McDude

I came very close to getting a brand new GT86 Pro back in September, I got offered a mighty tempting deal via Carwow - you've got nothing to lose putting your details in and seeing what comes back. I'm not sure what they are offering now, but at the time Toyota was offering some very good finance deals as well. I actually went to the other extreme and bought a 62 plate car! As tempting as it was, I do so few miles I couldn't justify commiting that much cash to a new car. I got a Subaru because I like the Subaru Blue, a BRZ turned up at the time and was the best deal by a country mile and the Lux Spec has everything I wanted. I rate the part leather/alcantara seats, the standard stereo was dreadful so I replaced it. Heated seats are lovely (I never thought I'd say that). I wouldn't worry about parking sensors as it is a small car. I think a reversing camera would be more useful In the end you HAVE to do the sums - what's it going to cost you in finance, servicing, depreciation (look at MGFV, what they are going for second hand) etc. and work out what's best for you and what you can afford. I wouldn't really worry about the car being thrashed by the prevous owner, that's what they are designed for and that is what you are going to do with it aren't you? That said, I always avoid ads with poor spelling/grammar and when they really don't seem to know what they are selling.

Welcome - they do look good in grey and at 17k miles it's only just run in!

I’m definitely no expert wheel purchaser but I’m in a similar boat to you. I have a blue BRZ and fancy some gold wheels without compromising the performance. I started a thread I’m probably looking at cheaper alloys than you but there’s some good info in the thread regarding offsets. I don’t feel the wheel needs to be totally flush but pushing it out a wee bit with a lower offset does help with the aesthetics! I assume you’re also aware of the FT86 wheel directory. It’s an astonishing catalogue of rims people have put on their FT86/BRZs. It also has a very useful what fits matrix including offsets.

True, but I’ve got a blue Subaru! It’d be rude not to go gold!!!

Has anyone tried the Inovit RD21 wheel on their car? https://m.wheelbasealloys.com/alloy-wheels/inovit/rd21/gold/18-inch It looks like a copy of the Prodrive PFFF7 which made it onto the Impreza. The Scoobynet people seem to rate the wheel and it is available in BRZ (or GT86) fitment or so the link above claims. It looks pretty saucy to me but don’t know what it’s like in real life. It looks like it might be a bit domed in some pics but in others it looks flat if not nicely dished. It’s not an especially expensive wheel but by the time you’ve put on tyres your probably staring at the thick end of £1000 I’ve had a good search and can’t find evidence of anyone fitting them, including on the very extensive FT86 wheel directory Thoughts and opinions welcome!

I reckon about 500g a corner, not ideal and goes against the 'just add lightness' philosophy of Colin Chapman, but probably not the end of the world I do 7 mile commutes! Though I'd hate to give away anything in compliance/handling as they are bumpy Essex B-Roads

A 'mixed' response to the Inovit wheels. I've got another contender to put to you: Braid Fullrace A: https://www.demon-tweeks.co.uk/motorsport/competition-wheels/braid-fullrace-a-wheels-set-of-4 If you want them in Gold (which I do) you are looking at 18" x 8J with 5x100 and an ET40 fitting. You can get more offsets in white but 8J with ET40 should push the wheel out ~14mm from stock and 5mm less than flush (which I'm okay with). Braid wheels have a small but loyal following on the FT86 forum in the US. They are actually a Spanish company and specialise in wheels for rallying. Appreciate thoughts and feedback as always.

I've been giving this quite a bit of thought over the past few days; thanks for the input, it's been a bit of an education because I've not really given offsets/wheel placement in the arch much thought in the past. I'm very reluctant to do anything which would change the handling of the car; afterall this is why I bought it. I can see from an aesthetics point of view, pushing the wheel out does improve the looks, but it does concern me that the track is being widened. To be honest, I'd not really noticed the position of the wheel in the arch and it didn't really bother me. What rim is that you are running Martin? Same tyre size or have you gone up in width due to the wider rim? And do you notice a change in the handling? No denying it looks good in the arch. I guess what I like about the Inovits is they would keep close to stock, similar offset and tyre width. I'll probably end up doing nothing!

Sorry, I’d done my maths the wrong way! Okay 12mm further out. Thanks

Thanks for the replies people! So have we concluded that the wheel face would sit as near as dammit in the same place? But that that is actually quite inboard/tucked in because that’s how the stock wheels are? I think I’d agree that if I was going to change the wheel I’d push it out a bit. But surely that means a bigger offset (higher ET) and/or wider tyre? Perhaps this is why no one else is using these rims!?!

Do you think they will? A stock wheel is 7" and ET48 - so the new wheel is half an inch wider or ~10mm, cut that down the middle and you are talking 5mm wider from centre. Does that not mean with 6mm less offset it will essentially have the same position of the face of the wheel as stock? I could easily have that totally wrong! I can also see that a bigger offset would be desirable to push the wheel out from the stock position.

If these were gold (or if you can source some) I could be interested!

Glad you found the answer - yes, the antenna is powered and needs a feed from the head unit. I don't have DAB but others have put the receiver in the recess in the dash where your tweeter sits. There's plenty of space there if you don't have the 4" speaker (which most don't). I've put my GPS antenna there.

A GT86/BRZ on Primacy tyres is a daunting prospect in the snow! I'm not sure I've driven anything so unsuited to the conditions and that includes and Elise! I've held off buying winter tyres for it and in reality may not get any before the end of this winter, but I'm convinced it's the right way forward for next winter, even if it doesn't snow a flake.

Yep - the USB works if you buy the jumper loom. I'd actually be tempted to run the cable to the armrest as this is where my phone tends to sit. I don't miss the CD slot at all and it's a great excuse not to play Disney CDs if the kids are in the car!

Sorry to keep asking questions, does anyone have a dB number for res/non-res on an otherwise stock system? I’m thinking trackdays here so something like a metre away from the exit at 4000rpm, but anything to go on would be good!

What's the thinking if you were only going to change the exhaust, keeping the rest stock. I don't expect a single performance gain, only raspy sounds.

Sorry, I know this has kind of been done before but I can't quite find the answer I'm looking for. My car has Michelin Primacy tyres - possibly the originals, I don't know, but car has 28k miles so it is feasible. I quite like the tyres in the dry, but in the wet they are comical. If you are in the mood for it, it is fun but being honest it's a bit silly really. So, I hear good things about the Michelin Pilot Sport 4s (I've driven PS2s in the past and liked them). But what I don't want to do is change the character of the car too much. I love the playful, throttle steerable nature in the dry. I'd hate to lose this with too much grip. But I want to have my cake and eat it as the playfulness goes too far in the wet. Of course I could just get a new set of Primacy tyres but I don't think that would resolve the issue as the set I have still have a good bit of tread showing. What are people driving and what characteristics does the tyre have?

Not massively helpful but I’d be in if the price is right! i know that’s not really how these things work.

Welcome! Hope you enjoy the car. An amp is not essential! Sure you can install one and plenty have, but a gentleman should not be setting off car alarms as he drives through the neighbourhood! A good head unit plus some decent speakers is all you need. Favourite plug and play speakers (and a bit of a bargian option too) are the Focal IS165TOY speakers which are a direct replacement and need no jiggery-pokery to make them fit. Double DIN head units are fairly common so loads of choice there, though you need spacers to make them fit (not an issue) as the standard unit is a wee bit bigger than double DIN.

WHere abouts in London are you?

I've put a Britax Romer (the version without harness) in the front seat and one in the back - it's cosy! But they do fit. These are seats for 4+ year olds so probably not much help for you. The kind of seat you need with a harness is likely to be much bulkier. The good news is the people at Mothercare are extraordinarily helpful and will let you put seats in/out of your car all day long. When our little ones were little-er we had a Maxi-Cosi Tobi, which according to Maxi Cosi's own site it should fit: http://www.maxi-cosi.com/car-seats/car-fitting-list.aspx but I'd question that because it's a right bulky b4stard! Didn't have the BRZ at the time so never tried it. It would probably fit the front seat, but not the back.

Lightweight racing spec dials! Not your boulevard cruiser Toyota granny spec heavyweight dials! ;o) BRZ SE Lux includes the leather/alcantara and the arm rest. Good news is most BRZs seem to be ordered in Lux spec so 'easy' to find. I say easy, but there are far fewer BRZs to GT86s.

The 'IS' parts have separate tweeters (what you want) the 'IC' parts have the tweeter as part of the mid (what you probably don't want). The 690 bit means it is an old school 6" x 9" oval speaker (what you don't want). To save you putting this into a matrix, you want the IS165TOY speakers as they are the ones which will fit without any modification, the 165 bit meaning 165mm diameter.

Mine just sorted themselves out when I returned after work. I didn't need to do any resets, they just returned to normal. Sounds like the module needs to latch before you can reset i.e. prolonged key off to allow full power down. I'm not sure I'd use vaseline and it is a bit messy, but some sort of rubber care sounds like a good preventative measure.