GR86 What did you do with your GR86 today

After living with the ebay duck tail for a while, would you recommend it? I keep hovering over the buy button on the black version.
Yes. The colour match was spot on and it was easy to fit with some proper 3M automotive fixing tape (not the stuff that came with it). My only ‘negative’ would be the paint is a little soft - especially if you rip off PPF without lube 😖
 
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Today is a remarkable day in the life of my GR86. Since I got the car my subconscious mind registered some "movements" or in other words something like "reeling" I didn't like (e.g. no perfect directional stability, indifferent handling on undulating roads, no "clarity" on steering inputs etc.). This is a list of countermeasurements I have done over the last year and now I think I got a status I'm pretty happy with. I can run at maximum possible speed on Autobahn without getting sweat on my forehead, any reactions of my GR86 are forseeable, the resuts of any steering input are clear:

Front axle:
- Bilstein B14
- Steering Rack Lockdown from Perrin
- Pedders Offset Strut Mounts (PED-580069)

Rear axle:
- Bilstein B14
- J-Sports spoiler
- Power-Flex bushes according to their pic on the web page: 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11
- Control arm lower-outer bush kit
- Subframe to Chassis void fillers

I would have tried the parts from strongflex.eu (they are freshly on the market with parts for the GR86), but they were too late ;-)

Bye for now Fred
Holy moly that's a lot of poly in place of rubber.

How's the NVH, noise, and stop & go traffic?
BTW, do you often go vmax 228 km/h on bahns?
 
Today is a remarkable day in the life of my GR86. Since I got the car my subconscious mind registered some "movements" or in other words something like "reeling" I didn't like (e.g. no perfect directional stability, indifferent handling on undulating roads, no "clarity" on steering inputs etc.). This is a list of countermeasurements I have done over the last year and now I think I got a status I'm pretty happy with. I can run at maximum possible speed on Autobahn without getting sweat on my forehead, any reactions of my GR86 are forseeable, the resuts of any steering input are clear:

Front axle:
- Bilstein B14
- Steering Rack Lockdown from Perrin
- Pedders Offset Strut Mounts (PED-580069)

Rear axle:
- Bilstein B14
- J-Sports spoiler
- Power-Flex bushes according to their pic on the web page: 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11
- Control arm lower-outer bush kit
- Subframe to Chassis void fillers

I would have tried the parts from strongflex.eu (they are freshly on the market with parts for the GR86), but they were too late ;-)

Bye for now Fred

The steering rack lock down is interesting. I have a Cusco one I've yet to fit because it would mean cutting the undertray which I don't really want to do. The Perrin one doesn't need that as it's only void filling on the existing fixing and not extending to the arm like the Cusco.
 
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Holy moly that's a lot of poly in place of rubber.

How's the NVH, noise, and stop & go traffic?
BTW, do you often go vmax 228 km/h on bahns?
No problems with NVH (as long as you don't stiffen the rubber of the differential mount - tried them and removed them).

Regarding high speed: If traffic allows at least one time per week going over 220 km/h. Yesterday I was at a friends place for inspection and on the way back I had a chance of flat out for more than 20 km - more than 5 minutes flat out in one go. Usually you can hit Vmax just for a few seconds, before you have to liftoff the throttle.

The steering rack lock down is interesting. I have a Cusco one I've yet to fit because it would mean cutting the undertray which I don't really want to do. The Perrin one doesn't need that as it's only void filling on the existing fixing and not extending to the arm like the Cusco.
Most important: You can't see the Perrin by purpose, which is a good thing (thinking about German TÜV). Second important: The steering feedback improves :)

Bye for now Fred
 
Interested in these steering rack lockdown kits. I have noticed that the GR seems to lack a tad of feel compared to the first gen. Do these improve that at all? I gather they are just stiffening the steering rack mounting point to sharpen response.

Easy to install? Do you need an alignment afterwards? Sounds like it might be another mod which just helps round off the car a little.
 
Interested in these steering rack lockdown kits. I have noticed that the GR seems to lack a tad of feel compared to the first gen. Do these improve that at all? I gather they are just stiffening the steering rack mounting point to sharpen response.

Easy to install? Do you need an alignment afterwards? Sounds like it might be another mod which just helps round off the car a little.
No alignment needed. For the cusco one you have to remove the 2 trays at the bottom front of the car. Make 2 small holes in one of them.

Unbolt (one at a time) the steering bolts, position the cusco brace and bolt it back again.. Repeat with the other side.
I went a bit further and replaced the gr86 steering bolts with the sti ones, these are way longer and expand the whole section of the steering brace, since they are really long you need to remove the heat shield of the cat? that is right at the front of the midpipe to wiggle the new bolt in place.

Shamefully, I did manage to break a bolt that holds a triangular brace and have not been able to get it out. Hoping to get fensport to sort it at some point
Here is a video with the sti bolts and the cusco bushing which I did not do
 
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No alignment needed. For the cusco one you have to remove the 2 trays at the bottom front of the car. Make 2 small holes in one of them.

Unbolt (one at a time) the steering bolts, position the cusco brace and bolt it back again.. Repeat with the other side.
I went a bit further and replaced the gr86 steering bolts with the sti ones, these are way longer and expand the whole section of the steering brace, since they are really long you need to remove the heat shield of the cat? that is right at the front of the midpipe to wiggle the new bolt in place.

Shamefully, I did manage to break a bolt that holds a triangular brace and have not been able to get it out. Hoping to get fensport to sort it at some point
Here is a video with the sti bolts and the cusco bushing which I did not do

Thanks. Going to do a bit of reading. It seems they also do stiffer STI bushings for the rack, and paired with the longer bolts going all the way through the subframe, it apparently really tightens up the steering feels. Might look into that as a little project over the next few months....
 
The steering rack lock down is interesting. I have a Cusco one I've yet to fit because it would mean cutting the undertray which I don't really want to do. The Perrin one doesn't need that as it's only void filling on the existing fixing and not extending to the arm like the Cusco.
Don't take this as gospel, but I have a feeling the Perrin kit is only available for left hand drive vehicles.

I'm wondering if just upgrading the bushes and bolts to the STI ones might help even without the extra bracing that Perrin and Cusco sell.
 
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Don't take this as gospel, but I have a feeling the Perrin kit is only available for left hand drive vehicles.

I'm wondering if just upgrading the bushes and bolts to the STI ones might help even without the extra bracing that Perrin and Cusco sell.
Conscript, I'm quite sure you are correct. Without further modification the Perrin would not fit to RHD cars. Anyway if you want to use it you just need a saw and a bench grinder and it works.

You can stop wondering. Any way to restrict movements of the steering gear works. The Perrin solution is the easiest way, because it blocks the steering gear to the front axle and eliminates the rubber bushing. Fitting is just about 45 minutes (in your case add some time to modify the block which is located near the steering column). Maybe other solutions might be even better, but it definitive works and is easy to fit.

Bye for now Fred
 
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Sunny day here in Dorset, so got my passport and immigration papers and went for a drive on Portland.

I took the annual (same place) picture, as last year- just because it’s a perfect spot. A lad parked in his van (sign written) commented that it was the perfect Top Gear pose shot. As I left, he was moving the van in to the spot..


IMG_0222.webp
 

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Sunny day here in Dorset, so got my passport and immigration papers and went for a drive on Portland.

I took the annual (same place) picture, as last year- just because it’s a perfect spot. A lad parked in his van (sign written) commented that it was the perfect Top Gear pose shot. As I left, he was moving the van in to the spot..


View attachment 34066
Well, that's just killed off the opposition in this month's photo competition!
 
Sunny day here in Dorset, so got my passport and immigration papers and went for a drive on Portland.

I took the annual (same place) picture, as last year- just because it’s a perfect spot. A lad parked in his van (sign written) commented that it was the perfect Top Gear pose shot. As I left, he was moving the van in to the spot..


View attachment 34066
Looks better without the chevron roadsign
IMG_0222~2.webp

😎 You're welcome . . .