which is a shame as it does detract from the basis of what the car is.
tonyb1968 said:
You mean the motorsport version, not exactly for your average joe as they come with cheap parts that you throw away and are normally the lowest spec available, subaru still do it with the STI with competition models.
The point is that if you have to modify a car so much that its not what it was designed to be (in the case of the BRZ/GT86, a really good A-B car and not a drag racer), then its not the right car to start with, and so many people seem to have the need to turbocharge or supercharge these FA engines (which no doubt still run with the cast pistons Subaru like to use now), which is a shame as it does detract from the basis of what the car is.
I get what you are saying but in the case of Japanese cars in particular then there is very much a culture of modification, for some models like Skylines is very rare to see a stock one , 99.9% will be modified to some extent. The point is that if you have to modify a car so much that its not what it was designed to be (in the case of the BRZ/GT86, a really good A-B car and not a drag racer), then its not the right car to start with, and so many people seem to have the need to turbocharge or supercharge these FA engines (which no doubt still run with the cast pistons Subaru like to use now), which is a shame as it does detract from the basis of what the car is.
leglessAlex said:
... sort of the point of these cars though to some extent...
This nails it for me, if I wanted 'better' car I could have kept the Cayman. Almost the whole point of getting an 86 was to modify it. It's the activity of modifying itself that's the enjoyable part; choosing the parts, the mechanics of fitting them, seeing how it looks or performs, tinkering some more. As others have mentioned, these are a great base for doing this. I actually don't particularly care about making it 'better', it's more about making it 'mine'.I appreciate all the comments thanks, good and bad!
epom said:
IMO the wheels would look great a slightly darker colour.
Yeah, I know what you mean. In the US they come in a 'hyper black' (kind of a metallic grey) which would have been my first choice, but you can't get them here. I think once I'm done bolting things to it I might experiment with plastidip to try out a few colours and then perhaps get them painted properly. I still want to try a dark bronze tonyb1968 said:
You mean the motorsport version, not exactly for your average joe as they come with cheap parts that you throw away and are normally the lowest spec available, subaru still do it with the STI with competition models.
The point is that if you have to modify a car so much that its not what it was designed to be (in the case of the BRZ/GT86, a really good A-B car and not a drag racer), then its not the right car to start with, and so many people seem to have the need to turbocharge or supercharge these FA engines (which no doubt still run with the cast pistons Subaru like to use now), which is a shame as it does detract from the basis of what the car is.
The point is that if you have to modify a car so much that its not what it was designed to be (in the case of the BRZ/GT86, a really good A-B car and not a drag racer), then its not the right car to start with, and so many people seem to have the need to turbocharge or supercharge these FA engines (which no doubt still run with the cast pistons Subaru like to use now), which is a shame as it does detract from the basis of what the car is.
- builtnotbought #jdmasf
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walamai said:
leglessAlex said:
... sort of the point of these cars though to some extent...
This nails it for me, if I wanted 'better' car I could have kept the Cayman. Almost the whole point of getting an 86 was to modify it. It's the activity of modifying itself that's the enjoyable part; choosing the parts, the mechanics of fitting them, seeing how it looks or performs, tinkering some more. As others have mentioned, these are a great base for doing this. I actually don't particularly care about making it 'better', it's more about making it 'mine'.I never agree with statements about manufactures spending millions on R&D to seek perfection. They don't. The spend millions on compromise. Compromise on fuel differences, emmisions, government restrictions, one size fits all buyer differences etcetc.
Modding is about enhancing a base and making it better... The exception being looks. That's personal opinion.
And so far this '86 looks way better than standard.
Looking good so far, definitely needs a drop. After having tried the springs, I would say just go for the coilovers. The Tein Flex A are a good reasonably priced set.
Saw a white spoilerless GT86 with the lights and silver wheels yesterday evening M4 near slough towards London. Wasn't you by any chance?
Saw a white spoilerless GT86 with the lights and silver wheels yesterday evening M4 near slough towards London. Wasn't you by any chance?
ECG1000 said:
Slightly annoyed you now have the same wheels as me 
albeit an inch wider and to be fair, mine are bronze.
Sorry! Just found a picture of yours (showing the wheels) in another thread - they look brilliant, exactly what I've been thinking. Are they the 'sport bronze' version, or have you painted them yourself? Maybe I'll have to be more original with the colour now albeit an inch wider and to be fair, mine are bronze. ETA: just spotted that you've also done white lettering on the tyres. I was thinking about doing that as well. Your car (but in white) is pretty much exactly what I had in my head for mine!
Edited by walamai on Sunday 15th November 18:01
K14A said:
Looking good so far, definitely needs a drop. After having tried the springs, I would say just go for the coilovers. The Tein Flex A are a good reasonably priced set.
Saw a white spoilerless GT86 with the lights and silver wheels yesterday evening M4 near slough towards London. Wasn't you by any chance?
Yep, that would have been me. Small world! Saw a white spoilerless GT86 with the lights and silver wheels yesterday evening M4 near slough towards London. Wasn't you by any chance?
I've actually already got some Eibach Pro springs to go one, just haven't had the time to fit them yet. I did look at the Tein's, but they are lots more expensive than just springs and I don't massively want to change the stock handling just yet, perhaps after I've driven it for a bit. Will see how it goes on the springs for now.
walamai said:
Yep, that would have been me. Small world!
I've actually already got some Eibach Pro springs to go one, just haven't had the time to fit them yet. I did look at the Tein's, but they are lots more expensive than just springs and I don't massively want to change the stock handling just yet, perhaps after I've driven it for a bit. Will see how it goes on the springs for now.
That was my view initially too. Figured the springs were near enough 1/5th the price (at least) of decent coilovers and I only needed the drop. Later realised it really ruins the ride. But perhaps my back just doesn't want any of it. I've actually already got some Eibach Pro springs to go one, just haven't had the time to fit them yet. I did look at the Tein's, but they are lots more expensive than just springs and I don't massively want to change the stock handling just yet, perhaps after I've driven it for a bit. Will see how it goes on the springs for now.
What part of a London are you in?
DeaconFrost said:
Having owned my GT86 for nearly 3 years now and having always fancied a Cayman I'm very interested to hear your thoughts on coming from the Cayman to the 86.
Busy week, didn't get near the car unfortunately. I had an 07 Cayman 2.7 which had been well looked after. Even being the slowest Cayman, it was much quicker than the 86; I miss dropping the car back in to 3rd on a motorway where it's opening up to a NSL zone and just nailing it - the acceleration in the Cayman is fun, in the 86 it is just 'fine'. I think the Cayman sounds better too. I just had the standard exhaust on mine and it's definitely nicer than the stock setup on the 86. However Porsche have tuned the exhaust is great, it sound incredible as you get above 5k revs or so.The handling on the Cayman is astonishing. It felt much more 'sure footed' than the 86 and definitely less inclined to be tail happy and squirmy. For mucking around having a bit of fun around London the 86 is fun. I took the Cayman to the Evo triangle though and on a road like that it's just completely confidence inspiring, whereas for example in the 86 I would have been nervous about the 86 skittering over a crest, the Cayman is just planted. I guess I'm not saying anything that hundreds of motoring journalists have said better!
One thing I really did like about the Cayman was the anonymity. Particularly in London nobody would notice it at all and I was perfectly happy leaving it parked anywhere on the street. I think the 86 stands out a bit more (particularly mine now!) and I wouldn't leave it in some of the places I left the Porsche.
One last thing - I sold the Cayman for £250 more than I paid for it after a year of ownership. I don't have the same hopes for the 86!
jaacck said:
i like the spannering in what seems like your underground car parking space?
Yep, to answer K14A's question, its just a car park in my building in Battersea. It's dry and warm which is nice. Nowhere to store tools though which is a pain in the ass. A few other residents have little plastic garden sheds in the front of their spot, so I think I'll invest in a box or something to keep down there. Carrying tools, jack stands and a trolley jack down the lift every time I want to work on it is getting boring! hondafanatic said:
walamai said:
leglessAlex said:
... sort of the point of these cars though to some extent...
This nails it for me, if I wanted 'better' car I could have kept the Cayman. Almost the whole point of getting an 86 was to modify it. It's the activity of modifying itself that's the enjoyable part; choosing the parts, the mechanics of fitting them, seeing how it looks or performs, tinkering some more. As others have mentioned, these are a great base for doing this. I actually don't particularly care about making it 'better', it's more about making it 'mine'.I never agree with statements about manufactures spending millions on R&D to seek perfection. They don't. The spend millions on compromise. Compromise on fuel differences, emmisions, government restrictions, one size fits all buyer differences etcetc.
Modding is about enhancing a base and making it better... The exception being looks. That's personal opinion.
And so far this '86 looks way better than standard.
So what is modifying?
Compromising on the compromises that the manufacturers make.
Examples are:-
Performance. Enhancing the power by remapping or super/turbocharging is compromising reliability, emissions and fuel economy.
To get around this you then need to rebuild the engine with stronger parts, the compromise is the extra money you start throwing at the car to regain reliability.
Wheels... the OP has compromised here, changed the standard wheels for lighter weight ones but then added a wider tyre, compromise is that the wheels are not forged, gives a greater chance of them being damaged on our roads, then you have the extra tyre width, this improves grip (well with decent tyres it does, would have spend £8 more per corner for something vastly better but that's my choice, not the OP's), so wider, better grip, higher rolling resistance... more drag, slower car, compromise.
Remap to compensate, then that may reduce reliablity, another compromise, so you have more power, need slightly better braking ability, actually quite easy to do at this level, so a good set of grooved discs and a harder compound pad, compromise, why?
More noise, more dust....
Modifying is a long and winding road, your main "compromise" is the extra cash for the good parts, Im lucky, my car comes with 19 inch forged alloys and 380mm Alcon brakes as standard, those are more than enough for its power, ok the steering feel could be better but the rest is a good compromise from the manufacturer to give me a good all round car that I can enjoy, it doesnt really need much if any modifying, maybe an air filter but even that isnt necessary.
I have been there with the modifying bit, stainless exhausts, remaps, AP brakes, forged wheels, panel filters etc, its fun but doesnt always mean you enhance the car as much as you think for the cost you put in, but you are going to modify a car, you do it right the first time, so a quick one for the OP, forget the springs and just go for the coil overs, KW's would be my choice as you wont get anything nearly as good for the price or quality
walamai said:
Busy week, didn't get near the car unfortunately. I had an 07 Cayman 2.7 which had been well looked after. Even being the slowest Cayman, it was much quicker than the 86; I miss dropping the car back in to 3rd on a motorway where it's opening up to a NSL zone and just nailing it - the acceleration in the Cayman is fun, in the 86 it is just 'fine'. I think the Cayman sounds better too. I just had the standard exhaust on mine and it's definitely nicer than the stock setup on the 86. However Porsche have tuned the exhaust is great, it sound incredible as you get above 5k revs or so.
The handling on the Cayman is astonishing. It felt much more 'sure footed' than the 86 and definitely less inclined to be tail happy and squirmy. For mucking around having a bit of fun around London the 86 is fun. I took the Cayman to the Evo triangle though and on a road like that it's just completely confidence inspiring, whereas for example in the 86 I would have been nervous about the 86 skittering over a crest, the Cayman is just planted. I guess I'm not saying anything that hundreds of motoring journalists have said better!
One thing I really did like about the Cayman was the anonymity. Particularly in London nobody would notice it at all and I was perfectly happy leaving it parked anywhere on the street. I think the 86 stands out a bit more (particularly mine now!) and I wouldn't leave it in some of the places I left the Porsche.
One last thing - I sold the Cayman for £250 more than I paid for it after a year of ownership. I don't have the same hopes for the 86!
Cheers for taking to time to give such a detailed response.The handling on the Cayman is astonishing. It felt much more 'sure footed' than the 86 and definitely less inclined to be tail happy and squirmy. For mucking around having a bit of fun around London the 86 is fun. I took the Cayman to the Evo triangle though and on a road like that it's just completely confidence inspiring, whereas for example in the 86 I would have been nervous about the 86 skittering over a crest, the Cayman is just planted. I guess I'm not saying anything that hundreds of motoring journalists have said better!
One thing I really did like about the Cayman was the anonymity. Particularly in London nobody would notice it at all and I was perfectly happy leaving it parked anywhere on the street. I think the 86 stands out a bit more (particularly mine now!) and I wouldn't leave it in some of the places I left the Porsche.
One last thing - I sold the Cayman for £250 more than I paid for it after a year of ownership. I don't have the same hopes for the 86!
Interesting point you make about feeling less safe leaving the 86 than you did the Cayman - I wouldn't have expected that.
I'd very much like to try a cayman and see how it compares to my 86 which has had quite a lot of work done. I'm a little afraid I might like it too much though! :-)
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