GR86 What did you do with your GR86 today

Still here, still have the GR86 despite my witterings about changing over the last couple of months.

Rapidly closing up on 15,000 miles now, which is 10k done since my 'change of circumstances' (new job) in October.

Just got back from a c.400 mile round trip (Warwickshire to south Kent) over the last two days. I had to take in some twisty roads which I last visited in January when it was minus 6 or whatever, and it was far more pleasant this time without the car trying to slide me into the undergrowth.

Apart from the sodding potholes - seriously, what the hell has been going on in the last few months? We've always had potholes in the UK but everywhere I go it's the worse I have ever seen. Is it the same for everyone else?

Anyway, 398 miles done, with a seven-hour total driving time, and a personal best of a frankly ridiculous 43.3mpg.

Maybe I don't need to sell after all.

While I'm here, a confession: Due to some work being done at home I have no access to my outside tap, so shamefully the last people to wash my car were the MOT-ruining idiots at the dealer's back in December. Car is a disgrace inside and out.

Here's to a lovely spring and summer, comrades!
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Nixkf, Edgey, AWB and 9 others
Silver Fox said:
Still here, still have the GR86 despite my witterings about changing over the last couple of months.

Rapidly closing up on 15,000 miles now, which is 10k done since my 'change of circumstances' (new job) in October.

Just got back from a c.400 mile round trip (Warwickshire to south Kent) over the last two days. I had to take in some twisty roads which I last visited in January when it was minus 6 or whatever, and it was far more pleasant this time without the car trying to slide me into the undergrowth.

Apart from the sodding potholes - seriously, what the hell has been going on in the last few months? We've always had potholes in the UK but everywhere I go it's the worse I have ever seen. Is it the same for everyone else?

Anyway, 398 miles done, with a seven-hour total driving time, and a personal best of a frankly ridiculous 43.3mpg.

Maybe I don't need to sell after all.

While I'm here, a confession: Due to some work being done at home I have no access to my outside tap, so shamefully the last people to wash my car were the MOT-ruining idiots at the dealer's back in December. Car is a disgrace inside and out.

Here's to a lovely spiring and summer, comrades!
Click to expand...
Glad you are still here !!

Definitely don't need to sell. For piece of mind and safety during the winter, get a second set of wheels, fit some all-season tyres and you will be all set,

And yes, pot holes are worse than ever here too.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Silver Fox
This is the state of my interior as continue sound deadening ,and got something special coming next week .
 

Attachments

  • MVIMG_20260304_173628.webp
  • MVIMG_20260304_172257.webp
  • Like
Reactions: beorg and Road_trip
Was driving through the well-to-do part of Edinburgh this morning, more akin to driving on the moon!!! So nowhere has any hope of smooth roads anytime soon.
 
MrSkubi said:
Switched from KW Clubsport to Ohlins R&T and installed GR Airbox :cool:
Also I just got an alignment: -3.2 F Camber -2.6 R Camber 0.2 toe in on the rear. All done with Pedders top hats, upper 14mm Oem bolts and lower Eibach/SPC 14mm bolt so no pillowball top hats for now.
Click to expand...
KW V3 Clubsport? What’s the reason for the switch to Ohlins and how do they compare?
I’m scheduled to get V3 Clubsports installed by Raeder Motorsport 🙈
 
Brought my car for service and inspection to a Subaru dealership for the first time in 3 years of ownership. The service manager said my car was in top notch condition and no faults found. Which was quite a compliment since I have been doing all the servicing myself at home :ROFLMAO:

Great experience! Technicians came out from the garage to compliment and talk about my car during the pick up. They seemed to be really happy to work on this car on a Friday afternoon instead of a boring Outback.

Got a ticket while going back home, which was not so great.. But the cop was a nice guy, we joked about it and the fine was only around 10 GBP

IMG_5756.webp
IMG_5711.webp
 
  • Like
Reactions: skaben, AWB, Renzokuken86 and 1 other person
unrealpatrik said:
Got a ticket while going back home, which was not so great.. But the cop was a nice guy, we joked about it and the fine was only around 10 GBP
Click to expand...
Used to love driving in CZ. Back in the day I used to regularly drive from Prague to Bratislava, Vienna, and Budapest - days when there were few cops around on those fantastic roads, but if you ever got stopped, a ticket was always ‘negotiable’…
 
  • Love
Reactions: unrealpatrik
Mr_Hansen said:
KW V3 Clubsport? What’s the reason for the switch to Ohlins and how do they compare?
I’m scheduled to get V3 Clubsports installed by Raeder Motorsport 🙈
Click to expand...
Honestly - I'm tired with them.
To me the product quality doesn't match marketing quality at all.
Long story short: I've had those for about two years (bought them new through official distribution). I've had those both with KW camber plates as well converted to OEM top hats, and softer spring configuration. I still hated them on the street and they were nothing special on track.
During my ownership:
  • I've had catastrophic failure of rear top hat (it broke for unknown reason).
  • I've had whole set of springs replaced under warranty. They flaked like I've put then on the bottom of Baltic sea for a month and then put back on the car. They also saggged like 6-8mm in a year.
  • Rear coilovers from new were either assembled wrong or with insufficient gas pressure - If you took the car for a drive it sounded like you were using bicycle pump in the rear seat on every road imperfection (I guess it contributed to the top hat brake later on).
  • Front spherical bushing nuts and shaft were put together with so much thread locker that I've had tu go to my local Bosch service and use special tool as well braker bar to take top nut off (these should be torqued to ~40 Nm).
  • I've had rears rebuild by KW under warranty (after dozens of mails with description of what's wrong with them as well videos and noise recordings) during season - it took 5 weeks - basically I've had to get other suspension sorted out to keep using my car on track. I could continue with many other exampes .
This season I just told myself that I'm done with this and don't want to deal with KW on this platform anymore. I just want to use my car, not mess with the suspension every month. I went to Ohlins because I've always wanted to try it and it fit my budget. The service of Ohlins in Poland is also top notch (Check out BFG Racing). I'm no KW hater at all - I've been huge fanboy for years but after dealing with them personally I'm just dissapointed in this particullar product. Please bear in mind that I'm talking specifically about this particullar product (V3 Clubsport) for Toyobaru platform.
I like Ohlins better on the street - It's more compliant with supplied 6k springs than my KW was with 5k ones even at higher rebound settings. Car feels much better planted on Ohlins even at lower rebound settings. I'll test it on the track upcoming weekend.
Edit: added some photos from first year of my KW ownership experience
 

Attachments

Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Beans, Vimes, ZN8 and 3 others
I am planning to move on to coilover for my GR86. HKS came out with an updated version of the Hipermax S, with increased front damper stroke it seems.

The price is right and looking forward to ditching the OEM dampers, I want more damping! It's just too soft even on the road.


Trying out new tyres too, got the Bridgestone Potenza Sport Evo, feels good so far, as good as the V107 I think in terms of subjective feel.
 
MrSkubi said:
Honestly - I'm tired with them.
To me the product quality doesn't match marketing quality at all.
Long story short: I've had those for about two years (bought them new through official distribution). I've had those both with KW camber plates as well converted to OEM top hats, and softer spring configuration. I still hated them on the street and they were nothing special on track.
During my ownership:
  • I've had catastrophic failure of rear top hat (it broke for unknown reason).
  • I've had whole set of springs replaced under warranty. They flaked like I've put then on the bottom of Baltic sea for a month and then put back on the car. They also saggged like 6-8mm in a year.
  • Rear coilovers from new were either assembled wrong or with insufficient gas pressure - If you took the car for a drive it sounded like you were using bicycle pump in the rear seat on every road imperfection (I guess it contributed to the top hat brake later on).
  • Front spherical bushing nuts and shaft were put together with so much thread locker that I've had tu go to my local Bosch service and use special tool as well braker bar to take top nut off (these should be torqued to ~40 Nm).
  • I've had rears rebuild by KW under warranty (after dozens of mails with description of what's wrong with them as well videos and noise recordings) during season - it took 5 weeks - basically I've had to get other suspension sorted out to keep using my car on track. I could continue with many other exampes .
This season I just told myself that I'm done with this and don't want to deal with KW on this platform anymore. I just want to use my car, not mess with the suspension every month. I went to Ohlins because I've always wanted to try it and it fit my budget. The service of Ohlins in Poland is also top notch (Check out BFG Racing). I'm no KW hater at all - I've been huge fanboy for years but after dealing with them personally I'm just dissapointed in this particullar product. Please bear in mind that I'm talking specifically about this particullar product (V3 Clubsport) for Toyobaru platform.
I like Ohlins better on the street - It's more compliant with supplied 6k springs than my KW was with 5k ones even at higher rebound settings. Car feels much better planted on Ohlins even at lower rebound settings. I'll test it on the track upcoming weekend.
Click to expand...
Interesting and worrying.. Thanks you for the detailed explanation!
I’ve already put a deposit in for them to (among other things) specifically get the KW V3 Clubsport for the GR86, as KW had 30 year anniversary discounts in the beginning of the year.
I was sold on their reputation, stainless steel design as well as TUV approval which is basically necessary to get them through MOT in Denmark. I know Ohlins also has all of the above (assume TUV as well), but I just hadn’t heard as much about them on our platform specifically, and it seemed more expensive like-for-like at the time for me.
I hope you were unlucky with your particular set, but it has me worried.
 
Mr_Hansen said:
I hope you were unlucky with your particular set, but it has me worried.
Click to expand...
That was basically my first thought. There were definitely some assembly issues with my set, but things like:
  • Customer service when it comes to actually servicing them, and their avoidance of admitting that there were clear issues both in operation and assembly of my set
  • Breakage of top hat even that car never came to contact with any big pothole, bump etc and never been overtorqued
  • Quality of the paint on the springs after just a few months of use in dry climate (even my replacement ones had marks from hangers after painting and came with paint already chipping)
All of this made me think: Is this really what higher-end suspension ownership should look like?
Honestly, I don’t think so.
To put this into perspective: I had a better experience with cheap Tein Flex A on my 2017 BRZ than with KW, which was 3x the price of the aforementioned Tein.
I'm sure that Raeder Motorsport will take good care of you and hopefully you'll enjoy it without any issues ;)
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Mr_Hansen
Isn't the first I've heard this about KW too. Bilstein have dropped quality in a similar way. I had B8's on my vRS and they were rusted out and dead within 4 years. When my brother did his GT86 we got B16's, thinking more money should mean better quality and stainless but they were also done in 4 years and his driving became mainly motorway about 6mths after fitting.
 
  • Like
Reactions: MrSkubi
I am planning to do a light coating of Dynax UC on the coilovers when I get it over as the GR86 is my daily and do see winter driving.

Dynax-UC - Bilt Hamber

See-through long term anti-corrosion wax for bare metals or painted surfaces. Supplied with a 145mm application straw.
bilthamber.com bilthamber.com
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom
Back