[ THE SPIRITED DRIVER .]

So as previously mentioned if you’re after straight line power out of the box you have come to the wrong place, it is not slow by any means in my eyes, just not up to the power figures of most cars nowadays, it’s more like a 90’s sports car revived with its 205BHP and 212NM of torque (for the facelift). This however leads to the other main reason for the 86, the chassis and handling.

The Toyota 86’s chassis is just unbeatable, especially for the price bracket. It is so well balanced and ever so precise with every driver input. With it being the classic sports car layout of front engined and rear wheel drive there is no surprise that its feel is so superb.

With all this in mind as well as  being in love with the design ever since its release in 2012 I decided I had to have one and what better time to buy than when the facelift is first appearing on the market (apparently mine was the first white facelift GTS sold in New South Wales, Australia).

Once taking delivery of my Toyota 86 GTS in late November of 2016 there was nothing that I immediately wanted to change, mainly just add my own person touch. So when I got the car I always wondered why it wasn’t labelled as a GTS anywhere on the exterior, since after all it is the top spec car at the time before the Performance Package arose the next year. So I decided to look around at some fonts and came across the Corolla GT-S font/logo which appealed to me with its retro style and direct nod at the 86’s heritage, at that point I decided to buy a pair and put them out the outside and get a smaller one made for the inside. However small it was, that was the first thing I did to the car. From there the modifications began to kick off with many changes taking place between then and now, with it being over two and a half years since I have picked up the car as of writing this.

My overall idea was to make an OEM+ Toyota 86, which I believe I have achieved through tasteful modifications. Additions such as the Modellista lip kit, TRD ducktail spoiler, Titan 7 T-S5 wheels (18x9.5+40) (formerly Enkei RS05RR wheels (18x8.5+42)), alcantara steering wheel and Valenti REVO tail lights to name a few have really transformed the visual appearance and overall presence of the vehicle, making it really stand out from the others in a way that I believe is timeless.

More recently I’d been wanting just that little bit extra from the car and to finally eliminate that infamous torque dip that the car comes with from factory, even looking at  naturally aspirated Porsche dyno sheets I found the same trend, I believe it just tends to be a characteristic of the horizontally opposed boxer engine. After completing my entire exhaust system, complete with unequal length headers, catted front pipe, overpipe and a resonated catback exhaust it was time to put her on the dyno. After looking around the Sydney area I decided to choose Tunehouse Racing for their proven results and professionalism. The Dyno went ahead as planned and exterminated the infamous torque dip and in all gave the 86 that little bit extra it needed out of the box to make it a very respectable two-litre naturally aspirated sports car. As mentioned in the beginning the car started with 205BHP and 212NM of torque, after the dyno however it now sits at 241BHP and 246NM of torque, making it 120.5BHP per litre compared to a current 991 GT3’s 125BHP per litre. These stats are by no means making the 86 a “fast car”, however I think it shows that the FA20 power plant deserves a little more appreciation for what it can manage out of just a two-litre flat 4 motor.

Naturally suspension and brakes were next on the list of things to improve the already amazing sports car; since sound, power and appearance had already been taken care of. Suspension wasn’t too hard of a choice really because one name comes to mind when thinking about suspension and that is Bilstein. A set of barely used Bilstein B14 coilovers came up for sale that I couldn’t resist, I decided to pair them with camber top hats and rear lower control arms (LCAs) from (in my mind) one of the best aero and suspension component manufacturers in the world, that being; Verus Engineering in the United States. These tasteful suspension modifications paired with the already installed Titan 7 T-S5’s wrapped in Yokohama Advan AD08R’s (245/40) make for a killer combination when it comes to spirited driving and the race track (which I cannot wait to get out to). As far as brakes go, After much deliberation, I decided to go with DBA T3 4000 series slotted rotors paired with Intima SR pads. This combination is more than enough for the street and the odd track day. BBK still may be on the cards at a later date. 

Like almost all car owners, I built this car to my personal tastes, an extension of myself you could say. I like the idea that my car can appeal to different audiences of all different ages cause at least in my mind it comes under the category of tastefully modified with all genuine parts and no overkill.

Now I sit here looking towards what the future holds for my 86, at this stage I am very content with the car as it is, however down the line as every car guy knows I’m bound to want more and in that case i’ll be just furthering my personal touches such as a teal GTS logo embroided onto the front seats (to match the brake callipers which are also teal), and whatever else tends to appeal to me in the future, who knows maybe even a turbo or supercharger. 

All in all, I don’t see myself parting with my 86 anytime soon (if ever) because it satisfies the way I drive and I don’t see how you could get much better, maybe only more raw with some older cars. Especially for the strictly enforced speed limits on Sydney roads this car is plenty! One day soon I also plan to go to the track once I have my brakes upgraded for the extra safety, but mainly this car is just my daily driver who sees many nice backroads and definitely will continue to be detailed many many times over since I take pride in the car being extremely well kept and always looking clean, its easily the most satisfying part of owning a car.