Discussion
Deerfoot said:
So, have you sorted the clicking out yet?
All in good time dear boy, all in good time 
cerb4.5lee said:
Absolutely love what you've done to that and it looks just so right, enjoy it.
Thanks so much. I was aiming for exactly this when I started modifying - nothing too in your face, just a clean looking racey car.qwertina said:
Well done on building my perfect car. I'm not at all jealous.....not one little bit!
Thanks again palAdamC28 said:
Looks great in red. Really need a trip out in one of these some day, everyone says how fun they are.
Cheers! Definitely worth a go in one of these. Try to make it make it a long go so the car can show it's true colours.Martin_Hx said:
This looks brilliant! After the first update i was thinking... still not changed from the awful standard alloy's? 
Well done on having a fantastic car with cracking mods
Will have to keep an eye out for you in West Yorkshire!
Thanks a lot mate. Really nice getting positive comments from people. Well done on having a fantastic car with cracking mods
Will have to keep an eye out for you in West Yorkshire!
Edited by Martin_Hx on Wednesday 27th July 11:28
When I first got it, told myself I wouldn't be changing the wheels etc, just leave it standard looking. That lasted about 2 minutes! They've got a really big GT86(/FRS) "scene" over in the US, so Instagram is littered with modified examples. Some silly ones with air ride, wide body kits and even wider wheels but some tastefully modified cars that look stunning. Really didn't help me keep my wallet closed for long...
tonyb1968 said:
Shame you bought BC's as they have to be the worst coilovers on the market, shockingly bad quality but look good value, the old cliche buy once buy right comes to mind.
Nice car otherwise
Couldn't agree more mate, they were a load of sh*te. You'll find out what happened to them in the next update.Nice car otherwise
ECG1000 said:
mikey P 500 said:
Nice write up, I'm 2 months into owning my gt86 and am just started the first few modifications, so will follow to see what I can learn.
Thank you and good choice sir!Are you enjoying ownership so far? What mods have you done so far?
mikey P 500 said:
Not much yet, tien lowering springs and have plasti dipped stock wheels, will likely do some track days before deciding on too many future modifications although may up rate front pads before this.
Wheels look awesome mate. Any more info on what plastidip you used and how many layers?mikey P 500 said:
Not much yet, tien lowering springs and have plasti dipped stock wheels, will likely do some track days before deciding on too many future modifications although may up rate front pads before this.
That looks awesome! Makes such a difference having the stock wheels all one colour.Are the springs any good?
Next update...
So as mentioned before the BC's were clicking quite badly from day one. I had 2 weeks to put up with it before going back down to Fensport to get the problem sorted.
It was driving me mad! I could quieten it down a tiny bit if I wound the coilovers to fully soft, but this made the car feel like a boat in a strong gale. So I wound them back up a bit stiffer to make the car handle properly, which it did - I'll draw the comparison to a go-kart again. It did like to crash about on uneven surfaces though which was unpleasant. I was starting to think I'd made a big mistake messing about with the suspension. Was tempted to put it back to standard but that would mean getting rid of the Rota's sadly. With the offset being ET42 against standard wheels' ET48, they poked out an extra 19mm. On standard ride height my 86 would end up looking like a monster truck.
Anyway, 2 weeks finally passed and I was back down the M1.
Very apprehensive pulling back into the workshop, fearing the problem would never be solved. Up on the ramp it went, rear coilovers out and inspected - nothing appeared wrong with them visually, all the bolts were tight etc, no excessive play anywhere.
Just to be sure the source of the noise wasn't coming from my car, it was elected a new pair of rear coilovers were to be installed, then go out for a test drive. Luckily for me (as I'll later find out) there wasn't another set of BC's in stock. There was however a slightly more expensive set of Tein Street Flex on the shelf...
The type that Fensport supply are slightly different to ones you can buy elsewhere. These are specially developed by Fensport and Colin Hoad of CAT driver training. They spent a few days at Millbrook with a couple of customer cars tweaking the valving and bump stop height etc.
I was assured the Teins are a better coilover with greater build quality, and despite having a higher spring rate than the BC's, should be more pliable on the road.
So on they went:
Pulling out of the workshop very gingerly, across the same rippled concrete that set the BC's off and at long last....silence! Round the block and few times just to be sure...still silent.
Back up on the ramp it went to have the fronts installed and geometry realigned - job was a good'n as they say.
I took the car out for a longer drive just to be double sure everything was fine, once bitten twice shy etc... Was grinning from ear to ear at this point. The clicking had vanished and the car had gone back to almost OEM levels of NVH, not quite with the top mounts being solid as opposed to rubber, but still, happy bunny once again. And further more the ride was leagues ahead of the BC's, so much more compliant and in tune with the road's surface instead of crashing about like a bedstead.
Massive thanks to Fensport for this. Only ended up having to fork out an extra £80 for the price difference between the two brands. All other costs were billed back to BC. Forgot to mention in the last update, I got the subframe inserts for half price due to the mishap with the BC's. Just goes to show it's worth going the distance to a proper and reputable specialist who really do look after their customers.
Back to the North!
Anyone that's been to the Fens will know how (for want of a better word) "yumpy" the local roads are - think junior tarmac rally with very few corners. On the cross country stretch back toward the M1, I made the mistake of overtaking a Range Rover that was already travelling at an enthusiastic lick. Once passed, I had to keep on going a bit quicker to maintain and eventually broaden the gap between us. Then the road, as previously described, started getting "yumpy", then quickly became extremely "yumpy". Instead of doing the sensible thing and slowing down, I ended up taking off! On one occasion I landed with a violent BANG causing the car to squirm upon coming back into contact with terra firma.
Luckily everything smoothed out a bit and I could enjoy the drive back on a decent set of suspension - despite having soiled trousers!
The next day, I noticed a pretty big crack coming from the bottom of the windscreen. I'm guessing playing at silly buggers the day before may have agitated a chip already in the screen.
Autoglass to the rescue:
Now I could finally enjoy my 86 again. I was chuffed to bits with the latest set of improvements.
Time for a little more tinkering.
E-tech tint spray back out for the side indicators:
Only a very minor thing but an improvement to the clear lenses.
Another shot from a distance. Got mugged off by a mate who's not bothered by cars. Said I looked like a ketchup rep trying to flog my wares to the Co Op!
Now it was time to attend to the brakes.
Forgot to mention earlier, I kind of fried the standard setup at Blyton. They'd be fine until any heat got into them, then the brake pedal would bounce up and down. This even happened on B road blasts. Felt like either the discs were warped or the pads had melted onto them.
First thing to arrive in the post was a brake stopper. This bolts to the strut tower and has a rod which you screw up against the master cylinder to prevent it flexing from the bulkhead:
Sprayed green to match the Teins:
I've no idea if this made any difference to be honest. Never used it in anger before I installed the rest of the brake paraphernalia.
Next through the post was:
-DBA front discs
-Hawk HPS front and rear pads (recommended pairing these with the DBA's)
-Braided lines
-Dot 5.1 fluid
No pictures of the install sadly, my boss was helping me after work so didn't want to start prancing round with a camera taking more of his time!
Everything went smoothly apart from getting the old lines off. They were extremely tight to the point of making me worry I was going to kink the copper piping further up the line. Abandoned this part of the upgrade in fear of making a total balls of it. All the other parts went on fine though!
Turned out the old pads had indeed melted to the discs...
Job done:
While the calipers were off, I seized the moment and sprayed them matt black.
You may also notice the tyre writing I so loving drew on was starting to scuff off from day to day use.
Immediately the brakes felt like they had less bite. Having run them in for a week it soon became evident they required a bit of heat to work properly. Once warmed up they are good and strong with none of the bouncing pedal syndrome of old.
Another good upgrade!
As I began to get used to the new suspension set up and push the car harder I thought it would probably be wise to invest in an anti-lift kit. Because the car had been lowered a fair amount, the steering arms were now at an angle instead of being relatively parallel with the road - this can cause bump steer.
Don't think i noticed any when B road driving, but was pretty sure I would encounter it when back on track.
My boss gave me a hand with this one again, so only one picture during the install. The hydraulic press at work came in very handy that day:
I found a guide on ft86.com to be pretty useful too. Was good to read through the process a few times before attempting it, helped me picture what I had to do.
That was enough modding for the time being. Time to spend money on petrol instead of parts and enjoy a summer of thrashing the car!
Some selfish pigeons in Newcastle had very good aim. Had to be careful when cleaning this off so as not to pull the plasti-dip away from the badge. As I will later find out, I shouldn't have worried as it sticks like sh*t to a blanket:
Parked up next to an Impreza whilst visiting my bird in Richmond. Makes the 86 look like a toy! Very good roads up there - particularly the one up to Reeth.
That's it for now. Still more to come...
So as mentioned before the BC's were clicking quite badly from day one. I had 2 weeks to put up with it before going back down to Fensport to get the problem sorted.
It was driving me mad! I could quieten it down a tiny bit if I wound the coilovers to fully soft, but this made the car feel like a boat in a strong gale. So I wound them back up a bit stiffer to make the car handle properly, which it did - I'll draw the comparison to a go-kart again. It did like to crash about on uneven surfaces though which was unpleasant. I was starting to think I'd made a big mistake messing about with the suspension. Was tempted to put it back to standard but that would mean getting rid of the Rota's sadly. With the offset being ET42 against standard wheels' ET48, they poked out an extra 19mm. On standard ride height my 86 would end up looking like a monster truck.
Anyway, 2 weeks finally passed and I was back down the M1.
Very apprehensive pulling back into the workshop, fearing the problem would never be solved. Up on the ramp it went, rear coilovers out and inspected - nothing appeared wrong with them visually, all the bolts were tight etc, no excessive play anywhere.
Just to be sure the source of the noise wasn't coming from my car, it was elected a new pair of rear coilovers were to be installed, then go out for a test drive. Luckily for me (as I'll later find out) there wasn't another set of BC's in stock. There was however a slightly more expensive set of Tein Street Flex on the shelf...
The type that Fensport supply are slightly different to ones you can buy elsewhere. These are specially developed by Fensport and Colin Hoad of CAT driver training. They spent a few days at Millbrook with a couple of customer cars tweaking the valving and bump stop height etc.
I was assured the Teins are a better coilover with greater build quality, and despite having a higher spring rate than the BC's, should be more pliable on the road.
So on they went:
Pulling out of the workshop very gingerly, across the same rippled concrete that set the BC's off and at long last....silence! Round the block and few times just to be sure...still silent.
Back up on the ramp it went to have the fronts installed and geometry realigned - job was a good'n as they say.
I took the car out for a longer drive just to be double sure everything was fine, once bitten twice shy etc... Was grinning from ear to ear at this point. The clicking had vanished and the car had gone back to almost OEM levels of NVH, not quite with the top mounts being solid as opposed to rubber, but still, happy bunny once again. And further more the ride was leagues ahead of the BC's, so much more compliant and in tune with the road's surface instead of crashing about like a bedstead.
Massive thanks to Fensport for this. Only ended up having to fork out an extra £80 for the price difference between the two brands. All other costs were billed back to BC. Forgot to mention in the last update, I got the subframe inserts for half price due to the mishap with the BC's. Just goes to show it's worth going the distance to a proper and reputable specialist who really do look after their customers.
Back to the North!
Anyone that's been to the Fens will know how (for want of a better word) "yumpy" the local roads are - think junior tarmac rally with very few corners. On the cross country stretch back toward the M1, I made the mistake of overtaking a Range Rover that was already travelling at an enthusiastic lick. Once passed, I had to keep on going a bit quicker to maintain and eventually broaden the gap between us. Then the road, as previously described, started getting "yumpy", then quickly became extremely "yumpy". Instead of doing the sensible thing and slowing down, I ended up taking off! On one occasion I landed with a violent BANG causing the car to squirm upon coming back into contact with terra firma.
Luckily everything smoothed out a bit and I could enjoy the drive back on a decent set of suspension - despite having soiled trousers!
The next day, I noticed a pretty big crack coming from the bottom of the windscreen. I'm guessing playing at silly buggers the day before may have agitated a chip already in the screen.
Autoglass to the rescue:
Now I could finally enjoy my 86 again. I was chuffed to bits with the latest set of improvements.
Time for a little more tinkering.
E-tech tint spray back out for the side indicators:
Only a very minor thing but an improvement to the clear lenses.
Another shot from a distance. Got mugged off by a mate who's not bothered by cars. Said I looked like a ketchup rep trying to flog my wares to the Co Op!
Now it was time to attend to the brakes.
Forgot to mention earlier, I kind of fried the standard setup at Blyton. They'd be fine until any heat got into them, then the brake pedal would bounce up and down. This even happened on B road blasts. Felt like either the discs were warped or the pads had melted onto them.
First thing to arrive in the post was a brake stopper. This bolts to the strut tower and has a rod which you screw up against the master cylinder to prevent it flexing from the bulkhead:
Sprayed green to match the Teins:
I've no idea if this made any difference to be honest. Never used it in anger before I installed the rest of the brake paraphernalia.
Next through the post was:
-DBA front discs
-Hawk HPS front and rear pads (recommended pairing these with the DBA's)
-Braided lines
-Dot 5.1 fluid
No pictures of the install sadly, my boss was helping me after work so didn't want to start prancing round with a camera taking more of his time!
Everything went smoothly apart from getting the old lines off. They were extremely tight to the point of making me worry I was going to kink the copper piping further up the line. Abandoned this part of the upgrade in fear of making a total balls of it. All the other parts went on fine though!
Turned out the old pads had indeed melted to the discs...
Job done:
While the calipers were off, I seized the moment and sprayed them matt black.
You may also notice the tyre writing I so loving drew on was starting to scuff off from day to day use.
Immediately the brakes felt like they had less bite. Having run them in for a week it soon became evident they required a bit of heat to work properly. Once warmed up they are good and strong with none of the bouncing pedal syndrome of old.
Another good upgrade!
As I began to get used to the new suspension set up and push the car harder I thought it would probably be wise to invest in an anti-lift kit. Because the car had been lowered a fair amount, the steering arms were now at an angle instead of being relatively parallel with the road - this can cause bump steer.
Don't think i noticed any when B road driving, but was pretty sure I would encounter it when back on track.
My boss gave me a hand with this one again, so only one picture during the install. The hydraulic press at work came in very handy that day:
I found a guide on ft86.com to be pretty useful too. Was good to read through the process a few times before attempting it, helped me picture what I had to do.
That was enough modding for the time being. Time to spend money on petrol instead of parts and enjoy a summer of thrashing the car!
Some selfish pigeons in Newcastle had very good aim. Had to be careful when cleaning this off so as not to pull the plasti-dip away from the badge. As I will later find out, I shouldn't have worried as it sticks like sh*t to a blanket:
Parked up next to an Impreza whilst visiting my bird in Richmond. Makes the 86 look like a toy! Very good roads up there - particularly the one up to Reeth.
That's it for now. Still more to come...
Edited by ECG1000 on Thursday 28th July 12:41
Kesler said:
Cracking write up mate, good to see you on here as well as on GT86OC.
You're tempting me to write mine up as well now!!
Thanks mate! You're tempting me to write mine up as well now!!
Get one written up for sure. Always good to read about other people's trials and tribulations of car ownership.
Deerfoot said:
Glad you sorted the clicking out.
That really is the nicest GT86 I`ve seen.
Unfortunately, they`re still too expensive for me, maybe in a few years....
Cheers mate, appreciate it. That really is the nicest GT86 I`ve seen.
Unfortunately, they`re still too expensive for me, maybe in a few years....
Some of the first cars to come out are definitely on their way down price wise so won't be too long hopefully.
Although I'm hoping everyone will realise what a gem the GT86 is and prices go through the roof! That will never happen though...
adriman said:
Looking really good, wheels and lights especially. Those are the main things i would like to change on mine!
Thank you!You can do the lights really easily if you just buy some E-tech spray from eBay - only about £10.
Could always plasti-dip the standard wheels before taking the plunge on a new set. Looks much better when they're all one colour.
sdkrc said:
Really tastefully modified. Wheel/tyre combo is absolutely spot on.
Great thread and hope to see more updates
Would be interested to see what sort of modifications they're doing in Japan seeing as this was built for that
Thanks dude. I'll try to update daily until I'm up to date with where I am now.Great thread and hope to see more updates
Would be interested to see what sort of modifications they're doing in Japan seeing as this was built for that
I daren't look at what they're up to in Japan. Good way to empty one's wallet
Somehow missed this out in the last post.
After I'd installed the anti-lift kit, the tracking was way out on the front. I measured the distance between the start of the threads on the rack and the end of the standard tie rods before taking them off. Then tried to replicate this with the replacement Whiteline variants.
Obviously didn't measure them properly! The first roundabout I tried at speed, didn't really happen - just ended up going straight on...
Took me ages to find somewhere to do the wheel alignment. There's very little room between the tyres and rim of the wheel arches so getting the alignment hangers hung was impossible. I later found out that a Hunter system uses different hangers that attach to the wheel spokes instead.
Then the search began to find a ramp with a shallow enough approach to drive up onto. After trying 3 different places, I eventually found a one that worked...just.
GW Bodyshop, St Andrews road, Huddersfield if anyone has the same predicament as me.
After I'd installed the anti-lift kit, the tracking was way out on the front. I measured the distance between the start of the threads on the rack and the end of the standard tie rods before taking them off. Then tried to replicate this with the replacement Whiteline variants.
Obviously didn't measure them properly! The first roundabout I tried at speed, didn't really happen - just ended up going straight on...
Took me ages to find somewhere to do the wheel alignment. There's very little room between the tyres and rim of the wheel arches so getting the alignment hangers hung was impossible. I later found out that a Hunter system uses different hangers that attach to the wheel spokes instead.
Then the search began to find a ramp with a shallow enough approach to drive up onto. After trying 3 different places, I eventually found a one that worked...just.
GW Bodyshop, St Andrews road, Huddersfield if anyone has the same predicament as me.
Next up...
Not much modding went on in this period. I felt I'd reached a point that I was happy with the car so just concentrated on enjoying it for what it is - an awesome b-road weapon. The more twisty the road, the better!
Although, I have to admit, my mind had turned towards the prospect of forced induction....but we'll get to that later.
Random snap I got parked up in a warehouse at work:
Halfway through last summer, I noticed a hissing sound coming from under the car. Managed to get it over a pit and found the Milltek to be blowing where the mid pipe meets the secondary de-cat, and also where the secondary de-cat meets the over-pipe. I managed to find a universal replacement gasket locally that would go between the mid pipe and de-cat but couldn't find one for the other blow. Good job I couldn't to be honest, getting those two bolts undone is mega tight and fiddley. Anyway, bolted the new gasket in and ordered two of the correct ones from Milltek.
New gaskets arrived a few days later, being lazy I took the car over to PumaSpeed so they could scrape their knuckles instead of me.
The universal gasket on previously must have been a tighter bore than ideal, the car now felt a fair bit more pokey.
Not sure how toxic pigeon sh*t is but the lacquer had started to peal pretty much exactly where they had done the dead.
Took me ages to claim a warranty repair on this. Loads of back peddling from Toyota saying it looked like it had been painted before etc. Load of b*ll*cks! Managed to get it sorted after a few snotty emails/dealer visits.
Couple of shots I got driving over the moors from Richmond to Tan Hill pub.
The road we took wasn't much to write home about, pretty straight and narrow and most of the corners were tight and blind - stunning scenery though.
Pulled an absolute blinder and managed to borrow this 4S from Porsche for 24 hours!
I know it's blinged up to the eyeballs and it's erm....yellow, but I was like a kid at Christmas. Sounded awesome and went like the clappers.
After 24 hours of hooning, poising, giving people lifts and more hooning I handed the keys back over. To be honest I wasn't too bothered and didn't feel an once of despondence getting back into my 86. I found you had to be going at warp speed in the Porsche to get things exciting through the twisties. Of course the sheer pace of the thing was very impressive and got my heart racing, but if I owned one, I think I'd either be in jail or embedded into a tree. Maybe one to put on the shelf until I grow up. Not slamming the car at all, 911's are incredible things, just not the right cars for me...YET.
The whole experience made me appreciate my car even more. You really can thrash a GT86 and have a riot without actually going too fast to get into much trouble.
Back to Blyton - this time, the faster outer circuit. Rubbish collage I made because I'm too tight to buy the proper full size photos:
Another awesome day here with more black flags for skidding/tyre squeal. Really need to find some tyres with similar grip characteristics to the Primacy's but less squeal. Any takers?
The new suspension setup, geo and slightly wider wheels really had transformed the car. No more understeer, just well balanced neutral. The brakes really stood up to the test too - stayed strong all day without a hint of fade.
Although I like dicking about on the Primacy's, the new suspension really did highlight them as being the weak link. I went out with another chap in an 86 with proper tyres (similar suspension/wheel setup) and the grip was phenomenal. Could get on the power so much earlier, especially through the quicker stuff. If I had done the same in mine, the car would have just began to rotate!
So maybe next time I'll take a spare set of wheels with some decent rubber on.
Definitely sticking with what I've got for the road though.
Random shot filing up with proper go juice. Only bad thing about Blyton is no V-power anywhere near!
Winter was about to set in so the time had come time to think about suitable tyres. Was really more of an excuse to look into different wheel options. Quite fancied going for the rally car look so I photoshopped a set of Compomotives onto a side view of a GT86
Pretty sure this potential look will divide opinion.
More next time...
Not much modding went on in this period. I felt I'd reached a point that I was happy with the car so just concentrated on enjoying it for what it is - an awesome b-road weapon. The more twisty the road, the better!
Although, I have to admit, my mind had turned towards the prospect of forced induction....but we'll get to that later.
Random snap I got parked up in a warehouse at work:
Halfway through last summer, I noticed a hissing sound coming from under the car. Managed to get it over a pit and found the Milltek to be blowing where the mid pipe meets the secondary de-cat, and also where the secondary de-cat meets the over-pipe. I managed to find a universal replacement gasket locally that would go between the mid pipe and de-cat but couldn't find one for the other blow. Good job I couldn't to be honest, getting those two bolts undone is mega tight and fiddley. Anyway, bolted the new gasket in and ordered two of the correct ones from Milltek.
New gaskets arrived a few days later, being lazy I took the car over to PumaSpeed so they could scrape their knuckles instead of me.
The universal gasket on previously must have been a tighter bore than ideal, the car now felt a fair bit more pokey.
Not sure how toxic pigeon sh*t is but the lacquer had started to peal pretty much exactly where they had done the dead.
Took me ages to claim a warranty repair on this. Loads of back peddling from Toyota saying it looked like it had been painted before etc. Load of b*ll*cks! Managed to get it sorted after a few snotty emails/dealer visits.
Couple of shots I got driving over the moors from Richmond to Tan Hill pub.
The road we took wasn't much to write home about, pretty straight and narrow and most of the corners were tight and blind - stunning scenery though.
Pulled an absolute blinder and managed to borrow this 4S from Porsche for 24 hours!
I know it's blinged up to the eyeballs and it's erm....yellow, but I was like a kid at Christmas. Sounded awesome and went like the clappers.
After 24 hours of hooning, poising, giving people lifts and more hooning I handed the keys back over. To be honest I wasn't too bothered and didn't feel an once of despondence getting back into my 86. I found you had to be going at warp speed in the Porsche to get things exciting through the twisties. Of course the sheer pace of the thing was very impressive and got my heart racing, but if I owned one, I think I'd either be in jail or embedded into a tree. Maybe one to put on the shelf until I grow up. Not slamming the car at all, 911's are incredible things, just not the right cars for me...YET.
The whole experience made me appreciate my car even more. You really can thrash a GT86 and have a riot without actually going too fast to get into much trouble.
Back to Blyton - this time, the faster outer circuit. Rubbish collage I made because I'm too tight to buy the proper full size photos:
Another awesome day here with more black flags for skidding/tyre squeal. Really need to find some tyres with similar grip characteristics to the Primacy's but less squeal. Any takers?
The new suspension setup, geo and slightly wider wheels really had transformed the car. No more understeer, just well balanced neutral. The brakes really stood up to the test too - stayed strong all day without a hint of fade.
Although I like dicking about on the Primacy's, the new suspension really did highlight them as being the weak link. I went out with another chap in an 86 with proper tyres (similar suspension/wheel setup) and the grip was phenomenal. Could get on the power so much earlier, especially through the quicker stuff. If I had done the same in mine, the car would have just began to rotate!
So maybe next time I'll take a spare set of wheels with some decent rubber on.
Definitely sticking with what I've got for the road though.
Random shot filing up with proper go juice. Only bad thing about Blyton is no V-power anywhere near!
Winter was about to set in so the time had come time to think about suitable tyres. Was really more of an excuse to look into different wheel options. Quite fancied going for the rally car look so I photoshopped a set of Compomotives onto a side view of a GT86
Pretty sure this potential look will divide opinion.
More next time...
Edited by ECG1000 on Thursday 28th July 21:31
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