Deacon

@Adamd I've been through about 6 suspension setups on my car now. One of the issues the GT86 suffers is it has very short rear dampers (I have been told by a couple of the suspension companies I've dealt with that they are the shortest dampers of any car they currently deal with). When i was last at AST they had some BMW 3 series rear dampers on the bench next to my Motons. The BMW rears are over twice the size of the 86 dampers. Unfortunately this means the damper travel at the rear will be very limited due to the design. I believe the ST's follow the same design as the KW's so you probably have about as much rear damper as you're reasonably going to get. Even the stock car is not the most comfortable ride and with the ST's on you've increased the spring rate above stock. I have similar sorts of roads to you where I live and I was definitely faster on them in my previous car (a VW Scirocco) due to the suspension set up on that compared to the 86. However, what you will probably find is that the faster you go the better you'll find the dampers will work - most coilovers tend to give priority to the low speed damping over the high speed damping as that's where the handling happens. Unfortunately the high speed damping is what rounds off the harshness you're experiencing. I haven't tried the KW's or ST's myself but of all the setups i have tried I felt that the Tein Flex A's were the best road set up. The hydraulic bump stop really does help to take the edge off some of the harsher bumps. It may be worth meeting up with a few owners and seeing how their cars are to see how yours compares?

This is a version they did for me with the new batman logo but I wanted the old to match the other badges on the car.

It's up for the week.

At RRG? You're welcome to have a look at any of the meets 👍

New gearknob arrived today. Can't decide now if I'd prefer it without the oval around and with the bat in black with the shift pattern left red?

Excuse my ignorance as I know nothing of this but does it make a difference where the Helmholtz is? So on your h&s system it's on the back boxes whereas on the hks it's on the centre pipe?

I think @GT86-Ian did have an ark grip?

I did feel the same on the armrests to be honest.

I dropped my car off at RRG yesterday for its second MOT, fourth year service and for the recall to be done. While I was there I had a good look around and sit in the facelift car. I wasn't a fan from pictures but I do think it looks much better in person. The inside is definitely a step up - I really like the new wheel and the alcantara touches definitely lift it. I also liked how much more finished the armrest seemed to make the inside so I've ordered one for my car today.

The Helmholtz is 360mm long and the circumference is 330mm. The pipe is approximately 130mm long and has a circumference of 140mm. Does that help @Ade?

Your big weak point is the auto box - I'm not sure if you need an auto box but if not if your long term plans are bigger power it may be more financially sensible to swap to a manual?

A quote I had was £122.92 front and £116.83 rear. I went with the stoptech plain discs instead.

Came across these videos on YouTube which I thought may be of use to people when deciding what they want from an exhaust in terms of sound and style and also for people who may be considering any of these specific exhausts. Part 1. This probably has my two favorites for sound in it - the HKS Legamax Sports and the Zele (although that's mostly because I just really like the Zeal car) Part 2 Part 3 Part 4

I'll try after work. At the moment it's repacked up in the box and a bit (lot in fact) of a git to get out and then put back!

I'm betting it'll be a version of the lotus elise sport engine

Outside

Just measured it as 2.5" 👍

I'm not sure - I'll measure it and get back to you 👍

That looks pretty good to me with the contrast between the black and white. Quite a few manufacturers (e.g Porsche) have their bodykit pieces in black rather than body colour.

New exhaust arrived today. It's the HKS HiPower Spec L with black carbon tips. HKS have recently revised the design a little so it's now listed as 90db with the carbon tips. This should work nicely with the JDL manifold to keep me track noise limit friendly. I'll hopefully get it fitted in the next few weeks and I'll post up some video clips when it's on. Few pictures for now:- Thanks to @James@Amber for the excellent service as always 👍 Once this is fitted I'll also (finally) be able to get the centre Valenti light fitted too.

@will300 has the avo one

On the road I'd be happy enough with stock bhp but an extra 50 lbsft wouldn't go amiss. For track it'll be really interesting to see how the fi applications hold up - not that many people who are fi seem to track much.

I'd guess you could reuse a lot of the cgr system

Looking at all the information on the US forums the only people the red intake manifold is going to benefit is those running a lot of boost.

Welcome on board and congratulations on having the best colour!