Official 86 / Brz 2017 update details

[Nicebiscuit 655]

7 minutes ago, knightryder said: Most of that won't make it onto a UK TRD (if they sell one at all). The original JDM TRD was different to the UK spec.

Not necessarily, If you guys want that same spec TRD in the UK then the club can make it happen by voicing their opinion. TGB Silently read this forum and they are happy to take advice on models & future models.

Do they? In which case why are we still sat here 4 years on from launch with essentially one spec of car and various special editions with a few cosmetics?

Not blaming the UK particularly as I'm sure this is a corporate issue but I think both enthusiasts and press have been clear from day one...

- Give us a higher power variant, or some factory backed upgrade (as per Mountune with Ford say)

I don't remember anyone really clamouring for versions with different paint jobs and stripes and not much else, however nice some of them are.

Great car but under-developed. Mine is great now, but i needed a fair bit of aftermarket tweaking to achieve it. Would rather have given Toyota the £s in the first place.

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[Gringosteve 213]

The issue is people will not spend the required money for a full fat TRD in this country. The sales numbers will not justify it. People would however spend the extra on a more powerful variant. We are too BHP per £ focused still

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www.tuned.org.uk

[S18 RSG 429]

I can see the appeal of a Mountune style upgrade path from the factory, I think it would be highly successful. The problem is, who would offer it?

The biggest advantage with Ford is that their engines are built in the UK, so it's easy for them to work directly with a UK based tuner to offer a UK friendly tuning package that's tested on our roads, and therefore be suitable for warranty, as they can do it during the building and testing stage of the engine.

As far as I'm aware, the GT86 engine is built in Japan, so it's not so easy for the tuning packages to be as strictly tested, unless they were to work with a Japan based tuner, in which case their UK branches would have to have knowledge of the Japanese tuning packages, whereas Ford can just call directly on Mountune.

We all know TD, Fensport, Abbey etc. are fully capable of this sort of work, so there's an argument for Toyota working with one of those companies to offer factory tuning, but the problem there is, none of the UK based tuners we all love are strictly GT86 specialists, whereas Mountune are 100% Ford, so it works. I don't know if any of our favourite tuners could take on a production run of GT86 tuning packages for the factory models. That's a lot of work.

It's a great idea, but I can see many reasons why it was never pursued.

[Steeps 294]

I don't understand TGB's system regarding parts and upgrades. In Europe if TRD/Toyota make it, they can sell it but in the UK we get a much smaller catalogue of features and a "computer says no" approach if we ask our dealer for parts. I'm not talking about getting something that doesn't exist in Toyota's parts book like a different remap or a turbo, basics like the Aero kit in a different GT86 colour. In Europe it's a dealer fitted part that comes in the same colours as the car, so you can build a Toyota GT86 Aero in blue. If you want a TRD exhaust on the standard car? no problem it's on the order form. They even have the TRD member brace set as an option the same way we can add JBL sound as a Toyota fitted option. Our dealers just say it's not possible, putting the blame back on TGB saying they decide what can and cannot be sourced for the UK.

Could I get a Toyota GT86 Aero in Blue in the UK? No. Can I in EU/JAP/AU/NZ? Yes. In Belgium it's a €1350 option, in the UK I can do it for £3500 by buying the replacement parts for £2200+vat+paint, but they cannot ship over a pre-painted blue kit because computer says no.

3 dealers supposedly asked TGB on my behalf why a blue Aero couldn't be built in the UK and NONE OF THEM got back to me.

Cosworth tried to go down the official route, I'm sure they'd sell a few more cars if you could have a Cosworth badge on the car with a 5 year warranty.

[rob275 1817]

That's because the computer literally says no if it's not a spec for the UK, why they didn't do a blue one in the UK is on the heads of TGB as they have someone responsible for the specifications of the cars. You aren't going to get a performance package from TGB, it's not that they don't want to, they do, trust me i've asked. They just can't as it's far too costly and there's far too much red tape for them to get through. It would take years to finalise something. 

There is no reason why they can't spec a TRD with big brakes & TRD wheels though, if they really wanted to.

[Nicebiscuit 655]

Well all their competitors manage to offer different specs and states of tune. Perhaps the car would have sold better if they had?

I know the debates been had elsewhere but this is a hard sell value wise against an MX5 now.

And I went for a Primo precisely because all the important bits would be identical to a vastly more expensive Aero. Why spend more for some tinsel?

I could stick a turbo on my car and it would STILL owe me less than an Aero.

This isn't a poseurs car, it's a sportscar. For more £ I want more performance. So I spent the bare minimum with Toyota and took the money saved to someone else who would give me some tangible benefits in return.

Just doesn't seem a great marketing plan. Toyota claim they can't do it, but all their competitors offer more genuine variants, and more choice.

You can't even spec wheel upgrades from the factory. You can do that on pretty much any shopping trolley...

And then they build some promo vehicles and don't even offer the parts fitted in case we wanted to replicate them. What's the point? Here's what you can do with an 86 - oh but we won't let our dealer network actually help build you one...

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[Steeps 294]

You can spec different wheels from the factory... as long as you're not sourcing it from TGB. Other countries allow you to freely chose between their in stock 16/17/18" wheels, probably more in the dealers but those 3 are available though their country dealer network. Whether you want Aero or not in any colour, any TRD parts that are manufactured fitted to the car... then again I've just had my local tell me they need the car in for a FULL DAY to see the rust on my door pillars which is already a known fault, could be confirmed in 5 seconds but again computer says no, has to be a full day.

[Lauren 2259]

As ever, people miss the point I think. I don't understand why there is such an obsession with people wanting Toyota to produce a car that is modified to their needs. The car is made for the aftermarket and that really is the point. This is why the AE86 over 30 years later still has such a huge following and why there are still so many parts available in the aftermarket. Toyota want this for the GT86 and that's how it is. It gives so much more choice and you buy the car as a starting point to make your own. Just like all those that have AE86's did previously. 

Historically Toyota have always offered a relative lack of change in spec for the UK market, compared with other markets. Their general approach is to offer a car that is more or less fully loaded and only sell one or perhaps two specs of model. I doubt that will change anytime soon. 

[KevinA 695]

Well said Lauren  think that sums it up perfectly.

[Nicebiscuit 655]

Ok fair enough. I'm sure you're right, but it's not a great recipe for selling that many of them.

A few factory tweaks could have resulted in the car aceing every comparison rather than the slightly qualified approval the car has received.

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[MikeB 79]

Agree with Lauren, are the end of the day we all like our GTs/BRZ and it's a great car whether you chose to modify it or not. 

[undercharged 17]

The new TRD version in black is pure Batmobile.

[Nicebiscuit 655]

Batmobile had better wheel offset

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