Special K

Welcome to the Club, Dan. I'll go with what Keethos says above. This car is rightfully claimed to be the best behaved vfm 'flingable' sports car available and when you start mixing wheel sizes you risk losing that ... and it takes a lot of technical wizardry (money) to get it back.. However, if bling's your thing then goforit.. I would certainly go for suspension mods to allow camber changes at front and rear.. Spec K

Try before you buy, Keethos... these are spares, part worn, probably 50% pad material left. I've also got a set of the same Ferodo material on pads for std rear calipers - for me this retained the 'balance', both on road and track. Spec K

Awesome, Keethos.. truly awesome. If you would like to try some Ferodo DS2500 pads in your K-Sport calipers I've got some spare sets you can try.. I shall be selling mine when the StopTech replacements arrive. Spec K

Faith - what makes 20th June different than any other day..? (Alas, I am entered for the trackday at Woodbridge ro I would have enjoyed entering the competition..) ".... a GT86 upped the quality of my life. Up yours... " Spec K

Mark, I thought the increased lift of the HKS cams was to allow for the stroked crank (less the reduction in piston height)... although 0.7mm doesn't sound a lot.. Spec K

Thanks Nige I will, if I may, use yours until the TSS this year is finished and then replace it. I don't inhabit the FT86 Forum but I know a man who does - it might be worthwhile asking the question over there if anyone has a spare or knows where to source one from. If not, I'm sure a breakers yard will have something suitable.. Spec K

Update - I met with Adrian this afternoon at Fensport - this was a 'crunch' meeting as I was very unhappy with the progress made on the planned/agreed mods between Feb and now. Much of the delay was due to my transmission failure - that did not, to my mind. delay the planning, consultation and development of the other engineering demands I made, especially the re-siting of the two oil coolers. Much of what I had proposed in Feb -agreed as a schedule - cannot be achieved, I learned today. When you remove the front bumper, and look at the capacity behind the grill, my demands are impractical. So - the foglights will stay (the vent aperture volume, limited by the indicator surround (you could calve a windebeest in this wasted space) makes it a no-no... My insistence on a bigger intercooler (450-600+bhp) have been suborned, as I don't need it at the moment. The uprated AVO 2 to AVO 3 (billet) upgrade? Oooh - what a piece of engineering! See pics on Fensport website. Auto trans cooler will now mirror image the engine cooler . if there is a space for the pump. New core to the cooler Gonna duct into the wheel arches, meshed to prevent stone fling..washer bottle resolved by NigeR32, thanks pal. Further update later Spec K

I am no longer sure how much of this thread is based on heresay/theory and how much is based on experience. Question - have either of you tracked your GT86, kitted out in the way you propound, with the oils/coolers you deem appropriate? And, if you haven't, is this a truly beneficial discussion to the GT86DC? Spec K

Correction - I am fitted with the Mishimoto water rad (did I spell it right?) Spec K

Thanks. But, alas, I am fighting a solo campaign. The lonesome voice in the Toyo EU community... No, James - I'm on my third cheque book... Spec K

I am running the stock radiator - I might change this - and I cannot remember which oil cooler I am using, it's a standard item from Fensport. Thanks for the offer - I wil lcheck with Adiran, see if it would help. Spec K

(You're up early this morning) That might be the answer... I had noticed a tendency for delayed shift myself but had catered for it by changing earlier... I'd got used to it.. Flat foot shifting is a strength of the autobox, as is autoblip.. Spec K

I admit to looking a long time ago at combined water/oil rads to mitigate the lack of space with intercooler, etc. I am now glad I followed the (cautious) advice I was given.. Spec K

Keethos - I am hoping that, if all goes to plan at Fensport and barring any further mishaps, I shall be at Woodbridge. I booked the hotel today... Before I do I have to put my 'L' plates on. I've never driven a car in competition with the power I'm now looking at.... and I now learn there's an 'open pit lane' trackday at Woodbridge the day before the Sprint.... hmmm.... Spec K

Sorry, my error. I've just checked in my garage - I'm using 0W30 Millers CFS NT Competition Race Oil. Lauren, I had not seen anything near that temp whilst I was driving at Oulton. I maxed at 115degrees.. your temps dropped back to normality within half a lap, it was remarkable.. I wonder if it might have as much to do with driving style as airflow? With turbo charging the need for continuous 6k-plus revs hardly exists, as the power is there from 4k onwards. I've had to change my method of driving since moving away from n/a, where max revs are (almost) essential. Yes - I do think airflow is restricted through the oil cooler being mounted in front of the intercooler and water rad but my car in n/a mode was giving 163bhp at the hubs at 6700rpm (Abbey dyno) and now it's giving the same bhp at 3800 rpm, with a max 264bhp at the same 6700rpm(TDI dyno). That's a lorra, lorra extra heat to get rid of.. but I am mindful that Adrian ran last year's car at far higher power levels without any of these problems in Sprint... continuous pounding around a track for 20 mins is chalk to cheese by comparison. I am also mindful that I did nearly 200 miles at Spa - 20 lap sessions, sharing the driving so it was nigh-on continuous - without any problems whatsoever. Hopefully these minor irritations are behind me. Adrian did 40 miles road on Friday, using full throttle at 0.5bar - no problems with autochanges or temperatures (according to both guages) and we've still got the coolers to re-site.. again, I think the vented bonnet makes a significant difference. Whether these changes will cope with the greater power I hope to attain is another matter.. it is only by a trackday that the pudding will be proved edible... Spec K

I don't do cutting. Well, not metal.. Hence my suggestion - the 'vent' that is shown in the photo above, is repeated both sides. Added together that's nearly the size of a letterbox. And, if you think about it, there is zero ventilation in this area - airflow around the wings/either side of the bonnet will suck the hottest, stillest air out of the engine compartment. (Added to which it looks good.. not that I do 'bling, of course...) Spec K

Rob's changing tyres.... Spec K

This is straight from Scotland... Students in an advanced Biology class were taking their mid-term exam and the last question, worth 70 points or none at all, was "Name seven advantages of Mother's milk" One student in particular was hard put to think of seven advantages. However, he wrote - 1) It is a perfect formula for a child 2) It provides immunity against several diseases 3) It is always the right temperature 4) It is inexpensive 5) It bonds the child to Mother, adn vice versa 6) It is always available when needed ... and then the student was stuck... finally, in desperation just before the bell rang indicating the end of the test, he wrote 7) It comes in two attractive containers and it's high enough off the ground where the cat can't get it He got an A Spec K

Alec is displaying my car (post#1). This is the usual view of my car... from behind.. har... I don't do mugshots, it frightens too many kids... Spec K

Hi Mike, Is the wheelchair permanent? Is yours an auto? Spec K

Pressure's on me, Lauren... Spec K

One big difference, Dave... Nige and you wield spanners, hammers and welders to build awesome cars, I wield an over-inflated ego and a cheque book.... Spec K

Fpan, welcome. The auto is a joy to drive, in my experience. Stick it in 'Sport' and 'Manual' mode, use the paddles or the gearshift and you'll enjoy it just as much as any manual.. and it's quick, 0.2secs to change gear. It's also got autoblip, no need to heel and toe... nice!! A weeping rear diff is no great problem, they're very easy to work on and any dealer worth his salt will fix that for you before you take delivery. Bear in mind that the ratios on an auto are different than a manual (fifth gear auto is the same as sixth gear manual, so you've got a seriously good 'cruising' gear..). Yes, we are a friendly bunch and there are frequent 'social' meets here in the south east. (Okay, so you can't help living the wrong side of London but someone has to... ) Spec K

(continued) In addition to the engine and transmission upgrades Adrian and I had decided to consider a number of other issues, primarily the heat build-up when I track the car. This is not an issue when driving quickly on the road nor when Sprinting - as proved by Adrian's car - but I had experience high temps after a number of laps at trackdays. My engine oil cooler is sited to the left front of the intercooler and had already been modified with ducting to guide the air flow. I had also fitted a separate transmission oil cooler with electric fan and pump (again, supplied by SSP) sited behind the rear bumper. Additionally we had vented the engine undertray. Yet this did not prevent the engine oil temp reaching 135degrees at Oulton Park in February - and it wasn't even a hot day! I had to ask Lauren (who was driving at the time) to slow down... sure enough, the temp dropped by 20degrees.. As I mentioned previously, the plan was to remove both engine and transmission for rebuilds at the same time. However, the uprated clutch pack did not arrive from the States in time, so we went ahead with the engine rebuild and I collected the car on a Friday, nine days before Snetterton (the first of this years Sprint Series). Adrian had installed a 'zero-boost' map for running-in purposes and I was under instruction not to exceed 3000rpm for the first 500 miles and to avoid prolonged cruising at set revs.. I achieved 487 miles in 48 hours by visiting my niece in Cumbria and dropped the car back to Fensport on Sunday. No problems - six days to Snetterton... On the Monday morning, when Fensport were putting the car on their ramp, the drive would not engage. I had a gut feeling that this might slow me down when Sprinting.... ... Adrian spoke with Andy Frost at Penn Motors (our trans man), whipped the trans/torque converter out and, together with the spare trans I bought last year and the uprated clutch pack (which had arrived) , I took the whole lot up to Andy in Woverhampton on the Wednesday... goodbye Snet... Adrian had tried long and hard to get hold of the autotrans workshop manual without success. Possible in Japanese but a bit impractical for our purposes. It appears that UK Toyota dealers, in cases of repair/warranty, are required to replace the whole trans with new and ship the faulty bit to.... a black hole, nobody knows.. somewhere there is a big pile of autotrans being gloated over by a bunch of invisible, uncommunicative goblins... (mebbe they go from Platform 9A at Kings Cross...) However, two phone calls later and I had a .pdf copy of the manual - in English! I dare not mention where this came from... but they now take pride of place on my car as a sponsor when I sprint... (cough)... and I shall be eternally grateful. Rebuilding an autotrans which you're familiar with is not a lot different than a manual box. Rebuilding a completely unknown autotrans requires constant referral to the workshop manual, thereby quadrupling the time it takes and, as no-one in the UK had attempted this feat on a GT86 trans, it took time. Three weeks... I collected my uprated bits from Andy and delivered them back to Fensport eight days before round 2 at Blyton, together with the totally overheated/wrecked clutches which had been replaced. Adrian wasn't back from Australia until the Wednsday for re-mapping the new engine - bit there was just enough time to get it ready. The car was back on the road on Thursday morning.. and the box wouldn't play nicely! Something to do with dropping all power in fourth, reverting to third, back up to fourth, back to third... Adrian spoke with Andy - he wanted the whole car, please. On his original rebuild he had been unable to accurately measure the trans oil pressures which are so critical (it was on a bench) and had used air pressure - now he wanted to check every little item. So the whole car was low-loadered up to Wolverhampton, together with the spare trans - in case he needed bits.. My car was returned to Fensport last Thursday - Adrian took it for a road test and says the trans is working perfectly (still on zero boost). In fact, he says it is smoother now than it has ever been... the problem was an 'input shaft clutch basket' - don't ask me what it is, I haven't a clue!. (Andy refused to charge me for this, despite new seals etc., he stands by his work... but he may not want to see a GT86 trans ever again!!) Work can now resume. And, in my quest for 'cool' we have decided to remove the front foglights and reposition both coolers, ducted, one either side. A minor mod required to accomodate repositioning the offside oil cooler is replacement of the washer bottle, which is huge due to the headlight wash demands (2 litres a minute, I am told!), so this will be replaced with a smaller capacity bottle for windscreen washing purposes only. (We will be leaving the unplumbed headlight washer mechanisms there for MOT purposes...note this if you are contemplating the same mod..). Another mod, requiring a simple re-map, was to reduce the temp at which the electric water cooling fan comes on, it's now at 70degrees .. and, at my specific request, there is now a transmission oil temp guage (fitted in the drivers air vent) which compliments the Blitz panel on the passenger side which has engine oil temp, oil pressure and boost guage. I have fitted a Seibon vented bonnet - again, to aid cooling - and a Seibon rear bootlid with spoiler to aid downforce at the rear. I'm not sure about this last item but one thing I am sure of - the newly ordered Stoptech front and rear brakes will be needed, as a replacement to the K-Sport front-calipers-only setup I currently run. The new brakes are the same as Adrian ran last year (albeit to fit my 17" rims, not his 18"), so I am hopeful that they will adequately deal with the added power demands. I have also bought a complete Stage 2 uprated transmission from SSP, fully assembled, as a spare. Hope I won't need it... There is one other 'mod' which has reached fruition. When I originally discussed this with Mas at HKS he decided he would go the same route sooner rather than later. I thought that this 'supercar' scenario would be a bit unfair to other f/i competitors in the GT86 TSS so, after discussing this with him and with Adrian, a new 'class' has been introduced to the TSS. The F1-S class (forced induction, forged engines, street going) will supplement the existing classes and should - in theory - be competing with the top five cars for overall TSS honours. I'm sure Mas will be up there when his car is launched - whether this old sod can is another story... Spec K

Good explanation, Mas. The AVO kit is supported by a bracket which fixes vertically to the engine block immediately above the turbo body. As well as taking the 'hung' weight off the exhaust manifold pipes it synchronises the engine/exhaust manifold vibrations with the bulk/weight of the turbo. As I have mentioned elsewhere turbo heat buildup in the engine bay is an issue but is only significant when we are talking competition and can relatively easily be addressed by venting the engine undertray. A further simple diy 'tweak' would be to replace the GT86 side fenders with the BRZ version, remove the solid plastic inserts and replace these with proper grills. Nige will have a larger heat issue to consider if he uses his high-mounted 'big' blower in battle, I would suggest.. Spec K