Whizo

Wheels and tyres have already been chosen but will keep that a surprise until the end.

So a quick update, I have rang several Toyota dealers and the price for just the bumper skin, no grills, no toe hook cover, no washer covers is still around £650! I contacted the Toyota dealer in the US but unfortunately they do not ship internationally. So I am guessing, unless you find these parts at a breakers yard, you could potentially be looking at way over £1000 in parts alone. Then add in paint, if you did the install yourself, you are close to £2000, so stuff that! So for now I won’t be doing the bumper upgrade. If something becomes available on the breakers pages of eBay then I may still consider this as a project.

Ok after some more research, the face lift GT86 bumper is a direct fit. The only issue is the head light washers. These are required to be in place and working or it will be a MOT fail. So disabling them is not an option. The problem is, even though the bumper will fit straight on the location of the washers is different so the washers will need moving. How you do this, I have no idea. It may not even be possible. If it is doable it will need purchasing more parts etc. So the cost will start adding up, especially with the extortionate prices we pay here in the U.K. for parts.

Hi guys. Just thought I would share this. I am wanting to buy an Invidia N1 cat back exhaust. Unfortunately I live in apartments and there really isn’t anywhere suitable where I can do the install myself. I am pretty handy with a spanner and used to rebuild carburettors and dizzy’s back in the day. I have seen YouTube videos of teenagers doing this exhaust install on their driveways etc so it’s not difficult. Anyway, because I don’t really have anywhere do to this I thought I would just pay a local car performance place to do it. I mean the exhaust itself is only held in place by two bolts and some rubber hangers. These guys quoted me £200!!! That’s £100 per bolt. Surely this can’t be right? What kind of price have you guys paid to have a cat back system fitted if you haven’t done it yourself? TD even said that they would do it for free if I purchased one of their systems since it doesn’t take long to do. £200 seems wrong?

I’ve come from several Subaru’s a Lotus with a Larini exhaust and a Focus RS and their exhaust notes were beautiful. Just right. The last thing I want to do is spend a wad of cash and not see much difference in sound. @Mike@TD.co.uk Do you have any springs that lower the car by 40mm? Tuned UK have something like this just wondering if you have springs that give a similar drop?

@JohnM thank you for such a detailed post. It looks like I will plan a day trip to TD and get the exhaust fitted and whilst there get the car lowered as well. Really wanted to get coilovers but thanks to lockdown the budget is tight so may have to just settle for lowering springs. It’s purely for looks anyway, not like I need anything for the track etc.

Hi Mike Thank you so much for the generous offer, really appreciate it. To be honest I haven’t heard the N1 in person, just going off the tons of YouTube videos and reviews if I’m honest. How does your TD non res cat back exhaust compare to the N1 in terms of loudness and drone? I hardly do any motorway driving so I am not overly concerned about the drone. Do you guys actually stock the N1? I couldn’t see it on your site, is this something you could supply as well. I rather have the money going to you guys instead of another retailer. Thank you again.

Might be worth asking them. I might plan it around getting my car lowered at the same time. I was going to get TD to supply and fit the lowering springs and lower link arms so whilst there I could ask about the exhaust.

I agree with everything you’ve said. The thing with TD is they will only fit their own system for free, as far as I know they don’t sell the Invidia N1.

With lockdown no one is allowing this. To be fair it’s cheaper and easier to just buy some axel stands and a low profile jack and find a quiet side street and do it myself. I didn’t want to do this simply because it looks a bit suspicious if anyone sees a car being jacked up on a side street with someone crawling around under it.

Was aligning the tips difficult? Is there much wiggle room or give? I am guessing this is done by moving around the rubber hangers? I have heard that getting the exhaust off and on the rubber mounts is the hardest part, how did you find it? Thanks.

That’s what I was expecting around the £50-60 mark. When they said £200 I fell off my chair!

Hi all. I have wanted to modify my GT86 since the day I bought it. My plan was to buy these mods - Valenti Revo Rear Lights Vland Front Lights Invidia N1 Cat Back Exhaust Tein Flex Z Coilovers or Lowering Springs New Alloys and Tyres As well as the above I was going to get a few other bits but the above is the bulk of what I wanted to do. Now after some research on prices I have found that if you buy direct from the US and include postage you save a ton of money. I am not sure if all these items will be subject to import tax and VAT but in some cases you are still better off buying from the US. Has anyone else here purchased their mods outside of the UK and if you have how did you find the process? Did you get stung by customs or where you one of the lucky ones who’s items slipped through? I guess I am a little shocked at the price difference. Can’t believe how much we get shafted in the UK. Actually surprised anyone can actually afford to mod their cars!

Thanks for the link Jay, but I’m after the later model of lights. The Valenti Revo, that site only does the original model. Once I get underway with my orders and the stuff finally arrives what I am planning on doing is sharing the links to where I purchased everything from. I have already found various retailers that are a little cheaper than what some on here have paid. Might be handy for anyone looking to do similar mods. Every few quid here and there saved soon adds up especially if you’re doing quite a few mods.

I’ve had a look at the official VLAND site and they have two light kits for the headlights. One is LED and the other is HID. I have emailed them a couple of times with questions but they seem extremely slow with replies. Doesn’t fill me with confidence. If they can’t be bothered replying to emails and I’m willing to buy something what will they be like if something goes wrong!

Appreciate the advice may just hang fire and see what pops up on the second hand market. By the way it’s a 85” tv not a 80”, go big or go home right lol.

Lol, we are still on a 50” TV that’s not even 4K, it’s several years old, got it before 4K even existed. It’s barely HD. We spend more time in front of the TV than in the car so common sense would say the TV should take priority. But modding the GT86 is an itch that won’t go away. Needs scratching even though I know it doesn’t make sense spending that kind of money on it. A lottery win would sort all my problems out!

Want to thank everyone for all the advice. It’s been a huge help. I have worked out that all my mods will come to approx £4000-4500. I paid £11000 for my car. So the total would be close to £150000. My options are to sell and by something else. Or spend the money and have the car as I want it to be. Or the other option that’s really really tempting me is for £4000 I could get a 85” tv with a Sonos home cinema sound system which the whole family will benefit from. Needless to say the home cinema is winning votes with the family. But being a car nut I’m addicted to modding cars, even though I know I will never get my money back but it’s a heart over head thing. I’m sure you guys will understand but most people won’t.

That’s what I’m trying to work out. Not sure what the charges are once the package hits the U.K. I knew about VAT and import tax. But didn’t think about handling fees. What is the handling fee for?

Most suppliers in the US. Take a look at 86Speed. £546 plus approx postage for $100 comes to £620 excluding VAT and import tax. In the U.K. they are around £760-800 excluding the postage.

The TRD aero fins are also on my list. Where did you source those mate. They cost an arm and a leg in the U.K. I see what you mean about the bigger items, but some of the savings are crazy, Tein coilovers and the Invidia N1 are about £150-£200 cheaper at a minimum. So just for those two items you’re saving £300-£400!!

I totally agree. That is what I loved about your version of the lights. The two things I like about the newer lights is the sweeping indicators are way larger instead of the thin strip of LED’s. The other main difference is that the new model is concaved in design. That price I believe is just for two lights, it does not include delivery and it definitely doesn’t include the 4th brake light. So yes that’s insanely priced. May wait until prices come down if they ever do.

Here’s the ones I’m after but not at that price!! https://www.amber-performance.co.uk/product.php?xProd=26254&xSec=8595

Bloody hell thats an amazing deal. The newer model the Revo 3 are just over £600!!!

They make a huge difference mate, so much better than the standard lights. Did they cost £200 all in, what about import taxes, VAT etc? I love the look of these but I’m also tempted by the Revo 3 version. More expensive though.