tweedbeans GT86
 

So I thought it was time to post up a project thread for the next step in my car journey.

The hunt for my next car
For the last 7 year, ignoring a 6 month Qashqai blip, I have owned modified MINI's which has been great and I have met some amazing people along the way but I have always had an inch to scratch in terms of a japanese car right from day 1 as I was on the look out for a DC5 to replace my Seicento and ended up with my first MINI. When I saw the initial concepts for the Subaru BRZ a few years ago I was really excited, but when it was actually released I was a little disappointed in terms of the headline performance figures. It had the looks but on paper at least it didn't have enough power especially when compared to MINI's I had owned.

However after watching numerous reviews on the BRZ/GT86, especially Jeremy Clarkson and Chris Harris' ones as well as speaking to a number of owners I had to have one. It seems this car is bags of fun with stock power, but when the powered is increased via a turbo/supercharger the great chassis comes into its own. I have spent the last 6 months researching them while I parted out my clubman and pulled the money together to buy one. Weighing up the minor differences between the Subaru BRZ and Toyota GT86 I settled on the Toyota as I prefer the front bumper and interior trim.

Current Spec

- 2013 Toyota GT86
- Pearl white
- Manual
- 9k on the clock
- Sat nav

Interior
- Alcantara and leather interior
- P3 Vent Gauge

Exterior
- BRZ side vents

Engine
- Stock for now

Wheels
- BBS RSii's 18x8 et 33, undecided on tyres

Suspension and braking**
- Stock for now

Previous Car History
- Fiat Seicento Sporting 1.1 NA 54bhp in Yellow
- MINI Cooper S 1.6 Supercharged 170bhp tuned up to 265bhp in Dark Silver - http://www.minitorque.com/forum/f273...r53-mcs-18403/
- MINI JCW 1.6 Turbo 215bhp in Laser Blue - http://www.minitorque.com/forum/f272...56-fjcw-25319/
- Nissan Qashqai Tekna 2.0 NA 139bhp in Silver
- MINI Clubman JCW 1.6 Turbo tuned to 270 bhp/236.9 whp and peak torque of 283.1lb/ft. In Laser Blue http://www.minifoo.com/forum/index.p...ns-clubaru.58/

https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8601/...53b6030e_o.jpg

Pre-purchase mods and plans

First off lets start by saying yes I plan to mod this car, I know I have said no with my other cars, but this one is not staying stock from day 1. The first couple of months will be slow on the mod front but May onwards is where the fun begins :)

Plans include removing the fugly stock spoiler and fitting a duck tail type one, BRZ side vents, a set of wheels and coilovers. Then I can start planning the performance mods which would include a turbo/supercharger kit of some sort and a brake upgrade. I am also 70/30 split on a rocket bunny kit which is a irreversible mod as you have to cut away the arches to get it to fit. If I don't go for this, I will go down the 5 axis kit route which is subtle in comparison to the RB kit.

For anyone that knows me, they wont be shocked when I say that before I have even purchased the car I have a number of mods in the garage ready to go:

Alcantara/leather Interior
A full alcantara/leather interior just incase the car I find didn't have one. A lot of the cars seem to have a cloth interior which wouldn't do, plus even if the car I purchase does have alcantara, this gives me a spare set to retrim etc later down the line:

https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8650/...c49fd514_o.jpgAlcantara and Cloth Interior by tweedbean, on Flickr

P3 Vent Gauge
I have purchased a P3 air vent gauge as I was going to keep my scangauge from the Clubby however I couldn't find anywhere to fit it in the GT86 interior that would look right. Its great as it still allows you to use the air vent. It does everything my scangauge could do including reading codes etc and also has connections for boost if I decide down the FI (Forced Induction)route:

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7595/...a41203cd_o.jpgP3Gauge for the GT86 by tweedbean, on Flickr

https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8619/...2c1002b1_o.jpgP3Gauge for the GT86 Fitted by tweedbean, on Flickr

VHT Red Wrinkle Finish Paint
Purchased this to add some colour into the engine bay, spotted this done on a car in the US and it looked pretty good so I am going to give it a go. More details once its done.

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7621/...03cf482c_o.jpgWrinkle VHT paint by tweedbean, on Flickr

Red light tint and green glass paint
To remove the lexus style stock rear lights I want to tint them all red, while I take my time to decide if I want to switch to aftermarket lights. Green glass paint to ensure rear indicators flash amber through the red tint.

https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8571/...e71f1ba4_o.jpgRed light tint and green glass paint by tweedbean, on Flickr

Its finally here :) :) :)

Today wasn't without its challenges but I am happy to say I now finally own a GT86 in pearl white. Toyota Burton have been great in turning this car around in less than 4 hours from when it was traded in to handing me the keys. Even with a last minute dash from the previous owners as he forgot to give them the log book, then he got stuck in traffic, but finally he arrived back with it. I was then able to check the car over and do a quick test drive which wasn't that successful as Burton was jammed full of traffic. Before I knew it I was out the door with the keys

Findings after my first drive back from Burton to Rugby is that these are a hoot to drive, I definitely made the right choice. I learnt it needs a centre armrest and its weird not having any stereo/nav controls on the steering wheel. Not a fan of the cloth seats but I am fitting a full heated alcantara/leather interior Friday. I also have a few other little bits on the way to get the modding started.

The headunit is better than I expected, sat nav worked a treat, even if it was a little on the quiet side at first. I just need to work a few things out like where the option is to see how many miles are left in the tank, if it does that and if I can relocate the USB port to the glove box as I dont like my iPod cable hanging down the dash. This car brought a huge grin to my face and I am already looking for excuses to go for a drive. Side way action on the way home, all very controlled even in the rain which is great.

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7608/...b8d49c3a_o.jpgMy GT86 by tweedbean, on Flickr

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7638/...17a705fd_o.jpgMy GT86 by tweedbean, on Flickr

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7599/...7fd99a89_o.jpgMy GT86 by tweedbean, on Flickr

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7643/...46489086_o.jpgMy GT86 by tweedbean, on Flickr

Well today, I had a bit of spare time and I couldn't stop myself from getting on with fitting some of the parts I have collected.

First job was to get rid of the cloth interior and fit the alcantara/leather one I had picked up. This started with a very nervous but easy strip down of the interior, all this came out after only 14 bolts. I've only had it 3 days which made this nerve racking. However now I have got this out the way I wont feel so bad pulling other parts off it. I want to try and do the majority of the spanner work on this car myself, its one thing that got me excited about my old R53 MINI as we did all the work. With the clubby I was lazy and got Millsy's to do most of the work for me, which was easier and he did a great job but you dont get that satisfaction that you have achieved something yourself.

First job before touching anything was to disconnect the battery:

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7631/...587a270a_o.jpgPrepping the car ready to pull out the interior by tweedbean, on Flickr

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7615/...fd310ee3_o.jpgDisconnect the battery by tweedbean, on Flickr

Good bye cloth interior:

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7614/...cc41fd00_o.jpgCloth Interior by tweedbean, on Flickr

Out came the interior, I found it easy to just remove the rear side panels to get at the rear bolts on the back seats:

https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8720/...77c45cc5_o.jpgInterior out by tweedbean, on Flickr

https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8718/...121e390e_o.jpgInterior out by tweedbean, on Flickr

Alcantara vs cloth:

https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8750/...25dbafe4_o.jpgComparison alcantara vs cloth by tweedbean, on Flickr

In went the rears, looking much better already:

https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8705/...96351ab9_o.jpgRear seats in by tweedbean, on Flickr

Closely followed by the fronts:

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7619/...71dc71bb_o.jpgNew interior in by tweedbean, on Flickr

https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8702/...fa9b6b14_o.jpgClose up 2 by tweedbean, on Flickr

Detail shot of the GT86 space invader type pattern they use across the car including the front grills and dashboard.

https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8689/...160760df_o.jpgClose up by tweedbean, on Flickr

Much better, I'm really pleased with the difference as the seats now match all the red stitch detail throughout the car. I haven't hooked up the heated seat switches just yet, I am going on the hunt for the wiring tomorrow.

Next came the P3 gauge that fits into the air vent. It allows you to still use the vent which is really good and literally took 5 minutes to fit. It should be great for monitoring everything as well as it 0-60 times and code reading if required.



Out came the vent:

https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8685/...4462ff3d_o.jpgOut comes the air vent by tweedbean, on Flickr

Then I switched over parts of the vent onto the new gauge and press it back into place after connecting it to the OBD port:


https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7628/...7a867c20_o.jpgP3 Gauge Fitted by tweedbean, on Flickr

As you can see I wont need to take my eyes of the road to see it and its a much better looking alternative to a scangauge:

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7604/...bc87c87b_o.jpgInterior dash shot by tweedbean, on Flickr

BRZ Side Vents

Today I finally got around to fitting my BRZ side vents, personally I think they look much better as the stock GT86 ones are too plain and look like a panel for a panel sake as they are very plain with just a logo and a tiny vent. Nice and easy to fit, only tools were a screw driver and a heat gun to clear some of the glue away from the old ones.

Before:

https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8793/...64574f8b_o.jpgStock vents by tweedbean, on Flickr

During:

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7716/...72326f03_o.jpgVents removed by tweedbean, on Flickr

After:

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7702/...805a1b23_o.jpgBRZ vent fitted by tweedbean, on Flickr

Very pleased with the new look. It is literally a 5 minute job and well worth it:

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7681/...b2ea70ef_o.jpgBRZ Vent Fitted by tweedbean, on Flickr

Still sifting through tonnes of photos to try and find a set of wheels I like for this. So many to choose from and currently nothing is doing it for me. Going to keep going and I will find the right set eventually.

Wheel Time

So its time for another update, this ones is a bit more tasty. After a lot of deliberation around wheels for the past 3 weeks, with me sending a 101 photoshops to Rich@Orranje Performance, I finally decided on a set of wheels. Having fitted Japanese wheels, Volks CE28n's to my german MINI Clubman, I thought now I have a Japanese car, its time for a set of Germans wheels. Always wanting to try something different, I have gone for something different to what you normally see on the GT86 and hopefully I have made the right choice.

So today after a road trip to Wembley, I am the proud owner of a set of BBS RSii's which are a two piece wheel 18x8 et 33. The previous owner had these are a rather nice Audi TT and has just had them refurbished however me being me, I am not content with just sticking them on the car. So they are split down and ready to go to the powder coaters for something a bit special. I also need to decide if I want to reuse the bolts and polish them up or go for some new ones. A new set of BBS centre will be ordered in complimentary colour. Time for some pictures:

https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8799/...d4c82fb5_o.jpgWheels in transit by tweedbean, on Flickr

https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8766/...8514d5ac_o.jpgWheels in transit by tweedbean, on Flickr

https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8735/...c74ce97c_o.jpgBBS RSii by tweedbean, on Flickr

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7665/...e152ea76_o.jpgAll spilt down by tweedbean, on Flickr

Next up are coilovers to get the car sitting a little lower and I also need to decide on which tyres to wrap around these wheels, I am thinking 225 40 18 but not sure on brand just yet.

dude im definetely doing the brz vents on my white frs now

Can you tell me the part # or where you ordered your white BRZ fender garnish?

So lots of bits have been ordered over the last couple of weeks to try and get the car ready for Japfest on 16th May, big thanks to Rich@Orranje Performance for his help on this.

Coilovers
I was very close to ordering a set of BC coilovers, however due to the recent issues they have been having with the GT86 rears, I wasnt a fan of the way they decided to remove bits and get customers to rectify themselves rather than fixing the problem. Therefore I decided that the Tein's seem to be highly rated for Japanese cars so why not give them a go. After reviewing the options, the Tein Street Flex Z seemed to fit my requirements and they also have the ability for me to fit EDFC (Electronic Damping Force Controller) at a later date, making it possible for me to control the damping force at the touch of a button while in the driver's seat. Amber Performance were really competitive on price so they got my business.

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7706/...3c41aa29_o.jpgOvernight parts from Japan by tweedbean, on Flickr

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7748/...f078173b_o.jpgTein Flex Z Coilovers for the GT86 by tweedbean, on Flickr

https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8751/...79db4dbc_o.jpgTein Flex Z Coilovers for the GT86 by tweedbean, on Flickr

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7743/...1464f4f7_o.jpgTein Flex Z Coilovers for the GT86 by tweedbean, on Flickr

Tyres
For the tyres I decided to go for 225 40 18 Vredestein Ultrac Sessanta's as I was really impressed with them on the Clubby so I though I would give them a go on this.

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7725/...59edd25e_o.jpg225 40 18 VREDESTEIN ULTRAC SESSANTA's by tweedbean, on Flickr

Wheels
So the BBS RSii's are back from the powder coaters and I am really pleased with them. I have gone for two different colours, one of which is chrome powder coat for the lip, barrels and centre caps. I did contemplate getting the lips and centre caps polished however that would require more upkeep than I can be bothered with for a set of wheels, especially as this is a DD, so I think the powder coat looks the part and will be harder wearing. The second I will let you know in due course once the wheels are on the car. I have always tried to go a little different and hopefully I have achieved this.

The only photo I have to share with you right now is a really poor one of the centre caps ;)

https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8721/...e33450d1_o.jpgCentre Caps by tweedbean, on Flickr

Performance
This hasn't been forgotten as I am not build a show and shine car here ;) I have been weighing up my options with the Avo turbo and the numerous supercharger conversions, pulling together a list of parts and prices. I am still not 100% sure, so my plan is to get to a number of shows/track days this year and hopefully get a ride in a car with each of these kits to see the difference in the real world rather than on paper. I dont want to start buying performances parts such as unequal length manifolds, exhausts etc now if they wont work with the FI route I decide upon, so until then the suspension, interior and exterior will get me attention.

It seems like I will have a busy weekend as I need to rebuild the wheels then get the over to the tyre place to get the tyres fitted, then get back to Rich's to fit the coilovers and wheels to the car. I also have a couple of small jobs like switching over number plates and finishing the debadging on the rear.

Bulbs
I also have some chrome indicator bulbs on the way, 4xT20 and 2xT10, so I can loose the fried egg look.

I managed to purchase them through a group buy that happened in the UK. Supplier was Japex if I remember rightly or you can buy them from Subaru.

I like what's going on here! interested to see whats going to happen from here and the wheel color!

Looking forward to seeing how this turns out!

I went for BC's originally and had knocking problems at the rear from day one. Back to Fensport to have them swapped for Teins and happy days. Night and day difference in ride quality!

Have you got spigot rings for your new wheels?

Thanks for the comments. Im really excited for tomorrow now.

On their way.

Also to note these turned up today in the post as well to finish off the new wheels, theres no point getting the wheels refinished and fitting old centre caps:



https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7757/...79d28f20_o.jpgRed 80mm BBS Centre Caps by tweedbean, on Flickr

Wheels

So who would have thought rebuilding 2 piece wheels would be so time consuming. We lost a whole day on Saturday running around getting the right tools after I discovered the bolt holes had become contaminated with powder coat which meant it was too tight for the bolts. A break down in communication with the powder coaters meant I thought they would cover the holes and they assumed that if I hadnt blocked them, they didnt need to, lesson learnt.

So we had to get a tap and die set for m7/1.0mm t0 clear all threads in the 60 bolt holes, not a fun job. Then after rebuilding all four wheels, I managed to round 5 bolts which meant I could not then torque up them up to the right setting. Therefore I needed a bolt extractor kit, which I will try tomorrow and I have also had the privilege of paying £27 for just 10 m7 BBS bolts, ouch. I thought it was better to buy 10 and have a few spare just in case. So by the end of Saturday the wheels looked like this, colour removed so I dont spoiler surprise and coilovers still in the box:

https://c2.staticflickr.com/8/7730/1...cb46fc2b_h.jpgWheels are a work in progress by James Baker, on Flickr

https://c1.staticflickr.com/9/8707/1...98166311_z.jpgBBS bolts by James Baker, on Flickr

Bulbs
While online I decided to order replacement chrome indicator bulbs all round which I will fit later:

https://c2.staticflickr.com/8/7770/1...05e21a49_o.jpgChrome bulbs by James Baker, on Flickr

I am tempted to take the day off on Friday to fit the wheels and coilovers ready for Japfest on Saturday. Lets see how I get on with removing those bolts tomorrow which will determine if I can get the wheels sorted before the weekend or not.

Nice thread so far, glad I didn't end up with BC coils either, and I didn't event know about the rears issue! I also went with Teins. BTW where did you order the chrome indicator bulbs? or what are their number? 9446 ?

Thanks I got them from eBay. 4xt20 and 2xt10

Love the choice of mods on your build!

- Renato

Chrome Bulbs

So I had 5 mins literally spare so decided to swap my indicator bulbs to chrome ones. Front and rears are T20:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1307479309...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

Before:

https://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5450/1...e31f26a2_h.jpgStock bulb by James Baker, on Flickr

After:

https://c1.staticflickr.com/9/8844/1...2ea2f142_h.jpgChrome bulbs after by James Baker, on Flickr

Before:

https://c4.staticflickr.com/8/7746/1...c4c0f8fd_h.jpgStock bulb by James Baker, on Flickr

After:

https://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5455/1...38d23253_h.jpgChrome bulbs after by James Baker, on Flickr

I didnt have chance to do the side markers yet but these are t10's:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/3015900274...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

Wheels

The wheels are all ready to go for tyres now, then fitting. On one I had 4 bolts with round threads, a hammer and torx bit later and they were out and replaced with new bolts :) Friday is booked off from work so I can get these and coilovers on, very excited.


Debadge

I finished the debadge on the rear to clear it up a little. I will get that toyota badge off when I have other bits going in for paints as there are holes behind it. Much tidier:

https://c1.staticflickr.com/9/8775/1...87dbbfb6_h.jpgDebadge completed by James Baker, on Flickr

Digging the chrome bulbs. Nice build so far!

So the wheels are on, I decided to go for a light minty green colour as something different that I think works well with the white pearl. I added contrast with red centres and a chrome lip and centre. It needs to go a little lower but I ran out of time to adjust it further, will pick that up another day:

https://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5469/1...bb0a81b6_h.jpgWheels in progress by James Baker, on Flickr

https://c1.staticflickr.com/9/8747/1...ee5d3a62_h.jpgBBS RS2 by James Baker, on Flickr

And the coilovers:

https://c4.staticflickr.com/8/7715/1...3a4f909d_h.jpgCoilovers on by James Baker, on Flickr

And the beatrush master cylinder brace:

https://c4.staticflickr.com/8/7750/1...259efd9a_h.jpgBeatrush Master Cylinder brace fitted by James Baker, on Flickr

Finally the wheels on the car:

https://c1.staticflickr.com/9/8747/1...d8a2956a_h.jpgNew Wheels by James Baker, on Flickr

https://c4.staticflickr.com/8/7729/1...4828bfee_h.jpgNew Wheels by James Baker, on Flickr

I also attend my first show in the GT86, Japfest at Castle Coombe:

https://c1.staticflickr.com/9/8889/1...1eb302e4_c.jpgJapfest 2015 by James Baker, on Flickr

Nice build and pictures!

Well at Japfest I may have mentioned to a couple of others that the car had a knocking coming from the front since I had fitted the teins, which I thought may be the front drop links being too long making the sway bar hit the front wish bone. Tonight I jacked the car up and removed the wheels and straight away I could see I was right, so I have whipped them off and will try to source some shorter ones asap. I am glad thats all it was and a quick test drive confirmed this.

While the car was up in the air I dropped the front another 10mm to level it off with the rear as there was a little rake. I took a couple of snaps while on my test drive and those with a good eye will notice the centre caps are off the wheels, this is due to one saying bye bye on my drive home from Japfest. :( One hadn't gone back on properly and I meant to remove it before I left so I could sort it when I got home but I forgot, doh. So its time to source a replacement which is proving tricky as these wheels are not manufactured anymore but I will sort it.

https://c4.staticflickr.com/8/7718/1...d56be1eb_h.jpgLowered another 10mm on the front by James Baker, on Flickr

https://c1.staticflickr.com/9/8855/1...eff06a69_h.jpgLowered another 10mm on the front by James Baker, on Flickr

I am really pleased with the wheel/tyre and suspension combo, the car feels so much more planted and the coilovers are miles better than the BC's I have owned previously on other cars, no crashing at all over rough surfaces. I think it needs another 10mm drop on the front but theres plenty to go on the teins so that wont be a problem.

Next job is to decide on a ducktail spoiler for the rear and to get the handling spot on with further suspension mods including rear control arms, adjustable drop links and a number of bushes/braces to stiffen things up. The positive shift bush is a definite. Any suggestions about what to look at handling wise, I am all ears :)

Nice build, and much better without the caps IMO.

Couple of little updates. I finally managed to find a centre cap replacement, these wheels aren't made anymore however I found a company that had snapped up a load of BBS spares and they had one of these available. I just need to find the time to get it to the powder coaters to get it sorted.

https://c4.staticflickr.com/8/7735/1...8c9fa3db_o.jpgWheel centre sourced by James Baker, on Flickr

I saw this project MU brake fluid reservoir cover and had to have it as its a close match to the wheels and adds a bit more colour to the engine bay.

https://c4.staticflickr.com/8/7730/1...86162499_o.jpgProject MU Brake reservoir cover by James Baker, on Flickr

I have also managed to get all the other centre caps now sitting flush which I am pleased with.

I've spent the last couple of days reading up superchargers kits, especially since seeing a few threads around the HKS setup. Up until now I was pretty much set on an AVO turbo but the HKS does sound interesting.

Well its been ages since the last update. Currently saving for forced induction so pace will slow down a little bit as that won't be cheap although I'm sure I will still find the time and money to tweak other bits.

Wheels
For those on my Facebook/Instagram you would have seen my BBS RS2's have been stripped down and sent back to the powder coaters. There was an issue with burnt lacquer due to the metal holding too much heat from baking while the clear coat was put on. They are fully rectifying the issue FOC and have agreed to a colour change as I was never 100% sure with the colour once it was on the car. It would work better with a darker car I feel, two light colours together is too dull for me. As usual I am keeping hush on the colour until I see them in the flesh, which should be this Saturday. While fitting them to the car I will be adding some front camber and lowering the a little more to get it even.

https://c4.staticflickr.com/4/3798/1...c7341cb1_h.jpgWheels split down by James Baker, on Flickr

Bring on the noise
Although the GT86 made a nice sound as standard, I want to turn that up to 11 and take advantage of the Subaru engine. I hopefully have a Borla UEL manifold coming in the next couple of weeks for that Subaru burble and yesterday I took delivery of a scorpion 2.5" decatted front pipe with resonator and a scorpion 2.5" overpipe which will make it a fully decade exhaust system :) At some point I will also pick up a catback exhaust to go with these, but this won't delay me fitting them. As soon as the Borla arrives I will be fitting all of these myself. Hopefully a job that can be done on axle stands, if not I may need to rent a ramp as I want to do it all myself again, I could pay someone to do it, but wheres the fun it that. I want to learn as I go along and get that sense of achievement knowing I have done it myself, which is what I did with my first MINI.

https://c2.staticflickr.com/4/3819/1...74242ef4_h.jpgScorpion 2.5" over pipe and decatted resonated front pipe by James Baker, on Flickr

Front Lip
Finally I decided to give the front bumper a more aggressive look for little cost, by spraying the centre section with plastidip to see if I liked it. I changed the lines a couple of times, confering with Rich until I found this line which makes it look like it has fangs. The great benefit of plastidip is you can peel it off and do it again. I will get this section painted properly when I have the front number plate holes filled later in the year. Also if I go for the TRD side skirts then this satin black bumper section will match that on the side skirts.

https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/542/19...4d57f98b_h.jpgFront Lip by James Baker, on Flickr

I am in two minds when it comes to body kits currently. From what I have seen so far, not many fit to my standard and many just look like they are just stuck on and don't flow with the lines of the car. I want the cars looks to flow and potentially OEM+ which may mean that I mix elements from different kits, such as the TRD side skirts, Leg Motorsport ducktail spoiler, Fensport OEM rear splitter etc Or I can go the other extreme of blending in a rocket bunny kit. But all this can wait as I want to get FI sorted.

My wheels are back
Yesterday I collected my wheels from the powder coaters after they had done a FOC colour change. I decided to change colour as the green was just too light next to the white paint work. I had done many photoshops and got down to 3 colours orange, pink and gold. After a number of conversation and going down to the powder coaters I settled on gold as the pink and orange just didnt look right when I held their samples wheels next to my car.

On they go
Today I rebuilt the wheels and got them fitted. While up in the air I maxed out the front coils to level it off with the rears, I spaced out the rear wheels 5mm to get the same fitment as the front and I added negative camber to the front to again replicate the camber on the rear. All little niggly things that I wanted to get right.

Back from the powder coaters:

https://c2.staticflickr.com/4/3702/1...ca09ec08_o.jpgBack from the powder coaters by James Baker, on Flickr

Rebuilt and ready to go, I think the red centres do work better with the gold, I am awaiting a replacement one in the post, hence only three in this picture. They went together a lot easier this time around.

Laminx Fog Lights
While in the air I pulled off the front fog light surrounds and tinted the fog lights yellow, im not 100% sold on it just yet, but I will leave it for now and see if it grows on me. It didnt cost anything as I had some yellow laminx left from the clubby:

https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/371/19...49b7d9f0_o.jpgThe covers popped right off by James Baker, on Flickr

https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/431/19...f4105234_o.jpgLaminx Fog light by James Baker, on Flickr

Glad to see the Teins still look like new:

https://c2.staticflickr.com/4/3792/1...b30de82c_o.jpgStill look like new by James Baker, on Flickr

The finished article:

https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/374/19...fcf50d26_o.jpgFront by James Baker, on Flickr

https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/388/19...f6fd2742_o.jpgRear by James Baker, on Flickr

Goodbye rake:

https://c2.staticflickr.com/4/3927/1...0d1eb9d0_o.jpgSide by James Baker, on Flickr

https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/515/18...37cb7e37_o.jpgWheel close up by James Baker, on Flickr

https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/413/18...77a927f0_o.jpgEngine Bay by James Baker, on Flickr

I am really pleased with the new look and they way this car is going.

I like the gold better but they both look good. I like it!

Your thread convinced me to do brz fender vents too, I like it a lot better.

Anything new?

Hi thanks for the bump. Not long after the above photos I actually sold the car on, a very long story but losing my best friend to the big C, I decided I wanted to get back with what I knew so went for another mini. Since then however I have now purchased another GT86 about a month ago. I will get a thread up around it, however here is a quick pic:

https://c3.staticflickr.com/6/5700/2...78b74080_k.jpgGT86 by James Baker, on Flickr

I am not sure how to respond to that. But glad to see you are doing well, and with a new 86.

I love the spoiler. What brand is it?

Thanks,
MemphisR

Thanks its the Modellista spoiler. I will get a thread up now with further details,