Captain Duff

Excellent, good as new - although I see they missed removing that horrible 5 year warranty sticker from the window!

ugly and spoil the lines of the car, oem ones much nicer (and cheaper) in my opinion, although they may possibly work if you add a rack of half a dozen 80s style foggies too

Ok, this is probably a really dumb question, but then genius is overrated in my book: When I drive behind a modern Jag, even one that's quite a few years old, I often notice that when the sun is shining from behind or if it's at night with my lights on that their inside exhaust pipes always appear to be ultra-shiny, clean and reflective as far back as you can see. How come they don't seem to get filthy and carbon up like everyone else's do?

I've been very happy with my non-res Milltek (fitted by RRG Macc), but then I'm only hitting around 8k milles per year so it hasn't been tested as much as it will have been on Lauren's car. However, as Lauren said they have tweaked the design now, plus of course you do get the lifetime first owner warranty which I have never heard of them quibbling. In terms of the other options mentioned by the OP I really think that if I was starting again now I would seriously consider going Cosworth as while it is more expensive the stage packages mean easy upgrades (right up to forced injection if you want it) plus I suspect the Cossie name will mean a car with it will hold value more given the time and money that went into it (hence it coming out late compared to the rest). Look at Fensport of Amber for the Cosworth options (which include an Ecutek tune). Other than that I've always liked the OEM wheels and suspension and always have a suspicion that many (or most?) of the more common and reasonably priced lowering options are more for show than performance, however I think the chassis while being stiff to start with can benefit from some additional tweaks. But the best bang for buck upgrade in my experience was the Whiteline positive shift insert that made an al;ready enjoyable gear box even nicer.

Can't stand Evans, but then can't stand Clarkson either (public school tosser), so I guess I still won't bother watching the programme (haven't seen it for years due to my hatred/boredom of the previous presenters and their infantile 'japes').

Sorry if this is obvious or daft, but given my age I'm a complete idiot when it comes to anything technology related these days. That USB slot behind the flappy cover below the radio unit - I've had a look in the manual and it appears to be related to playing external music devices through the cars amp and speakers (no doubt containing tracks from some of these new fangled beat combos). I get that. But I'm assuming it also, like most USB thingies, will also charge the unit that is connected on the other end of the USB cable? And if it does act as a USB charging point would it be possible to plug my lad's USB charged Kindle Fire into it on long journeys, or would that either stop the radio/CD working while it was plugged in or worse risk completely fecking everything up (either with the Kindle or the head unit or both)?

It does depend where you live I guess, but I'd gone to meet a colleague in a pub just outside Blackburn towards the end of last year and when I'd gone in there was no snow, when I came out two hours later there was a couple of inches and it was very satisfying in my Yoko winters to be easily able to drive up the hill nearby when there were two or three cars really struggling to manage it and in danger of going backwards. I find the real downside of winters is while they are fine in the dry, on wet roads they do lack grip, but you pays yer money etc...

Yes, I'd spotted after I posted this key paragraph from Evo: Doesn't sound like they are for the likes of us then

It will be very interesting to see some proper comparison test reviews given these have only just been released and are claimed to be different to traditional all season tyres (jack of all seasons, master of none) so could be great for people who don't want to swap tyres around twice a year (or have issues with storage etc.). According to the Evo article they are apparently summer rubber with a winter tread. Whether that would make them suitable for our car (at any time of the year) will take someone to buy them and find out I guess http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Article/Michelin-CrossClimate-launched-is-this-a-game-changer.htm http://www.evo.co.uk/track-and-travel/15600/michelin-cross-climate-tested-in-the-alps

According to Parkers the standard GT86 insurance group is higher than for the TRD, but the Gallo is higher than both which makes no sense unless the car has crept up the list slightly over the last few years and so newer models are penalised: http://www.parkers.co.uk/cars/reviews/facts-and-figures/toyota/gt86/coupe-2012/insurance/ To make it even more odd and arbitrary the BRZ groups are lower than GT86 ones for the same blinkin' car: http://www.parkers.co.uk/cars/insurance/car-insurance-groups/subaru/brz/coupe-2012/ There's a lot more that will affect premiums than the make it up as we go along insurance groups above though such as previous claims, postcode, gender and of course most annoyingly (for younger comrades rather than old farts like me) age. Also, apparently premiums on all cars are rising across the board this year. One positive I've noticed is that the mainstream comparison sites are now making it easy to declare most common mods (in generalised categories) and still churning out a reasonable number of quotes that often are not a lot more than for the unmodded quotes.

As has been said, the mod would have to have been a contributory cause for a repair under warranty to be refused. So changing your exhaust or getting a remap would not prevent a claim for rust on the bodywork for example, but going FI would likely prevent you claiming on a gearbox failure if there is a link between the two. As to the other questions in the OP, yes the standard Toyota 5 years warranty in the UK has been there from the start (and was matched by Subaru for the BRZ whose standard warranty at the time was 3 years), but bear in mind that while legally new cars must come with a 3 year UK warranty, any extra years above that is not statutory. The bottom line with that is that it MAY have an effect depending on your service history, as while so long as you service in line with the manual and using correct parts (oil etc.) a manufacturer still has to honour a 3 year warranty even if that servicing was not done at a main dealer, you will likely find some small print for the extra 2 years of a 5 year warranty where they can legally refuse to honour a warranty claim if you have not got the main dealer stamps (as it is similar to other extended warranty rules) - although this is likely to be open to negotiation/interpretation by the different dealers dealing with warranty claims in the extra 2 years.

Probably not connected, but I've just spotted this white one on ebay - http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/TOYOTA-GT86-BUCKET-SEAT-PASSENGER-SIDE-LEFT-TRD-/191580722592?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item2c9b19d5a0

"Captain Duff: - I didn't know there was a problem 18 months ago.... if you're talking about the Manchester group install. It was arranged, I travelled 6 hours, paid for a hotel out of my own pocket and everything went well. I've never had a PM from you to say otherwise? - Again please PM me! I don't always keep up with these threads." No, it was related to the RRG Macc fitting. My camera stopped working within a couple of weeks and you stopped replying to messages after saying a replacement was in the post that never arrived leaving me to work out what model of camera replacement I had to buy myself. The actual replacement was not the issue, but there does appear to be a pattern in terms of communication and non-delivery of posted items that has repeated here I think. In any case I think I did make the point on this forum afterwards that I would never get involved in another non-trader group buy again as a result of that experience and I haven't.

Tbh I was surprised when the new group offer was made given the problems some of us had with communications with Jay after cameras failing following the initial fittings 18 months ago. Also there would appear to be a number of people who have paid but got nothing on the other site leading to this: http://www.gt86ownersclub.co.uk/forum/gt86-jay-reversing-camera_topic8735.html#125568 It does raise a number of questions about non-trader group offers involving cash in advance that perhaps need some better rules Rob?

Wonder what the likely cost will be, and whether they will throw in a free Robin to complete the Batmobile vibe? http://www.carthrottle.com/post/toyotas-new-sports-car-will-sit-above-gt86-so-its-almost-certainly-a-new-supra/

BMW drivers get very scared and confused whenever they see a flashing indicator as they don't know what it means.

We make no.6 with in my opinion an accurate write up that summarises the car well. Some odd choices for some of the rest perhaps, but at least we beat the Kia Pro C'eed http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/picturegalleries/11482867/The-10-best-30000-coupes.html?frame=3238140

I'm one of the people that's always liked the look of the OEM rims, in fact a few people when admiring the car have asked about them as they assumed they were after market ones! But the way I look at things is that a lot of discussions about wheels is more often than not fashion related (the current fashion for nearly all 'sporty' cars being 18" or bigger). The problem is that the bigger you go the more money you need to spend to keep things light, and the other advantage of the OEM's is that while they are not the lightest out there, for an OEM in weight terms they are not half bad. Also while large rims and low profile rubber is I'm sure great on the track, on British pot holes things are less enjoyable. But back to fashion, my own ideal looks for a sports car are the classic vintage shapes, the E-Types and GT2000s of the past. But look at their tiny wheels and large profile tyres and you can see that fashion has diverged significantly from those classic ideals.

Well in my vRS (and I'm guessing therefore most VAG cars) you had both, a miles left in the tank number was always available on the trip computer and changed I think in multiples of 5, and I did get it down to 5 miles once after the reserve light had been on from 25 left or so. That was a nervous experience!

I've always thought it was a bit bad that Toyburu didn't see fit to include a miles left before empty display based on your current driving style average mpg, considering you can get it on some pretty basic cars these days and I doubt the electronics would add to the weight of anything.

Ok, I know this has been done before, but as people have the car for longer I'm guessing there will be some more experience to draw on. So tyres to replace Primacy's on OEM rims, what would people recommend for non-track road use. I like to feel as safe as possible in the wet, so currently the short list is: > Conti Sport Contact 5 > Goodyear Eagle F1 > Yokohama Advan 105s > Michelin Pilot Sport 3 The Michelin PS3's always seems to be the most expensive, while the Yoko can be harder to find. I did have Conti SC2's on my previous car and thought that they wore far too quickly, but am happy to accept that the SC5's could be very different. So views, experiences, alternatives?

Thanks for all the feedback. I've gone for the Goodyear Eagle F1's in the end, although largely because they are currently a lot cheaper than the rest at £93 a corner fitted (Black Circles using a garage down the road), compare to £107 for the Yoko 105s which was my other choice, so I've also booked a 4 wheel alignment with the money saved. I would have probably considered the Conti SC5's a lot more were it not that I wasn't too impressed with the older SC2's (and in fact on that particular car - Octy vRS - found that the Avon ZZ3's were loads better, and a lot cheaper too).

Thanks for all the replies, very useful. One other question, and I realise that there may not be a simple answer to it, but for the same brand of tyre (and again on the basis of fitting OEM rims) what are the pros and cons of the XL versions that I assume essentially mean a stiffer side wall. The Yoko 105 and Michelin PS3 only seems to come XL, but the Conti SC5 and Goodyear Eagles you get the choice. I'm assuming that a stiffer side wall is desired for driving/sliding around corners at speed, but that ride comfort will not be as good for day to day driving?

On the basis that there are some newer owners who will no doubt experience the panic of getting frozen and completely stuck side windows given the falling temperatures (had my first ones of the year this morning) then just a heads up that you don't need to panic or call a dealer - once things have thawed out enough you can reset the mechanism by holding down both window switches on the drivers side for a good 10 secs (making sure the child window lock isn't on) and then holding them up for a good 10 secs and you should find everything gets reset and starts to work again properly. I would also recommend this stuff - http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2-x-Einszett-Gummi-Pflege-Rubber-Care-Stick-100ml-Rubber-Treatment-Roll-On-/191409793896?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item2c90e9ab68 - as a preventative treatment for the rubber seals between the window and the door frame as it should help prevent most freezing if used regularly (have lost mine that I got last year so have just got some more ordered!).

Great stuff, but did you need to take out a second mortgage to get a round in - according to this essential online tool it's around a fiver a pint over there http://www.pintprice.com/region.php?/Sweden/GBP.htm