GR86 Adjustable coilovers

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Irek

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Hello,

I'm driving my GR86 half year already and sadly did only 1500 miles, mostly because the stock car setup is so uncomfortable for me.
I have the impression the seat is not really designed for tall skinny persons, but the worst part for everyday use for me, is stiff suspension without any damping and absorbing abilities.

In my Miata I'm using Tein Monosport adjustable coilovers with 7kg / 5kg springs and medium damper stiffness... and it's so much more comfortable to drive with better cornering performance. So actually for the last six months my track day / fun car replaced daily car because GR86 is undrivable for my for longer journeys.

So I'm wondering if I put adjustable coilvoers to Toyota, will it improve anyhow comfort and bring any damping/absorbing back to the car? In my Mazda it works very well.
I know it totally opposite way of thinking than most people, but I really like the car and looking for any possibility to make it daily-car as I considered it at very beginning.

The problem is that in Switzerland only affordable set with Swiss homologation is BC-Racing BR. As far as I know there are many users of it in US. Local store propose me set with softer spring, even 5kg all around, which should make the car more "flexible". I'm not sure if they are not too soft for a front. But I'm more interested in owners reviews. I would be grateful for any feedback from people who actually driving this set or something similar.
 
Hi Irek,

I think you may have posted this in the wrong thread! Should be under

Wheels, Suspension & Brakes​

But what you're saying is surprising, as while its a little firm riding at least my car is quite comfortable ride wise once up to speed.

Have you checked if the transport suspension spacers have been removed before you took delivery? There were some stories that dealerships forgot to remove them before delivery and made the ride really poor.
 
Good spot Smokingpancakes I've moved it ;)
 
Another possible solution would be to fit smaller wheels and tyres with a larger, softer sidewall. I have a set of 17 inch wheels with 45 profile all season tyres which is definitely more comfortable.
 
SmokingPancakes said:
Hi Irek,

I think you may have posted this in the wrong thread! Should be under

Wheels, Suspension & Brakes​

But what you're saying is surprising, as while its a little firm riding at least my car is quite comfortable ride wise once up to speed.

Have you checked if the transport suspension spacers have been removed before you took delivery? There were some stories that dealerships forgot to remove them before delivery and made the ride really poor.
Click to expand...
It may be interesting. Can you please elaborate where exactly they are placed? Are they visible without removing the wheel?
I'm really doubt about that because dealer which I choose selling a lot of GR86 and all other cars... but you never know.
From the other hand I had 5 test drives before purchase and I didn't notice so big discomfort which is still weird for me.

I'm also considering 17 Inch wheels for winter setup if I decide to use this car for winter season.
 
I can't find a specific GR86 image unfortunately, but here is one for the GR Corolla:

Annotation 2024-09-03 134358.webp


Basically locks out the spring from doing its thing. No clue if you can remove it by hand or if you need to go to the dealer to get it on a rampto remove, but from what I can recall it can make the ride really bad.
 
I just checked and don't think that I have any spacer left. Just take the picture, outside the spring there is nothing, as well nothing under the dust cover.
Also checked the rear and looks the same.
Apparently I'm just not compatible with this car. I have to think about some custom coilovers but as said BC-Racing seems to be only option but I'm worried if this cheap set will improve anything.

20240903_143458.webp
 
Irek said:
I just checked and don't think that I have any spacer left. Just take the picture, outside the spring there is nothing, as well nothing under the dust cover.
Also checked the rear and looks the same.
Apparently I'm just not compatible with this car. I have to think about some custom coilovers but as said BC-Racing seems to be only option but I'm worried if this cheap set will improve anything.
Click to expand...
Yeah it looks like your suspension is clear of any spacers. I still find it very odd about the ride quality though.

Before you bite the bullet on purchasing coilovers, I would suggest trying a different GR86 from the dealership (if you can!) over a stretch of road you know is rough in your car, and see how it compares. If it is definitely different I would go down the warranty route and get the dealer to find out why your car is riding so rough.
 
You can fit 16in wheels and 205/55 tyres. There's plenty of brake clearance on the front even with 16s.

I have Yokohama BluEarth GT tyres and it takes the edge off the ride, although for me I didn't find the 18s especially a problem. It's more for pothole resistance and better response from the suspension with lighter wheels. The car handles very nicely.
 
After fitting the Tein coil overs, my car is more compliant that factory. Surprised me a lot.

The factory setup is actually very good for performance and a Japanese tuner Grow actually make a lowering spring for the factory damper which is highly regarded. Shows how well thought out the stock setup is

I went with coil overs because my car is primarily my track car.

If you want a more compliant ride, which I think is important for you, a 5kg/mm coilover should give you want you want.
 
Thanks @ninjin sounds reasonable, and it's something which I found in my Miata after installing Tein Monosport. I just wanted to hear if the same results can be expected from GR86.


@SmokingPancakes actually just before buying new Toyota I drove 5 different GR86/BRZ and I had similar feeling regarding stiffness. Even my car doesn't feel so rough if I'm jumping in after a few days break. Problems comes when I'm using car day by day and most likely this discomfort somehow accumulating over the time. As said, car setup and seat layout is not beneficial for tall skinny people I guess.
 
Irek said:
Thanks @ninjin sounds reasonable, and it's something which I found in my Miata after installing Tein Monosport. I just wanted to hear if the same results can be expected from GR86.


@SmokingPancakes actually just before buying new Toyota I drove 5 different GR86/BRZ and I had similar feeling regarding stiffness. Even my car doesn't feel so rough if I'm jumping in after a few days break. Problems comes when I'm using car day by day and most likely this discomfort somehow accumulating over the time. As said, car setup and seat layout is not beneficial for tall skinny people I guess.
Click to expand...
Have you thought about changing the drivers seat? Would that be allowed in Switzerland?
 
@sim61 not really, I'm not aware about anything with CH homologation and seats are checked during MFK and Police control. Also, it's against to my daily car concept - reasonable cheap and fast car out of the box which do not require any modification.
As I already mentioned, I have track day ready Miata to throw in bags of money and keep street legal as well.
 
Irek said:
@sim61 not really, I'm not aware about anything with CH homologation and seats are checked during MFK and Police control. Also, it's against to my daily car concept - reasonable cheap and fast car out of the box which do not require any modification.
As I already mentioned, I have track day ready Miata to throw in bags of money and keep street legal as well.
Click to expand...
Ok. Fingers crossed you find a solution
 
Maybe look into KW V3 with stock top hats or as other mentioned something with not so high spring rate ?
I definitely wouldn't recommend Tein Mono Sport for this chasis to improve ride quality. I've had more street friendly Tein Flex A gen. 2 on by BRZ back in the day and it definitely made the ride on small road imperfections worse but handled big stuff better.
Tein dealer told me back then that they would not recommend Mono Sport as better riding suspension for daily duties. I'm on KW V3 Clubsport in my 23' 86 (7k rates F+B) and it definitely rides smoother on some surfaces but solid top hats with spherical bushings will always come with addiotional (often a lot depending on your local roads) NVH.
 
I'm running Tein RX1 which I think is the replacement for Tein Flex A.
 
Thanks for feedback. It's very useful. I'm still considering a few options what to do with the car. Let's see how it will develop.
 
I recently installed KW V1 coilovers. theyre on standard top mounts at the rear and pedders on the front. In most aspects the ride is better, in others it's worse. Here's a little write up if you're interested.

Positives
-The driving dynamics are a lot better, no question of that. the car also feels a lot more tied down and linier in it's reactions to inputs.
-They deal with poor road surface much batter and the ride quality while the suspension is under load is a lot better
-they deal with large imperfections much better. Things like potholes are less of an issue. the quality of the damping is just better over a wider range in my opinion.

Negative
-the ride is a little busy while at low / steady speeds. Uneven roads such as country lanes can get a bit tiresome if you're not driving with intent. My wife gets travel sick so i have to restrain myself from driving quickly while shes in the car. driving at 60% the ride is noticably more "jiggly". I've put this as a negative as it's relevant to the OP, but it's really not that much worse than stock in this regard and for my the positives far outweigh the negatives.

Summary: They're better and more comfortable for sporty driving and better over large imperfections in the road, but the slow speed ride is busier. if you want a super smooth ride for normal (not sporty) driving, they're probably not for you.

If you find the car draining to drive a long way I would recommend trying out a different tyre. My aforementioned wife always falls asleep on long journeys, but she never could in the GR86 on stock Michelins. She found it very draining. I think it was the tyre roar and the NVH transmitted through the front end which has been a talking point on this forum. With the KWs and Goodyear EA6s the tyre roar and resonance has gone completely. My wife fell asleep quite easily in the car last weekend.
 
I agree with the seat, being pretty tall myself. The base is too narrow and pinches my thighs because the side bolsters taper inwards. The backrest of the seat is too wide. Overall, the seat is good enough but far from perfect for me.

As regards the ride, I'd think very carefully before changing the suspension because for me, the car is pretty much spot-on for where I enjoy the car most - on British B roads. On such roads, it feels like it has a perfect balance between compliance and body control with just enough body roll to make you feel like you are pushing the car - it's awesome and just seems to feel better the harder you drive. Toyota appear to have achieved that by compromising it's daily driving characteristics.

In my experience (of other cars, not the 86), changing to smaller and lighter wheels can make a marginal improvement but a car with stiff suspension will still feel stiff after reducing wheel size.

One thing to try if you haven't already is reducing tyre pressures. I have settled on 2.1 instead of the recommended 2.4. It does improve things with no downsides although maybe not recommended if you run the car fully loaded.

If you are determined to change suspension then consider the BRZ setup. The following 2 videos compare that to the GR86 and both comment on improved ride of the Subaru but once again, by changing this, you may well end up with a lesser handling car.

 
GRistopher said:
I recently installed KW V1 coilovers. theyre on standard top mounts at the rear and pedders on the front. In most aspects the ride is better, in others it's worse. Here's a little write up if you're interested.

Positives
-The driving dynamics are a lot better, no question of that. the car also feels a lot more tied down and linier in it's reactions to inputs.
-They deal with poor road surface much batter and the ride quality while the suspension is under load is a lot better
-they deal with large imperfections much better. Things like potholes are less of an issue. the quality of the damping is just better over a wider range in my opinion.

Negative
-the ride is a little busy while at low / steady speeds. Uneven roads such as country lanes can get a bit tiresome if you're not driving with intent. My wife gets travel sick so i have to restrain myself from driving quickly while shes in the car. driving at 60% the ride is noticably more "jiggly". I've put this as a negative as it's relevant to the OP, but it's really not that much worse than stock in this regard and for my the positives far outweigh the negatives.

Summary: They're better and more comfortable for sporty driving and better over large imperfections in the road, but the slow speed ride is busier. if you want a super smooth ride for normal (not sporty) driving, they're probably not for you.

If you find the car draining to drive a long way I would recommend trying out a different tyre. My aforementioned wife always falls asleep on long journeys, but she never could in the GR86 on stock Michelins. She found it very draining. I think it was the tyre roar and the NVH transmitted through the front end which has been a talking point on this forum. With the KWs and Goodyear EA6s the tyre roar and resonance has gone completely. My wife fell asleep quite easily in the car last weekend.
Click to expand...
Haha, love the scientific measurement of NVH by whether the wife falls asleep in the car or not :LOL:
My girlfriend actually fell asleep several times this summer on our roadtrip through Europe, on the stock PS4, but both she and I do find them noisy!
Guess you chose the EA6's based on low noise levels - how do you find the grip/response compared to the PS4?

Regarding coilovers - how did you settle on the V1 vs. V3 for example - was it primarily because you didn't need the adjustable damper settings? Did you consider other coilover options as well?
From what I can see, there is no specific version of the V1 for the GR86 vs GT86 - as they both seem to have the same 10258004 product number. Do you know if it's TÜV approved for the GR86 as well?

Reason I'm asking is that I'm on the lookout for a set of coilovers, partly for the look of a 20 - 25 mm drop, but I do a lot of spirited driving and maybe a trackday once per year, so it is important for me that I don't compromise performance over stock, and I would ideally want the car a little more 'hunkered down' when you load it up through an off-camber bend for example.
Like @Irek however, I wouldn't mind if the actual damping was a little bit more refined than stock, and at least not noticeably worse (which is why I'll probably avoid lowering springs)!
 
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