GR86 handling - me or the car?
Discussion
I've had my GR86 for 18months since new and have covered 15k miles, in that time I've taken it on a fabulous tour of Scotland plus enjoyed it on my local Yorkshire roads.
With it being a daily, I'm conscious that almost any car can start to feel mundane.
Lately I've become irritated by the handling/balance of the car which was today highlighted when I went for a more spirited drive. In short. I feel that my front wheels aren't connected enough to the road and that there is too much weight going to the rear. I'm not a tail happy driver and tend to value accurate inputs.
A good example is if I have to 'dart' around a pothole or similar whilst doing sensible speeds - the car just isn't planted enough at the front although please don't feel I'm describing understeer.
One thing which doesn't help is I can't quite get my seating / steering wheel position just right which makes my own personal balance feel a bit off.
Tyre pressures are standard 2.4 at rest, PS4 tyres with 5mm tread having run Cross-Climate through winter.
Thoughts?
With it being a daily, I'm conscious that almost any car can start to feel mundane.
Lately I've become irritated by the handling/balance of the car which was today highlighted when I went for a more spirited drive. In short. I feel that my front wheels aren't connected enough to the road and that there is too much weight going to the rear. I'm not a tail happy driver and tend to value accurate inputs.
A good example is if I have to 'dart' around a pothole or similar whilst doing sensible speeds - the car just isn't planted enough at the front although please don't feel I'm describing understeer.
One thing which doesn't help is I can't quite get my seating / steering wheel position just right which makes my own personal balance feel a bit off.
Tyre pressures are standard 2.4 at rest, PS4 tyres with 5mm tread having run Cross-Climate through winter.
Thoughts?
Have you every had the alignment checked / setup?
According to bits I've picked up on https://www.gr-zoo.com unlike the GR Yaris the tolerances on the 86 apparently aren't as scrutinised post-build so some cars are bit "out".
The standard setup doesn't have a huge range of adjustment but just going back to OEM spec or making some slight adjustments can help. For anything more you need to look at camber bolts and control arms etc.
GR-Zoo should have some setups to look at as well as general geo chat.
According to bits I've picked up on https://www.gr-zoo.com unlike the GR Yaris the tolerances on the 86 apparently aren't as scrutinised post-build so some cars are bit "out".
The standard setup doesn't have a huge range of adjustment but just going back to OEM spec or making some slight adjustments can help. For anything more you need to look at camber bolts and control arms etc.
GR-Zoo should have some setups to look at as well as general geo chat.
Edited by thetapeworm on Monday 12th May 23:19
thetapeworm said:
Have you every had the alignment checked / setup?
According to bits I've picked up on https://www.gr-zoo.com unlike the GR Yaris the tolerances on the 86 apparently aren't as scrutinised post-build so some cars are bit "out".
The standard setup doesn't have a huge range of adjustment but just going back to OEM spec or making some slight adjustments can help. For anything more you need to look at camber boots and control arms etc.
GR-Zoo should have some setups to look at as well as general geo chat.
I haven't but TBH, it feels similar to 48-hr demo car I had but you're right, a geo check is an obvious next step. According to bits I've picked up on https://www.gr-zoo.com unlike the GR Yaris the tolerances on the 86 apparently aren't as scrutinised post-build so some cars are bit "out".
The standard setup doesn't have a huge range of adjustment but just going back to OEM spec or making some slight adjustments can help. For anything more you need to look at camber boots and control arms etc.
GR-Zoo should have some setups to look at as well as general geo chat.
Reflecting a bit more, perhaps it's a car that I need to be bit more dialled in with and drive it the way it should be driven more often.
Something doesn’t seem quite right here. I really think the geo is not right.
I’ve just come back from Belgium where I attended the Ypres Lotus Day as a past guest.
My GR performed perfectly on the 200km drive out on the farm tracks and handled amazingly with the Elise and Evoras. My friend that was following me in his Evora was saying the car is very quick through the twisty stuff and he had trouble keeping up with me at times.
I’ve just come back from Belgium where I attended the Ypres Lotus Day as a past guest.
My GR performed perfectly on the 200km drive out on the farm tracks and handled amazingly with the Elise and Evoras. My friend that was following me in his Evora was saying the car is very quick through the twisty stuff and he had trouble keeping up with me at times.
Adjusting the alignment can be as little as £50. Can make a huge difference even to a car that doesn;t handle that bad. Would be madness not to get it checked or adjusted. using someone used to setting up the GR86 would be the next step up from just getting it set as per the manufacturers settings.
I find the GR86 to be quite sensitive to tyre pressures and the standard 2.4 is too high unless you happen to driving with 3 passengers and their luggage.
Try 2.2 cold pressure all round and see if that helps.
I've done 8k in my 86 and don't get the feeling you describe so alignment could be worth looking at, or rotating the wheels or replacing the tyres.
Try 2.2 cold pressure all round and see if that helps.
I've done 8k in my 86 and don't get the feeling you describe so alignment could be worth looking at, or rotating the wheels or replacing the tyres.
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