Modified GT86 as a daily driver
Discussion
Hi guys,
Hoping for bit of a steer here.
I currently drive a 986S Porsche Boxster and have been resisting the need to get something more practical. I have a german shepherd dog who I take pretty much everywhere with me. She is quite happy in the passenger seat of the Boxster and we go around the country for days out and trips away together. That doesn't really leave much (any) room for another human being to come with me ... and I've just started dating a lady who does not have a car.
I knew this would happen eventually, and have spent months mulling over all sorts of options for something that's fun to drive, and allows me to take the dog, a person and a little luggage on a trip. Ideally I'd like a Boxster with back seats ... but a 911 feels like a lot of extra money for a very similar car.
So my thoughts turned to a GT86. They're a little more money than a Boxster, but a lot newer. Apparently they handle very well and are a lot of fun. The only fly in the ointment is the downgrade of the 3.2L flat 6 to a 2L flat 4 ... and the resulting drop in performance. I'm not much of a straight line hero, so not looking for much - the Boxster is 250bhp-ish and 1250-1300kg and that's absolutely fine for me. Therefore a GT86 with a supercharger/turbo conversion feels like an ideal match. It might not be quite as characterful as the flat 6, but it'll definitely match the performance.
Browsing adverts for GT86s, and there doesn't seem to be much of a premium for pre-converted cars ... therefore it makes sense to buy one pre-modded rather than buying a stock one and spending a chunk of change myself on the conversion. This is where I'm lacking in insider knowledge and turning to the collective wisdom here.
Firstly, are supercharged or turbocharged GT86s suitable for everyday driving duties? Are they reliable? Will the conversion make them grumpy in stop-start traffic, or generally bit of a pain in anything but full attack driving? Do I need to find a friendly MOT tester (do they even still exist?) to pass the emissions test? Or does it give an OEM+ feel where they retain 100% of their usability and reliability, just with a bit 'more' when you stretch the engine?
Secondly, are there hardware or mapping companies that have a particularly good or bad reputation .... i.e. if you see a turbo conversion from Company X, they are known for a quality install ... if you see it's been mapped by Company Y, then be wary as they've not got a great rep ... I know the PH forum rules can make it difficult to be negative about a company, but I'd be grateful for any and all insights people could give.
Thirdly, a lot of GT86s with a turbo/supercharger conversion appear to have additional modifications beyond just the conversion. Some of these are a matter of taste ... some are easily reversible ... but is there anything which would be detrimental to my enjoyment of the car? I'm thinking that a car lowered to within a knats pubic hair of the floor on rock solid suspension may well not be as fun down a bumpy b-road as a standard car ... but any real life insight that people can give would be appreciated.
Finally, in several of the adverts I've seen, they talk about having multiple maps which are switched between using the cruise control stalk. Does this disable the cruise control function? Or can it still be used as normal, and it's just a very specific combination of presses (which would do nothing on a stock car) that changes the maps.
Thanks for any help the collective forum wisdom can give.
Hoping for bit of a steer here.
I currently drive a 986S Porsche Boxster and have been resisting the need to get something more practical. I have a german shepherd dog who I take pretty much everywhere with me. She is quite happy in the passenger seat of the Boxster and we go around the country for days out and trips away together. That doesn't really leave much (any) room for another human being to come with me ... and I've just started dating a lady who does not have a car.
I knew this would happen eventually, and have spent months mulling over all sorts of options for something that's fun to drive, and allows me to take the dog, a person and a little luggage on a trip. Ideally I'd like a Boxster with back seats ... but a 911 feels like a lot of extra money for a very similar car.
So my thoughts turned to a GT86. They're a little more money than a Boxster, but a lot newer. Apparently they handle very well and are a lot of fun. The only fly in the ointment is the downgrade of the 3.2L flat 6 to a 2L flat 4 ... and the resulting drop in performance. I'm not much of a straight line hero, so not looking for much - the Boxster is 250bhp-ish and 1250-1300kg and that's absolutely fine for me. Therefore a GT86 with a supercharger/turbo conversion feels like an ideal match. It might not be quite as characterful as the flat 6, but it'll definitely match the performance.
Browsing adverts for GT86s, and there doesn't seem to be much of a premium for pre-converted cars ... therefore it makes sense to buy one pre-modded rather than buying a stock one and spending a chunk of change myself on the conversion. This is where I'm lacking in insider knowledge and turning to the collective wisdom here.
Firstly, are supercharged or turbocharged GT86s suitable for everyday driving duties? Are they reliable? Will the conversion make them grumpy in stop-start traffic, or generally bit of a pain in anything but full attack driving? Do I need to find a friendly MOT tester (do they even still exist?) to pass the emissions test? Or does it give an OEM+ feel where they retain 100% of their usability and reliability, just with a bit 'more' when you stretch the engine?
Secondly, are there hardware or mapping companies that have a particularly good or bad reputation .... i.e. if you see a turbo conversion from Company X, they are known for a quality install ... if you see it's been mapped by Company Y, then be wary as they've not got a great rep ... I know the PH forum rules can make it difficult to be negative about a company, but I'd be grateful for any and all insights people could give.
Thirdly, a lot of GT86s with a turbo/supercharger conversion appear to have additional modifications beyond just the conversion. Some of these are a matter of taste ... some are easily reversible ... but is there anything which would be detrimental to my enjoyment of the car? I'm thinking that a car lowered to within a knats pubic hair of the floor on rock solid suspension may well not be as fun down a bumpy b-road as a standard car ... but any real life insight that people can give would be appreciated.
Finally, in several of the adverts I've seen, they talk about having multiple maps which are switched between using the cruise control stalk. Does this disable the cruise control function? Or can it still be used as normal, and it's just a very specific combination of presses (which would do nothing on a stock car) that changes the maps.
Thanks for any help the collective forum wisdom can give.
Just to close this off ... after taking forever to make up my mind, I bought a GT86 last weekend.
It's got the TD stage 1 NA tuning package on, but otherwise pretty much stock.
In the end it was the insurance that tipped it for me. I'm early 40s and can insure pretty much anything reasonable for under 400 quid. But once you start getting into turbo and supercharger conversions, the price quotes seem to spiral out of all proportion to the performance gain.
In a straight line, it's definitely slower than the Porsche, but only by a tiny margin at the sort of B road speeds I spend a lot of my time on. I've also noticed there's a smaller power band, and a big difference in low down torque. The Porsche will happily potter along at 30mph in 6th at barely over idle (and pull cleanly - but slowly - from there), whereas the GT86 seems a bit flustered & about to bog down under 2k rpm in higher gears. It's not a criticism, just something to adapt to after nearly 5 years in the Boxster.
The GT86 is definitely a much busier drive - the gearing is much closer (the Boxster will do 70 in 2nd and 105 in 3rd), and you're up & down the box a lot more than in the Porsche. The ride is also a lot firmer in the GT86 - makes the Porsche almost seem like a GT (as in long distance cruiser ... not a GT3!
) car in comparison. Again, not a criticism, just an observation ... once I'm used to it, I think I'll enjoy the extra level of driver input.
The Toyota definitely seems like it'll be an interesting drive, I look forward to getting to know it and really learn how to get the best out of it. I don't think the slight drop in straight line performance is going to bug me ... but who knows. It'd be interesting to see how they compare round a track. My gut feel is that they'd be just about even over a lap, but making their time in different ways.
It's got the TD stage 1 NA tuning package on, but otherwise pretty much stock.
In the end it was the insurance that tipped it for me. I'm early 40s and can insure pretty much anything reasonable for under 400 quid. But once you start getting into turbo and supercharger conversions, the price quotes seem to spiral out of all proportion to the performance gain.
In a straight line, it's definitely slower than the Porsche, but only by a tiny margin at the sort of B road speeds I spend a lot of my time on. I've also noticed there's a smaller power band, and a big difference in low down torque. The Porsche will happily potter along at 30mph in 6th at barely over idle (and pull cleanly - but slowly - from there), whereas the GT86 seems a bit flustered & about to bog down under 2k rpm in higher gears. It's not a criticism, just something to adapt to after nearly 5 years in the Boxster.
The GT86 is definitely a much busier drive - the gearing is much closer (the Boxster will do 70 in 2nd and 105 in 3rd), and you're up & down the box a lot more than in the Porsche. The ride is also a lot firmer in the GT86 - makes the Porsche almost seem like a GT (as in long distance cruiser ... not a GT3!
) car in comparison. Again, not a criticism, just an observation ... once I'm used to it, I think I'll enjoy the extra level of driver input.The Toyota definitely seems like it'll be an interesting drive, I look forward to getting to know it and really learn how to get the best out of it. I don't think the slight drop in straight line performance is going to bug me ... but who knows. It'd be interesting to see how they compare round a track. My gut feel is that they'd be just about even over a lap, but making their time in different ways.
apx7 said:
Congrats OP wishing you many happy miles ahead, now show us some pictures. 
If you plan to make further mods and improvements (potentially recommended depending on what the car has atm) worth making a readers cars thread. Is it running an aftermarket exhaust manifold? Would recommend (certain) coilovers for a better handling/ride balance.
Imagine a very standard black GT86. It looks like that! If you plan to make further mods and improvements (potentially recommended depending on what the car has atm) worth making a readers cars thread. Is it running an aftermarket exhaust manifold? Would recommend (certain) coilovers for a better handling/ride balance.
So the stage 1 TD tuning package is an unequal length manifold, an aftermarket overpipe, a K&N panel filter to go in the original airbox and a remap. Other than that, it's completely standard, but did come with some additional parts - a very fancy looking Invidia catback exhaust and a Miltek resonated decat pipe that I could choose to fit later if I want. With the stock exhaust on I feel the car is plenty loud enough for a 200bhp car, so not looking for any extra noise. And while I've done the decat hokey-kokey at MOT time in the past, I'm wondering if I'm getting a little old for such shenanigans. So unless those two freed up considerable ponies, I'm unlikely to bother fitting them.
Compared to the Boxster, the GT86 feels very firm and crashy, especially on poor road surfaces. Any suspension changes would need to improve that, whereas it seems a large percentage of GT86 owners merely want their car as low as it can possibly go, and so a lot of aftermarket solutions cater to that.
apx7 said:
Fair enough. You can get a little extra power and torque but if you want to keep things quiet I'd recommend a high flow cat and resonated exhaust. Is the Invidia system the one with a large muffler or 2 smaller cans?
As for ride, coilovers definitely help overall in my opinion. Just avoid the stuff designed for max low stance (BC, HSD, etc). Would recomend Tein Advance Z if you want to get a slight drop and improve handling while retaining comfor, They are quite budget friendly and work out a little more than just 4 replacement OEM struts. Depending on the mileage and the kind of use the car saw over its life I'd also recommend some new bushes etc. Between the short wheelbase and not having much rear suspension travel the car can get quite crashy on OEM suspension, especially as it gets leggy. If your car hasn't got them I'd also recommend at least some front camber bolts, really helps the handling and feel. Any plans for aftermarket wheels?
If you're relatively local to the midlands feel free to compare with my setup (everchanging) and go from there. If you need any specific recommendations etc just drop me a message.
I am very local to the midlands. Just south-west of Coventry.As for ride, coilovers definitely help overall in my opinion. Just avoid the stuff designed for max low stance (BC, HSD, etc). Would recomend Tein Advance Z if you want to get a slight drop and improve handling while retaining comfor, They are quite budget friendly and work out a little more than just 4 replacement OEM struts. Depending on the mileage and the kind of use the car saw over its life I'd also recommend some new bushes etc. Between the short wheelbase and not having much rear suspension travel the car can get quite crashy on OEM suspension, especially as it gets leggy. If your car hasn't got them I'd also recommend at least some front camber bolts, really helps the handling and feel. Any plans for aftermarket wheels?
If you're relatively local to the midlands feel free to compare with my setup (everchanging) and go from there. If you need any specific recommendations etc just drop me a message.
Edited by apx7 on Tuesday 12th March 00:16
As for the exhaust, it has 2 small back boxes stacked on top of each other, 1 for each tailpipe. A quick google and I think it's called the R400 Gemini system and seems to retail for an eye watering amount of money for some shiny bent pipes!
The car has just over 50k miles (on a 63 plate), which makes it by far the least leggy car I've ever owned. However, the previous owner modified it before putting it back to stock-ish to sell it, so I have no idea how many miles the suspension was off the car for. I'll have a poke round under there when the weather warms up. Your thoughts on suspension setups are very useful.
The thing with aftermarket wheels is that to get something lighter and as strong as the average OEM, you usually need to dip pretty deep into your pocket ... and I'm not really driven by asthetics, so unless the right thing came along at the right price, I probably wouldn't consider changing them. Are the stock wheels particularly heavy or something? Just wondering why you asked ...
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