Lmc

For the second Saturday in a row I’ve been on the road since 6.45am and only just got home, but all i can say is a massive thanks to Mike at Tuning developments the guys there are magicians.
This is how the car should have come from the factory.
It,s 99% motorway driving home so havent had too much chance to give the car some beans but the few times i have have been exactly what i was looking for in the car.
Anyway a few pics for anyone who’s interested 

After getting my car back from Tuning Developments where I had a forged engine rebuild and one of the TD turbo kits done, it was a baptism of fire and straight into round 1 of the TSS at Cadwell Park.
The car performed without a single hiccup, mapped at 280bhp so as to comply with my class rules it felt progressive but very punchy. I will need to adjust my driving style to get the best from it as it certainly is a step up from my NA kit, which was superb. I took a few people for some passenger laps on the track day prior to sprint day and the opinion was it felt pretty good.
I would like to thank Mike and Nick of TD for the hard work and hours they put in to get me ready for TSS, all the details will be on the TD website soon for anybody wanting full spec.

Cars looking good👍

And here are the photos now iv just got them on

Hi All,
Just thought i'd share my experiences of the excellent Tuning Developments and their Stage 1 turbo kit.
First of all about me. I've had my 86 since 2013 (it's a Peal White limited edition with the red cross hatched stitching on the leather for the interested) and been lightly modifying it for the last couple of years. So far i'm running, Valenti sequential tail lights, trd spoiler, beatsonic antenna, stop tech disks and pads front and rear, tuning developments brake cooling fins, ate super blue brake fluid, P3 multigauge, Scorpion cat back and decat with a miltek overpipe. So, naughtier but still well behaved. Normally driving wise my trips consist of pootles around town mostly, some hard A road driving and long motorway jaunts. I track it once or twice a year, usually at Brands or Silverstone as they are closest to me.
I'll start by saying i loved the stock car, great balance, surprising nippy on track and quite rewarding to wring it's neck. Gripes? Well the god damn squealing stock brakes and needing to wring its neck to get it shifting. As i said earlier, i do a fair chunk of long motorway drives and that ability to shift lanes and blow past something that was always missing.
Or was....
I missed the first TD black friday sale but caught it this time round. If they do it again, definitely jump on it. I went for stage 1 turbo with UEL headers for the bass and the wub wub wub, knowing i may drop a couple of ponies for the pleasure but gain a little low down torque. The guys at TD did an excellent job turning it around in a week with no dramas what so ever.
The new car (because i can't really refer to it as the old one anymore) is a completely different animal. Soundwise, there's probably 3 distinct phases. It's quieter than it was at idle, startup and when running round on 0-25% throttle. My exhaust was probably a little on the loud side especially when pulling under load and that has just lost a few dB and hit a sweet spot now. 25-50% throttle there's a little turbo whoosh from under the bonnet and a little grumble from the exhaust but pretty tasteful, hitting that little boost is probably my favorite of the sounds. At full chat, there's a lovely spooling sound followed by a dump of pure power. It sounds awesome!
Balance wise, I've not driven it on track yet but i have taken it down a few A roads. Word to the wise, get an oil cooler before going on track, mine runs a few degrees hotter now and it wasn't exactly a cold running car to start with. Bearing in mind that i'm still on the stock primacy's (damn tires are harder than rock) traction is surprisingly good. One can't stand on the power out of a corner anymore but that adds to the enjoyment in my book and suits my driving style. Hopefully this'll speed the death of my tires and I can legit throw on an upgrade.
The power, my god, the power. That's why we are all here right? Well i'll probably split this into everyday and pressing on. For everyday driving it's the perfect solution. I'm sure you've all done it, lent on the accelerator, felt the revs and torque build to a crescendo but been a little disappointed that it never really came. Well, now that crescendo is there, the one after that, and the one after that is there too. It pulls... well...everywhere. Mine makes more power and torque pretty much everywhere on the band vs stock. After the upgrade peak torque was 230ish with peak HP at 277.7 (check out the dyno below) the stock car was probably putting out something in the 180s. What's more important is that the torque is pretty flat across the band and is massive so it just hammers home. Driving down the motorway now, 6th used to pull better at 90 than at 70 and required a bit of a run up at 70 too. Now you can leave it where it is in 6th, lean on 50% throttle and you've departed and left everything behind.
Pushing on, the sheer power as it punches through the gears is unbelievable. After my first couple  full throttle blasts i was left giggling at the steering wheel saying "jesus christ, yeah f***ing right" to myself. If it wasn't playing my bluetooth, i would have sworn they swapped the car. It's always hard to compare apples with apples though  with just how much quicker it has got however I was lucky enough to be given a direct competitor to measure against. At a number of track days I've caught but struggled to pass Caymans, just too quick on the straights with reasonable brakes.  Well i was served one with a willing driver on the way home. A Cayman S PDK (last generation) no less and thought here's a good benchmark. He looked at me, i looked at him, we both knew it was on. We did a couple of drags from 65 north...significantly north (kph or mph i couldn't say). I did mine purely in 6th just to see what she could do, the answer was to pull a gap and keep pulling a gap, higher in the rev range the gap stabilized but the initial gap was decent. We did this a few times, the result the same and then the Cayman S departed with a confused shake of the head and a look of bewilderment.
Well there you have it, in short, just get one, it is simply incredible. If i had to describe it in one word, for me the delivery is just so progressive and smooth it would have to be "creamy." Downside, if there is one is that it now takes only Super. I know, i know i should have been doing this anyway and not just for track days but hey. Hope this helps guide some people, trust me you won't regret it!

My car has now had a proper test, having covered 500 miles or so since the recall ten days ago and also racing in the Toyota Sprint Series/Japanese Sprint Series yesterday at Cadwell, I won both classes convincingly with a 2.9 second lead and got 4th overall in the TSS and fastest NA overall.  
So it's doing just fine and feels great with the new clutch.
 

Hi
Thought i should probably make a little post of what i have done to the car now and keep it up to date as i add things on. Firstly i have owned my GT86 for nearly 12months now and i still love getting in it everyday for my short drive to work. This is the only car in my house and is used for everything and everyday and touch wood so far not one issue in my ownership.
Car was the updated kouki pro edition in white, so far my mods have only been fairly small as i wanted to make sure i had no major issues whilst still in the warranty but i have some big plans in time and am planning on keeping this car until it dies.
First mod i done was the TD resonated exhaust, the tips look so much better and gave the car the much needed sound to match the looks.
next up was another trip up to TD to get their NA upgrade, i went for the EL manifold. The car made 186bhp as it was and left at 205bhp with the standard decent gains across the range. Whilst in i also got the shifter springs fitted as well as a new mtec gear knob. shifting now feels great although it did take a little while to get used to the new knob as its quite long  and i had the inlet hose changed just to ditch the sound generator pipework.
Driving back though as much fun as i was having i couldnt help but think the exhaust was a bit loud, i thought it would settle down after a few weeks but it never really did. so next i ordered the super res centre pipe from TD to match to the exhaust and got that fitted. To me this has the perfect mix of quietness when needed but still has a decent sound when you want to play silly buggers.
My latest addition has been a new set of wheels, i have never been happy with the stock primacys, to be honest i cant even see how they are legal to sell especially in damp conditions. But rather than replace the stock sizes as the odd size made them expensive i wanted a bigger tyre and to fill out the arches more and didnt want to use spacers. After looking for month upon month and honestly changing my mind about 100 times, i actually changed 3 times in the 24hours before placing the order. i have ended up with OZ Hyper GT's 18x8 ET35. really like the look of these but have only seen them in one picture on a GT86 so im hoping they will look as good as i hope. Just waiting on them to arrive from Italy now then i will update with some photos i have gone with pilot sport 4 225/40/18 which i think will be great. i had these tyres on my previous Focus ST and they handled 330bhp and a ton of torque really well so cant see the GT causing any problems with a lack of grip.
I have a few more plans for the future and i will start saving and ticking things off my list, they are
coilovers, mainly to get rid of the arch gap and not planning on going lower than 20-25mm
upgraded brakes, probably the reyland kit
TD turbo kit, cause powerrrrrrrrrr
Then i would like to at least replace the drivers seat, if i could get something a little lower that would be great and a bit wider. The only other internal part i wouldnt mind changing is the steering wheel to a j-luth/keys so its a bit smaller and sits a bit closer to me as i have long legs it should make it more comfortable and help with a better driving postion
 
 

Good day, warm and sunny and cars all around

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So having read this and other forums, finally took the plunge and decided to get my 2012 BRZ mapped.
Contacted Mike on the 18th Feb and he was very helpful, responding quickly to my initial enquiry and patiently responded to my numerous questions.
After a bit of back and forward I decided to go for the NA Tuning Package (UEL), MTEC Uprated Spring and Whiteline Positive shift upgrade kits and since TD would have the car for the best part of the day, decided to have the Billet Cam Plate kit fitted as a preventative measure at the same time.
Everything was arranged for the 7th of March and I was up and out on the road early (5:20am)  to make the trip south from Glasgow.
Arrived at 8:30am and Mike was 15 minutes behind me to open up.  Having handed over the keys, Mike was kind enough to give me a lift to the nearby UBC business centre (3 miles away) where I had booked an office for the day, I currently work mostly remotely from home so was able to effectively work there for the day, meaning I didn’t have to use a days holiday - result!
Picked the car up at 4pm and couldn’t be happier with the upgrades - drives like a different car with the dreaded torque did almost entirely gone with the increased lower rev torque noticeable across all the gears.  Gear changes are now much snappier and the exhaust note subtly enhanced.
Had a bit of a blether with Mike before heading off home, and ooh'd and ahh'd about possibly getting a turbo at some point in the future as well as a couple of options for dealing with the cars suspension, which I have been unhappy about almost from the day I bought it in the summer of 2015. Previous owner had lowered the car on Eibach sportline springs and I subsequently upgraded to 18" rims with the rear end especially, being very unforgiving with the car bouncing badly on rough roads.
Long story short, I was heading back down the M6 two weeks later, this time to get the BC Racing coilovers and the TD Super Resonated CAT back exhaust (my stock exhaust was corroded badly and very slightly beginning to blow so seemed like a good enough excuse).
I have not stopped smiling since ... ride quality and handling are 100% improved and the exhaust note is just loud enough to be noticeable, without being in your face but at the same time very civilised when cruising on the motorway.  
Can’t speak highly enough about Mike, Nick and the rest of the guys at TD. I was well looked after, their prices are competitive and the work has been carried out to a high standard. I have spent a fair chunk of change in anyone’s book in a short space of time, but every upgrade has had a noticeable and very positive effect, all in all it's like having a new car.
My only dilemma now is which kidney am I selling to fund the turbo upgrade? ...

Selling my Work Meister L1 three piece wheels, off my wide body GT86. Took delivery on these in March last year, and has done about 5000 km's/3000 miles over the summer.
18x9.5 -5 and 18x10.5 -18 Condition like new. Gloss black lips/barrels, satin/matt gunmetal gray centers No tyres I will include the black GKTeck lug nuts in the photos Located in Sweden but posting them here since I am willing to ship Price is £ 1650 plus shipping. Which is pretty good considering what these go for new..
 

Speak to Jez at Horsham Developments. He has a Speed by Design turbo fitted to his GT86 and specialises in Nissans  and the Toybaru Twins.. 

Of course the day after I picked it up I had to go out and show mikes work off. As you would expect everyone was very impressed with his work and also the performance of the 86.  Managed to get some pictures and a couple of videos of the turbo.
VID-20190126-WA0004.mp4 VID-20190126-WA0003.mp4

Good write up 

Hi Everyone! 
I've been a member here (not been active at all...) and on GT86 owners club but after going to a few Japfests and Reading meets, I need to be more active! I started my build project on GT86 owners about 2 years ago which started with the standard mods for NA tune. the 86 was running the following: Tuning Developments EL manifold, JDL Ultra Quiet high flow cat, Ark Performance Grip, Apexi intake and Mishimoto intake hose with Abbey Motorsport remap. This got me to 187whp which I was happy with for a long time but I've always loved the idea of going boosted with this car. And now after 4 years of ownership it finally is! 
I think my car could possibly be the first in the UK to run the HKS turbo kit! The 86 is now producing 253whp which should be 300bhp at the fly and 205lbft at the wheels. My engine is completely standard and doesn't have any uprated injectors so Mark at Abbey Motorsport made sure the turbo came in as linear as possible for reliability. You do get a bit of turbo lag from below 3000rpm but when the turbo kicks in, the power delivery is incredible! It's so smooth and continues to pull strong all the way through to the redline. The noise of the turbo is brilliant, especially as you come of throttle and get a proper "choo choo" flutter. 
Mark, Scott and the team at Abbey did an incredible installation and mapping of the turbo which I can't thank them enough for! Only issue now is I need to clean up the other half of the engine bay...
Here are my mods so far:
HKS Turbo Kit with Zircotec coated manifold HKS Oil Cooler ARK Performance Grip  JDL Ultra Quiet high flow cat  Tein Flex A Coilovers Project MU brake pads (B Force-front & NS400-rear) Team Dynamics Pro Race 3 17x7  Valenti FT86 Speed Factory spec Tail Lights I've attached just a few pictures but first time uploading with this website so bear with me if it's not right
Thanks for reading!
 
 
 
 

That's a shocking fit. Far too close, from the photo it looks like it's actually touching, it may even be closer if the manifold expands with heat. Then when the engine rocks it's going to fret the wrap away again.
Why is it necessary go so far up and over that it's practically in contact with a radiator hose? It's not like it's needed for performance given all the others which sit much further away. 
Surely TD cant say thats fine? seeing as its a modular design it's not even like you need a complete new manifold, just the loop section.

This 'Supra' has no pedigree, it's a BMW Z4 with a badge stuck on it.

So I have had a few days in the car on and off, as its essentially like an xmas gift I have had a play although weather has not permitted to much spirited driving. I feel the need to write a up a few thoughts I have had. So I will compare the cars in parts as im sure alot of gt86 owners consider where do I do next after the GT86 or if I feel like a change thoughts that plague a petrols heads mind. I will not write a review based on outright performance laptimes etc as these are two different leagues of cars in terms of price and power more on subjective matters and feel.
Part 1: 
Cost
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Im sure most of us start here on sports cars so we don't extend ourselves or run something that ultimately empties our wallets.

Insurance - For me the average increase of a modified GT86 (N/A) to a cayman S is on average 120-200 this takes into account that the Cayman is 3 times the value of the GT86 so overall imo is perfectly acceptable and I dont intend on changing or modifying the Cayman thats a pretty good deal.

Brakes - This is where the Cayman can be expensive with disk and pads costing 800 for fronts along and rears similarly priced, however as part of my deal I received new disks and pads all round so all being well I will not have to replace these but checking them before purchase is a must.

Tyres - Again the Cayman and Porsche Warranty have an effect here in the fact you need N rated tyres and the difference in size. GT86 will cost you 450 fitted for a set of ps4's (17's) where as the Cayman with the 20 inch wheels will cost you 900 for ps4s all round. So double the cost. I was fortunate again to negotiate new tyres with the car and run Pirelli p-zero's all round.
 
Mpg - On a run around the Alps Pyrenees and Scotland the GT86 averaged 33mpg and the Caymans/boxsters where around 30-32 so on long runs the Cayman is very much comparable to the GT86. I think however in the uk on normal shorter runs it would be more like 25-30 for the Cayman and 28-33 in the GT86.

Servicing - The average cost of servicing for a GT86 from Toyota is around 200-400 with the 60k service being the big hit 600 this is done every year or 10k miles or 1 year. For the Cayman 600-900 is what you are looking at. The service was done on the Cayman as part of the initial deal and is done every 20k or 2 years. So overall the servicing cost is the same. A clutch on a Cayman done by an approved specialist in 800.

I will list any other costs as I go along or enounter.

Interior
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I always liked the GT86's basic structure of the interior everything was functional and served a purpose and all the reviews that said it was lacking where always cast aside as rubbish. The GT86 interior does exactly what you need it to (mini rant). Both cars have a nice air'y feel to them when you sat down with the GT86 having slightly more due to the additional seats. Everything is functional and aimed at the driver in both cars. The 987.2 which is the model previous to mine does suffer from being more slightly crampt which is why I went for the 981 as being 6ft 2 has its downsides in sports cars. There are additional useful toys in the cayman in comparison to the GT86, the PCM system being superior to Toyota's effort but again cost plays a factor in this so I will not dwell.

Seating position is something the GT86 excels at, once you have driven a GT86 no other seating position seems to fit quite right and that for me includes several driving experiences in 458's Gallardo's GTR's MX5'sCivic Type R's etc etc. I was always pleased to return to the GT86 and sit in it. Good news for me is that the Cayman does exactly the same as the GT86 which for me was a huge factor in the purchase. You have to feel right in the car and the GT86 and Cayman are both Perfect and I have lots of room in both for a helmet aswell

Exterior
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Both great looking cars and I like the look of them both equally, when people ask why I never considered a BMW140 or M2 etc Its because as a sports car you should want to look over your shoulder at your car when you've parked up and both of these cars do just that. Right ow for obvious reasons being my new toy I prefer the Cayman

Brakes
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The standard brakes on a GT86 are excellent on the road and provide great feed back but for me on track they faded so I bought APracing and so I will try and compare both experiences as I have done so far with the Cayman. So yes the Cayman brakes are better in terms of stopping power and provide excellent road feedback, initial feel of them under hard braking the 'feedback' is as good as the APracing/standard ones if not slightly better but thats my initial impression and I will need to hit the track to really have an idea. So for those worrying about loosing feel that is initially not the case.

Handling
----------------
This is probably the toughest aspect of this for me to write or compare. The engine layouts of the car are different, tyre sizes are very different, power is very different however the connection between you and the car and road can always be quantified in how the car makes you feel when driving it. The GT86 is alive lightweight(ish) in your hands and the rear yaw of the car makes every switchback tight corner feel as though you are on the limit of grip when pushing along. Its an exciting drive designed for the back roads of the UK. The only ever real downside was the perceived lack of shove but this really only mattered in comparison with other cars in isolation anyone who drives or has driven a GT86 have loved it. I kept mine for 4.5years and I regret no day owning it and the joy it brought me was great but we all know this.
So the Cayman, the limits on the car are high so initial feel at lower speeds are not as good as the GT86, now this is not super high speed difference but for example 0-40 my Cayman suffers initially from being a heavier bigger wheeled car. Once beyond 40 and you find a country road (specifically my test road im sure we all have one) the Cayman becomes surprisingly agile the whole car becomes alive and everything goes next level to the GT86 in terms of brakes power grip but the feel of the car and how it makes me feel is comparable to the GT86, the smiles per hour remain the same through out. I have driven other cars before the Cayman M2's Type R's etc looking for a replacement but this has been the only car which made me grin as much through the handling as the GT86. Some aspects such as the turn of the Cayman are just unbelievable making a switchback so enjoyable.
I have not taken the Cayman to the edge of grip and I do not think ive come close but if you where worried as was I on the feedback from this car I can safely say dont be its as good as or better than the GT86 which indirectly tells you how good the GT86 is. I will say however that the steering on the GT86 has a slight edge on the Cayman but I believe that difference is wheel size, having not driven a GT86 on 18's or Cayman on 19's I think its basically just that difference at lower speeds that gives the 86 on 17's that additional feel.

Experience
-------------------
(This section might be biased by new purchase  )
The GT86 Experience is based around is driving ability and smiles per hour but the one thing it did not have for me was noise and presence and that is where the Cayman has it completely beaten, going out to the car and seeing it on your driveway is just amazing and when the flat 6 fires up it awesome. The noise of the engine which is one of the downsides of the 86 makes this car seem very special and add's something to an experience which I have been missing for a while since the high rev'ing days of my RB26 at high revs. Everything feels special in the Cayman and next level in terms sports car hierarchy in comparison to the GT86 . This section here is why I believe the GT86 is a 4/5 car and the Cayman is a 5/5 car.


I hope to give more information as the experience with the Cayman continues (Track, Road trips),so if you where to want a new car you might have a a Cayman on your list as a possible hopefully I can give you a GT86 V Cayman comparison based on subjective matters as per my favourite review of the GT86 by Chris Harris which was also one of the reasons I wanted to try a Cayman  
 

Merry Christmas everyone 

It's taken Carson Performance just 4 days to completely change the engines over and get the new one ready to fire! Their work and determination has been astounding. Never afraid to overcome and issue and put in the extra effort to get things done right.
Today I helped put the finishing touches to the water pipes, reinstall the supercharger and wiring loom. All ready for us to load the base map into the Motec and push the start button.
Unfortunately after hours of trying, we got stuck with the ECU software. Turns out the map was written for 2017 firmware and mine has 2016 firmware on it  such a tiny mistake has halted us at the final hurdle 
Obviously not getting my Christmas miracle, but here's hoping some good news still to come for 2019.
 

Treated the car to a couple of xmas pressies. 
Got a beatsonic sharkfin aerial from Fensport which i must say was fantastic service, & finally got around to buying the focal is165toy speakers.
just fitted them both & at last i can listen to music without the crackling noise.

Here is a sound little clip from my Instagram
 

Well here it is, after 5 months and 1 day of GT86 Ownership I can say that my car is finally in 1 Piece!





Popped around today with a few jobs on the agenda:


Fix O2 Sensor error

Fit bumper
Polish bumper
Re-fit clutch pedal cover


It all went fairly easily which gives a nice end to this part of the project and I can't imagine anything going wrong for the MOT so hopefully I can spend most of next weekend and the bank holiday getting used to it and having some fun.


I'll start off with the messy and boring image, got those wires on the O2 Sensor loom patched up. The liquid electrical tape is messy stuff but hopefully if it does the trick in keeping those wires safe in the long term i'm more than happy. Once I applied a few coats of it I replaced the Fuse, cleared the ECU faults and the check engine light never came back! the car runs much better too.







Then I went ahead to fit the bumper which is another thing i've never actually done before on any of my cars. It wasn't too bad but its clear the bumper is a bit knackered around some of fits clips and other areas, theres a few previous shoddy paint repairs on it and some of the clips under the headlights are broken so it does sag a little bit but its good enough for me at this point and isn't particularly noticeable but im sure some of you out there will be quick to spot it









It was already looking great but I wanted to give it a quick wash as well as claying and polishing it to remove any overspray of which there was a fair amount from the bumper. As I said getting so intimate with the bumper today really made me realise that it's quite rough around the edges but hopefully these last steps will make it's bad parts less eye catching. Once I got that done I fit the number place with some 3m Double sided tape, not my preferred method but I forgot to order some heavy duty velcro which I normally use.













And thats it! but there was one last little job I had to do as I can't stand these stickers personally!

Fun DIY job (maybe not fun) wrapping the centre dash and Gague hood in alacantara. Saved a good amount of £££’s and looks so much better than the cheap plastic 
 

Good choice. Still my favourite sounding exhaust on the 86.

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17x8 ET35 Japan Racing JR18 wheels wrapped in Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymetric 3 in 225/45/17

Car is lowered 20mm on Racecomp Engineering Yellows

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