Captain Duff

I've had my GT for 8 years now (my only car and a daily driver), still love it, still drives brilliantly. But I can't wait to get the GR when it comes it (but when?!) - linking to the OP, while that still seems some time away for us in the UK, I suspect that with a number of GT owners like me looking to trade in for the new car it could put a lot of extra s/h GT's on the market at the same time, which would potentially be good for making entry into GT ownership even more affordable.

This US Toyota press release is interesting - https://pressroom.toyota.com/all-new-2022-toyota-gr-86-thrills-around-every-corner/ The US GR86 (they will get it before we can) will come with a year's membership of NASA included, wonder of Toyota GB will be looking at a similar track day encouragement for new owners - plus it looks like there will be some useful initial Gazoo mods (inc a cat-back exhaust) to get at the time of purchase so under warranty from day 1, again this would be a welcome thing for TGB to also do (although I'm guessing that most GT86 existing mods will be suitable to use on the GR).

I had the Whiteline insert done at my first service 6 years ago I think, seemed to make shifting smoother so for the money it's a good mod to try, although I was always happy with my gearbox and never had the issues some did (did get some stick buzzing under acceleration in 3rd and 5th in the early days, now gone, and like most people I still get the odd bit of 1st to 2nd stiffness on a cold morning but nothing major).

A facelift with a more powerful engine - but I like it a lot, the styling works for me. Be great if there was an immediate UK special edition option along the lines of the Blue Performance edition (Brembo's etc.), but I hope that one of the big advantages of this looking like a facelift will be that existing GT86 aftermarket parts like exhausts etc will be interchangeable as that would mean a good amount of things to play with from the outset. It will also be interesting to see what difference n Ecutek remap would make to those initial performance figures. I also hope it comes in sub £30k as it needs to maintain affordability. I was really tempted to trade my 2013 for the Blue Performance edition the other year but couldn't justify the price at the time, but by the time this comes out my car will be heading for 9 years old and so I think it will be the right time to swap over. More pics here: Auto Express

I've had KW v2 coilovers for 2 or 3 years now, been very happy with the ride and handling. Have not been using the car massively in recent months due to lockdown affecting work (so have been a homeworker for most of the year), but a few weeks ago I noticed a bit of a knocking sound when going around roundabouts (coming from the rear I think), then when parked on a normal height pavement (one side on, one side off) what I think was the suspension made a bit of a clicking sound for a few seconds. Since then the ride has become very firm but also splashy at the same time. I've not had the chance to get the wheels off yet to have a proper look, but the ride height when p[arked looks even at all four corners. I'm wondering if I may have lost oil pressure in one of them and so it's lost bump dampening and is just riding on the spring? That said, I'm far from an expert. I got them s/h so there is no warranty, but has anyone got any ideas, and if the hydraulics have leaked would it be repairable (and would any decent garage be able to do it)?

I had much worse in the same sill/door area a few go, my fav local body shop did their as always amazing magic and no one would ever know - from memory it was £240 inc vat which inc a courtesy car for 2 or 3 days (the whole side of the car was resprayed/blended up to the wings at either end). Good value I think.

As others have said, Milltek has a truly dreadful reputation now among the GT86/BRZ community. The numbers that cracked were unreal, they then retrospectively updated it with a flexi insert but it still cracked (I had 3 replacements under the warranty, the last one with the flexi that was meant to stop it cracking). At the same time dealers were reporting that Milltek were becoming increasingly difficult to deal with re the warranty replacements. In the end, I could have got yet another replacement or another exhaust completely (I was tempted) but went for a 3rd party welding option on the Milltek (even though that leaves me out of warranty) - Two and a half years later it is still fine (and sounds great to my ears) so I'm happy, but I'll never touch that company again after the experience.

The suspension set up on the Blue Edition is sweet out of the box, in fact it was night and day so far as road behaviour against my 2013 OEM when I test drove it which is why I ended up fitting KW v3's following that revelation. I probably went down 15 mil or so with the KW''s in the end, initially had it lower but didn't like it as clearance and speed humps became a big issue (your Blue Edition s already lower than my stock was I think, poss 10 mill if memory serves?) All that said, those lowering springs aren't too expensive and can be reversed and sold on if you don't like the handling afterwards (as it will almost certainly be worse, which is why I'd not do it myself ).

When you swap your keys for the Yaris... 😉

What with the lockdown I'd left doing anything about my recall, but then figured I could perhaps do a combined Sevice/MOT this month with the work (yes I know it would take more than a day to do the springs!). Phone RRG last week and got the service/MOT booked but was told that they don't have the parts from Toyota for the spring replacement and don't know when they will. I guess it's something to do with the factory being shut down.

The new engine will be key as the rest looks like a facelift rather than a new car. But what is it with Toyota and fake vents?!

Mine has it and I'm a September 2013 reg. I think it was used for the first couple of years until early 2014 models that followed the successful BMW challenge on it against the EU. One advantage of it unless the system gets damaged and it leaks is that it does seem to be the 'lifetime of the car' gas it was sold as. I've never had a problem with it, never had a need for a re-gas and it still seems to be just as cold now as it was 7 years ago...

I try and use V Power (99 ron), but Shell garages are no ideally placed around where I live and my normal work commute, so I probably manage it between 7 - 9 tanks out of every 10.. I have a problem with high ethanol fuels, I don't trust them in terms of long term damage to the engine but they have been imposed near-universally now. V Power used to be ethanol free but now isn't (up to 5% ethanol). Shell have also reduced their cashback on the new club card due to forcing you to be part of their carbon offset virtue signalling. I know people will say I'm being daft re ethanol, but it was forced on the industry by governments for green reasons, not because it is a better fuel, although it does help boost ron which brings me to... Tesco Momentum 99 (er, 99 ron) is very high ethanol at around 10%, prob the highest in the UK. I used it once in my 86 and my engine wasn't happy judging by the iff noises it started making. Never again. I don't rate Texaco Supreme as it's impossible to find out its ron (although they happily publicise the very high ron stuff they sell at Silverstone only or wherever it is). Similarly, I've always found BP Ultimate (97 ron) to be meh. One that I do rate is Esso Synergy Supreme (97 ron) as in most of the UK (but not all) it is still ethanol free - see their FAQs Esso Faqs and performance seems good. I can also use my Necter card with Esso which is another bonus 😃

The report doesn't mention whether it was the drunk driver behind the wheel of the GT86 or whether it was one of the cars he hit, but what a sad end for the car (although that front end crumple zone clearly does a very good job): Wrong-way M6

If you want it done properly then you'll want more than just the door done to enable a proper shade-in to the front/rear panels either side. My local bodyshop of choice would charge around £250 plus VAT for a side spray like that, possibly less if there are no dents to sort.

Mail report Idiots.

Find a decent local specialist body shop, that damage actually looks much worse than it is, trust me on that, I have had similar crimps, folds, scrapes and dents in similar places following an argument with a gate post. Completely sorted in 3 days and an absolutely perfect finish with a whole side respray and it cost me around £500 (and that included a basic courtesy car), never needed to trouble my insurance (although of course you do), and while I get that London prices may be higher than Lancashire, they should not be 10x higher 😉

I like it, I think in particular that limited A90 edition looks amazing with that paint finish and the red and black leather interior. The on paper performance stats look very impressive, while I would be confident with build quality from Magna Steyr (whose reputation and survival stands or falls on a handful of high end models that they produce for various manufacturers under contracts that would be switched if there were any quality issues). The problem is the price of course, and the obvious comparison is with the established Cayman 718, although for the £52/54k Supra you would only get the poverty spec Cayman (with worse performance too), and to match the add on comforts that come as standard with the Supra you would be getting near £60k given Porsche's expensive additional spec policy, although perhaps the nearest current price match would be the 718 T version which does come with some goodies as standard. Side by side I probably prefer the cleaner classic lines of the Cayman, but the key will be how they compare when driving and the feeling of the 6 pot 3 liter Supra vs the 2 liter 4 pot Cayman. I'll be waiting until next year at the earliest before I think again about a car change (having now had the 86 since 2013 and still loving the experience), but the Supra will very likely be on my 'can I really afford it' list

The bigger risk is the dreaded customs and excise charges, you don't always get hit but when you do it hurts, a lot!

Thanks for all the replies, I ended up booking it into Cotcomp near me - http://www.cotcomp.com/ - a scooby specialist, and who stripped all four brakes, cleaned, re-greased and put back together (I had a WRX Sti courtesy car for the day, was like driving a wobbly jelly in comparison to my 86!). Anyway, it has worked a treat, brakes are much better and all the different nasty noises have gone (Cotcomp did confirm that two of the brakes were not releasing properly). Today I was in RRG Macc for a rattly window, turned out it just needed the runners re-lubricating and tightening and it is sorted (they didn't charge me anything for doing this), so I'm now a very happy bunny again as the only noises I'm getting from the car are the ones that make me smile

For a few months I've been getting two linked (I think) intermittent sounds. These are coming from outside the cabin, under the car, are loud and always on the divers side (I've lent to the middle of the car with both windows open to check this!). The first sound is at high speed and normally kicks in on M-ways around 70-80 mph and can only be described as a very fast and constant tambourine bell (or at a push jingle bell) sound. It sometimes starts under acceleration, but continues without any acceleration (or any other pedal depressed) and at variable speeds. The second sound that normally follows or precedes the first is a metal on metal scraping/grinding squeal (bit like brake squeal, but I am not pressing the brakes) that is a revolving sound (matching wheel revolutions I think) and happens at town crawl speeds. Then both sounds clear up by themselves. At first I thought brake pad issues, but I've had things checked by both Tuning Developments and RRG Macc (I've also not long had my 5 year service/MOT), and everything was ok. I also thought possible loose/vibrating exhaust heat shield (or exhaust itself), but the exhaust was removed and refitted when at RRG Macc (for another Milltek crack!) and as it has happened before and after that I can't see how that would be the problem as I'm sure Gary would have spotted anything wrong. I've also wondered about stones/debris getting caught in the stone guard around the brake disks, but then why would it always be on the right and never the left side of the car? So any ideas anyone?!

Agree with all the suggestions re gummi pfledge and cool/tepid water poured over the outside of the glass for a quick defrost when needed. The only other thing I would suggest for the side windows is to give them a good winter prep of a glass polish (by hand is fine) followed by a glass sealant application (as you would use on the windscreen), as this does lesson the moisture/condensation that collects on the glass overnight and so means there is less to freeze when the temperature drops (so they will freeze and stick far less, although if it is really cold they will anyway of course).

Great review, thanks Lauren. I was lucky to get the first drive in that RRG Macc Blue, with a handful of miles on the clock, plastic covers still on the seats and trade plates as it hadn't at that time been registered (and it still had the stock exhaust), and went out on your triangle with Richard. I loved it, and the improvement in suspension from my 2013 stock was massive, and its road holding around corners with non-scrubbed in Primacy's was frankly astounding compared to my memories of my first few miles on those tyres in my car. I was seriously considering buying it as my car was at 5 years and just coming out of warranty, but at £31k I really couldn't get the sums to work for me (although the performance pack is great value for what you are getting), but it made me realise I needed to do a further mod if I wanted to keep my old car (which I did with the 2 year extended warranty option in the end), so I ended up fitting a set of nearly new KW V3's and am happy enough again. I'd also at the time tried a test drive in a s/h Cayman, but the lovely power and quality aside it just wasn't as fun as the 86, hence the choice being to trade to a new Blue Edition, or to keep my old car for a while longer as there just wasn't anything else that seemed to have what I want with a car right now at a price I can afford.

It finally happened, the other day I left my key fob in a pair of jeans that went in the wash. Only found out when they came out following 2 1/2 hours on a 40 degree with fast spin and feared the worse. Amazingly when I took it apart there was not a drop of water/moisture/condensation inside it as nothing had penetrated the internal seals, and after a quick dry of the outer case it worked perfectly. I'll try not to do it again, and my leather key fob will never be right again (even after lots of leather conditioner applied to it) but top marks to Toyota for the design!

It's fool-proof once you know - 1. Push the side button marked 'push', pressing at the 'p' end. 2. When the side button is depressed pull the part at the top with the hole for your keyring etc. This is actually the end of the hidden manual door key that allows you to unlock your door if the electrics (or battery) has failed. 3. With the key out it reveals a small slot that the end of the key fits into. 4. Twist the key and the key fob will come apart (you will also need to pull it to complete this). 5. You can the access and change the battery. 6. re-assembling is as simple as pushing to two fob halves together and reinserting the key (it will lock back into position itself). I say this as it is always worth knowing how to do it and it is also worth keeping a spare battery in the car somewhere (it is a CR1632). That way if the battery for whatever reason failed when you were away from home you would be able to replace it to get yourself home and without an AA/RAC call out (although when the battery is going it will start to show red on the dash board light to indicate it needs a new battery).