GT vs GTS - help me decide
 

I'm trying to decide between getting a GT or GTS and while I dont care for leather, am indifferent to headlights and will have to replace the headunit with something decent sounding anyway, I am concerned about the brakes and wondering what the difference will translate to in real terms, both on the road and on the track where I hope plan to take it for 'tuning day' fun.

I've no experience in these regards, but wondering if the brakes on the GT will be noticeably less effective in emergency stops, or if it will translate to time in the pit lane waiting for them to cool down before I can continue doing laps at the track, or what?

Can GT brakes/calipers etc be upgraded aftermarket and what would that cost?

Cheers for any input,

B

Best to go down the dealership and test drive both........

GT calipers and pads are the same as GTS, just the rotors are slightly smaller.
You will notice very little difference on track I imagine, and even less on road. ANd the GT is lighter anyway.
AFAIK the rotors should be a direct bolt on anyway. Wear out GT rotors and then replace with GTS rotors.

Really the 5k difference goes a long way towards bigger brakes, new wheels and suspension etc..
I went the GT and had the same concerns but actually wanted the lighter vehicle. Brakes are easily upgraded if they even are inadequate with a pad upgrade...

Did not know that... Great news...

From what you described, the GT is the car for you.

You pretty much have the same train of thought I did, except I didn't even care about the brakes, as I literally will not be able to tell the difference.

I noticed a little difference between GT and GTS brakes, but I think the big advances in brakes would be replacement pads, braided lines and better brake fluid.

The GTS has better tyres out of the box, but they're still not great. I'd recommend an upgrade to Yokohama AD08s for better performance through corners. The GT Yokohama Decibels are essentially throw away items. Great for skid pan and drift days but that's it. If you haven't tracked a car before I'd recommend using them at least once. They'll really teach you about the handling characteristics of the 86.

If you don't care about sat nav, xenons, leather/alcantara and all the other paraphernalia then get the GT. Buy new tyres, brake pads, lines and change fluid and take that to the track. Go from there with other mods if you like. It seems a GTS and the extra $6k aren't what you're really after.

In my opinion, GTS seemed more compelling and extras are worth it. At the end of the day it comes down to personal preference and taste.

I was a little disappointed with the GT interior as it felt like it was missing something, I did not care about the stereo and heated seats but it was something to do with the cluster which I thought was a little boring.

I could have got the GT but I knew down the track I would kick my self that I should have got the GTS instead.

Thanks, that decides things.

I was also a bit disappointment when I heard the GT didnt have a shift indicator, but I think without the electronic aids one might develop a better ear for where one is in the rev range, and a better feel of the torque curve. For the same reason I'm trying to ween myself off my iphone Tomtom GPS as I tend to pay no attention to where I'm going and am lost without it, even after 4 years of living in Perth. (reminds me too of learning to live without a dive computer when I was freediving competitively, and noticing a better developed sense of where I was in the water and what my body was telling me)

Cheers
B

Shift light is a gimmick. ive driven lots of cars that rev out a lot quicker and bouncing off the limiter is never an issue if you know the car. I actually hate the white of the GTS dash too!

hate is a very harsh term..lol

I think it gives it a nice texture overall..

definitely go for the GT model and spend that extra 6k on other mods :) if your indifferent with almost all of the extras the GTS comes.

As per other threads the digital speedometer is a plus but a GT with all the extra moolah to spend on brakes and mods > GTS model in your case :)

GTS interior seems a ton nicer than GT for me. Dash and instrument cluster is way better too. The GT cluster just seems nasty! Door trims and seats lots better on GTS. Once you have HID's, you won't go back to halogen headlights. Ever! The brakes still suck on GTS, so don't let this be a deciding factor.

Brakes are an easy upgrade, the recent years of Subaru STI brembo's fit the 86. There's going to be a ton of brake upgrades on the market anyway.

You're right. I will miss the digital speedo.
This hate stems from a corolla i hired and drove at night on holiday once. Couldn't dim it. Had to put a towel over it!
Looks like the GTS lights up nicely at night though!

6K from the GT to the GTS doesn't sound like that much, but on a car like this its nearly 18% price difference. I went for the GT cause the lighter weight and lower price means the money saved will go a long way to some wheels, suspension or other mods. Would have liked the digital speed display for convenience, but that alone is not a deal breaker!

I'd like to see comparisons because apart from brakes and wheels I have no idea where this claimed extra 30kg comes from. I wonder if 1,230kg is for the GTS auto. I reckon there would be less than 15kg between the GT and GTS and most of that is wheels.

maybe its the seat warmers ...lol

To repeat an earlier post:

I must say im only going off quoted numbers regarding weight. I will corner weigh my car as soon as its in my possession, but surely the dual climate control, seats with heaters and the wheels (16s vs 17s) are the main weight adders. Wouldnt think satnav, headlights and smart entry to make any difference.

I am also sure that the GTS comes with the 17inch spare as opposed to a spacesaver / steelie for the GT which does add extra weight

hi how reliable it's this info, from toyota tech or something as the brake difference is the only reason for me to go from gts to gt, everything else I can do without

Yeah the GTS has a full size spare.

my first mod will be to put that in the garage and put some tyre in a can in the boot..
then i can put a FG sub box in the spare wheel well..

I was wandering how you can get 277 and 294mm rotors to fit
the same calipers

I have inquired about fitting GTS brakes to a GT. I enjoy braking more than accelerating. I was going to fit 2 piece rotors to the front anyway and vented discs at the rear then I received this pdf from the local dealership. All the prices are acceptable to me except for the "H/U ASSY VDC". I don't even know what that is. I am now thinking of buying a 2nd hand Elise instead.

You will need to move the brake pads further out some how. Either by fitting new calipers or new brackets/mounts that fit between the hub and the caliper. You can't fit larger diameter rotors and not move the caliper.

You have tested both versions?

Thanks mate, I was told by a Toyota employee, but not parts. I was actually going to make an enquiry with parts tomorrow, but now no need :)
My previous statement was incorrect, my apologies :)

Who has claimed 30 kgs? Toyota Australia's website says 18 kgs difference for the manuals.

No worries. After so many theories,guesses and interwebbing getting concrete information is slowly becoming available.

Even if I subtract the price of discs and pads (which I would source, maybe with a little cream, tarragon and nutmeg) that VDC unit puts it way over what I am willing to spend just on brakes. Yes, I could go the GTS route but then I am ending up with stuff I dont want/need.

I had sent an email to Kenneth at Toyota Belconnen, ACT after receiving that pdf:
"Hi Kenneth,
Thank you very much for your quick email.
As I was looking at the prices I was thinking "good, good, acceptable" then I nearly fainted when I saw the price of the "H/U assy VDC". Could you please tell me what this is? Google was not able to help me.

With thanks,
B."

I have just received a reply mail.
"Good Morning B,
This is the upgraded VDC ( Vehicle Directional Control ) brake actuator – to suit Auto Transmission, the VDC to suit Manual Transmission is in pdf quote attached to this email.


Regards

Ken Lee
Canberra Toyota"

Then this:
"Hello B,

I have had another look at more parts required for the upgrade to premium brake system on base 86 Toyota, maybe abs computer is different, I could not find one in E/P/C, other issues could come into play as well, will the wheels have to be 17” or 16 “ ? Does base model have correct wiring loom for this upgrade ? as is new model our service department would still be in process of training technicians to work on this car, labor costs ? Hope this proves useful in you making correct judgment call on this one or maybe exploring possibility of purchasing upgrade model with all premium brakes system etc installed .

Regards,
Kenneth."

Mmmmmm... not looking good.

Thanks for sharing this info captain snooze. very informative.

Nearly fell over when i saw that invoice ..

Isn't VDC just fancy lingo for ASC?

A GT standard equipped item? Difference between the units on a manual / auto? instead of GT vs GTS?

depends on what you are after really, this is meant to be a driving car, not luxury. You get a lot of stuff for the 5.5k for the GTS but if you dont really appreciate everything in the GTS then it is still 5.5k wasted. That money can go towards a lot of other things which would be more handy like opti-coat, insurance, nicer wheels, etc.

I went with the GT because I had no need for leather seats, sat nav, touchscreen, heated seats, push start. I do like the GTS headlights though so hopefully I can get them aftermarket and install them.

Reason I chose GT over GTS;

Lights - Going Suby or Aftermarket HID
NAV - Will become guage setup once it begins track life. Base has bluetooth anyway.
Push Button - Not required
Prox sensor - Not required
Wheels - Being changed

Biggest point would be the interior and cluster - Agreed it looks nice but once again its being stripped and caged in future. Seats can be changed to after market for reasonable price within next year or so. Cluster can probably be changed relatively easy once a few wrecks come onto market assuming its a plug and play.

Playing product planner:
86 GT Nurburgring edition -
Limited edition, based on the GT but with custom 18inch alloy wheels, GTS (or better) leather seats, better brakes, alloy spare wheel, digital speedo (hehe), slightly lowered, TRD spoiler and custom colours (yellow, flat white and metallic red), black highlights and blackened rear lights.

Maybe GTS lights.

I'd pick that over the GTS anyday, for the same price. Has things you need and nothing you don't!

Fixed

Just call it the Loki556 edition...

It's not.

The harness/wiring?

yeah thinking about the shift indicator and digital speedo, might cause problems with the harness. Hope its a straight swap cause its something ive considered doing

Yeah, the harness is different.
There was a post on this forum a while back about it.
If memory serves it came straight from Tada-san.

Going to do it once I find a wreck on the market.

*touch wood*