Toyota GR86 in 2026 - A Platform for Everyone

[00:11] >> Needless to say, at Savage Geese, we are very familiar with the GR86 and the BRZ. This is a car that we absolutely adore and have advocated for since day one. I even own one of these things twice. I had a first gen and so did Mark, and I

[00:23] series. And now that this car has been out for a couple years, prices have normalized, [music] the aftermarket has expanded, and we've sort of seen what you can do with this car. We wanted to do a definitive video with the help of

[00:35] Autobahn Country Club where you can drive GR cars and learn how to drive Limitless 1 who sell aftermarket parts for this car. We wanted to show you what the versions of the GR86 are like, a stock car, one of the Academy

[00:50] vehicles, but what their one-make race car is like, the GR86 Cup car, and of course, what a perfectly set up GR86 modified vehicle is going to be like to he's going to walk you through what the parts are like today, some of the

[01:03] reliability issues or if any of those exist, and then we're going to go drive South. We'll walk you through some of the numerical data to show you how each track, and of course, Mark and I are going to give you our honest

[01:16] impressions. So, with that, enjoy the video. performance driving [music] school. If you want to learn how to drive from

[01:29] someone at Autobahn, Andrew's going to be your man. Briefly walk me through your your driving history and what you've done in the past. Yeah. So, uh, you know, like all carters, 7 to 16, uh, spending go karts, USF2000, uh,

[01:41] Formula 1600 here and abroad, uh, you know, some dirt cars, some late model sprint car stuff, uh, you know, for testing, and then, uh, anything else I cars, a lot of, uh, lot of fun, uh, you know, MX-5 Global Cup cars, uh, and then

[01:54] ended up in the in the GS class for for IMSA, and then the IMSA prototype light >> Yeah. And if you want to learn how to drive a GR86 Cup car, Juta's GR Corolla or

[02:07] regular GR86, Andrew's going to be your man. And don't worry, in the future, some other projects. But for the sake of this video, cuz you spent so much time driving these cars and setting them up, I had you lap three different versions

[02:20] of the GR86. So, for the sake of this, the lap times were a 1:40.89 for the stock car, which is very very quick for an automatic GR86. You ran a 1:36 six and change in the limit plus one

[02:36] street car, air quotes. And then, of course, you ran a 1:36.3 in the GR86 Cup car. Again, both on the same tire. Not in its fastest setting. How do the cars differ dynamically? I

[02:48] guess, walk me through how each one of these cars drives. So, I mean, you know, obviously, the street car, you get so much feedback from it. I mean, it it than everything else. It makes it a ton of fun to drive because you just get so

[03:01] much feedback from it as a driver. You know, it and what I love about that know, if it's understeering, if it's oversteering, you know, you feel the tire move so much beneath you. It's a really fantastic school car as well

[03:14] because it it really helps the drivers understand the dynamics of what the car those hardest things to you can sit in there and talk to we could talk for but until you feel it, you kind of don't really have an idea. And and that's what

[03:27] I think the the 86 does very well is that it gives you so much feedback. And you trust the tire, you trust the car, and it produces a pretty decent, pretty >> only, you know, and and it's it's, you know, it's like all great cars, it's a

[03:41] learning. You know, a little bit of weight to it, a Miata or something like that. And and it's it's it's It's really fantastic fantastic school car and a lot of fun to drive. So, you went 4 seconds faster and

[03:55] some change in the modified car. Where do you pick up speed versus a regular 86? Mostly under I mean braking and then just mid-corner speed is is is really where you're going to make all of that up. You know, you're you're up to two or

[04:08] three boards braking boards deeper in the limit plus one and and the race car. you're talking hundreds of feet at that point. So, the stopping power is just so much more excessive in those cars. You know,

[04:20] after lap after lap. You know, that's what they're built for. So, so you know, that straightaway essentially by a couple hundred feet is really where you're going to find so much time. On top of that, you know, you're able to

[04:33] middle of the corner. You know, that's what the limit plus one car did fantastically for for just a modified street car. It it really had the the I mean you get that stiffness. You know, it doesn't really roll a whole lot,

[04:47] you're really trying to maximize the tire. You know, maximize that platform. move a whole lot. You want all that contact patch on the tire. So, you know, using that car was was that was a fantastic surprise to me. You know,

[05:01] know, got a little bit of air on it. So, you start to get it a little bit in You know, and then just you know, the grip from the tires. You know, a little bit wider tire, a little bit bigger tire. You know, 215 to a 235. You know,

[05:14] talking about a contact patch when you're trying to do, you know, 80-90 You know, that that couple mile an hour that couple, you know, centimeters really makes a makes a big difference. And then the race car. Obviously, most

[05:27] people don't have the faintest idea of what it's like to drive a sequential gearbox based caged dedicated race car. But dynamically outside of, you know, experience, how does it feel different than a modified GR86? Yeah, you know,

[05:44] just overall more nimble. You know, just a little bit more weight out of it. You setup is really tuned to to be a race car. So, I mean, you're talking about a fairly completely different just setup all the way around in terms of what the

[05:56] shocks have. Slightly more complete aero package on it. You know, it's really been in the in the wind tunnel for for a long amount of time from GR. and everything that's all designed for a race car. So, You have a motor sports CC

[06:10] >> and ABS. I mean, that's you know, so it's designed to give you that that little bit more slippage than than your standard even track setting on on the it's it's designed to let you slide around and and kind of give you a little

[06:23] which is ultimately how you're going to go, you know, faster. And it's just it's it's anything that you you really have to work very hard in the modified street car to do, the race car just does almost effortlessly. You know, it's it's

[06:36] where that stands out. >> It's funny because for the sake of this, not quite sure what the 86 cup car makes on the over Hyundai 100 octane tune. It's got to be pretty similar to what the 86 is making on E85 in the case of

[06:52] But, what I what I think I really appreciate and sort of what you're saying already is that matter what version of it you have, you can

[07:05] have a very approachable entertaining car on the track. Yeah, absolutely. And have taken it out and have put a you know, half roll cage in the back and They have a fantastic time. So, I I think it's it's they've done a fantastic

[07:20] platform, a really great platform for for a new driver. that no matter what your skill set, if it's your first day and we're out there on the skid pad doing our our braking and and slalom drill, or we're out here

[07:33] know, tune you into to being, you know, ready for your first GR Cup race or or Spec Miata race or anything like that, you've got a platform that from beginning to end is a fantastic platform. It's It's user-friendly, it's

[07:46] intuitive to use, and it's it kind of lets you step your way up, you know, easily and and and build that confidence the entire way through. Perfect. Well, I appreciate your time, sir, and we you're going to see more of Andrew in the near

[08:00] going to see more of Andrew in the near distant future.

[08:14] automatic transmission, Jack. There's no mistakes to be made. And if there are, >> Oh, yeah. Oh, [laughter] man, you threw off the balance. So, we're in the GR Academy

[08:27] car. They start you off [music] in regular GR86s with the performance package. This is a car we know very very well. The beauty of this thing is you it to [music] a track day, you do brake fluid, basic tires, maybe brake pads.

[08:42] How is this car dynamically? Sort of walk us through what the baseline is for a GR86. Well, I think the good thing about it is like this car, much like, hate to say it, some of the other feeder cars, is there is an automatic option,

[08:54] afraid, and you need a learning tool like me, people. And I think this car's always been set up on the softer side to get you to understand how to deal with body motion,

[09:08] but it's not super soft. It's never been soft like the Miata. So, if you hate the the floating bed feeling like Miatas are, this is really really good. The The back end moves when you need it to. It's the perfect training tool. And then

[09:23] three back to back, I don't know. This is This is still a very special car for the price. I think if you're looking to learn how to drive, you like what you know, front front engine rear drive

[09:36] has to offer. These are incredibly balanced cars out of the book out of the box. The engine again, not a ton of power, but it does teach you how to enjoy driving without totally overwhelming the vehicle. Now Mark, I

[09:49] think it's time for you to drive sort of the other extreme end of what the GR86 can be because there's no passenger seat. It's all on you, Mark. wind. I'm in the GR Cup Car. This is for

[10:05] I'm in the GR Cup Car. This is for someone that wants to learn how to drive and is tired of HPDs and parade lapping around in time trials and you just want to learn wheel to

[10:19] wheel and focus on how to drive and how to compete. has set it up to make sure that it's easy to learn. It's on the softer side, which means the front end gives you a little bit of

[10:32] understeer first to feel safe. And then once that goes, it transitions to steer really fast. So, the way they've set it up is to make it easy to learn so you're not afraid when you get into competition

[10:45] not afraid when you get into competition setting. you spec it out, race it, prep it out, and

[10:57] you give it a sequential gearbox, a race ECU, and all the fun stuff that you expect with a race car that you can have to go wheel to wheel competition with progression. Honestly, it's like for me at my point

[11:11] in my life where you get tired of just running by yourself or like chasing a lap timer and you're more concerned with position and like when to make the move and when not to and have that constant pressure of somebody behind you.

[11:25] I love this for that point. You know, is this the most hardcore car? No, it's not supposed to be. It's supposed to be that entry point. But once you get it set up for race, that's when things get more edgy. You can

[11:38] tailor it to your driving style versus kind of this safe setup. car. And the other point cup cars, well, they're all the same.

[11:50] None of this Oh, I got this brake kit. I got this suspension kit. You know, all is He equalizes the competition or it's supposed to to make it more of the driver.

[12:16] shot car. And this is the other polar extreme of what you can do with one of these cars. We in the past did a let's call it a mild build GR 86 with some call it a mild build GR 86 with some Ohlins and the Essex Sprint kit, no

[12:30] engine tune, and some Apex wheels. This is This is one when you go balls to the wall. So, you've driven this car, I've driven this car. We've already talked about the mods list. Walk me through what the pinnacle of 86s cuz to me at

[12:45] least, this is the best driving 86 I've ever driven. Yeah, I think what it goes to show you is that for all of these years that you have this progression. I just got out of the cup car. If I want to go wheel-to-wheel racing in a

[12:57] lockdown series, I have that. If I want to be I want to have the ultimate combination of parts and setup almost Porsche-like, of. Yes, it's faster than stock, there's no doubt

[13:10] about it, but all the inputs are great. Everything that he's done to this car just goes to show you what you can do with an aftermarket build that still feels really, really good. And that's what impresses me so much about this

[13:23] brakes are my favorite part. It's like It's like hitting a concrete wall. It's like hitting a concrete wall. >> carry what is this? You just brake wherever you want. You can just stand on them. This is probably

[13:37] ever been in. >> This car at all then, this car's horsepower with the brakes. >> Yeah, you can hear we're at the two >> [laughter] >> Yeah, it's like nothing. I can brake

[13:51] >> Yeah. Well, the tires, you know, limiting factors are the tires, of something else. Just coming back to it after over 10 years of experiencing this, this is such a special platform now. And the major part is, yes, you

[14:06] can go wheel-to-wheel racing, you can do an HPDE, you can even do a a track day as a novice in an automatic one with minimal mods. So, I mean, this is No, it's proof, right? I mean, people always are going, "Man, the GR86 is like

[14:21] a Porsche." Well, you you spent Porsche money on it. It doesn't actually [laughter] drive like one. All right, Mark. I think at this point, other than potentially comparing this car to the upcoming RTR Mustang, which

[14:34] we're our plan is to do that in the future, the new hot EcoBoost Mustang, do with a GR86. >> Except Oh my god, my >> me Brad.

[14:47] They call me Brad. Brad, I'm older. >> [laughter]

[15:00] know Ben. We've worked with him for a very long time at this point. He helped us with our GR Corolla series. And Limitless 1 is basically the largest GR-focused online parts store / car builder. Where is the GR86 today?

[15:14] like three or four years ago at this point, the car had very little parts with it to begin with. So, let's start with the controversial bit, the drivetrain. 2.4 L flat-four, naturally aspirated, makes about 209 to 200 wheel

[15:28] horsepower on various different dynos. Automatic or manuals are available, but exploding in the beginning. Is that still happening? Not really, no. It was initially the RTV issue in the oil sump, the oil pickup tube.

[15:42] Never really clogged it fully, and that was never the culprit of the issue. cars was often on track. People weren't adding uh that extra half to to full quart of oil to prevent oil starvation. In a flat engine, as Porsche

[15:57] does, they typically go dry sump, right? So, oil is scavenged back correctly, and through corners. On this car being a wet sump oil pan, it's it's not quite that. Um It's still an economy car underneath. >> It is, yeah. Oil, you know, through

[16:12] ones, oil could stay in each cylinder head. And essentially never makes it back to to the pan in time, and can create essentially an air pocket as oil pump is pulling oil.

[16:25] biggest thing is add extra oil if you're going to track your car. It's it's But, stuff like the Cup cars, Cup cars run a baffle in the oil pan. Still a stock oil pan, no additional capacity, but there's a a baffle just just set an

[16:40] that's welded in, that prevents most issues. I think in the Cup car series, there's only been a few engine failures because of teams running lower oil for maybe more horsepower, right? So, I

[16:54] about the Cup car in a bit. Speaking to the people who actually build the Cup which you're going to see in this video, built around their own race car, and they had a couple motors pop in the very

[17:07] because teams were running less oil to reduce the pumping losses, less oil than advertised, so they could make an extra maybe two horsepower, which then cost the motors in the race. So,

[17:19] motor now, if you do an oil cooler, maybe do an oil like a baffled oil pan, or just fill it extra with oil, you're probably going to be fine, correct? know, for pretty serious track guys that aren't just, you know, putzing around

[17:33] track, um more of the intermediate to advanced level driver, uh going with an oil pan, uh at least a baffled minimum, uh or with something like the various at that point. And get an oil cooler on top if you're worried about temps.

[17:46] top if you're worried about temps. >> Yep, that's it. So, power-wise, when I was doing this series, you could EcuTek could do a or EcuTek could do a basic 93 tune, and E85 like you did on your shop car, and they were just starting off

[17:59] What kind of power are you seeing across ethanol, that's that's kind of the biggest power adder. Um it is kind of it kind of acts as like just a a higher um higher octane content. So, you can

[18:12] add more time into the engine, so on and so forth. Um and we'll typically see around 230 wheel horsepower um with a a catted header, uh as well as an ethanol tune. Um even even a little bit more in some cases. So, quite a bit

[18:25] increase in wheel horsepower. >> 10-15% increase over baseline just off >> Yep, exactly. Uh it really changes the car though. So, that's what this is on, right? This is an an E85 tune. >> Correct. What about with blowers, either

[18:40] conservatively? >> Yeah, um conservatively 60 horsepower, um depending on uh you know, what you choose to go with exactly. Um you know, some turbo turbo charged applications, uh you can run, you know, easy extra 100

[18:55] horsepower, uh and it seems reliable, too. Um we've had we've had clients, uh I'm like the HKS supercharger kit, um that have been running it for 60,000 mi. >> okay. No issues. It's it's absolutely amazing. Um is that a track car? Not

[19:09] driver. So, under track conditions, that could either way >> Potentially. Yeah. [laughter] changes the car. I love an NA platform.

[19:23] Turbocharged cars are cool. They have their place, same with supercharged, but there's nothing cooler than a you know, high-ish revving NA platform that sounds really good. So, that was the idea behind idea behind this car.

[19:35] So, when it comes to the other aspects of this vehicle, I'm going to say this. Mark and I and you for that matter don't like cheap crappy parts on cars because seen any of our other videos, the GR86 is a very well-sorted car at the

[19:50] factory. Design is sort of a I know feeder car is a derogatory term, by for yourself to learn how to drive a vehicle, kind of like a Miata. It's a good gateway

[20:02] you into something like a Supra or potentially their future sports car >> Yeah, exactly. Jack, when your car first came out, you had what? Two options two >> Basically, the only decent option was an Öhlins kit, which was basically

[20:16] great. And a lot of people consider that quite a a big step. first step for a lot of people, whether it's financially or even their driving We worked with Leonard over at Swift Springs, and we were able to work with

[20:31] him to release their lower end spring almost 4 years after this car came out. later to this platform than we were, let's say, the GR Corolla. But we were

[20:43] testing. That paired with the OE damper in a lot of cases is far superior compared to as you said, Chinesium coilovers. Um So, if you wanted more adjustability

[20:57] What's sort of your like mid-tier option? Obviously, you have three-way MCS's on your GR86 shop car, which are is probably going to be overkill for most people outside of like a real race team.

[21:09] middle of the road price option? A single way adjustable MCS or like an Ohlins still, correct? Yeah, Ohlins is a great option. Motion Control is kind of the way we lean um just because there is a starting point there. You can start

[21:21] with their one-way non-remote setup and eventually, as you grow as a driver, upgrade that same set of dampers all the way up to three or four ways even. trajectory as you grow as a driver. And grow with the car. And grow with the

[21:33] car. So, moving from their brakes, the stock hardware in this car if you do not get a performance pack equipped GR86, brakes, but they will survive a track day with pads, good fluid, and

[21:46] potentially lines. Where do you go from there? The Essex kit essentially, correct? Sprint and then the Radicals. Yep. So, the the total base caliper, it's a single piston in front. Um we didn't have much luck with that at all.

[21:58] make it through a 20-minute session. I know there's time attack guys out there stainless line, and and really high-temp brake fluid. Um they can get through time attack sessions, you know, three laps maybe. Um but it's just not the

[22:12] have a seat time car. Um they want to put as many laps in as possible. So, buying a premium um premium car uh with a Brembo is going to be that next best step. Uh you can make that Brembo caliper work for quite some time. Um but

[22:26] power um and you start, you know, braking harder and harder, um you're going to find its limits. So, the end-all be-all in this situation uh is going to be a caliper from AP. Um with they have

[22:39] ran a Sprint kit. You guys have the Radical kit. Porsche levels of of stopping power. It is. It's totally overkill, um but dang do they look cool. >> Um so, the next step, obviously, wheels and tires. We've worked with Apex. We've

[22:53] sort of the one segment that Mark and I never touched on with our car. Where are you at now? I mean, it looks like you have a fully developed aero kit That's with Verus Engineering. Verus kills it with aero products. Um really

[23:09] really neat stuff. It's not just for looks. It's totally functional. Most of their spoilers, they actually do wind tunnel testing in Indianapolis. Um and the rest is CFD based. But um you know, real world independent testing is also

[23:23] crucial, too. So, this car isn't a high downforce car by any means. Uh we run very very minimum angle on the rear spoiler. Um just cuz it is a low horsepower application. So, balancing drag is really important for us. We

[23:36] parachute on the back of the car when we only make 230-ish wheel horsepower. Um The other extreme of these cars now, of already no VIN race car. They're $125,000. They have a Sadev or

[23:51] sequential gearbox. They have JRi dampers, Alcon brakes front and rear, no interior, and a full cage, and a Bosch Motorsport based ECU. traction control Yeah, the whole line. That is the other polar

[24:04] GR86 if you have the cash and you want to do that. But you've sort of demonstrated where we're at with the aftermarket. You can go to a stock car, modifications, make it last through a track day. You can start to basically

[24:18] things now with a complete aftermarket. >> Totally. Reliable car for the most part. buy a race car. >> Um yeah, I think that's that's totally people buy them, they want to get their foot in the door with a sports car, and

[24:33] Um they don't have to modify to this level all at once, but through their ownership [music] process, they can make these modifications and really build up to what's what's hopefully going to be just as fast as a as a cup car.

[24:48] >> When Jack told me we had another 86 project, I'm like, "Why? We've We've done everything you possibly do." But really, it was a great place to look at how far this car has come over the years. When I first got my original one

[25:01] in 2013, I can't believe it's 13 years later and now they have a cup car for racing. The aftermarket is fully mature. There's so many things you can do and the best part about it is on the used market and even new, for example, you

[25:14] can get these at an affordable level. It gets you a rear-wheel drive platform that is really about the driving experience. Yes, it doesn't make all the power in the world, but you can essentially do nothing to this car aside

[25:27] from the basic safety measures and go out on track. You can drive it on the street and get great joy out of it and that's really hard to do today. It's a very unique car in the industry, much like the Miata is or the things like the

[25:40] Type R where they're trying to get cars into the hands of people that are interested for something that's not going to cost you a kajillion dollars. And that's why I'm still excited by this car. I was able to drive the pure GR

[25:56] race car and granted it was set up on the safer safer side for this. So, I really preferred the limit plus one configuration because Ben is very similar to my taste in driving. Maximum brake power, a just completely refined

[26:12] and smooth suspension that gives you a wide range of adjustability and something that you could drive off the rear a bit more without it being like a tail-happy fest. Shockingly, the GR that Ben had set up

[26:26] from Limit Plus One ran almost nearly identical time to the cup car. Now, clearly you're not going to take an aftermarket car like Ben's to amazing that you have this this huge sprite of cars that you can go out and

[26:39] enjoy as a street vehicle, something that you can do hardcore racing and then have something that's dual-purpose. And you know, there's something for every single budget, whether you want to spend 300 bucks for a brake pads and nothing

[26:52] else or just throw on a set of tires. I mean, it's it's one of those vehicles that, you know, if you had to go back to basics, it's still one of the best cars on the market for this and I think it's going to be around for a very long time

[27:06] given the current state of the economy where everything's just massively expensive. If you can get your hands on a used one and you want to tinker, this car is for you. Thanks for watching and I'll see you next video.