I wrote a thing
 

as the resident 86 expert on the Everyday Driver staff, I went to the soft launch at Toyota North America HQ earlier this month.

Here's what I thought:

https://www.everydaydriver.com/singl...ew-86-is-close

I also welcome any questions/etc - I couldn't put EVERYTHING I learned in the article.

Great read, answered a lot of my questions.

Im probably gonna try to buy used this time around if I stick with the platform.

Definitely wanna wait till I see the new z.

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Best info so far imo.

Nice pics in the article....from Eagles Canyon Raceway in Texas....I was there the week after Toyota.... :(

Nice article. Pretty much confirmed what I had been expecting. The new car is going to feel like a 2013 FR-S running e85 and will make about the same power.

Also agree with it looking like a gen 1 with a bad body kit, but glad to hear it looks better in person.

I still love my 2013 (e85, track mods, weight reduction) even after owning it 9 years, but looking forward to the gen 2’s. I’ll probably upgrade down the road.

I think the extra cubes will make the power feel more natural than my e85 car.

Nice article. I didn’t understand how you recovered 40cv (a big improvement on a naturally aspirated engine) but I don’t think it makes sense to compare tuned vs stock, at least for 2 reasons: 1) with stock you travel without any fear of cops. 2) Tuned 2.4l would rebalance differences between the two stock engine.

Did it feel any more refined or quieter than the first gen car?
how was the sound?

Did they tell you why they're hiding the Neptune Blue GR 86 so well?

Are you sure they'll have different brakes?

The press release is written as if the brakes were identical between trims:
https://pressroom.toyota.com/drivers...all-new-gr-86/

The only "upgraded" brake info I have heard is at the 5:24 mark at this dealer training video, and is not stated as model specific.

https://youtu.be/f2lXD5VoR5s

... may mean as little as different pad clips or piston boots.

... as if the 1st gen base brakes were unable to outbrake the tires.

haha i thought Todd was the brz/frs/86 expert in ED. he does sure seemed to love the car in the vids even after selling

Thanks for the write up, very good. Can’t wait to see it in person and take one for a spin!

Because if they post pictures of it nobody will want the other colors!

Just to be more specific, it will feel like a 2013 with ALL the bolt-ons AND E85. In other words, about 200whp (as the article mentioned) and some more torque across some of the rev range.

Definitely sounds exciting, and like you've mentioned before, this will be in the S2K region of performance with a much better daily driver feel. I absolutely love the way the current gen feels on E85 and bolt-ons and think it's way plenty for the car. There's never a day I'm driving it where I don't have a smile on my face. To think that the new gen will be just that, if not more, definitely excites me. Then, to think that some basic bolt-ons will only give it more for those that desire it, is just icing on the cake.

That was the thing that stood out most from the article. Good to hear. Also interesting to see, as mentioned, what happens with the 2.4 when adding full bolt-ons and E85. Do you get 250~260 hp?

Is the transmission the same for 2nd gen? What about clutch & throwout bearing? Is the bearing beefed up for that extra hp & torque?

Hahaha ok if you've got a very sensitive butt dyno, it'll feel like a 2013 with ALL the bolt-ons AND E85. :) Honestly I went from a catless header and full exhaust back to nearly stock setup (2017 header, CBE) and while the sound is way different, it feels pretty much the same on E85.

I think with OP's Skunk 2 EL header, the actual whp difference on a dyno would be 5-6 whp which I doubt most people would be able to feel.

This ED piece and the ride-along video have me eagerly anticipating the first drive reviews which should be coming relatively soon (?). Between this and the new Z, it's going to be a hard call. I do wish they had brought rev-matching to the 2nd gen, that seems a no-brainer these days (provided it can be turned off for the hard core heel and toers).

I have gone through the process of doing headers/exhaust first with a tune, and then E85. In both situations I experienced gains over the prior. Though my header didn't put out any high peak HP levels, it did a LOT more in the mid range. E85 just raises the whole curve up, so it doesn't do as much torque dip filling. The combination of the two maximizes the gains through the whole rev range, at least from my experience.

Oh mea culpa, I didn’t realize you were talking about the torque dip area. Yes my catless header made a noticeable difference in that rpm band. I only drive my car at the track or canyons these days so was only focused on the 4500-7500 rpm range. Cheers!

Meh that's the same guy who would drive uphill on backroads in 5th gear at 33mph and then complain it lacked power.

Always wondered if any of the EverydayDriver folks were on here!
Side note, glad to read your article that Lexus is ditching their silly mouse/trackpad/palmhump interface!

Thanks so much for your very detailed, personal impressions. As per your comments below, I'm very excited:


"So, how excited should you be about this new second generation Toyota 86? The short answer is plenty. It remains a terrific handling sports car that you can afford to buy, drive every day and offers dynamics superior to cars costing 2-3 times more. Now, it’s far less likely to get walked by a minivan. Hooray!"

Fantastic write up, thanks for sharing! I'm starting to get excited now... Too bad I have like 4 more years to wait until it's my turn for a new car again.

Torque dip must always be known!

Lolol. I don't mind showing it off but at least be honest about it instead of exaggerating because you know you'll get more clicks/views/thumbs ups.

Why would the throw out bearing need beefing up to accommodate more power? It just pushes the clutch apart.

I don’t think so, I can’t imagine the pressure plate force is much higher for that small increase.

I'd assume (at least hope) that the clutch is different, and hence the axial loads too. Bearings are rated for both loads & torques. Speeds should be the same, but both loads and torques should be different.
It's the same reason why people go stage 1 or 1.1 or 2 clutch with any increase in power/torque.

You can bet there is some trans updates, but as discussed before, don't bet on anything huge. I mean they updated the trans for a 5HP increase in the 17+ models. Now there's a 23HP increase off of that, and a good bit more torque, which will demand a little more from the trans and force them to make some changes, even if they are minor.

Agree with all the comments about this being the best review so far of the new car! Thank you!!

Also agree with your bottom-line take - the first-gen car is prettier, but the improvements in the new car (primarily the engine) make it tempting. All will be revealed and decided with a (hopefully!) few test drives. Preferably nice, long test drives.

But I personally just couldn't live with that hideous comic-book duck-tail. The exaggerated rocket-bunny side sills are bad enough, but the duck tail makes me throw up a little bit in my mouth. All appearance and looks are completely personal, but I just couldn't look at it and keep my lunch down.

For me, it would mean 1) going for a base model without the goiter, or 2) seeing if a friendly dealer might swap the trunk lid with a base car, or 3) going for the BRZ (which has a more awkward nose, but better than a cancerous lump on the butt).

Track is SUPER fun! Being from Chicago I don't really ever get that far from home very often, but man i'd love to take MY car there sometime.

I got to drive tons of cool stuff - both supras, and every sporty lexus in the lineup.

Here's me driving the LC500 like an asshole, haha https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kr7ojCqmDRo

Honestly while the huge premium spec rear lip is a bit much for some (I love it but I get it) I really love that the Toyota team clearly pays attention to what the current owners have been doing for the past 8yrs. I mean, not everyone puts some type of ducktail on but it's arguably the most popular look "we" go for.

But as I mentioned - don't try to decide on looks before you see it in person. I will say that the biggest difference is that ALL the photos (even the ones I took on my phone that I didnt' really use in the article) have: They all make the car look more narrow, taller and bubblier than it really is.

I promise you that in person it doesn't look NEARLY as different from the current car as you imagine it will be looking at pics. I went in hating it and really think it looks great overall. ABSOLUTELY not bad enough that it'd keep me from buying one if I wanted it otherwise.

They fixed the issue and revised the part late in the last generation.

Benefits of evolving this bespoke platform is that these kinds of little fixes will carry across.

If the new car is dyno-ing at 195-200 whp according to the engineers, that's pretty darn solid.

Not an expert by any means, but I feel like that means the 228 crank hp might be underrated?

- Andrew

I think you depicted exactly what I didn’t like about the new car from the pictures. It has this narrower, less athletic look to it, especially the front and rear ends. Glad to hear it looks more like the 1st gen in person.

You’re doing a great job selling me on this new car btw, especially the comparison to your current e85 setup. Frankly better than any Toyota ad could have done. Thanks for your impressions. I will probably end up trading in my e85 FRS in a few years.

Using the standard 15 percent drivetrain loss (assuming a dyno jet), 195 whp would be 229 crank hp. 200 whp would be 235 crank hp. So sounds about right for a word of mouth approximate number to me.

FWIW my 2013 with a K&N air filter and CBE made 176 whp on a dyno jet. I think bone stock would have been right around 170 whp (which falls right in line with the 15 percent drivetrain loss estimate).

Shit man,I need to hang out with you! I live one town over from where you live.

Finally watched the video: Very interesting to hear from Gushi that they made the EPS even better, given that was already one of the best things about the current car!

Curious to know how the car sounded from the outside, since the interior sound is generated by the speakers