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!