GR86 Real World Road Tests & Reviews

[timurrrr]

If I were to design auto rev-match, I'd make it

a) Adjustable
In fact, not just on/off, but also something like "save me from a jerk
if I mess up badly, but don't correct my minor mistakes".

b) The preference is saved when you turn ignition is off
Not like the "sport" button, or "TC off" button on most cars.

c) Available in all driving modes
Hello BMW M2, where you don't need to rev match in street driving,
but as soon as you're on track in track mode you can go ahead and
start learning to heel toe or kill yourself.

[sneaky_pete]

Originally Posted by Ohio Enthusiast

Oh yeah, nice for someone to talk sense about the lower peak torque RPM for gen 2 vs gen 1.

yep - when you get headers and a tune on the 2.0 the torque curve is similar, comes on early, and is flat.

I'd be surprised if the addition of aftermarket headers and a tune will have as much effect on the new 2.4 as it did on the 2.0. certainly it will make more of everything but maybe not as noticeable "seat of the pants" difference.

[Zandermannnn]

Love heel-toeing in my GTI. Constantly do it when coming to a stop or slowing down for a turn. May never have learned to do it on my own if it had auto-rev matching but understand why some people would want it.

I've also heard reviews say completely different things on how easy it is to heel-toe the GR86. Guessing it just comes down to shoe size?

[Sasquachulator]

Originally Posted by Zandermannnn

Love heel-toeing in my GTI. Constantly do it when coming to a stop or slowing down for a turn. May never have learned to do it on my own if it had auto-rev matching but understand why some people would want it.

I've also heard reviews say completely different things on how easy it is to heel-toe the GR86. Guessing it just comes down to shoe size?

That's such a wierd thing ive also noticed. The first gen was almost universally praised for having ideal positioning for heel-toe.
Theres alot more comments about the pedal positioning in the second gen.

I wouldnt think they'd do any kind of respacing of the pedals, so i would agree it comes down to shoe size.

[Ernest72]

Originally Posted by kayen

But when relying on the automated blip, it is just another thing that takes away from driving engagement. I am not saying doing it yourself is faster or better, it is just another way to enjoy the vehicle.


Which is why I refuse to buy an automatic transmission, outside of the family hauler. I want to be engaged with the car, not set record lap times. Nobody is paying me to drive a car, so I would rather have more engagement and that brings me more enjoyment.

I think that’s a perfectly fine way to think about it, but it does not make someone wrong or less of an enthusiast because they want to focus on steering and let an a transmission make decisions that are often better than humans. Not everyone is looking for the ultimate in engagement when they go to the grocery store or work. The world is big enough for both types of enthusiast and in between. I am a bit biased because I own only autos and will likely only own autos because so many times other people in my life needed to drive and no one can drive MT. And no, I have no plans on teaching everyone a skill they will likely never use, even though it would be a good skill to know, just like heel n toe ( which I suck at honestly).

[fitcious]

The million dollar question- do the doors still attack your legs with the slightest breeze!?

[Yoshoobaroo]

Originally Posted by fitcious

The million dollar question- do the doors still attack your legs with the slightest breeze!?

They’d better.

[Pete]

Not exactly an exciting video, but they do talk about the GR86 a bit.

The main thing to take away here is that Consumer Reports uses an FRS to do tire testing!

[FrickingReallySlow]

Now that they have "GAZOO RACING" in the name of the car will they still deny warranty claims for blown engines if you take it to the track or drift it or will they still say you abused the car by reving it to redline?

Did they fix the oiling issues? only time will tell.

[kayen]

Originally Posted by Ernest72

I think that’s a perfectly fine way to think about it, but it does not make someone wrong or less of an enthusiast because they want to focus on steering and let an a transmission make decisions that are often better than humans. Not everyone is looking for the ultimate in engagement when they go to the grocery store or work. The world is big enough for both types of enthusiast and in between. I am a bit biased because I own only autos and will likely only own autos because so many times other people in my life needed to drive and no one can drive MT. And no, I have no plans on teaching everyone a skill they will likely never use, even though it would be a good skill to know, just like heel n toe ( which I suck at honestly).

I wasn't attacking any enthusiast. I was more referring to the Porsche drivers referenced in what I quoted, driving for Porsche. For racing and proving you're faster and that a company wants to say they are superior. It makes sense to find an edge and making it an auto blip makes sense.

But for an auto enthusiast driving a manual transmission, learning to heel toe is just part of becoming more intune with the car. There is no intention to knock on any enthusiast, whether they drive a manual or automatic transmission.

[Blighty]

Originally Posted by Sport-Tech

Why should one group's preference for manual blipping dictate what everyone else can buy? That's elitism at its best. As long as the auto rev-matching feature is fully and easily defeatable everyone can be happy. Some people may not have ability to do it properly when faced with all the other demands of street or track driving, making it a dangerous distraction, or don't want to risk their transmission getting damaged to learn it.

I agree with you, but I also thinks might stop long term engagement of the car.

One of the coolest things you can do is learn to heal and toe rev matching, its a skill that FEELS so rewarding when you execute it perfectly, and makes the act of driving more engaging.

And that's not just track engagement, that's daily drive engagement too.

If you stop rev matching, you lose the skill kind of quick (not sure if anyone else had noticed this, but I stopped and it took a while to get it back), so not having the option I think just forces you to keep on top of the traditional manual driving skills.

Allowing the car to perform that skill I think will make you lazy over time. I reckon I would get lazy and just lose the skill anyway.

You can always get a tuner to add it in as well.

[Sport-Tech]

^ Yes I can certainly see if you can master heel-toe it adds to your driving engagement. But for those that can't a manual with rev matching will still be more engaging than an AT, or a manual without it.

IIRC tuners did try to add auto-blipping as a tune option on the twins years ago, but it didn't work very well.

[Zandermannnn]

Originally Posted by Blighty

I agree with you, but I also thinks might stop long term engagement of the car.

One of the coolest things you can do is learn to heal and toe rev matching, its a skill that FEELS so rewarding when you execute it perfectly, and makes the act of driving more engaging.

And that's not just track engagement, that's daily drive engagement too.

If you stop rev matching, you lose the skill kind of quick (not sure if anyone else had noticed this, but I stopped and it took a while to get it back), so not having the option I think just forces you to keep on top of the traditional manual driving skills.

Allowing the car to perform that skill I think will make you lazy over time. I reckon I would get lazy and not lose the skill anyway.

You can always get a tuner to add it in as well.

Heel & Toe is really what makes driving a manual fun to me. Looking back on before I knew how, I still enjoyed driving stick but had no idea how much of the experience I was missing out on. Even driving in traffic on my way to work is enjoyable now.

[Blighty]

Originally Posted by FrickingReallySlow

Now that they have "GAZOO RACING" in the name of the car will they still deny warranty claims for blown engines if you take it to the track or drift it or will they still say you abused the car by reving it to redline?

Did they fix the oiling issues? only time will tell.

You can absolutely take it to redline (you cannot exceed redline though).

A track day as part of year one - so I think tracking the car will be fine.

The problem, as always, you generally void warranty if you have modded the cars ECU or significant other parts of the car that could be related to the issue.