KobayashiMaru

I have very high hopes for new Top Gear from what I've seen so far. Everyone involved loves cars and can drive too and I still go back and watch part Chris Harris videos and they are still great. His 2 part P1 videos were fantastic, although I can't see us being allowed to have that much car geekery, actually talking in depth about how it all worked. Grand Tour is still there for those who want the parody of old Top Gear and keep banging on about how it's so much better, etc. I only watched Grand Tour because I had Prime anyway. I wouldn't be paying extra just for it and really didn't think much of it. Far too much cocking about. I like James May but I can't see him staying for long. I'd rather watch his do more reassembling.

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.

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.

This is what I was hoping to see. My vRS has similar performance to your S3 and I'm just wondering if I'd miss power. I've driven my brothers a lot and I'm not sure I would apart from overtaking. In isolation on a road I know it's probably the best I've driven. The Z4M had more power than the 86 but steering wasn't as communicative and everything apart from insurance was £££ so I sold it.

I always seem to fall back to Skoda's because as you say they are tanks. My current one is driven hard most of the time. My Mk2 Fabia vRS Estate did 50k in 3 years and all of them flat out as I had a 55 miles, early morning commute on B roads.

Was looking for a HKS Panel Filter for my brother for Christmas then saw this. Looks well made but is it worth getting? http://www.amber-performance.co.uk/product.php?xProd=25269&xSec=8425

My Mk3 Astra was £1600 Third Party back in 2006. There's a few things you can do which has been suggested such as add your parents as named drivers as in their eyes the risk is split. Also you can lower your mileage a bit then add more if you need to later. Another thing I found that made it cheaper was to say it parked on the road at home and not the drive or in the garage. Looked into it at the time and all was mentioned was that people who park off road or garaged are more hassle for insurers as they are deemed to be more pedantic. No idea if it was just forum hearsay at the time but it dropped it £300 for me with all I've suggested.

That could end up costing quite a bit. Have they quoted you yet? Is this common then? Seems to be quite a few in the States on 2012 cars and normally Scion's from what I've seen.

Was just an idea as I've never put such a thin oil in a car before but I just wanted to know is this the new norm. If it's German it isn't. Even sports bikes run heavier oils. Did a bit of searching and while not conclusive, modern engines should be fine with this. Other manufacturers specify thicker oils only because they know they burn some. Next year we'll be getting the 86 mapped and a few bits done. Would be nice to know what caused it.

Not good but good to know the dealer dealt with it. Like everyone else I'm interested to know why. Perhaps it is oil related. I've never had a car that needs 0w-20. 5w-30 was the norm but then every engine is different

Got a link? Just ordered a filter.

Yeah good point. I'll just stick with the filter for now. Did see somewhere else you can get a hose that's similar and still retains the noise generator.

It's always good to to the research beforehand on what's needed to take it to each stage, what power are you happy with, what compromises are you willing to make or not. I've seen it on other forums where someone makes a change, brags it up, everyone gets sucked in (normally because a forum sponsor sells said part) and does it and while it's great on track it's awful for everyday use. The common one is dogbone mounts on Skoda's and polybushing with bushes that are way to stiff. While a part may suit one person it may now suit everyone. You see it all the time, even here where someone buys something on recommendation then a few months later they sell it for something else. Personally I like doing all the research on parts and getting exactly what I want once. I do the same when building PC's. May take me longer but it's right first time.

You said it needs to be all together mechanically but one option could be the next time you go there to take the guy who will do the work for you now to survey what state it's in (although don't say who he is or what he's doing, just say he's a friend), what he thinks would be missing, etc.

A very valid article. The 86 is just starting on it's mod journey with small stuff like lights and wheels then next year a map, exhaust, etc. I'm very keen to make it better but not lose it's 86ness. Since it's my brothers I've told him he has to get used to it first and get better with time before each upgrade else he won't feel the benefit and it may not be the right choice anyway. The 86 is a car that teaches you to drive it better and when you put the effort in it's so much more rewarding. My Octavia vRS is at 282bhp so has the intercooler, downpipe, filter, bigger brakes, bilsteins and eibachs, roll bars etc and is just right. People keep telling me to get a diff and a bigger turbo and more power but I struggle to see the logic in it. The mods suggested could see 350bhp and the diff to handle it but do I really want a 350bhp FWD car and spend more money on what is an 8 year old Skoda. With no diff, people who aren't used to it struggle to get the power down but now I'm used to it I have no issues and have fine tuned my throttle control and run with TCS and ESP off every day, making the effort to improving myself rather than throwing money at the problem.

I'm seething just reading what you've gone through. You've shown more patience than me, although I do understand projects like this with so much customisation takes time but he's not even made slow and steady progress on it. That's probably the most piss boiling part, along with his attitude. Really hope you get a decent result out of this and the car gets to where you want it.

Looks great in blue. How have you found the dealer? This will be our local dealer now too and the 86 will be due a service in March

Which FB group? The one for this forum?

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/toyota/gt-86/toyota-gt86-gt1-d-4s-2013/6417049 Looks a fairly complete spec, guessing it's somebody's on here?

Remember it being mentioned in the advertising bumpf that you could fit 4 wheels with tyres on inside. Anyone done this or got photos? I'm thinking it should be easy enough (two inside, two in boot) just wanted to check before I go and collect some wheels in it. If not I'll have to take my vRS

That's what I find strange. It's not on here for sale or any other 86 sites but had work done by one of the main tuners. It looks OK but would take quite a bit of man maths to justify

That's what I meant. Although do most buyers know about them? I'd like to think 86's are bought by enthusiasts but I've seen a few driven by people who probably don't even realise it's RWD. A 2015 on may put me off as I know I'd look at changing wheels as most here would. But then the facelift is out soon or is out so prices should car becoming sensible now.

I'm still waiting until they are commonly around 12k before I buy one. Lots of Cat D's about though. Although having use of my brother's is still good and holds me off getting one sooner. Are the prices holding because of them not having wheel sensors or is it just people trying their luck?

From the first episode. From this alone I was amazed by it.

The difference between stock and the new wheels. I'm sure there was a better one than this that showed more?