Well hello there o/

[Mya X Ferron 41]

Hi everyone, figured I should make one of these introductory posts, although I feel weird not lurking, haha.

How am I supposed to start this?! I'm a (mature) student at University, just turned 26 on the 16th May \o/ and I've always had a big interest in cars (like literally my dad couldn't get me to sleep as a baby without taking me out for a drive and he's got a heavy right foot haha). I've never really had reason to get involved in any clubs though (my first car was sadly a 1.2 2002 Vauxhall Corsa...) but the addition of the GT86 to our household has just made my Jap car addiction even worse tbh, lol.

My fiancé and I are the proud owners of a 2013 black GT86 and if all goes to plan will be on stand with the rest of you lovely people at Japfest Donnington! Car's completely stock at the moment but the list of potential modifications is getting longer everyday (might even have changed it's stock status by Japfest). My other half isn't one for social media and forums so you get me instead. My general mechanical knowledge of cars is alright but nothing to shout about, but I'm learning everyday and the GT86 has been a brilliant car to do that with. Hoping this club will be able to help me get a little bit more comfortable in the car scene.

Anyway rambling over, looking forward to meeting you all and thanks for being so welcoming and lovely so far (on Facebook). 

Here's a picture of the car;

[Cerastes 204]

Welcome. 

Unfortunately I am not on facebook, well I am but I don't use it. So you can find me here. 

What have you got planned for it? Don't be afraid to keep it stock for a bit longer, it's still lots of fun. Once you start modding, you won't stop or at least I haven't.  

Oh and happy belated birthday 

[Mya X Ferron 41]

Thanks! 

We've thought about loads of things, most extravagent being forced induction but we're unsure. Turbo would be great but the consensus seems to be that a supercharger is better for 'daily' driving (although I'm more fond of a turbo personally, for superficial reasons). So far the only solid things we have planned are a bunch of cosmetic changes (plus a few QoL changes like new oil filter etc), a full exhaust and different tyres, would like to change brakes as well but £££ lol. 

We'll probably keep it stock (minus the cosmetics) for a while anyway yeah because we still have a few more months of warranty left and we want to try and do as much as possible ourselves, so need to garner some more knowledge/ideas. But, I have this picture perfect idea of what I want it to look, sound and drive like, we've both kind of said that we don't want to push it beyond around 300ps though. 

[Cerastes 204]

I see. If I was to go forced induction I probably would go turbo too; I think there is a video somewhere on youtube by engineering explained comparing the differences, pros and cons of both etc, and for me personally I would go turbo. However for me, I love the car as it is; more than enough power and fun for me. 

 

Yea most of those modifications are expensive. Forums members would help you here and suggest you probably don't need the BBK unless you are going racing. 

[Lauren 2259]

Welcome aboard. I'd say drive the car stock before you start playing with it. I wouldn't worry about warranty for essentials like exhausts and wheels and then suspension which becomes inevitable as soon as you put aftermarket wheels on. 

I'm not convinced this car needs forced induction, unless your fun is predominantly in a straight line, but others will beg to differ I'm sure. An exhaust, manifold and remap makes a big difference to how the car drives and fills in the torque gaps in the mid-range which makes the most worthwhile difference of all. Stuff like coilovers takes the handling to another level and then all the fun you can have is most definitely in the corners which is what the car is all about I think.

[Mya X Ferron 41]

Well, been hearing rumors about brake fade when you take it on the track with OEM brakes. Track days are a definite wish in the future, but it's still hear say as far as I'm concerned until there's more people to ask about it.

[Lauren 2259]

Depends how good or not you are at braking. Less is more and all that. If you are the last of the late brakers then you will get fade. They stand up okay in my experience. Aftermarket pads will bring a slight improvement, but if you do short-ish sessions of around ten minutes at a time they are fine. 

[Deacon 1357]

Welcome on board!

You definitely have to get it out on track - they're sooooo much fun on track!

[Mya X Ferron 41]

1 hour ago, Lauren said:

Welcome aboard. I'd say drive the car stock before you start playing with it. I wouldn't worry about warranty for essentials like exhausts and wheels and then suspension which becomes inevitable as soon as you put aftermarket wheels on. 

I'm not convinced this car needs forced induction, unless your fun is predominantly in a straight line, but others will beg to differ I'm sure. An exhaust, manifold and remap makes a big difference to how the car drives and fills in the torque gaps in the mid-range which makes the most worthwhile difference of all. Stuff like coilovers takes the handling to another level and then all the fun you can have is most definitely in the corners which is what the car is all about I think.

Also, heard that changing coilovers isn't worth it unless you're spending megabucks, do you have any recommendations (for future reference)?

[Lauren 2259]

Depends what you mean by mega bucks. I think stuff like TEIN Flex A's offer good value for money for what you get and you can move the handling up a level. There are quite a lot of options, but it depends how serious you want to get with it. Most go for the Flex A's. There is the option of the EDFC Active Pro go with it which I've had for over three years now. 

I'd say it's definitely worth it and a lot better than the cheap option of lowering springs. 

[Mya X Ferron 41]

Alright thanks, and yea steering clear of lowering springs, the car is fun no point runing it for aesthetic purposes xD (mega bucks meaning thousands)

[Lauren 2259]

Around £850, for Flex A's. You'd want to add at least offset poly bushes or budget for spending on lower control arms for rear camber adjustment. 

[Bfranklyn86 52]

2 hours ago, Mya X Ferron said:

Well, been hearing rumors about brake fade when you take it on the track with OEM brakes. Track days are a definite wish in the future, but it's still hear say as far as I'm concerned until there's more people to ask about it.

I think with the stock brakes, yes I was having problems on track even under NA power. However, I've heard that they can be upgraded to perfectly adequate with some not-too costly items like new pads.

I went straight for the BBK because I took the power up by 50%, so I wanted to significantly improve the braking too. 

And, I totally agree with Deacon that you need to take it on track....otherwise you'll be missing out on some of the best fun you can have in it. 

[Bfranklyn86 52]

1 hour ago, Lauren said:

Around £850, for Flex A's. You'd want to add at least offset poly bushes or budget for spending on lower control arms for rear camber adjustment. 

What should we budget (roughly) for those other two items?

what do the offset polybushes do?

[Lauren 2259]

Offset poly bushes allow you to adjust the rear camber as there is no provision as stock. Adustable lower control arms allow an easier way to adjust rear camber but obviously are more expensive. The bushes are something like £30, LCA's range from £200-500 or so. 

I've got the offset bushes. They are a massive pain to adjust as you have to remove the bush, rotate it and re-fit everything then check the geo. Obviously once you've got through the pain of that, then it serves the same purpose as the LCA's. But labour charges might be more as it will take longer to get right. 

[Deacon 1357]

10 hours ago, Bfranklyn86 said:

What should we budget (roughly) for those other two items?

what do the offset polybushes do?

If you go the rear camber bushes route get the whiteline ones not the ones Lauren has as the whiteline ones are adjustable on the car and so are far, far better.

[Delirious_ 13]

Welcome!

11 hours ago, Lauren said:

Around £850, for Flex A's. You'd want to add at least offset poly bushes or budget for spending on lower control arms for rear camber adjustment. 

Hey Lauren, where are you seeing the Flex A's for £850? I thought they were closer to £1k?

[Lauren 2259]

Saw them at this price when I Googled. Was at Amber. It may be plus VAT, I didn't check tbh.

[Rich 378]

I got mine for less than £800 from Amber a year or so ago. They seem a lot more expensive now, possibly due to the weak pound.

[GT86Bob 61]

On 5/22/2017 at 6:42 PM, Mya X Ferron said:

Well, been hearing rumors about brake fade when you take it on the track with OEM brakes. Track days are a definite wish in the future, but it's still hear say as far as I'm concerned until there's more people to ask about it.

Welcome! I did a few track days on stock pads. IMO when they start to fade it's time to give the car a rest anyway.