Caporegime
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- 18 Oct 2002
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But time moves on. Hot hatches are now turbo with 200bhp plus so have tunability. The same cannot be said flr the brz/new86...
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New Car, GT86
- Thread starter eXist
- Start date
But time moves on. Hot hatches are now turbo with 200bhp plus so have tunability. The same cannot be said flr the brz/new86...
but not everyone wants a hot hatch, and most big horsepower hatches are significantly more than a GT86 anyway.
I can't think of a single hot hatch that I have driven which is more involving to drive than a GT86. The obsession with the GT86 not being powerful enough is now an old and boring concept.
The amount of people I see churning out that statement who have zero seat time in the car is laughable. Sure the car has its shortcomings in stock form but it was developed to be a cheap base car for tuners and enthusiasts to work with.
Toyota even sell it in a sub base spec in some regions for people who are planning to rip it apart and mod it anyway.
In stock form, it is a cheap car aimed at people who want to chuck a fun car around without being at license losing speeds all the time. I dont see how having 300BHP+ or whatever would make it a worthy successor to an AE86, that comment is preposterous.
I can't think of a single hot hatch that I have driven which is more involving to drive than a GT86. The obsession with the GT86 not being powerful enough is now an old and boring concept.
The amount of people I see churning out that statement who have zero seat time in the car is laughable. Sure the car has its shortcomings in stock form but it was developed to be a cheap base car for tuners and enthusiasts to work with.
Toyota even sell it in a sub base spec in some regions for people who are planning to rip it apart and mod it anyway.
In stock form, it is a cheap car aimed at people who want to chuck a fun car around without being at license losing speeds all the time. I dont see how having 300BHP+ or whatever would make it a worthy successor to an AE86, that comment is preposterous.
Caporegime
- Joined
- 18 Oct 2002
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Hm but that's the point, what tuning options are really available to boost performance?
Who wants to buy a sports car that will be outdone by a mondeo or vag saloon and crushed by a hot hatch? Sales are poor echoing this sentiment.
Who wants to buy a sports car that will be outdone by a mondeo or vag saloon and crushed by a hot hatch? Sales are poor echoing this sentiment.
Nope.
I still wouldn't touch one without it having some kind of forced induction. If I wanted a boggo fun car then I'd pickup a cheap MX5 which is around the same pace.
This - the GT86 is underpowered, always was and seemingly always will be. Its a sad testimony to the monotomy of Japanese vehicle production that has seen the likes of Supras, Celica GT4's, Sunny GTIr's, Silvia's, 200ZX's - the flippin NSX!! etc all being forgotten for run of the mill, mass market obsessed dross.
It weighs 1298kgs and that is even more than my s14 and my s14 is running maybe 250hp and it's still not enough. Then again "you can never go fast enough" (Two Lane Blacktop reference there).
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The BRZ I took out felt slow, focused, but ultimately slow. I purposefully took that out before I took the WRX out as I knew it would be slower and it did feel annoyingly slow (roads are bigger here as well). I'm happy with my choice of not getting one.
Soldato
- Joined
- 20 Jun 2004
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- 5,991
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- Essex
I dread to think how fast you lot are driving as ~7seconds to 60 is in no means slow compared to the vast % of cars on the road.
Am I racing these hot hatches or just enjoying driving a better handling sports car?
Am I racing these hot hatches or just enjoying driving a better handling sports car?
It's all to do with the way the power is delivered as opposed to how much power there is, or how quick it gets to 60. There are loads of cars out there that have hundreds of BHP but inherently feel slow because of their laid back nature or dopey chassis or what have you, yet plenty of cars that are low on power, yet feel fast because of how frugal they are.
Doesn't mean people are speeding in triple digits everywhere of course though!
I still would love to drive one of these, only merely sat in one but everyone mentions how much of a fun driver's car it feels like, even if not particularly fast "feeling".
Can never understand people who moan about the GT86 and its power, if you want power then go and buy some bland car that goes fast in a straight line, there are plenty around, the GT86 is all about the involving drive, the fact that it hasn't sold well says more about the fickle UK car market than it does about the car, people are more interested in willy waving down the pub then enjoying driving.
Who gives a two hoot if the white Mondeo diesel is faster, you will be having more smiles per miles in the GT86.
Who gives a two hoot if the white Mondeo diesel is faster, you will be having more smiles per miles in the GT86.
small update -
Dropped the car off at Hypertech Performance on Wed as im off on holiday. Picking it up on Tuesday.
Current mods fitted so far
Eibach Sportline 35mm springs, car sits much more natural looking in the arch deperatment, also shows how high the car sits default that its still completely drivable in our retail park speed mountains, also improved the handling as the spring rate was a bit stiffer.
Whiteline gearshift bush, has stiffened up the shifting noticeably and apparently this has the negative effect of vibration coming up the gear stick but the opposite has happened to mine and everythings "tighter"/"smoother"
Blitz panel filter, nothing much to say here
When I pick it up on Tuesday it will have the following work done
Milltek Full exhaust system inc decats etc - the owner of the garage has his own GT86 with a Vortex supercharger and Milltek system so he s going to wrap the downpipe area in heatshield for me to protect the underside of the car. Exhaust will provide a small BHP boost but amplify the sound of the engine more than anything.
Whiteline rear subframe bushes, apparently these also give a noticeable boost to the handling of the car as its VERY rear end driven.
Low temp engine thermostat, getting this fitted for next upgrade below.
Custom Ekutek remap, as mentioned above the owner has a supercharger GT86 with a custom map and he s Scotlands only Ecutek remapper so I approached him to use my car as his "stock" donor" car to play about with on the dyno and with his mappers skills. This car really needs a remap to get rid of the very noticeable flatspot between 3 - 4.5k revs so once I pick the car up it should feel much quicker as the I will have a much smoother power curve.
I think he ll be providing Dyno readings so once I pick the car up if theres any interest here I ll take a video of the exhaust note and post my dyno readings.
Dropped the car off at Hypertech Performance on Wed as im off on holiday. Picking it up on Tuesday.
Current mods fitted so far
Eibach Sportline 35mm springs, car sits much more natural looking in the arch deperatment, also shows how high the car sits default that its still completely drivable in our retail park speed mountains, also improved the handling as the spring rate was a bit stiffer.
Whiteline gearshift bush, has stiffened up the shifting noticeably and apparently this has the negative effect of vibration coming up the gear stick but the opposite has happened to mine and everythings "tighter"/"smoother"
Blitz panel filter, nothing much to say here
When I pick it up on Tuesday it will have the following work done
Milltek Full exhaust system inc decats etc - the owner of the garage has his own GT86 with a Vortex supercharger and Milltek system so he s going to wrap the downpipe area in heatshield for me to protect the underside of the car. Exhaust will provide a small BHP boost but amplify the sound of the engine more than anything.
Whiteline rear subframe bushes, apparently these also give a noticeable boost to the handling of the car as its VERY rear end driven.
Low temp engine thermostat, getting this fitted for next upgrade below.
Custom Ekutek remap, as mentioned above the owner has a supercharger GT86 with a custom map and he s Scotlands only Ecutek remapper so I approached him to use my car as his "stock" donor" car to play about with on the dyno and with his mappers skills. This car really needs a remap to get rid of the very noticeable flatspot between 3 - 4.5k revs so once I pick the car up it should feel much quicker as the I will have a much smoother power curve.
I think he ll be providing Dyno readings so once I pick the car up if theres any interest here I ll take a video of the exhaust note and post my dyno readings.
yeah should hopefully make a massive difference to its daily driving, will see how it go s and if I get some spare cash might get a replacement manifold taking it up to stage1.3
After I get married next Oct gonna start saving for either a Supercharger or an AVO turbo system but will read into those much later incase I spend!
After I get married next Oct gonna start saving for either a Supercharger or an AVO turbo system but will read into those much later incase I spend!
Soldato
- Joined
- 12 Dec 2002
- Posts
- 2,950
Some of the stuff posted in this thread is pure comedy.
Anyway, there was a pearl white GT86 at Bedford autodrome on Monday that was VERY quick, I didnt chat to the owner but it obviously had suspension wide sticky tyres on it, I assume something done to the engine as well seeing as it didn't hang around on the straights either. Was pretty astonishing in the corners! I was doing 3.03 dead on the GT circuit and it was a fair bit quicker than that with a full interior!
As for the cooler thermostat, I'd give it a miss, they are pointless. Your car won't run any cooler when giving it beans and when you are not you will be cooling the engine more than it was designed to be.
Anyway, there was a pearl white GT86 at Bedford autodrome on Monday that was VERY quick, I didnt chat to the owner but it obviously had suspension wide sticky tyres on it, I assume something done to the engine as well seeing as it didn't hang around on the straights either. Was pretty astonishing in the corners! I was doing 3.03 dead on the GT circuit and it was a fair bit quicker than that with a full interior!
As for the cooler thermostat, I'd give it a miss, they are pointless. Your car won't run any cooler when giving it beans and when you are not you will be cooling the engine more than it was designed to be.
thanks for your input but if Cosworth have felt that fitting one makes some difference plus the fact im getting the parts cheap then im gonna stick with it. Bear in mind the remap can take note that the engine will have the lower thermo fitted.
Soldato
- Joined
- 12 Dec 2002
- Posts
- 2,950
To be fair they cost peanuts, and if it gives you a piece of mind then it's worth it. Just it will have zero effect on the performance of the car, only it will take longer to get up to operating temp and will probably use a bit more fuel if it's really cold over winter. Just don't go fitting oil coolers or anything as they really are silly for a road car.