Nicebiscuit

I'm set on the Bilsteins I think, as plenty in the US seem to rate them and I've used them in other applications. They're tuned to match the stock springs when ordered in B6 form, and of course the geometry etc will remain undisturbed... If I were wanting to lower I'd have probably gone with the Flex As as those bump stops sound pretty good. And indeed I may do so in future... But I am watching what Mikes up to with interest. Nice to get a bit of variety of set ups across the forum Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

My logic for going down this route is in many ways to try something different. Most either just lower cheaply, or go for coilovers, which are inevitably track biased to some extent, and firmer by necessity. Now I've been in a couple of cars with coilovers - enough to know that a decent set doesn't make the car ride any WORSE than stock. But I'm curious if it's possible to improve both ride and handling, and I think it might be using stock (and thus relatively soft) springs but better damping. Makes sense on a commuter car/b road toy. Anyhow I'm curious enough to try it. If it turns into a total soggy mess I'll be sticking Teins on like everyone else... [emoji3] Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thought you might... [emoji1] No - leaving it alone this time - just getting quality dampers. Rally car chic. Mark 2 in a few years time will probably feature 8.5' rims and then I'll need coilovers... But not doing that til I go FI. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

8x18. I think they're ET40 but forgotten now and binned the boxes - doh! Sounds about right though, as they still just tuck into the arches rather than being flush. But they don't look like pram wheels like the originals Actually to look perfect I think staggered fit would work. The rears could be another 10mm out, but the fronts are just right. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Team dynamics 8x18. And took the opportunity to weigh them whilst I had them side by side with the stock wheels. slight weight penalty over stock wheel/tyre combo of 1kg a corner, but considering the size increase from. 7x17 to 8x18 I find that quite acceptable. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

So - trial fit of wheels. A bit chuffed. Slight increase in width and offset much improve the car over stock, the black and red combo works, and though almost everyone on here will disagree, I can just about get away with leaving the ride height as standard. 20mm lower would no doubt be better still, but it's improved over stock as it is, and I don't want it lower this time around for many reasons. So I'll get Bilstein B6s ordered, and the car is also booked in for filter, UEL manifold and Ecutek. Nearly done for the spec it'll run for next couple of years... Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Yep - it was the parasitic load I was referring to. Can't see that there's any way round that, all other things being equal. I can see why people would prefer the supercharged option. Depends what you're after and which direction you arrive at the 86 from I think. Firstly I'm a long time Saab fan, so turbo 4 pots always appeal, and then there's the Subaru heritage in the car... It's just a case of pick your set of compromises. My main conclusion though, in the knowledge that decent supercharger installations are in the same financial ball park is what an awesome back road weapon you can build either way for what is really not a whole lot of cash, considering the price of the base car. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Main reason I'd go turbo rather than supercharger, is this doubles as practical work transport, and turbos don't kill the economy on a gentle throttle. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

As I thought. Well given that I'd only be lowering a little I might suck it and see where I end up before investing in further bits... Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Back to the manifolds... Mine is now booked in for an UEL manifold and Ecutek in a few weeks time... [emoji41] Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

No one would call THIS overdone, would they? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

It'll still work though as the colours are subtle. You haven't painted it pearlescent turquoise or something... Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

That's true technically, but much harder to spot whether the front on is still there of course, and they're not allowed to remove things to check... Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I think you may have achieved the impossible and built a subtle rocket bunny kitted car. That looks 'right' in every way. Looks like it should be sat on the grid at Le Mans in about 1976. In a very very good way. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

This I have to see... I love 'em. Being a nineties touring car fan they're just the default go-faster wheel. Reasonably light, and British made too - which is nice.

Booted with very nice and improbably cheap set of Yokohamas (thanks @riceburner) So gutted I can't run them yet. Trial fit coming up though to decide whether lowering is required before I buy some suspension bits... Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

That's a bit of a hike... ☹️ Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

No cruise on mine... Just a very gentle right foot. I think my car is either doing over 40mpg or under 20! Not much point in anything in between... [emoji48] Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Not a bad idea that. I haven't got a garage... Hadn't occurred to me it might look quite good in the front room... [emoji1] Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Bob does his best Prius impression. How about this then? Average reading for the 70miles of my regular slog up from Macclesfield to Blackpool. In traffic so steady 50mph on a roads, 70mph on motorway and no particular point hurrying. I think that's mighty impressive for a n/a 200bhp two litre. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Think yourself lucky. I just had a week with a Citroen C3. I'm not actually sure it was fitted with an engine at all... Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Well that's interesting, as I'm having a similar chat with Mike to do my car. Again starting from stock. But I'm going UEL, so we should be able to get a straight comparison... That'll be quite cool to see. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Get em bought. Seriously I'm wondering why they're still here. Sure they're more Euro style than JDM but a nice subtle option...

Or you could have one of those early TTs where the whole car took off at speed... [emoji1] Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

The biggest bang for the buck for me in audio comes near the bottom end. Just the first step up to a decent budget amp and speakers makes such a difference. The thing that would put me off spending a lot of money on car audio is firstly that your competing with a lot of other noise and a less than perfect 'room', and secondly that you're actually concentrating on something else... (Audio driven emotional breakdown whilst driving definitely a no no [emoji1]) but again every time I've spent modest amounts on car audio it reaps dividends. In my Citroen I just cobbled something together out of various bits I happened to have - Pioneer head, Blaupunkt powered sub and stock speakers and was surprised how much better it was... Even driving factory speakers with a better amp seems to give benefits (I really wasn't expecting much - only threw it in because the bits were doing nothing) The other thing to note with Lauren's system is the high end Alpine head with Satnav etc. If you didn't need nav then you could lop quite a bit off the head unit cost without sacrificing any audio quality at all. If I do anything with the Toyota I'm going to incrementally spend until happy - and based on experiences on here I will go speakers first, then amp, then head unit, and then sub. And basically stop when 'good enough' Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk