Back to the 86: Behold...the Green Hornet!
 

Well, I've enjoyed some nice cars since selling Candy O, my red '13 FRS MT...ISF, RCF, '18 911 C2 MT, LC 500...but I just couldn't stay away from the 86. This was delivered to my home in Houston, from Louisiana yesterday...

You may have bought one of the last 86s. I would hang onto it for awhile

MTs are getting scarce...

Congratulations!

The question is, how long it will stay unmodified. :)

Any difference you noticed in the driving feel compared to the pre facelift version?

Btw, that's a very nice colour.

Man that sits high.

Thank you :) Answer: Not long...parts ordered so far:
Nameless axleback 2.5" 5" mufflers
Konig Ampliform 17x8+40 bronze (PS4 225/45/17)
Adapter for my Raceseng Ashiko shift knob (retained from the 911 it was in), plus new Racseng reverse lockout collar
OEM mud guards
Scheduled: tint & PPF

Future:
Ohlins R/T vs Bilstein PSS10 coilovers with camber bolts, or camber plates

I'm not noticing a huge difference in feel to my FRS, but it's been ~7 years since I sold Candy O to that hot little red head... ;)

Check to make sure the Amplifier bypass plug is installed correctly so that your door speakers work...It bypasses the amplifier in the trunk.

Door speakers are "working" ;)

Parts are coming in. This Nameless axle back is going on today...17lb claimed weight on the Nameless site needs updating. The 1st one I bought in ~2013 was close to that, but this new 17+ version is reading 22.63 on my digital scale. Stock unit weighed 26.61lbs.

Sweet congratulations. What part of town are you at? The bronze Ampliforms will look great on the car.

I am beginning to wonder if they are selling any other colour this year!

Love the throw of this 1.6lb Raceseng Ashiko shifter knob, previously installed in my last manual car. Added their black ano reverse lockout as well...This shift knob was originally in the 911 (Raceseng don't have the Porsche 7 spd shift gate pattern, yet). Takes a $20 adapter swap to fit the 86. Only downside is that big chunk of SS gets pretty warm in the Texas summer heat, an takes a couple minutes to cool down. Looking at the bright side, it helps me keep my paw off the shifter when it doesn't need to be there. :)

Nameless axleback has been installed for a few days, seen here settled after a ~12 mile drive. Sound is great, but would not want it louder. Preferred the double wall tips they used previously. Fitment is very close, but I plan to get it closer.

Kind of an odd car progression to the LC500 then back to an 86. Full circle.




Bit surprised to see the Hakone is rocking the old BRZ's plastic dual climate control knobs. The facelist SS knobs would look much nicer with the chrome around the push start too. An easy upgrade for in the future. :)

Konig Ampliform in today. 17 x 8 40 are weighing 17.3 lbs. PS4S 235/45 due in next Wednesday...should be near or under factory wheel/tire weight.

Eagle Springs, near Atascosita (NE Houston). You?

What's this???

Tires mounted, center caps on...

From factory 215/45-17 to 235/45-17. New wheels/tires save 2.5lbs per corner. Color is close to the factory bronze:

Just wondering why you wanted to go with such a noticeably taller tire size than stock? Sure combo weighs less than stock, but you are decreasing responsiveness in acceleration/decelleration by that diameter gain. Looking for better highway cruising ability with the new shorter FD?

The photo seems to exaggerate the height difference. It eyeballs out to the .7" diameter difference (diameter&circumference are increased 2.8%) in the Tire Rack specs. I wanted a bit more sidewall under the wheel for sketchy Houston streets. If I wind up at the track more than planned, I can always look at a more aggressive setup. I learned a lesson from my 1st 86, after I installed 18x8.5 Enkei Raijen wheels on it. Stock power and suspension are very noticeably affected by too much tire...The lower geared diff is one of the things that attracted me to another new 86.

Bilstein PSS10
 

I verified that preload was set to give the full 30mm drop. The ~9mm lift from the larger diameter tire off sets the chassis drop to ~21mm, close enough to the 20mm starting point I have in mind. Baseline height measurements were taken on the stock setup. Each corner was loaded with a floor jack, prior to torquing down rubber to metal joints. Added some grease to the front axle top hat ball bearings while I was in there.

Cool that they thought to notch the deck panel in the trunk for damper adjusters. I just used a sharp knife to cut a "X" for the shock shaft.

Konig Ampliform 17x8 40
 

I've got about 100 miles on the new tires/wheels & coilovers. I'm going to fine tune ride height before aligning, and car has settled a few mm since yesterday. On rougher roads, I'm into the rear bump stops more than I like, so I will raise the car ~10mm and see how that feels. The goal here is a compromise: firm (not harsh) street ride that's till fun for the occasional track weekend at COTA.

Anyone know where I can buy the TRD lip spoiler pre-painted Hakone green?

BTW, here's my 1st 86 journal, from 6/2012: https://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=7934

86 Suspension Set Up
 

This thread is the best reference I've found on suspension set up for the 86/BRZ: https://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=131052
I'm currently feeling out ride height on the new coilovers, and the info there is very helpful. Now I'm making decisions about alignment. My car may see the track 2-3 times a year, so I'm wanting a livable street alignment that's tolerable on track. Do you guys find dropping a few mm of ride height on the drivers side helps with road crown? How significant would the affect on grip be left to right? I still have the worksheets for alignment & corner weight from my NC Miata. Anything to watch out for using those specs as a baseline for the 86, other than the more limited adjustability? I am running the OEM camber bolts up front. After starting with the pre-set 30mm max recommended drop setting on these coilovers, and raising the car twice now, I'm between your height recommendations for street and track. Car handling/drive have improved with each incremental increase. With the car dropped below the 949 recommended pinch weld heights (stock on my car was ~153mm at all 4 corners), running 17x8 +40 with 235/45s, the car was into the rear bump stops waaaay too much on my local roads. The pic below was ~133mm front, 142mm rear, measured at the pinch weld jack points.

I followed the 949 guidelines pretty closely and found that their settings made a huge difference from my prior setup. ~145mm pinch weld height, -2.5deg rear and -3.5 - -4.0deg front camber settings. For your tire treadwear and size, I'd suggest -2deg rear, -2.5 or -3.0 deg front with zero toe all around to prevent premature tire wear.

loving this car and color combo!

Power Time!
 

Just a little taste ;) Just ordered a header, due in late next month. Plenty of time to choose a tune...leaning toward Ecutek at the moment. More research to do...Most of you guys are probably aware, but if your new to modding the 86, check out Steve99 stickies, here in the forum. He's got a LOT of info compiled. I've been through this thread, and others he's done, several times: https://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=81493
Meanwhile, I'm enjoying the PSS10s.

So which Header?

Get oft if not going boost or flex fuel. Get ecutek if yes to either of those.

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The Gruppe S UEL catless. It's a "white box" piece made by Tomei, and they're on pre-sale for $450 shipped. I'm thinking the Nameless may be too loud with the catless header, so will probably go with a Perrin 2.5" resonated, if there's much more volume with the new header.

I've been looking at OFT, Xero Limit, and Delicious. Response/CS is definately better with the Ecutek vendors, but there's a $300-$500 premium for that better service, plus (possibly) some small additional gain. One reason I'm looking at Delicious and Xero Limit (both Ecutek) is rev matching. Has anyone used that feature on our platform? OFT says they don't offer it (or real time map switching) due to the gear sensor not being well suited to rev matching. My 991.2 had a 7spd MT w rev match (in "sport" mode), which was nice. I had an instructor at COTA compliment my heel/toe while on track, and had to 'fess up that the car was doing it ;)

Speaking of Porsche, there's a certain group of P car fans that wax nostalgic about the older 911s: MT, NA, RWD, light, simple, raw, and highly capable drivers cars. They lament that the base & S level 911s have gradually morphed into a too large, too heavy (yet still highly capable) GT car. The 86/BRZ are similar to the earlier 911s (though the price point requires some owner mods to up handling/power). My 911 experience was great from a performance standpoint on track, but the cars' power, like many others, had me feeling like I constantly had to hold it back on the street, else eventually I would jeopardize my drivers license. On track, it was on the highest level of performance compared to the many other cars I've tracked, instantly lowering lap times and making the drivers feel like a hero. The 86, a drivers bargain, even with a few well selected mods, to me represents that light, raw, MT, NA, RWD affordable sports car that nearly all makers lost interest in building long ago. The platform can be well enjoyed as it leaves the factory, or it can be a highly capable blank canvas for those who want more. As consequences have increased dramatically for street racing/high speed driving, a car like the 86 allows good fun on public roads, while keeping the "better get off the throttle, or I may get a ride to jail & suspended license" worries a little more in check. Anyone with road course track experience can tell you you don't need a high HP car to enjoy the track, as we've all seen well driven NA MX5s dogging cars with 5-6x the power off the straights. Having the skills to run down, and pass, a $80K+ plus car with a $5K (or $25K) car is priceless. I don't get to the track often enough to be fast, but even watching these David and Goliath track antics never gets old. For me, it always comes back to fun, and that's why I'm back in a 86. :)

The rev matching does not work that well ecutek or oft but it's better implemented on ecutek

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phm14- after reading your post above does that mean you're back to getting challenged by Siennas? lol

Seems to me the 911 layout has always been ahead of the pack by nature of it's architecture. I guess GM needed a long time of prosperity (relatively speaking) to actually make such a big change to the Vette.
I suppose the Vette had been a GT car for so many people that it was able to find its place. It has found a better place in term of checking all the boxes now.
My sister just returned driving from Scottsdale to Toronto in a 2020 911C (not sure if it's an S but it looks loaded) 2 people and 2 small dogs 3 day drive. What a car.

You're correct, in theory, but on my butt dyno, it seems the reduced weight and 2.8% increase in circumference/diameter feel like a wash. While I am giving up some looseness fun, I'm also taking better advantage of the new coilovers with more grip: safer on the street (especially for the Wife), and faster for occasional track days, plus a bit more comfy, especially on longer drives.
I've got ~1000 miles driving on the new wheels/tires/coilovers now. Total suspension drop is close to 10-15mm, though the slightly taller tires take some of that drop at pinch weld heights. I set the coilovers at close to max recommended preload to keep the rear from getting too friendly with the bump stops. I'm very happy with the PSS10s so far. They are firm on the street, but comfortable on all but big bumps. I expect they will be a good improvement on track, vs the stock suspension/stickier rubber I ran on my FRS. If I decided to track more frequently, and roll was more than I like, I could add a stiffer from sway bar. If I were concerned with lap time, a more track focused wheel/tire setup would help, but I've always just tracked for fun, running good street tires instead of R comps. Chassis seems well balanced, but I can play with + rake angle to fine tune that a bit, with the stock sways.

I consider the fact that the 86 is not a straight line car as a bonus. I don't generally respond to drivers who want to street race, but the 86 helps reduce the probability of a knee jerk "I'll show him" reaction, with a driving record/insurance rate friendly "why bother, I don't GAF how fast your cop magnet is" reaction. The turboed 911C is faster than it seems-read very linear. I expected to be pulled by Vettes on long straights, but that didn't happen with the cars I encountered at COTA over the weekend I had the 911 there. I picked up my '18 911C MT with a few K on it at Suncoast Porsche in Sarasota FL, driving my RCF trade there, returning to Houston the next day in the Porsche. The RCF was much better the the 911 (with the 14 way seats) for that kind of marathon drive. I like the seats in my 86 better than the 14 way 911 seats, and would go for the 18 way seats in future. The 911 is an awesome car, but the seats, and annoying head unit gremlins, made the car a poor value in a street car for me. I got more in trade for the 911 than I paid for it. ;) The 911, RCF, and even the 170mph LC are all far faster than I can sanely use on any public roads near me. I could not afford expensive cars when I was younger, but if you buy and sell at favorable prices, short term ownership of lightly used performance cars doesn't have to be a financial disaster. The used S2000CR I had sold for $1K more than I paid for it, after a year+ of ownership w frequent track weekends, in a private party sale, after Honda announced the end of S2000 production...and that was with bald rear tires. ;) Looking at prices now, the new owner is no doubt happy with his purchase, if he still has the car.

You sound pretty smart, but also a bit lucky and prepared to take the shot.
Its tougher here where those cars are stored winters and nowadays partially in spring too.It sucks to spend the price of a house (somewhere) for something that gets road dings and rusts.
My brother in law purchase a 62 Vette restored with an LS3 2 years ago. He drove it to and from his cottage last summer every weekend, 140 miles each way. But, he then shipped it to their place in Scottsdale and had been driving it daily there during the winter. Those cars sadly just don't belong up here. Not unless they suddenly become disposable or are nothing more than display pieces.