Lauren

Wicked stuff, I had a feeling Claire might take the plunge. Cool.

Looks good, but I really wish Toyota would do a better job with wheel offsets. Is that the exact spec/look then, Richard?

Welcome aboard, Seb, haven't seen you for ages. Does Richard know he's got competition?

It's very difficult to say with a sample size of one. I've done over 90K. Still on original wheels bearings, bushes, balljoints etc.

My bumper has been scraped countless times, grounding out on things. But unless you get underneath the car you can't see it, so it's academic as to whether it's even worth touching up really. You can touch it up of course if you wish, but you'll doubtless do it again, which is what I found.

Just get it from Toyota. No brainer.

Thanks for organising it, Neal. It was a lovely day. Inevitably that brought everyone out, so it was busy in places, but some fantastic views and we had the odd bit where we could get going a bit. We should definitely do it again in winter, when it will be quieter. Reckon we should do the Snake Inn for lunch again too. Pic I got descending the Manifold Valley into Castleton: Manifold Valley High Peak. AE86 by Lauren Blighton, on Flickr

Yep, that one, other side of the Silk Road

Morning. Just got up. Good news is that Mark will be coming as well in the AE86. We are going to hit McD's for brekkie around 10am in Macc.

Brodit mount is the way forward for mounting phones on the dash. You can get a specific mount for a GT86 and it clips neatly in. Good move on driving the car as is, so you can get a feel for it.

Cool. I've got friends coming over for a social tonight, but I intend to get down for the drive out, even if I have a late night. Mark may stay behind though.

If you keep the primary cat, you will pass emissions no problem. You can just about get away with it, with the second cat only as well. As for noise, not an issue, unless you have a stupidly loud exhaust. YMMV of course.

Welcome Bob. Any plans for the car?

It doesn't have 170whp from the factory, more like 150 or so. For flywheel horsepower, they tend to make around 185-190 at Tuning Developments rolling road.

I think you'll find real benefits, from a decat, manifold, exhaust and remap. It makes a big difference to how the car drives. Add decent suspension, wheels and tyres and it's a car that you can really have a lot of fun in.

If it's your first RWD car, learn how it goes stock first before you change anything. Lowering springs will improve the look but ruin the ride. Far better to save for coilovers and do it properly. If I was you, I'd spend my money on driving tuition on track and the like. The relatively low grip of the Primacy tyre will mean you can learn car control at lower speeds, which is a good thing. It's very different if all you've driven is FWD. Once you've done all that then look at upgrades. Yes the wheels are hideous but they'll do the job for the moment, then you can have time to consider what kind of wheels etc you are looking for. Also a good idea to get out to some meets and see how other's have modified their cars. Will give you plenty of ideas.

I think it really depends on the car. One thing I noticed straightaway about the GT is how little it rolls comparitively to other cars even in stock form. For another angle, my AE86 with it's new suspension on has highlighted that the rear now rolls more than the front which is annoying, so I've ordered a bigger ARB for the rear to balance it out. So I think some cars need it more than others. I admit I've only been a passenger in Mike's car with the absolutely abysmal Litchfield 'handling package' and when he put his new Tein Advance suspension on, I suggested he switch back to stock ARB's when Richard asked me. It certainly works well now.

Yeah, I'm not hugely convinced by uprating the ARB's either. I know people will go on about flatter cornering, but weight transfer is useful and important, the suspension needs to be able to work. Also I'm concerned that an uprated rear will compromise traction on corner exit. Happy to have go in your's if we coincide at a trackday or at a sprint if we get extra time, which is pretty rare.

Welcome aboad. Exciting times. I think realistically before it starts getting very expensive, so exhaust manifold, decat, exhaust, remap will give you around 215bhp or so if you choose wisely. I would say no chance of getting anywhere near 250bhp without serious money and I know of nobody that has achieved this. Will cost you around £2K to get this far. Though there is a big increase in drivability and mid-range torque which makes a huge difference to how the car drives and the manner in which the power is delivered. The compression ratio is already high at 12.5:1, you're only way for more power is to rev higher and there are limitations with the rockers for the cams and the conrods are a weak point, so you're looking at a lot of money for not much gain. I don't know anyone that has done this. In all honesty with 215bhp or and the mods I mentioned, the car is easily quick enough to enjoy. Obviously once you start doing that you'll want to upgrade wheels, tyres and suspension.

Why would you fit anything other than an OEM bearing?

In terms of ARB's, I've only experienced Mike B's Litchfield handling kit, which seems to be the best way to ruin your ride and your handling. He had lowered Eibach springs (terrible) and bigger ARB's front and rear. It was just terrible. I'm really not convinced about putting bigger ARB's, I think it may well compromise traction and it will increase your spring rate of course under lateral G. Have you got offset bushes on the rear for camber adjustment? I have these and have the right amount of camber (1.75 degrees) for what I want. I agree that it's far easier to get more accurate adjustment with adjustable lower arms, but I haven't got round to that yet.

The Cusco headlamp adjuster is a good mod, if you like seeing where you're going. Right time of year to get it sorted too. What are you doing with your handling then?

The OZ Ultralights are not actually that light, but you'd have to weigh them to see if there is a discernable difference.

Simply because they are lighter. Less metal in a smaller diameter wheel. The stock wheels are heavy though at 9.2kg. I also think a 7" wide rim is not optimal with the 215 tyre. But if you want lightweight wheels you need to look at forged wheels ideally and they are not cheap of course. I run a lightweight forged wheel 17x8 on stock tyre sizes, but not stock tyres which weigh in at 7.4kg. It makes quite a difference everywhere.

Toyo's are at best shite. S-Drives are being phased out. Yoko V105's are a better bet and work really well. If you are going 18" think about an 8.5" rim for a 225. But go at least 8" wide as a minimum.