Jay

Last week I had the PS4's replaced with new ones. The old ones lasted for just over 18000 miles, which I think is reasonable.

Great looking car! Have fun!

Today all four discs were replaced, after 50000 miles only. I'm aware that an automatic requires a little more braking, but I've been driving automatics for the past 23 years. The front discs of the Mercedes and three Lexus' lasted for over 70000 miles, while the rear disks easily lasted for 140000 miles. Any thoughts on this?

I compared the mileage with my former cars, which I used in the same way. Commuting makes the majority of the distance. Due to Covid there was less traffic, so I had to brake less. One would expect a positive effect on disc wear. I bought the car with about 25k, so maybe the first user was hard on the brakes. Regarding brake pads, I never had them swapped during my 25k miles.

Yes, genuine Toyota. I'm not racing the car, so let's see how long these last. I bought the car used with about 25k, so maybe the first owner was hard on the brakes...

Nope! The circumference of the tyre cannot be affected by ride height. 😉

Today I finally got to get a go at the German Autobahn with my 2017 GT86 with automatic gearbox. The weather conditions were rather good, with an air temperature of 20 deg. C, a blue sky and almost no wind. The speedometer read 234 km/h or 145.5 mph, which is above expectation. The car is in stock condition, apart from the 225 PS4 tyres, which have a 1.4% larger circumference. Remarkable is the noticeable extra power at high speed. I guess the air gets somewhat compressed when scooped in. The stability at those speeds is pretty good. All in all a satisfying result. 😊

A friend in his S2000, getting instructions to improve lap times.

No difference here. All my cars got hit by debris. After 200 k miles, bumper, bonnet and windscreen have always been a minefield.

It's been quite a while, but I finally capped the generator tube. The car now sounds lifeless. I tried it for 80 miles. I'm gonna remove the cap and maybe try one with a small hole in it, as written before.

I don't know about fuel consumption yet. This varies heavily, as our cars have two faces regarding consumption. I'm quite sure that a wider tyre with more grip will burn some extra fuel. From the specifications I'd guess it may cost you an extra gallon per 1000 miles.

I've been commuting all week, about 35 miles a day. Having had lots of rain, I can happily report a huge benefit of the newly mounted PS4's. These tyres definitely offer more comfort on ridges and cobblestones. On large bumps the effect is partly concealed because of stiff springs and dampers. The overall noise level didn't really change. Maybe the noise is composed of more low frequencies and less high frequencies. The car tends towards slightly heavier steering, which seems normal, regarding increased width and lateral grip. Hope to have informed you well.

That's what I expected. The track demands other qualities. That's why professional series use different tyres for dry and wet; even intermediates. As my GT86 is my daily driver, I highly value drivability under a variety of weather conditions.

Rain!!! So I got to test the PS4 tyres in the wet. I went to places were I used to fight for grip with the Primacy tyres. The difference is stunning. The PS4's allow normal acceleration from a corner, without having to control the throttle with one toe only.

The tread feels way more flexible, due to the compound used. The stiffness of the sidewalls is hard to judge. Due to the increased width of 10 mm, the height of the sidewalls increased by 4.5 mm. This may contribute to less stiffness.

I know every mile of today's road trip very well, as I went to this destination multiple times before. Known bumps and ridges clearly feel more dampened, compared to the Primacy tyres. I'll try to remember to report in a few weeks. Just ask me if I don't. Looking at the weather forecast, I can be pretty sure of rain, so I can get an idea of lateral and longitudinal grip in the wet.

Tyres fitted! Four PS4 225's on the stock wheels. I went on a 130 mile trip. Positive are the grip I get accelerating from tight corners and the notably better comfort. Negative are the (hardly noticeable) reduced straight line stability and some tyre hum around 70 mph. Remains to be seen if the wet handling did improve, as it didn't rain today.

The automatic gearbox is more reliable. If it's just for the eventual road trip, I'd go for the automatic. I have one myself as a daily driver, which is 100% stock. If I occasionally want to have some fun, I put it in manual mode.

Finally ordered 4 PS4 tyres. Next week they'll be mounted. I went for the 225's, as they make the car look a tiny bit better. I don't race the car. A few times a year I make some high speed German Autobahn miles.

The new one looks a bit more like a 20's car and less like the GT86 that we all love. ☹️

Some cars are more of a video game these days. ☹️ 99% of the drivers just don't notice. They only care about space, comfort and status.

Today's surprise.

Same experience here. A creepy sucker in need of winter oil lubrification. 😈

Apart from being a car enthousiast, I'm a hobby bass player. For my own fun I started a YouTube cover channel. For those who are interested and not afraid of a load of Punk Rock and some Heavy Metal, here's a link to the channel: ThunderBassist. Below, a link to one of my recent videos...

I posted here a year ago and realised I wished for a happy, healthy and musical 2020. For coming year I'll change the order, I wish you all a HEALTHY, happy and musical 2021!