April (continued):
Interior bits!
Now that the wheels and suspension is on it's time to add some subtle touches to the interior.
Thanks to the taobao asian markets i settle for some brushed steel AC knobs & gauge trim, 'T-Carbon' flappy paddle extensions and steering wheel badge. The latter is discontinued but luckily some dude in asia was selling one that he had never installed.
The gauge rings were the hardest to install due to a little bit of brute force being required to remove the top section of the dash. However, it was relatively simple, only requires a screwdriver and there are several videos on youtube.
Although this is just the start for my interior, the result already transforms the feel inside the cabin.
2.5 years ago i bought a 62 plate GT86 with in Silver 50k on the clock. I wanted a change and to be a bit different, plus i live in a city centre (Norwich) so i went for an Auto. Usually I'd avoid AT on most cars but I heard this box was actually pretty good with intelligent down shifting and whatnot. I paid 15k in the end (only 6k over original car budget). The car was advertised much cheaper than all the others at the time due to mileage, so the perfect culprit for a project build. The car also had a good service record (RRG Macclesfield & Bolton) and no initial issues besides an exhaust rattle that was fixed at 10k miles.
As this would be my first build i did a lot of reading up on the car and various mods, and spent a good amount of time with it stock so that i could get to know the vehicle as a daily, and decide whether i was happy with my decision before i put any money into it!
Flash forward one year and i had my first full service to take care of. Thanks to lurking on these forums and reading up about their race car, i then decided to pay the guys at Fensport a visit, only an hour down the road so would be rude not to .
I had the service done with no issues, turns out this was the first time they had done a 60k service, so i was delighted to be the guinea pig! Everything went without a hitch. All the guys are super friendly and enthusiastic. First impressions is this is how a business should be run! I discussed with them my plan for NA tuning + FD mod. Also opted for the HKS panel filter and HKS spark plugs for the service. All good stuff!
The plan now was as follows: 4.67 FD, manifold, remap and license.
- FD for torque/improved 0-60
- Remap + HKS EL catless manifold to address the torque dip
- Suspension to improve stability and handling
This is the arguably the best bang-for-buck option and should be the go-to for anybody who wants a relatively low cost transformation. The next step was going to be new wheels, rubber and suspension.
Happy with the service and eager to do more, we booked in the above for a couple months time, but unfortunately i had some personal issues pop up and we had to cancel . Turns out i would not get around to doing anything with the car until 2017!
February:
During February i decide to start looking around again for wheels as i can't stand the OEM any longer, that and I'd need wider rubber for more power in future anyway. Granted Silver is not a popular car color choice but it actually has potential to look really clean if you pair it with the right wheels & mods. This is by no means an easy task, anything glossy outside of black clashes in my opinion and most colors/finishes just don't sit right. Black is also just a little too dark in contrast to the silver imo and looks better on a black or grey car.
After plenty of poking around i realize that I'm pretty much limited to Matte Gray, Gunmetal could in theory be an alternative option but can look cheap and tacky on some wheels in my opinion (Rota). I also saw a some forgestar in a dark midnight blue that looked really mean with a silver BRZ, so that color might be an option some day if i get bored.
After a fair few restless nights browsing wheels and fitments i stumble across this on the usa forums:
Gram Lights 57C6 18x9.5 +40 'Matte Graphite'
Just what i was looking for. Looks like he decision has been made. However, i contacted the UK distributor only to find that these have been discontinued! I then spend a good couple weeks (!) poking around and come across a small lesser-known company in the USA and look what they have:
Vordoven Forme 6 18x95 +38!
There is a god! A very cruel one who will later sting me roughly £500 on shipping and fees . Although i decided it was worth it when i stumbled across a thread where a guy tried out four different made in usa 'replica' wheels over the course of a year and voted these to be the best by a long shot and turns out the weight isn't far off the Rays either, practically the same in fact. Also no cheap Taiwanese jobby here so i was sold.
March:
Wheels & Yokohama Advan Sport V105 245/35 square setup are ready to go on. Luckily I managed to take this all to the fitting place in one trip! As you can see below four new tyres and wheels of this size will only just fit in the car.
TA-DA! All balanced and fitted by the guys at STS Tyre pros in Norwich, doesn't it look fresh.
I can confirm that this size and offset will only just fit without rubbing on stock suspension, if it wasn't for the mild tyre stretch the front would most definitely rub against the spring. Also worth noting that the wheel caps actually match the color of the body paint too which is a nice touch.
April:
Suspension time..
So i did a lot of research here- I wanted a nicely balanced & silent coilover setup for fast road & track at a reasonable price. I also wanted a mono-tube damper setup rather than a twin tube, plenty of details online between the pros and cons for both types. The Tein Flex A was my second choice as it was a twin tube.
I ended up opting for a set of MeisterR ZetaCRD+ mono-tube dampers and an Eibach rear LCA kit. If you want to go a little more track-focused then heavy duty anti-roll bars would compliment this setup very well, and i will be doing so in good time.
So with these coilovers the spring rate is a bit more sensible than that of other popular solutions. With front at 5kg/mm, rear 4kg/mm
These are designed to be a good fast road setup with enough damping adjustment for occasional track day use.
Front top mount is spherical bearing with camber adjustments.
The rear top mount is rubber insulated press steel to reduce possible road noise.
These are 32 stage damping adjustable mono-tube dampers (compression & rebound combined).
The spring rates of the ZetaCRD+ come out at 5/4 is because of the vehicle dynamic calculation that they do. On the GT86, when you are on the low end of spring rates for fast road, a 5/5 setup is a bit too close between the front and the rear so you could hit a harmonic frequency. The choice then is either 5/4, or 6/5. So they opted for the 5/4 in the end because it suits the requirements of a balanced fast road & track car better.
Pictures of them fitted on the car below, 5mm pre-load at the rear and id say 35-40mm drop all round, i would not go lower as i've already had a few scrapes on speed bumps . Camber at approx -1.5 all round definitely gives the desired aesthetic (yes i do need SS lines).
:
It has totally transformed the ride! Tight, responsive, nimble and composed through the twisties. Feels like a totally different car in many respects now, the grip is insane on NA but doesn't feel bogged down at all once aligned correctly.
For those worried about running a desired 9.5J aesthetic due to weight, just do it. I read a really informative article where different sizes and weights were tested and there was literally a couple tenths of a second difference on a track at most, and i know that most of you wont be building a fully stripped out race car ;).
I'm running damping at 18 clicks from soft front and rear, 16 was a little too soft.
Even though it is stiffer and lower I find the ride to be just as comfortable as stock in my opinion. Everything that I was told was correct, these are the coilovers to go for if you want to upgrade for occasional track without sacrificing too much comfort on the road. Thoroughly impressed. If you have any further questions be sure to hit up Jerrick at MeisterR, he knows his stuff.
Coming Soon: FI and more!
Yeah, I never see too many tbh. I've seen 1 other aero in the whole year I've had mine
Ah, nice one. I did actually see that kit come up... it was in Ireland, right? Was a good deal. My dream is a Cosworth kit to come up second hand I think haha... Although my opinions on FI change almost daily tbh.
Sent you a whatsapp btw.
Very nice, I do remember seeing a silver 86 at Thickthorn a couple of months ago, maybe it was you?
I'm still not sure about modding mine tbh. I don't think I'd go FI for a while, if ever really, as it's such a huge expense. You'll need to keep me posted on how the AVO kit is though
I guess they'd leave the Whatsapp group though if that's gonna be happening so you'd know.
1. Tim86 - Norwich, Norfolk - Silver '86
2. Ade - Nr Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire - Red '86
3. Nerdstrike - Cambridge - Red '86
4. Steeps - Central Beds - Blue '86
5. Ulphy86 - Thurrock, Essex - Black '86
6. Ztox - Witham, Essex - Loud '86
I am about 30mins from Hertfordshire. I work most Saturday's so some meets I probably can't attend and I am shy so even if I did come to any I wouldn't talk much.
Evening guys, I've actually had my 86 for a year now (her first service getting done tomorrow)... but have never actually introduced myself here before
I'm John, originally from Scotland, but moved to sunny Norfolk 3 years ago for work... I'm a design engineer, working in the wonderful world of automotive.
Here's a couple of pics of my 86 Aero on my North Coast road trip last year...
Near Leicester here which im sure counts! Ztox I just replaced my piping and had a remap. Have a 2.5 to 3" avo overpipe to a 3" avo frontpipe followed by the type 80 and the HKS EL manifold. Holy shizz is it loud. The girlfriend Is scared sitting in my car now : P How do you deal with it mate. Parts of me loves how loud it is and tunnels are ridiculous. But it feels a bit much hahahah
Let me know how you get on and what settings that you settle for. I'm still trying to find the sweet spot . I personally think that they are excellent value, but just be sure to set a reasonable amount of pre-load at the rear and have the fronts a little softer. They have a small understeer bias, nothing that can't be calibrated/worked around (i hope).
For comfort vs function i found that 19 clicks from soft was a good starting point. Gives you a feel for how they perform on our roads fresh out the box. 16 is a little too fidgety at lower speeds and on uneven roads. Also lowered the psi in my rubber at the front a tad from 30 to 28.
17 front and 19 rear is still a little too bouncy at the front. I'm going to try 18 / 21 next.
Hope that helps.
Tim86 got a reaction from Keethos in Tim86's Journal - Silver 86 AT - DD & occasional track (East of England)
Tim86 reacted to nerdstrike in *Whatsapp Group* - Eastern counties!