spikyone

I guess you’d have to keep to the windscreen side of the A pillar, so that you’re going behind the airbag all the way down. It doesn’t feel like the plastic moves much there so I reckon you’d have to remove it, or at least loosen it. I didn’t actually ask where my audio installer had tucked it but he would’ve had the plastic off anyway to fit the DAB aerial.

Having used that wiring route myself, when I took my car in for its recent audio install it was something that the installer commented on - I think he was all ready to moan about another Halfords bodge. It's basically a bad idea, definitely something to be aware of.

It looks fine I think, if you have the leather & alcantara seats it's probably close enough. Maybe a bit lighter, but IMO it doesn't stand out as being different.

Yes, it's pretty hard to avoid import charges ordering stuff from Japan. I found the dash panel on Japanparts - I'd been looking in the wrong place.

Alex has done a bunch of HUs on other cars and kept the steering controls so I'm sure you'd be fine. Give me a shout if you want to have a listen to it some time, happy to meet up. I think it's the same setup Alex has in his Chaser. @sentinal187 It came from Japanparts, it's from the JDM BRZ tS. I can never seem to find the link lately, I think they call it a "centre console" or something.

Fair enough, I wondered what could've happened to justify a warranty claim on all four. I'm impressed they didn't write it off as wear & tear, that's the usual first answer!

All four wheels replaced under warranty? For what? That rings some alarm bells; it sounds to me like the previous owner might have given it some abuse. Recalls are a fact of life, they happen, and there is barely a manufacturer on the planet that doesn't have them - be thankful you didn't buy a diesel VW, they recalled those even though they worked perfectly...

Hello from another Swindonian 86er - they're starting to get a bit common in these parts, not sure if it reflects well on Swindon or badly on the GT86... I recently upgraded my whole sound system, you won't get good bass from door speakers. I had a top end Pioneer HU with nav, Kicker components in the door/dash, and a Kicker underseat sub installed, plus a reversing camera, for about the price of Toyota's JBL 'upgrade'. My setup is easily enough to shake the car apart without distorting, doesn't need an amp. One word of warning: an underseat sub doesn't actually fit under a GT86's front seat. Give Alex at ASC Audio a shout.

Good to hear you're getting it sorted. When my GT86 was hit (by a van, whilst parked - fortunately it was the police so they didn't just drive off!) I had an E-Class as a courtesy car. It was great at motorway cruising but utterly horrible in every other way, so I hope your 86 gets fixed quickly. --- Unfortunately it can happen to any of us, I almost had my own run-in with a van on Friday. Queuing traffic on the right hand lane of a large roundabout, with the left lane completely empty. I was entering the roundabout and taking the left lane; just as I arrived in the lane a van decided that he couldn't be bothered with the queue - no indicators, just straight across into my lane. Full anchors and a blast on the horn to warn him I was there, but he just carried on oblivious. He can only have been an inch or two away from my front corner, I was bracing for the "crunch" and it never came.

Not bought recently but would recommend you get some quotes through the brokers - carwow, broadspeed, drivethedeal. Then take the best one to your nearest dealer and ask them to match it. Discounts used to be reasonable, from memory I got about 12% on a car that was built to order. Delivery times will depend on whether the spec you want is already in the country, best case a couple of weeks if it is, worst case 2-3 months if it isn't. I completely mistimed my order and waited 4 months.

Of course you can. They are both 2 seat, RWD coupes and they're within 5bhp of each other. If there's "badge" in the 4-cyl Jag, there's "badge" in the 6-cyl too, the relative pricing is still relevant. Several journalists have said the 4-cyl Jag is better to drive thanks to the lighter nose, so not dumb at all - and similar money to a 4-cyl Cayman. Toyota are asking over £50k for the 6-cyl Supra. They might not be able to shift a 4 cylinder for £40-£45k but they'd likely lose money going much cheaper. Selling it at GT86 prices is pie in the sky. Comparing prices from 25 years ago is even less relevant.

Yep, not to mention that the M3/QV have all sorts of exotic materials and bespoke components that the rest of the 3 series/Giulia range do not, which would not be the case with a downgraded Supra. Although they’re different brands entirely, the closest comparison I can think of is the F Type coupe. Designed as a £55k coupe, similar to the Supra, and with similar power. The 4-pot version of that is £52k. It has more power than the 4 cyl Supra will, but they’re both 4 cyl turbo and the hardware would not be much different even if they chose to give it 300bhp like the Jag.

The GT86 was designed as a <£30k car from the outset. The Supra hasn't been. You can't make it over £20k cheaper just by putting in a smaller engine. If you're talking about changing body panels the cost will get higher rather than lower because you don't have economies of scale. On the other hand, you could (probably) put a more powerful engine in the GT86 and sell it for £40k - which would be closer to the Celica Supra ethos.

Gearing is much longer on the auto, especially 6th. IIRC the auto has a theoretical top speed well over 200mph if you could redline in 6th! Unless @Ignited has fitted a very short final drive (5.00+) revs will be higher on a manual. I have EL with the resonated catback (and a manual gearbox) and it's tolerable on the motorway. I tend to use cruise control though, and it gets noisier when you're going uphill and under load. ISTR that someone switched from resonated to super res and found that at some revs the volume is louder with super res, but that it's quieter overall.

Did you go full decat? I think that's what Mike recommends - apart from the lack of funds it's the only thing that puts me off.

Sad news indeed, I've enjoyed reading your blog and you've obviously enjoyed your time with the car. Those wheels look perfect on a Giallo, they should have been on the car from the factory!

I'm interested in doing a Combe track day later in the year. I was considering using my Javelin vouchers there (it will be that or a trip north to Oulton Park) and Combe is only £10 cheaper in November, the rest of the dates were all the same price. Happy to go any time as it's not far from me, I'd suggest summer for the better weather, but last time I went was August and it rained...

You won't get very much from a remap on its own; for a modern NA engine, the GT86 has a very high bhp per litre and there really isn't much headroom. I would not bother with just a remap, because the benefit won't come anywhere close to justifying the cost. If you can get to Tuning Developments, you will be far better off taking their NA tuning package, which is what a lot of people that have visited TD have had done to their cars. It gives a small increase in peak power (15-20bhp) but it eliminates the torque dip, so at 4000rpm you'll have 25% more power. It really transforms the way the car drives. When I had mine done, I also had the MTEC shift springs and Powerflex gearbox insert fitted - very cheap modifications that significantly improve the gearshift.

Those are only European sales, and Europe is a very weak market for Toyota. They don't sell much of anything here. The MX5 sells because we, especially in the UK (which is the majority of European MX5 sales), have a weird obsession with convertibles. We also have a weird obsession with hatchbacks as a performance car, neither of which are echoed in the US, Japan, and other markets. As a tin top, that means the GT86 has more competition here than it does elsewhere. I don't know what overall global sales are, but I believe it has comfortably outsold the MX5 in other markets where Toyota typically performs well - 20,000 in Australia; 70,000 in the US. The GT86 has sold far better than, say, the Nissan 350/370 in the UK, which is a closer comparison on size and price here. It also proves that performance isn't the issue it's made out to be.

Yeah it even happens on the Boxster/Cayman. Unless it's so serious that you can't see out of the window I don't think it's worth worrying about. Chances of it being covered under a warranty? I'll be happy to be corrected if RAC come good, but wouldn't hold your breath.

I think that Supra racer is disappointing, for some reason the DTM aero package that SuperGT is moving to really doesn't suit the Supra. The original racer concept looked a lot better: The aero on the newer version looks a bit too squared-off. It looks great on the saloon-based coupes that run in DTM but doesn't work on a proper sports car. It'll be interesting to see how the NSX and GT-R look under the 2020 SuperGT rules. And having the Supra, NSX, and GT-R names all back in Japanese GT racing together will be a real throwback to the late 90s/early 2000s glory days!

@JRot It’s well worth the trip; I’m in Swindon and stayed in a cheap hotel nearby the night before to avoid an early start and morning traffic. I think mine took a little over 5 hours, that included a catback, shift spring, and gearbox insert. I would definitely recommend the gearbox mods too. If you go for the catback you won’t notice any extra noise from the gearbox insert

I wonder whether putting it into the 95 RON map would give it some extra headroom on emissions? Mine had its first MOT this year and was very close to the limit, I wouldn't have the first idea how to find a friendly tester.

Can't add much to what's been said already, other than you can get the Tuning Developments NA kit for about £1500 and it includes the manifold (EL and UEL options) as well as fitting and mapping. It's a good chunk less than you'll pay if you buy a manifold, pay someone to fit it, and then pay someone to map it later. Plus if you ask Mike nicely he might give you a passenger ride in their turbo'd 86 while they're doing the work! The improvement in the way the car drives once it's been mapped is huge and you will wish you'd done it sooner. Lots of people on here have gone the TD route and I've never heard an owner say something bad about it.

I don't have the air vent but have the dash trim and stereo surround, they're the fake carbon style ones rather than the T-pattern from the earlier cars. I'm in Swindon so could meet somewhere half way - I'm off work all next week