Lauren

I decided to have a day out in my car today. Opted to drive to Chester to pick up some vape supplies and pop in and see my old work colleagues. I was a tad nervous as it's the first 'big' trip the car has done since being back on the road all of a day! 
  Well, I stopped a number of times and checked under the bonnet, but the car felt strong and I've begun to acclimatise to it again. There is a fair bit of differential whine as is the way with these cars and they are inherently noisy, but that's what it was like some 30 years ago.    I've been careful to run the car in, so no high revs, generally not going over 4000rpm, but making sure the engine has some load. Well I took it to nudging 5000rpm a few times in third, fourth and fifth gear and you can really feel the engine come on cam, just after the TVIS opens. The engine feels really strong and in such a light car with it's terribly short gearing, it moves along at a decent rate alright. At the lower end of the revs the engine is typical torquey 4AGE, so it's a synch to drive really.    The controls all feel very light and this has taken a bit of getting used to compared with the weightier controls of the GT86, but really as I have been driving the AE86 since yesterday I'm starting to get used to it all again.    I must admit, I was sitting there on the motorway on the way to Chester and I was just thoroughly enjoying myself being back in the car again. That smile lasted all the way to Chester and all the way home again as I took the A roads on the way back. I even loaded the chassis a little to get a feel for the car again. Sure it doesn't have the precision and mega grip that the GT86 seems to pluck from nowhere, but it felt all of a piece. The suspension is a bit mismatched on the AE86, but it's okay as long as you know how to manage it. I haven't tried booting it out of slow corners as I want to ease the running in of the engine, but the diff locks up just as it always did.   Overall it's just great to be back behind the wheel again and the charisma of the car is winning me over all over again.   Here it is, parked outside my old work in Chester:   IMG_4739 by Lauren Blighton, on Flickr

I decided to have a day out in my car today. Opted to drive to Chester to pick up some vape supplies and pop in and see my old work colleagues. I was a tad nervous as it's the first 'big' trip the car has done since being back on the road all of a day! 
  Well, I stopped a number of times and checked under the bonnet, but the car felt strong and I've begun to acclimatise to it again. There is a fair bit of differential whine as is the way with these cars and they are inherently noisy, but that's what it was like some 30 years ago.    I've been careful to run the car in, so no high revs, generally not going over 4000rpm, but making sure the engine has some load. Well I took it to nudging 5000rpm a few times in third, fourth and fifth gear and you can really feel the engine come on cam, just after the TVIS opens. The engine feels really strong and in such a light car with it's terribly short gearing, it moves along at a decent rate alright. At the lower end of the revs the engine is typical torquey 4AGE, so it's a synch to drive really.    The controls all feel very light and this has taken a bit of getting used to compared with the weightier controls of the GT86, but really as I have been driving the AE86 since yesterday I'm starting to get used to it all again.    I must admit, I was sitting there on the motorway on the way to Chester and I was just thoroughly enjoying myself being back in the car again. That smile lasted all the way to Chester and all the way home again as I took the A roads on the way back. I even loaded the chassis a little to get a feel for the car again. Sure it doesn't have the precision and mega grip that the GT86 seems to pluck from nowhere, but it felt all of a piece. The suspension is a bit mismatched on the AE86, but it's okay as long as you know how to manage it. I haven't tried booting it out of slow corners as I want to ease the running in of the engine, but the diff locks up just as it always did.   Overall it's just great to be back behind the wheel again and the charisma of the car is winning me over all over again.   Here it is, parked outside my old work in Chester:   IMG_4739 by Lauren Blighton, on Flickr

And at RRG when we picked it up this morning.
 
I have to say a just huge thanks to Richard, Gary and the team for getting the final jobs ticked off and getting the car through the MOT. They have just been brilliant as always.
 

All MOT'd, taxed and insured and finally back on my drive. Mark's face after driving it home! 
 

 
We had a bit of an oil leak from the cam covers which I noticed hadn't been tightened, but that seems to be sorted now. It's now done 60kms today, don't forget the engine needs to be run in, so not gone mad with it.
 
What's it like after a three year break? Well it's noisy, diff whine, gearbox whine, various rattles and the usual vibrations at idle, but it is thirty years old so it feels worlds apart compared to the GT86. 
 
It's feather light though, the controls are really light too, so there is something of a recalibration required after doing 70k miles in a GT86! 
 
That said it's thoroughly enjoyable and even the aircon still works. Doubtless there'll be a few snags to iron out but hopefully we'll get it sorted before undertaking longer journeys and JAE. The engine feels keen and though I've not revved it too much, looking forward to getting it on cam which is 5500rpm upwards.

It runs from thursday-sunday i'd say Friday & Saturday are the main days. Saturday being the big one with us drinking far too much alcohol until the early hours

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Okay, finally got the car out of the container and got some insurance, which it hasn't had for three years!    It was a bit tricky getting it out of the container as the clutch had seized on. So we managed to roll it out, without too much trouble, but slightly scraped some underseal off the chassis rails. That can be fixed I think.    I gave the clutch a go using the starter motor in first gear. That got it free'd off pretty quick and then we drove it around the yard a few times testing the brakes etc:   AE86 lives by Lauren Blighton, on Flickr   20 litres of V power went in and then I drove it to RRG Macc' with Mark following in the Yaris full of tools!    The car drove fine, well, it drove like a thirty year old car, which always takes a bit of getting used to. Thankfully the aircon still blows cold, which was nice and everything worked.    We got it up onto the ramps at RRG in an attempt to fix the exhaust leak where the manifold joins to the cat:   AE86 lives by Lauren Blighton, on Flickr   Alas, despite Mark taking ages to cut a gasket, it still leaked and being aware that Richard had already done us a massive favour we agreed to leave it with him to address the exhaust leak and do a few other minor things. It needs a rear foglight fitting for the MOT and the washer bottle refitting once a new seal has been fitted where the motor sits in the washer bottle. The advantage of being at RRG was that Paul and Dave were to hand and quickly identified that they could still get a seal for the bottle motor and also hopefully for the exhaust.    AE86 lives by Lauren Blighton, on Flickr    
Hopefully all will go swimmingly, well as much as one might expect for a car of this age that hasn't been driven for three years. All will be revealed over the next few days I suspect!

Ok I tried out this mod for a few weeks, didn't like it, so got RRG to put it back as it was before, which they appear to have done rather well.... It's the same wing - amazed they got it out.

Good write up, Jeff. I get that it's always hard to convince people that less is more, in respect of the 1.5 over the more powerful 2 litre engine option. I  like it that Mazda seem to have got it right, though I had an MX5 (courtesy of Mazda UK for four months) and Mark had a 2.5 Sport and I just never liked them. They always seemed to be a bit of a 7/10ths car, really setup for cruising more than really attacking the road. 
 
But I confess I'm not a fan of convertibles. 

Hi All,
On Thursday I passed the initiation test and became a GT86 owner so its time to start a project thread. Although I have to tell you now this might become more of a journal of ownership and road trips with a few subtle mods here and there.
The Car
The car was ordered from Steven Eagell Toyota in St Albans following a fairly simply Car Wow purchase after my local dealership couldn't arrange a half decent test drive and wouldn't budge from the list price.
Toyota GT86 2015
GT86 Spec Starlight Blue or Lapis Blue Pearl Metallic (K3X) Manual Transmission Half Leather/Half Alcantara heated seats Spoiler For me this was one of those bucket list ticking days having always wanted my first brand new car and day one with this car started at 5 delivery miles. It also ticks a few others being my first Japanese and flat four engined car, at least I have an excuse not to get a 911 next! However collection didn’t quite go to plan and it was spoiled by the car arriving unspoilered. Now im not a huge fan of the OEM one but at the same time I had spec’d it on my order and even called the salesman post ordering to confirm so I was more than a bit annoyed when it wasn’t there. Following a few days driving I am almost over the issue and really enjoying the running in period.
Background
The GT86 has been on my radar for a good couple of years since I saw a concept car on Gran Turismo 5 all be it with 300bhp and I was seriously thinking about one last July but the timing wasn’t quite with wedding plans underway. I had a bit of money in the wedding fund but at the same time not sure how much id need for the next car. I was looking at pretty much every performance car made from Clio 172’s to S2000’s and M3’s to 911’s but nothing never came together and the GT86 itch was still there. Fast forward almost a year and the big wedding bills have been paid and I still hadn’t settled on a car. With the rest of the fleet ageing and needing bit more attention I convinced myself a low maintenance, new car that I could take on road trips around Britain and Europe in the coming years was the ideal solution. The GT86 ticked that box and even got the fiancées approval if it got me off my weekly pistonheads classified searches and came with heated seats.
Previous/Current cars
Ford Fiesta 1.1 VW Golf 1.8 VW Golf GTI 2.0 8v Seat Leon Cupra R 225 VW Golf GTI 2.0 8V Audi TT mk1 3.2 DSG MNR Vortx RT (current fleet) Seat Leon Cupra TDI 150 (current fleet) Road car ownership for me peaked with a 265bhp AMD tuned Seat Leon Cupra R 225. The Leon being an epic all-rounder I wish I hadn’t sold but needs must and it helped get my foot on the property ladder.  It was replaced with my current mk3 Golf GTI which wont refuse to die and isn’t worth replacing. Then there’s my kit car a Marc Norden Racing(MNR) Vortx, basically a stripped out Caterham Seven(yes they are fat ladies in comparison) with a Yamaha R1 engine which I built with my Dad and it’s a proper adrenaline rush to drive, it will never leave the stable and will continue to evolve over the next few years. The GT86 replaces the TT which I thought for a car with the infamous VR6 engine would be incredible and a more unique alternative to the R32 Golf. Looks wise the car was great in Dolomite grey with the V6 deeper and more aggressive bumper grills and larger spoiler it looked fantastic. Inside the bespoke quality was hard to match in its day yet alone today. However when it came to driving it never delivered. The DSG box while great for commuting left me numb when all changing a gear became was click, click, click with no driver engagement, feel or thought. The VR6 engine was damn fast but never felt fast in its delivery with that boat anchor upfront and in the corners it felt wallowly and understeered with its FWD bias. Glad its gone and time for RWD!
 





Planned Modifications Back to the GT86 and I’m planning a flexible fast road car that also sorts out a few pet hates with the stock car. Exterior/Interior - Boot lip Spoiler, Tom’s tail lights and Centre armrest Engine – panel filter, full exhaust and a stage 1 remap Chassis & Brakes - lowering springs or full suspension kit and fast road pads Wheels & Tyres – 17’s probably Rota Titan or Speedline 2120’s More Engine - Cosworth Supercharger - if I get bored with the above Enough of my waffle here are some photos of the 86



Now to get on with the 1,000 mile run in period
Adam

Well that was a rather dramatic end to the sprint today
 
On the 5th run I put in a 1'49.78 - Alec at the time was on a 1'49.74 but his 5th was a 1'49.05 so he kept his decent advantage. By this point, I was still struggling with remember which corners you could do flat until I was half way through the blasted corner and realised I'd just lost a chunk of time!
 
The clock fast approached 4pm and the Javelin lot were still going so I thought that was it, but no, there was another run and time for my special quick lap
 
I decided to get in the queue early and finally had a reasonable lap with no unnecessary lifting / braking for corners that didn't need it - set a time of 1'49.00 so 5 hundredths quicker than Alec so far! 
 
While waiting for Alec, we knew Lauren was chasing Kev's time of 1'44.63, Lauren came into view and the timing looked close, very close as she set a final time of 1'44.68 to just miss out to Kev by 5 hundredths.
 
Then Alec comes into view, and again the timing looked close, very close, very close indeed! A 1'48.99! 1 blasted hundredth quicker 

Wheels: 
 
It's fine to run a staggered setup, but you will increase understeer. Depends what you want of course. 
 
Those tyre sizes will work on the wheel setup you have suggested. 
 
5x100 is an awkward size so availability for wheels can be an issue. Obviously allow for VAT and shipping etc if you import from the US. 
 
Exhaust:
 
You can remove or plug off the sound generator, that is no problem. 
 
If you're going to for a high power turbo, 3" will be better. 
 
Exhaust options vary in terms of loudness, there are lots of available. Do your research, come to meets and hear others' exhausts for comparison. A turbo will quieten the exhaust. 
 
Lowering Springs:
 
They will do the job fine. Coilovers are a better option but obviously more expensive. 
 
Induction Kits:
 
It changes the sound but doesn't have much of an effect on power really. 
 
Other:
A remap is around £500. 
 
People modify their car to their own tastes. There are plenty of members around who have done the mods you have asked about. Come to some meets and find out.

Cheers for the quick reply Lauren! I'm getting the Wheeldude guys (found them from the ft86 forum) to price up the cost of importing from the States, since buying them in the UK and getting spacers (and not even getting the colour I want) is going to cost ~£1600 if I can get a similar price from the States and get exactly what I need that seems to be the better option.
 
Thanks also for the info on the induction kit, will save money and put towards the turbo.

Well done and enjoy! The new blue looks great in the light.

One very happy lady.

From this:-



To this:-













Cheers,

Simon

Pictures are probably the best way to start this:
 

 

 

 

 
 

 

 

 

 
 
Currently:
 
Factory FA20
Factory Clutch
Factory Fuel Pump
Factory Injectors
Tuning Developments Turbo Kit
Tuning Developments Overpipe
Tuning Developments Second Decat
Tuning Developments CAT Back Exhaust (Resonated)
278bhp & 230lb.ft @ 5psi or 0.35bar Boost
Factory car made 184bhp & 160lb.ft
Increase of 94bhp & 70lb.ft
 
 
The Turbo Kit:
 
Equal length manifold
Uppipe with external wastegate takeoff
TiAL MVR 44m External Wastegate
Precision CEA Billet Turbo
3" Downpipe
Intercooler piping
Intercooler core
Oil feed line
Modified sump pan for oil return
Air Filter
Turbo blanket
Heat wrap
 
Fits with stock exhaust system, although we recommend aftermarket for power gains
Fits with stock radiator and cooling fans
 
The kit is priced at £4995.00 inc VAT, which is currently reduced to £4495.00 inc VAT. This is for a drive in, drive out turbo install, the turbo kit as listed above, with installation, ECUTeK license and remap including dyno time. Anyone wishing to have exhaust components at the same time can take advantage of free fitting of those   Anyone who is already on ECUTeK Racerom can remove £180.00 from the cost of the kit (License fee). Finally anyone who is already using one of our manifolds please contact me for a discounted price which is currently £3850.00 as our manifold can be used for naturally aspirated or turbo 
 
Full write up is on our website: http://www.tuningdevelopments.co.uk/product_info.php?products_id=2366 
 
A short promo video is now also on YouTube - Footage is from our car at 5psi: 
 
 
Second short video with some 'real-world' footage & sound clips at 5psi: 
 
 
Stage 2 upgrades are also now well and truly underway! To read more, we've linked to page 2 here to make things easier
 
If anyone would like more information, feel free to PM me, drop me an Email on mike@tuningdevelopments.co.uk or give me a call on 01925 822 266. If anyone is interested in a demonstration or a closer look around the kit then this can be arranged by appointment, just give me a shout 
 
Thanks
 
Mike Jones
Tuning Developments Ltd

Fensport do their's on the road. Cost is roughly £500. 

In Stockport? I watched them get delivered the other month


_____________________________________
www.im-tuned.uk

S1 Ur-Quattro:
 

Good news, worth asking then!

Toyota & the dealer have confirmed that they'll cover the costs of the first three services which is excellent

The car itself is due with them early next week so getting rather excited just now.......

My wife's V6 GT went to the new owner today too.

Sad but happy.

The ginger had it's first mot today, all well but I bet 12 months will fly by.

Is it worth mentioning that I have covered 68K miles on my original set of wiper blades and they still work just fine!

Got bored tonight so decided to take the new charger out of the box and see how big it is compared to the 210 that's on the car



Just a bit bigger...



Did someone say twincharge?



Can't wait to get this fitted!

It was a massive turn out. There was much revving, popping, banging etc but well behaved. Not much idiocy so glad I made the drive up there. Saw 2 other GT86. A gunmetal grey and a white TRD. Had a quick chat with a few folks and everyone was friendly


_____________________________________
www.im-tuned.uk

Looks like a good turn out! 
 
I must admit, I never as a rule go to evening meets as I always worry about people being silly when they come and go.