KobayashiMaru

Try a BMW. It's all personal at the end of the day. The 86 is fun but might feel a bit crude and unrefined if you like your Skoda from a daily commuting perspective. The BMW is a halfway house.
 
I still wouldn't swap, but the 86 is what it is and I can see why many would prefer a baby BMW. The sales figures bear that out.
 
Will tell you one thing though - a ten year old wandered over the other day and said 'cool car, mate'. That never happened with the 1 series.
 
And you know what? He's right...
 
 
 
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@KobayashiMaru
I echo what @knightryder has said.
My 135i E82 coupe was an epic monster. Being lightly breathed on it was 420hp and 500+ llbft. This is in the territory of keeping up with GTR's and F430s. Mine had a lot of work done on the chassis side which made it and epic road car and a fairly good track car! The guy who sold it to me changed to a M135i hatch as soon as they came out as he had kids. We have had them both out on track at the same time. He was on adaptive suspension and his car out the box matched my older car with all the work done. The chassis tech moves on a hell of a lot.
The two big problems with the 135i on track is, keeping temps under control when your mapped. Stock seems to be fine. The second is steering from the rear by throttle, the car has a staggered setup, 225 front 255 rear, and an open diff. This just leads to push understeer. I would have the M performace LSD in it if I got one, and maybe a square setup.
 
However my 135i being my weekend car, wasn't special enough for me, my charged 86 puts a bigger smile on my face and feels more special. It is more of a drivers car than the BMW as you really need to drive it to get the best out of it, and its light and responsive.
 
If am honest, I would have a M135i, M235i over the 86 for a daily, but as a second toy the 86 wins.

I've had a GT86 for 3.5 years and recently thought about changing it. I narrowed it down to a facelift GT86, a Golf R and an M135i. I test drove both of the latter. The Golf R was refined, quick and had a surprisingly good ride quality. The M135i was fine until you started to push hard and then it started to get a bit untidy. In my opinion a great engine waiting for a great chassis. The Golf was tempting but I didn't think it had the same finesse as the GT86. A great car, though. In the end, as my car is low mileage, I decided to spend some money on some mods and keep it for a bit longer. The nice problem is that the GT86 spoils you and it's difficult to find something that is as good a driver's car until you start to spend a lot more money. Although I haven't driven the facelifted car, I've seen it at the showroom and the interior is now much better (with the exception of the crappy audio head unit and the stereo). What I struggle to understand is that Toyota changed the interior, the exterior, and the handling but the one thing most people wanted them to do - give the engine some more power - they didn't. I think an extra 20% would really complement the car without spoiling what makes it what it is. 

If you want an '86, get one. Who gives a toss what other people think? Sure it's not the most powerful car per &, but it's the most engaging and fun to drive. And how much of that massive power can you actually use anyway?
Someone else on here sold the GT86 and got a Golf R. Lasted 6 months before they swapped back. The Golf R is, by all accounts, a boring lump to drive,

The first review I did of the new car back in February was in near freezing conditions and in wet and greasy conditions. Richard of RRG Toyota Macclesfield, asked if I'd like to try the car now temperatures and weather is becoming more spring like. 
Unsuprisingly I opted for the same usual test route, the 'Lauren Triangle' which covers the A534 out of Macclesfield, a left up onto the twisty A54 at Boseley and when I get to the top I take the infamous A537 Cat & Fiddle on the downhill back to Macc'. 
First impressions again are the car feels good. The ride is good and well resolved. Though the spring rate is reduced, the anti-roll bar thickness has been increased to compensate this. What you end up with is a more compliant ride, whilst the roll is as well controlled as before in the corners. The balance of the car stays the same. This is a good thing. Yes, you can provoke some understeer, but for me, I'm so used to trailing my braking into corners and my familiarity with the car, means that I just don't encounter understeer. This is almost the problem of knowing the GT86 so well, I've adapted my driving to get the most out of it, so it is a non-issue to me. As I remember in the last test drive, the track mode does it's stuff, allowing a bit more slip in the old sport mode which is a good thing too. I absolutely admit, that if I'm pushing on in my car, I will simply turn all the aids off, but I wonder if that extra bit of slip means track mode is simply enough on the public road not to warrant turning everything off. 
Review 2 MY2017 GT86 by Lauren Blighton, on Flickr
There's a part of me that realises that driving the car in slippery conditions almost elicited more information in terms of reviewing as it was far easier to break the limits of adhesion, though what is clear that in the dry the Primacy tyre offers plenty of grip. The car feels taught, responsive and the response from the throttle is clean and crisp. With the newer model car, oil temperature can be clearly seen. It was notable that with some brisk driving keep the revs high on the uphill A54, oil temperatures were around 110C. They do seem to increase quite quickly, but also come down fairly quickly too. 
Review 2 MY2017 GT86 by Lauren Blighton, on Flickr
Overall, this second drive, merely confirms my first thoughts, I had back in February. This is a great car out of the box, handling wise it's more compliant than the older car, but just as much fun, nothing has been lost. It's a nicer place to be also thanks to the upgrades in the interior. The track mode allows a bit more fun without it getting too lairy and this is great news for the driver that wants to have fun, but may need to have their enthusiasm curbed by the stability control should they get carried away. I commented to Richard that in my mind, it is no issue that Toyota didn't increase the power, because if you can really drive it, you really don't need anymore and the reponsiveness of an NA engine is impossible to beat, it gives that sharpness to the response that is exactly what you need when balancing what is a great chassis mid-corner. I also take the viewpoint, that less is more, in that it encourages you to carry your momentum into the corners rather than simply rely on the skill deficit of point and squirt down the straights that so many do when the car is dominated by how much power it has. So working for it, is really what it's all about and this really, is what a great driver's car is all about.

Sensors are dealer fit option. Its possible you could get them to be fitted later on for similar cost, worth asking the dealer. The cameras are simple enough to fit, there's a few DIYs about. Kits can be found on eBay or Fensport do one.

Only had mine turbo'd for 4 months, but no real complaints so far.
Economy is better than before, drivability is on a new level, throttle response isn't significantly worse, sure there's a little turbo lag, but that's to be expected. It's far better than even some OEM applications I've tried (looking at you Mitsubishi Evo 9 FQ340).
The main thing I had to get used to was the throttle sensitivity, which was a result of the mapping. Took me about 6-8 weeks to get used to it. I still occasionally struggle balancing the throttle, especially on hill starts and pulling off when cold, but that's more my fault than the cars'.
Not had chance to get it on track since, but not had any heat issues on weekend blasts in the Welsh mountains, and that's a fairly brutal road test.
 

So as some of you know, I had a small accident in my GT86 in July. I wanted to write this post for a few reasons…
 
To hopefully share my experience and some lessons learnt!
To give some insight to how insurance companies handle claims.
Praise the fantastic work that RRG Toyota carried out on my work.
 
So first things first.. The accident...
 
Great Yarmouth, coming out of town with my girlfriend to go get a milkshake. Very familiar with the roads, cruising around 15 - 20 mph past the hollywood cinema. Not paying attention and gave it a little too much throttle before the car was in a straight line. The back snapped out of place as if we we’re on ice. I tried to correct, over corrected as the back of the car just felt insanely light. And unfortunately the front end met with a road sign post. I think it was a mix of greasy roads, not paying attention as chatting about our milkshake and the fact i’d got to complacent with the car and trusted the budget tyres too much!
 
Impact was probably around 25 mph. We were turning a sharp right hand corner, so nothing dramatic and well within the legal limits….
 

 

 
On initial inspection the engine is fine, it drives and rolls, apart from a flat tyre. Everything just looks cosmetic. at this points. Anyway the car is transported off to the insurance to deal with..
 
Now this is where the lessons start and some pointers.
What was different? I’ve done this corner hundreds of times, hundreds of times faster, many times a little sideways, it was one of those ideal corners to just blip the throttle and get the back end out of shape. But enough room to correct.
 
Tyres! About 2 -3 weeks prior to the accident i’d decided to buy some new 18” wheels. They came included with some budget tyres. Excited to get the wheels on, and not really in a position to spend £400 - £500 on new tyres. I lived with them. The tyres seemed great. I’d even taken them on track once or twice. However in conjunction with the very dry weather and then a sudden down pour the Sunday afternoon, this particular corner was like ice to these cheap budget tyres. Progression was zero, control was zero and any chance of correcting was slim. The tyres were doing nothing.
 
So lesson one. Never put budget tyres or trust budget tyres on any car. I will never be tight on tyres again. And this has been an expensive lesson learnt the hard way!
 
The fun begins…
 
The insurance company approved repaired decide to write it off due to being uneconomical to repair. But being persistent and pretty gutted at this outcome I decided to enquire. Turns out they’d quoted £3000 I repeat, £3000 to repair the fog light. Which considered of a broken plug on the end of a harness. They wanted to replace the entire harness, which included all the engine control stuff. For £3000! They also missed most of the chassis damage and misdiagnosed this. They hadn’t quoted the Air Con correctly as the GT86 uses a different gas which is more expensive etc. etc. etc. These things went on and on. Spraying an entire door because of a stone chip etc. And these are the insurance companies “Approved Repaired and professional body shop dedicated to repairing your car”...
 
After telling the insurance company I wanted a second quote I paid and got the Car to Richard (Riceburner) of RRG Macclesfield to quote.
 
RRG were fantastic, and the repair was approved and went ahead.
 
Now as some of you know I have done some modifications to my GT86.
Suspension,
Exhaust,
Wheels,
Tyres,
Brakes
and some stickers.
 
Main components as the suspension and exhaust were declared. But i’d not really ever bothered about stickers or the tyres etc. Not thinking anything of it.
 
The insurance company come down hard! REAL HARD! People. Declared everything!
 
My policy actually became VOID for a short while, and RRG were not given authority to repair the car. Now with me in serious disbelief thinking, how can they void the policy for some stickers and tyres! Which 90% of cars on the road have changes or are not OEM spec!
I finally get to speak to the underwriter, I have to explain my reasoning for these modifications and why they are not on the policy. Why have you got ‘blacked out badges’ and Subaru BRZ Side Fenders. Now this wasn’t a problem, and I just paid an extra £12 to add them to my policy and the policy was Legal again and the repair continued.
 
Lesson 2, Declare everything! And I mean Everything. My policy now has, stickers, tyres, brake pads, bug shit and swirl marks listed. I was lucky and got a kind underwriter and managed to convince him it was a genuine mistake and didn’t think they needed declaring. But if you get an un-happy underwriter or can’t justify why you’ve changed parts. Then your policy is void. you get 6 points for illegal insurance and the repair bill to pay! It also delayed the repair by nearly a week! Urggh!
 
Although my insurance modification fiasco didn’t stop there. I then got an email asking me to justify why, I had fitted…….. A Turbo system, Brace bars and cold intake system.  
My car doesn’t have a turbo.
 
And it is impossible to have a turbo from the photos the insurance company got. …
 

Tell me how there is a turbo fitted in that picture…  
 
The brace bars are standard, and the cold intake was the air intake funnel behind the bumper… All stock!
 
Anyway, finally after they’d called Fensport, RRG, and a few other places to confirm my car didn’t have a turbo, the repair continued.
 
From this point it all gets a little more relaxing and things begin to take shape and be repaired.
 

 

 
 
I decided that I would bite the bullet and go TRD Body kit whilst it was in for repair. I was going to get the car back pretty much stock, without my originally body kit fitted as that was damaged and couldn’t be replaced under insurance. So decided to order the TRD Kit. Which Richard agreed to fit and paint for me. (Obviously not being paid for via the insurance) But any additional was from my own cash.
 
Of course the other thing I done straight away was bought a set of very good premium tyres. Eagle F1 XLs. Which I had delivered at RRG and they fitted.
 
Whilst this was all going on I had my birthday which I got a Fensport Voucher. I was determined to spend this on something I wouldn’t usually buy myself and didn’t want to put it towards repairing the car. So decided to go for the Smaller TS Steering wheel which i’d always fancied but couldn’t justify buying myself.
 
On its way to RRG it went. Another thing Richard very very kindly agreed to fit whilst being repaired for me.
 
Also managed to get hold of the full Samco kit. Guess where this ended up going…. (Sorry Richard). More stuff to fit.
 
Next up was JAE, where some how I was convinced to buy a front strut bar…. And who was there. Richard. After this I think he went home before I gave him anything else to fit.
 
Anyway by this point I was now quite excited to be picking up the car again,
 
New TRD, Steering Wheel, Samco, Brace bar and a few other little bits.
 
Richard kept sending me teaser photos, which I wasn’t sure if I liked or not. Especially once I knew it was back together and he was driving it.
 

 
 
Anyway, the day came, he gave me the date to pick up! Extremely excited we traveled up to Macclesfield and stayed over the night before. 5 minutes from RRG. We got to RRG about 10pm and actually managed not to go and peek at it, Not wanting to ruin any surprise of seeing it properly in the sunlight.
 
For some reason I woke up at 4am that morning. Due to pick the car up at 10am. Wondering how on earth I was going to wait until 10am to pick up!
 
Whilst sitting in McDonalds I get this photo through and the caption….
 

 
"Ready when you are Jay Smith"
 
I’ve never eaten a McDonalds Breakfast Porridge so fast!
 
Turn up at RRG and there it is, under a dark black cover. Looking at me as I park the “Yaris 1.3 Trend+ with Chrome Accents” for the last time!
 

 
And Richard reveals it!
 

 

 

 
 
At this point I can honestly say that i’ve never been so impressed and so emotional about seeing a car! But in all honestly it was so so so much better than I could ever imagine. Photos do not do it justice! But the finish, the lines and everything was absolutely perfect! I can not praise Richard and his team at RRG bodyshop enough!
 
So Lesson 3 - If you ever have an accident, cut the crap of the insurance repairers and go to RRG Macclesfield!
 
Since done a couple of little points to finish the car off…
 
Carbon Handles
TRD Stickers
OEM+ Style SUB
TRD Seatbelt Covers
 
 

 

 
 
 

 

 
So to summarise a couple of points and lessons i’ve learnt the hard way.
 
Never use budget tyres.
Declare every modification to the insurance, even stickers.
Use RRG for repair work!
Don’t get complacent with the car. This is a quick car, you realise that when you spend 3 months in a Yaris!
 
Hope nobody else ever has to learn these lessons the hard way. I have had a string of lucky events which has meant I’ve got my car back. And with the massive help from RRG is better than before!
 
I’m still waiting to hear about how my insurance company are going to compensate me for the massive delays and balls up regarding my car and modifications and mis-quote from the first garage.
 
But I maybe expanding on this post with the full story about my insurance and how they made such a huge mess up of everything! Keep posted!
 

Thoroughly enjoyed my time in the GT86, one of the best 'drivers' cars I've driven. I'll miss it, but 4 years is way longer than I've kept a car before so it has to go.
Ginger Jap's been sold, new guy's collecting Wednesday. 
Sayonara!

People need to move on from those 3 doing Top Gear. They were arguably running out of ideas at the end anyway. Amazon only had them to boost popularity of Prime and we'll see even more ads pushing this.

Lots of overlap (as I've usually had more than 1 car), but roughly in chronological order:
Toyota Corolla Estate Vauxhall Cavalier CD Vauxhall Cavalier SRi Porsche 944 BMW E34 535i Porsche 911 Carrera 3.2 Porsche 928S4 Mazda NC MX-5 BMW E34 M5 BMW E39 M5 BMW Z4M Roadster Current:
Lexus IS250 SE-L BMW E93 M3 Toyota GT86

Welcome to your new Toyota GT86
This your new 2012 GT86...
Under 48,000 miles  Manufacturer warranty until November 2017 MOT until the end of July 2017 Service history Three owners The car has keyless entry and start, touchscreen multimedia system with sat nav, electric folding mirrors, heated front seats, centre console armrest and mud flaps.
This car is in fantastic condition and is well looked after. There are no major issues, however one of the alloys has some kerbing and the bonnet has the usual stone chips. There is a slight dent in the front fender which has been there since before I owned it, but this can only be noticed in certain lighting.
Mods include:
Smoked Valenti tail lights Smoked Valenti reverse/fog light TRD style spoiler Beatsonic V2 shark fin aerial Rota Force alloys (17" 8J ET 35) finished in gloss black with metal flake lacquer GT86 centre caps to match alloys Debadged 'Toyota' badge from boot Toyota emblem on bonnet and boot, along with 'GT86' logo on boot dipped in matte black Matte black GT86 piston badges on fenders Also including a brand new paint touch-up kit.
This is a truly excellent car and it has been a pleasure owning it. I'll be gutted to see it go, but need to make way for my new company car, which just happens to be a BRZ.
Located in North Warwickshire. Viewings welcome, please drop me a message to arrange. Further pics available here / on request.
I'm looking for £13,000. It's ready to pick up whenever you are...
Private reg not included.

It is. Shark tuned to 282bhp, Bilstein and Eibach suspension, ARB's, bigger brakes, etc. The pull in-gear once back 2500rpm is great. It's only weakness is getting power down so requires a disciplined right foot. But this means inputs have to be precise which in tun makes me better. I found this with the 86 too. If you are precise with it, it's rewards you for it.    

In no particular order...
GT86  Saab 9-3 SE 2.0 Turbo  Nissan 350Z GT  BMW 5 Series 525i SE Auto (E39)   TVR Griffith 430 (precat)   BMW 3 Series 330Ci Sport Auto (E46)  Mitsubishi FTO GPX  Honda Prelude 2.2 VTEC Ford Orion 1.6 Ghia  Rover 216 Vanden Plas  Lotus Elite II  Ford Capri 1.6L  Rover P6 3500 V8  Hillman Humber Sceptre   Vauxhall Victor F-Type  Fiat 850 Coupe  BMW 523i SE  Jaguar XJ-C 4.2  Honda Prelude 2.3  Honda Prelude 2.0  Next; E89 Z4 sDrive 35i DCT

Honda CRX Mk 2
Honda Civic Type R (EK9)
Want another Honda, I miss the engines!

Vauxhall Viva
Mini 1000 x2
Austin metro 1300s...oh yea baby
Mk3 Escort 1300 ghia
Mk1 Golf 1100
Mk2 Gti golf
Vauxhall Astramax van
Astra van
Transit
Mk3 Cavaliar
Corsa van
Still have a T5 transporter
Gt86 
And motobikes, lots n lots of motobikes

Mines a very motley selection

VW1300

Metro GTA

Ford Ka

VW Golf

Ford Puma

Audi A3

Skoda Fabia Estate

Ford Focus

Saab 900 convertible

BMW 1er Coupe

Saab 900i
Abarth 500

Citroen Berlingo (x2)

Saab 9-5 Aero

GT86

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Austen Metro
Rover Metro
Renault Clio
Honda Civic
MINI Cooper
Honda Civic
Daihatsu Copen
Honda Civic
Toyota MR2
Suzuki Swift Sport
VW Scirocco
Toyota GT86
 
Seems I like Honda Civics....
 
 

1990 Ford Fiesta 1.1
1992 Renault Clio 1.4 RT
Above car but with Renault 5 GTT engine transplanted in to it
1997 Renault Megane Coupe 1.6
1992 Renault Clio 16v
Above car but with a Spider Cup race engine transplanted in to it
2000 Citroen Saxo 1.1 (run around)
2005 Seat Ibiza Cupra TDI
2013 Toyota GT86

Mine:
Audi A3 1.6 - first car, solid enough, but not good on fuel for the performance. Audi A3 2.0T - much faster (200 bhp and quattro), even thirstier, but at least it went well. Actually pretty cheap to run as it only lost about 1k a year in depreciation. Audi S3 - bonkers fast (300 bhp and quattro), lovely DSG gearbox, a bit boring dynamically. Put it through a wall. D: Toyota GT86 - best car by far, much more fun than the rest (despite being much slower than the S3). Bought with the gap insurance payout from the last car.

Escort van 2 capris both customised Granada Ghia 68 Mustang 79 El Camino 2 XR 2s MK 1 Fiesta Mini Metro Volvo 343 then several Fiestas Yaris Urban Cruiser Ford KA GT 86 and a Mini

Prior to my BRZ I only had a 53 plate Skoda Octavia, it was a tank though.  Over 200,000 miles on it when I traded it in, needed minimal maintenance and nothing beyond consumables ever needed looking at.

Car history.
Passed driving test. Bought a Fiesta Zetec S Red Edition 2 days after I passed. Sold it a month later and bought a BRZ 

Before the 86 what did you have? My brothers was:

Skoda Felicia
Suzuki Swift Sport
Toyota GT86

Not many cars but each one taught him a lot. Mine so far are:
Mk3 Astra 1.4
Mk1 Fabia vRS
Mk2 Fabia vRS
BMW Z4M
Mk2 Skoda Octavia - Shark tuned to Stage 2+ at 282bhp

Currently contemplating changing the Octavia of an 86 but thought it would be interesting to know where others have come from to get to an 86. 

A lot of people here seem to go with Tein coilovers, and with good reason, but I thought I might try something a little different, as perhaps I was looking for different results.

First thing is that my car is most definitely a road car. I'd like a play on track in due course, but the main reason I own a car like this at all is that I live of the edge of the Peak District. So I want a b-road rather than track oriented set up.

As such I found the stock spring rates not too bad, but never been that impressed with the damping. It seemed both unnecessarily jiggly at low speed, and not that controlled at speed on lumpy surfaces. The other thing is ride height. A bit lower is ok, but it wasn't a priority or even that desirable as the car has to negotiate car parks kerbs and speed jumps.

So I considered just swapping out the dampers (Bilsteins again probably) until I realised this coilover set could be had for very little extra. The JDM crowd may not approve of the choice of German suspension but I would gently suggest they check the decals on the side of pretty much any Toyota works rally car since the mid seventies

This B14 set are priced right between the Tein Flex Z and Flex As so are a straight choice cost wise. I probably would have gone for the Flex As. So why these? Basically a different set of compromises that I thought might suit my requirements better.

These are non adjustable - the damping is how Bilstein think it should be and that's your lot. That's the first difference. (If you want adjustable damping there is the B16 set for a fair bit more cash). This didn't bother me particularly.

They certainly appear high quality - monotube dampers in rather nice stainless steel (bit of a waste you can't actually see them )

For my purposes, the key difference is a decent spring length and near-stock travel, combined with progressive spring rates. This seemed possibly a better set up for our godawful roads.

RRG fitted them - they reuse the stock mounts - and got a bit of camber on the front with camber bolts. I've got the ride height dialled right up for now. Bilstein say 10-30mm drop, and they haven't settled yet but 10mm seems about right. As noted above I don't really want it lower, just BETTER.

So having had chance for a blast over to Buxton I can now say without shadow of a doubt these hit the spot. Disclaimer - I haven't driven a Tein suspended car so I can't compare, but these are my impressions .

Firstly, low speed ride if anything is better. Firm but not jiggly. The faster you go the better it gets.

The balance of the car hasn't changed, the tail is still playful, but the main difference is the car is so much less nervous on rough Tarmac. Turn in much better (suspect the Yokohamas have a lot to do with this) and then the car remains adjustable, leaning on its back outside tyre like it always did but now uncorrupted by bumps.

Basically the car is so much faster on a B road now just because of the additional control. It doesn't wriggle or squirm unnecessarily on poor surfaces. I make it sound boring, but it isn't. It's still alive and steering feel is lovely, just more capable. I now feel I can use all the car all of the time. In short I absolutely love it.

So would I recommend? Yes - I couldn't be happier, and if you want something primarily for fast road use these work really well. They feel stock but much better - if Toyota did an 'S' model it would feel like this. I can't imagine they have as much scope as the Teins for track suspension though, or if you like to tweak your settings.









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