GT86 5000 Mile Review
09-11-2013, 07:56 PM
Post: #11
GT86 5000 Mile Review
Other things I've been up to!

'Five years, five years it's taken for you to do a sprint'. The words of chief and proprietor of the Toyota Sprint Series, Adrian Smith. Adrian set up the sprint series in order to provide competitive and importantly affordable way for us car nuts to get out on track and prove our mettle. I admit my excuses had previously been the lack of a suitable car, my AE86 that I bought some two and a half years ago (predictably it's been on the road for less than half of that time), is just not up to the job handling wise as a few trackdays had established. But, now I had the GT86, I didn't really have any more excuses.

The format is that you arrive, have two sighting laps, two practice laps then eight timed sessions. The cars are divided into various classes in order to bring on the competition and twelve cars in the GT86 class certainly got the competitive juices flowing. Being a sprint, it's a matter of paying your entry and then buying a competition licence which you can buy for a fiver for the day.

After some banter and following a few drinks in the bar, I could tell there was much expected of me. No pressure, then! My cunning plan was to watch everyone else get drunk and keep myself in good shape for the early start the following morning.

After a brief encounter with scrutineering, sign on and a briefing followed. After I'd covered my car with my race number and some series sponsor stickers I was ready to go. The course at Blyton Park is technical and twisty. Fortunately there isn't that much to hit, though a good friend of mine in his car that I was going to be co-driving had contact with the barrier which put an early end to his day. We have to remember of course there is always a risk. Having tracked my car a couple of times already I felt confident and was pushing my car straightaway. The start of the layout for the sprint was incredibly tight and I admit, I was having fun drifting a bit around the cones. After an impossibly tight hairpin I was hard on the power in 2nd trying my best to drive out of the slide whilst losing as little momentum as possible. Sprinting is all about going round in the shortest time of course, there are no points for style or holding the biggest slide. This was something I could have done well to remind myself at the beginning of the day. Still from there it's flat out round a fast left hander trying to be smooth with the shift up to third so as to not unsettle the car mid corner.

[Image: AEU86 AE86 - GT86 5000 Mile Review]

I can only describe the next part of the track as nasty, as there is a very tight chicane that requires you to stand on the brakes at a little over one hundred miles per hour and then flick the car left, right and stamp on the throttle in second. This is the tricky bit where my friend got caught out as I was finding the car would slide on the exit and it took a little nerve to keep your foot in and drive through the slide. What follows is the tricky left hander of Bishops which required a later turn in than it first looked. From here's there's a short straight to sort out the oppositte lock and then the tighter entry into Bunga Bunga. I admit, I'm not convinced I got this right all day. In essence when you're sprinting there is a very different focus to trackdays because making mistakes costs time. I found my car would slide a fair bit on the exit, but being of the stubborn disposition there was no way I could do the injustice of lifting through here. At this point there is a fast fourth gear run into the tricky Port Froid. Entry is easy, but the exit proved far more difficult. Like a hamfisted baffoon on one lap I tried to take it flat in fourth. No chance, basically, but again, you have to try things, just in case they work and all of a sudden you find time. It's a quick run from here to Trubshaws and then the seemingly impossibly tight left turn into the K7 section which is very easy to outbrake yourself on. The final part of the circuit is the seemingly endlessly long left hander onto the short finish straight where you can see your time as you cross the line.

[Image: AEU86 AE86 - GT86 5000 Mile Review]

From my early times it pretty obvious that the competition was going to be tough to beat. Whilst I was in a couple of seconds of first place after the first run, I soon learnt that finding time on subsequent attempts wasn't as easy as it looked. At this point, I have to remember it's seven years since I last raced competitively and I'd never done a sprint before. My next excuse was that my love of trackdays might have meant that whilst I can always put on a show of the sideways variety, it was actually costing me time and as usual when I get competitive I tend to overdrive the car. It took a fair bit of concentration to actually slow myself down and put in quicker times. Whilst this was all well and good, everyone else was getting quicker too.

The line up of GT86's:

[Image: AEU86 AE86 - GT86 5000 Mile Review]

I was beginning to realise that there was more to this sprinting lark than I first thought. However, all said and done it was a refreshing change to feel the competitive spirit coming back and I could feel the tension as I tried and tried to find ways, anyway would do to improve my times. At one point I even tried a scandi-flick to try and drive the car round the impossibly tight hairpin where you turn left at Carmen. Damn, not enough of a weight transfer on the way in and more understeer! What I did notice, perhaps because the stakes seem higher (ie my reputation) my focus on the minutae of detail put every part of the track under scrutiny. In the end I made fourth place out of twelve a second behind second and third place who were within a hundredth of a second of each other. Nigel Greensall needs a mention here for somehow finding two seconds out of nowhere and finishing a whole two seconds in front of second place and three seconds quicker than me. Of my fellow competitors who had little in the way of experience it was impressive to see how much their times improved over the day.

What struck me, though was the sense of camaraderie. I have to say having done tintop racing before, I found the sprint a friendlier affair in many ways. It just seemed a bit more relaxed. This is doubtless I would suspect for having a format where you are up against the clock and not swapping paint into the apex of corners. But the best thing of all is that this is affordable to anyone. It doesn't have to cost the mega bucks it does to race. You lose most of the risk and you can as I did, just turn up in your daily road car, don a crash helmet and get out there.

In the queue for another run:

[Image: AEU86 AE86 - GT86 5000 Mile Review]

Thinking back, it was a fantastic day, great fun, there was a great sense that we were all in together and whilst Nigel's secrets for his bonkers quick lap may have remained a mystery despite my efforts to unearth them, there was a good amount of banter and plenty of prizes for the different classes. There is a part of me that will have to admit, yes I do like the Gerry Marshal way of driving, which involves a lot of drifting, so in a way after years of hooning on trackdays I felt a little out of my comfort zone as pleasing the crowds wasn't helping my times, but I very much enjoyed the competitive aspect too. I learnt a lot about my car too when I was asking it handle differently and trying different techniques. I think I just might need to do a few more!

A big thank you to Adrian at Fensport and Colin and his team at Javelin. It won't be another five years! Smile

1985 Sprinter Trueno GT Apex
2013 GT86 Miltek Exhaust, Injen Induction.
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09-12-2013, 09:43 AM
Post: #12
GT86 5000 Mile Review
Drive smoother or...










Switch on traction control









Thumbs up! Thumbs up!

An analogue brain in a digital World
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02-18-2014, 08:35 PM
Post: #13
GT86 5000 Mile Review
Quick update.

I bought a set of these just before Xmas:

[Image: AEU86 AE86 - GT86 5000 Mile Review]


[Image: AEU86 AE86 - GT86 5000 Mile Review]

Then bought a set of these:

[Image: AEU86 AE86 - GT86 5000 Mile Review]

I got them refurbed:


[Image: AEU86 AE86 - GT86 5000 Mile Review]

[Image: AEU86 AE86 - GT86 5000 Mile Review]

[Image: AEU86 AE86 - GT86 5000 Mile Review]

Stretch:
[Image: AEU86 AE86 - GT86 5000 Mile Review]

I then bought some replacement stickers and put them on.

Decided to go for a red stripe in the end to replace the existing black one which was an option I spec'd when I bought the car. Glad I did. Obviously everyone thinks it needs lowering and I will be researching options in regard to this.

Totally stunned by the result it looks like a different car. Had it's 30K service at the same time too. Smile

[Image: AEU86 AE86 - GT86 5000 Mile Review]

I'm loving the TRD aero fins. Glad I went for body colour as it's almost subtle in comparison to the wheels.

[Image: AEU86 AE86 - GT86 5000 Mile Review]

Maybe the TRD logo should be red?

[Image: AEU86 AE86 - GT86 5000 Mile Review]

[Image: AEU86 AE86 - GT86 5000 Mile Review]

[Image: AEU86 AE86 - GT86 5000 Mile Review]

[Image: AEU86 AE86 - GT86 5000 Mile Review]

[Image: AEU86 AE86 - GT86 5000 Mile Review]

[Image: AEU86 AE86 - GT86 5000 Mile Review]

1985 Sprinter Trueno GT Apex
2013 GT86 Miltek Exhaust, Injen Induction.
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03-03-2014, 08:25 PM
Post: #14
GT86 5000 Mile Review
still a lovely car :-)

Cars:
"99 Lexus IS200
"86 AE86 Kouki Panda Levin GT-Apex (restore project)
"84 AE86 Zenki Blue Levin (project racer)
Motorcycles:
"02 Yamaha R1
"02 Honda Hornet S
"08 BMW R1200GS
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03-23-2014, 07:40 PM
Post: #15
GT86 5000 Mile Review
Was in to see Richard at RRG Toyota Macc this morning.

Got one of those new steering wheels that Fensport sell. Richard gave me the keys to his TRD for the day which already has the steering wheel and poly bush for the gearbox fitted.

By the time I got to work, I was on the phone to him asking him to fit the poly bush gearbox mount as it makes quite a difference to the gear change. No problem he said!

I've got to say the poly bush makes the gear change just so much more precise. It really does feel snickety snick when you change gear. A great mod and not expensive either.

I do like the new steering wheel too. It's 350mm so 10mm less in diameter than standard, but it's just so much more comfortable to hold. It has sculpted sections for your hands so they rest much more comfortably on the wheel at quarter to three. Also it's a little bit thicker which I think helps too.

Here's a pic, though low light means it's a little poor:

[Image: AEU86 AE86 - GT86 5000 Mile Review]

Also the gearbox poly bush:

[Image: AEU86 AE86 - GT86 5000 Mile Review]

In related news, I was driving back down some seriously twisty but quiet B-roads on my way to Macc from Jodrell Bank in my dealer's GT86 TRD and followed a black Mondeo that I surmised must be driven by a local who knew the road well.

There was nothing silly, just clean, brisk driving, no hanging about, no unnecessary braking which in all honesty makes a refreshing change from the usual dire standard of driving you see on the roads these days.

When I got close to it in traffic I noticed it was an unmarked police car!

1985 Sprinter Trueno GT Apex
2013 GT86 Miltek Exhaust, Injen Induction.
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03-23-2014, 07:41 PM
Post: #16
GT86 5000 Mile Review
Also bought a carbon gear knob when I was at Fensport last week. Really this was a 'comfort' purchase as I find the stitching on the front and rear of the knob to be a bit coarse.

This is a smooth knob which is much more comfortable:

[Image: AEU86 AE86 - GT86 5000 Mile Review]

I think with the mileage I do, I've come to realise that comfort is important, hence the gear knob and the steering wheel. Smile

1985 Sprinter Trueno GT Apex
2013 GT86 Miltek Exhaust, Injen Induction.
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03-23-2014, 08:01 PM
Post: #17
GT86 5000 Mile Review
I want one ..... Yummie!

Cars:
"99 Lexus IS200
"86 AE86 Kouki Panda Levin GT-Apex (restore project)
"84 AE86 Zenki Blue Levin (project racer)
Motorcycles:
"02 Yamaha R1
"02 Honda Hornet S
"08 BMW R1200GS
Find all posts by this user
03-23-2014, 08:03 PM
Post: #18
GT86 5000 Mile Review
In other news, I have decided I'm going for Tein Flex coilover setup with the new EDFC (Electronic Damper Force Control) Active Pro.

This is in a way 'active' suspension. Basically it alters the damping force independently on all four dampers whilst your driving. So take a left hand corner at speed and the outside dampers stiffen up and the insides go soft.

This also means that with the GPS sensor and g-force meter that comes with it, that it can measure speed and g-force and adapt the damper stiffness accordingly.

So it leaves them nice and soft when going below say 35mph then stiffens up as you increase in speed. It can also stiffen the front under braking and the rears under acceleration.

If you pull the handbrake it goes full stiff on the rears in preparation for a handbrake turn.

I've got Fensport working closely with Tein UK and also Tein Japan in order to get this right as there are three of us who are going for a kit.

I drove a friend's car with the first system fitted in the UK (it was anounced at TAS 2014). I have to say I was very impressed indeed.

Adrian at Fensport reckons that the rear dampers need an extra 20% rebound, so the dampers are being revalved for testing on another friend's car and then we will be good to go. It's really quite refreshing to see a tuner and a company like Tein put so much effort into fine tuning and getting it right.

Reckon I'll have them on in the next month. Can't wait!

http://www.tein.com/products/edfc_active_pro.html

1985 Sprinter Trueno GT Apex
2013 GT86 Miltek Exhaust, Injen Induction.
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03-24-2014, 12:09 PM
Post: #19
GT86 5000 Mile Review
Reading that Tein stuff made me think of this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8qAkUA8ZF0

An analogue brain in a digital World
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03-24-2014, 09:37 PM
Post: #20
GT86 5000 Mile Review
LOL!

1985 Sprinter Trueno GT Apex
2013 GT86 Miltek Exhaust, Injen Induction.
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