RE: The half-price Toyota GT86: Spotted

[golfer19]

The rear lights never looked right to me and let the car down.
They remind me of those Lexus lights that we're all the rage a few years ago.
There must be a decent upgrade for these.

[niva441]

I've been tempted by these a couple of times but been put off by two things. Coal hole black interior (is a light headlining available at least). Also as a serial automatic buyer how good a fit is it to the engine characteristics, given the earlier mentioned torque characteristics and the top 2 auto gear ratios are overdrives?

My thought is there are reasons why autos are very much in the minorty on the used market.

[Flibble]

golfer19 said:

The rear lights never looked right to me and let the car down.
They remind me of those Lexus lights that we're all the rage a few years ago.
There must be a decent upgrade for these.

There are quite a number of alternatives, depending on what you like. Also the 2017 model has a new design which is a bit less Lexus chrome bling.

niva441 said:

I've been tempted by these a couple of times but been put off by two things. Coal hole black interior (is a light headlining available at least). Also as a serial automatic buyer how good a fit is it to the engine characteristics, given the earlier mentioned torque characteristics and the top 2 auto gear ratios are overdrives?

My thought is there are reasons why autos are very much in the minorty on the used market.

I don't think there's a light interior, just contrast red elements on the seats.

The auto is a slushbox rather than something a bit more snappy, which doesn't help. It's geared a bit longer than the manual as well; auto owners often change the final drive to pep the car up a little.

[GadgeS3C]

niva441 said:

I've been tempted by these a couple of times but been put off by two things. Coal hole black interior (is a light headlining available at least). Also as a serial automatic buyer how good a fit is it to the engine characteristics, given the earlier mentioned torque characteristics and the top 2 auto gear ratios are overdrives?

My thought is there are reasons why autos are very much in the minorty on the used market.

I was surprised that there were so many autos available used and as pre-reg. Maybe they just don't sell quick.

[grumpynuts]

The auto's are great cars if you use the paddles, and drive it like a manual. You can change with either the gear lever or paddles, whichever you prefer. I'd almost go as far as saying that it is easier to drive fast as an auto as you can get down the box quickly and easil to find the power, and if you like that sort of thing, it blips for you as you down change. Top gear in an auto is higher than the manual, so makes any motorway runs more relaxing and better economy. I have done @25k miles in a manual an the same in an auto, both have their merits, I love them both. I'd like a bit more grip and more noise, and maybe 20bhp, so easily fixable to not much outlay , wheels n tyres, catback system and induction kit. What's not to like, miles better that all the turbocharged shyte out there.

[LasseV]

Conscript said:

Yup. I've owned mine for just over 4 years now. Couldn't think of anything I wanted to replace it with, but I did have two minor gripes with the car - that torque dip, and the fact that the engine could sound a bit nicer. Took the car to Abbey Motorsport and had a new manifold fitted and a remap; about a 10% increase in peak power (which I think is quite respectable for N/A tuning), but the main objective was sorting the torque dip which has now been flattened out. Obviously the car is still not massively powerful, and still encourages you to rev it out. But the more linear torque increase in the midrange makes it much nicer to drive, and the engine now has a sportier rasp to it at high revs


Don't have a digital copy but he's a photo of the dyno plot now. Green is a stock car without map.

Actually that is a very nice torque curve. And nice power/gains over stock. How it revs?

[KaiserDahms]

These will become very popular when the prices drop more. When I was in Japan I saw countless modified GT86's, I don't think I saw many stock ones.

Only issue is that in Japan aftermarket parts are a lot easier to get and are generally cheaper than here.

[JQ]

Conscript said:

Yup. I've owned mine for just over 4 years now. Couldn't think of anything I wanted to replace it with, but I did have two minor gripes with the car - that torque dip, and the fact that the engine could sound a bit nicer. Took the car to Abbey Motorsport and had a new manifold fitted and a remap; about a 10% increase in peak power (which I think is quite respectable for N/A tuning), but the main objective was sorting the torque dip which has now been flattened out. Obviously the car is still not massively powerful, and still encourages you to rev it out. But the more linear torque increase in the midrange makes it much nicer to drive, and the engine now has a sportier rasp to it at high revs


Don't have a digital copy but he's a photo of the dyno plot now. Green is a stock car without map.

If you don't mind me asking, how much did the mods cost in total?

[Flibble]

JQ said:

If you don't mind me asking, how much did the mods cost in total?

A manifold and remap will set you back about £1.5-2k. My torque curve is similar and it really improves the driveability of the car; you can just accelerate smoothly from 3k rather than needing to rev it up to 5k to avoid the torque dip.

[Tuvra]

Flibble said:

A manifold and remap will set you back about £1.5-2k. My torque curve is similar and it really improves the driveability of the car; you can just accelerate smoothly from 3k rather than needing to rev it up to 5k to avoid the torque dip.

That seems like an AWFUL lot of money for a Manifold and remap does it not?

[Flibble]

Tuvra said:

That seems like an AWFUL lot of money for a Manifold and remap does it not?

£500-1.2k for a manifold, £500 for a remap, a few hundred in labour to fit. You can get the price down by fitting it yourself of course.

[PeterRedGT86]

I have owned a GT86 since 2012. The value for money issue was a little different in Australia. The base model, 16" wheels, but a little more kit than yours sold for $2K less than the base model NA Mini over here.

I have gradually made little changes over the 5 years and recommend the order as:
1) New tyres. More stick but more importantly sidewalls that do not give in. The VSC was far less intrusive on the better tyres.
2) A wheel alignment by someone with a lot of GT86 experience. This transformed the car.
3) Exhaust, Milltek resonated cat back. 7% increase in power & torque at the top but probably 15% further down, no ECU update. Pulls a gear higher.
4) Coil overs. Front spring rates from 2.3 to 6.0 and smoother over ridges in the road. Spectacular but not as important for enjoyment as the first 3.

Yes the car handles the power effortlessly but you do not need to wring it out to get enjoyment and to be travelling rather quickly.
Regards
Peter

[Conscript]

LasseV said:

Actually that is a very nice torque curve. And nice power/gains over stock. How it revs?

I haven't really had a chance to exercise it properly - colder, darker mornings at this time of year means less opportunity to get out for a Sunday morning drive. It feels much more willing to to be revved out now, this could partly be because it sounds better.

JQ said:

If you don't mind me asking, how much did the mods cost in total?

I was lucky enough to be able to buy them slightly used off someone on the owner's club forums who had returned his car to stock to sell it - so the manifold and CAT (I forgot to mention, the CAT was also replaced with a high flow Cobra sports cat) cost me £1300, the labour to fit by Abbey, then have the car remapped was about £700.

You'd probably be looking to pay a fair bit more for a new manifold...it's made by Ace, an American company, so expensive to import and also subject to exchange rate differences. But it's apparently the most reliable at removing the torque hole and giving that flatter curve.

Edited by Conscript on Wednesday 29th November 10:38

[LordGrover]

Flibble said:

Tuvra said:

That seems like an AWFUL lot of money for a Manifold and remap does it not?

£500-1.2k for a manifold, £500 for a remap, a few hundred in labour to fit. You can get the price down by fitting it yourself of course.

I paid a lot less than that for UEL from Tuning Developments.

[Flibble]

LordGrover said:

I paid a lot less than that for UEL from Tuning Developments.

Those are effectively TD prices - their "NA package", which is manifold + remap is £1495 including fitting. Just a manifold is £700, but then you're looking at fitting and a £500 map anyway.