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[stanglife]

There's a guy locally with a camaro v6 swapped late miata, setup for the track. Execution is pretty good looking, I bet it's fun... BUT at that point, I still think I'd consider GR86 based on recent reviews (I have not driven one).

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[jmn444]

I have a mini cooper that I’ve tracked for a few years, but unfortunately it’s just not the same. I need to get back to high HP and rwd. At the moment I’m leaning to a c5z, c6z, Miata LS swap, zl1 1le, mustang race car, or build something like a Daytona replica…. Too many options.

I’ve never had a GR86 on track, but I’ve had the Supra on track, and with some very light modding it’s faster than a stock’ish 350. Also, it’s hard to beat the reliability of a Toyota.

My buddy is running the GR86 this season, it's pretty impressive if you can deal with not having the power level honestly... I was running 159's at Pitt race on pilot super sports, and he was running 203's on kumho 730's.... that's not a lot of difference for the diff in price points and consumables, but I mostly agree with you and don't think the car is for me. The gap is a little bigger at our home track gingerman when i'm on better tires of course, I'm 138's on supercar3 and he was 143 on the re71rs if I remember correctly.

I'd agree the supra would be a good substitute to the 350 on track though! it's crossed my mind more than once. I've been on track with one that only had tires I think that was also running 138 at gingerman. Very capable.

For now though I'm just gonna stick with the 350, in spite of the stream of repairs needed haha

 

[Jbraun2828]

My buddy is running the GR86 this season, it's pretty impressive if you can deal with not having the power level honestly... I was running 159's at Pitt race on pilot super sports, and he was running 203's on kumho 730's.... that's not a lot of difference for the diff in price points and consumables, but I mostly agree with you and don't think the car is for me. The gap is a little bigger at our home track gingerman when i'm on better tires of course, I'm 138's on supercar3 and he was 143 on the re71rs if I remember correctly.

I'd agree the supra would be a good substitute to the 350 on track though! it's crossed my mind more than once. I've been on track with one that only had tires I think that was also running 138 at gingerman. Very capable.

For now though I'm just gonna stick with the 350, in spite of the stream of repairs needed haha

It must of been the same Supra I saw a few weeks ago at gingerman during one of the weds night test and tune deals. I was running 139’s and I couldn’t keep up with him. I was really impressed with how it gets around there.

 

[pilotgore]

The car is officially gone. In the end, I sold it back to the dealership that did most of my service. It’s not quite what I wanted to get, but it was still $7k more than what I purchased the car for 2.5 years and 9300 miles ago. Not horrible.

It took 62 days to replace the engine, transmission, oil cooler, and driver side catalytic converter (raw fuel destroy it when the engine ate the valve.) Two miles after leaving the dealer post service, the abs light came on so I took the car back to the dealer. It turns out the ABS controller was bad, as well as some of the ABS components in the front right wheel hub. 2 weeks later, the car came out of service. On the drive home I noticed the car didn’t sound quite right but couldn’t put my finger on it. I took it back to the dealer, and of course they thought I was crazy. They thought it sounded perfectly fine, but it sounded like a tractor at low idle and was quieter than normal. Luckily a friend had his 350 at the dealership at the same time getting an alignment done, so we were able to compare both cars side by side. 4 days later the car had a new passenger side catalytic converter and the exhaust sound was back to normal.

All in all I have mixed emotions. When it worked, I had an absolute blast driving the car. At the end of my ownership, I had 27 warranty items addressed…. Which is why I’m saying good riddance and will never own another 350.

 

[THX 138]

The car is officially gone. In the end, I sold it back to the dealership that did most of my service. It’s not quite what I wanted to get, but it was still $7k more than what I purchased the car for 2.5 years and 9300 miles ago. Not horrible.

Sorry for your GT350 woes. Hope to see you on track with something different next year.

BTW, if your buddy with the local GT350 is interested in a set of four Goodyear Supercar 3R tires (305-30R19) with only 2 track days on them, for cheap, let me know. They're just taking up space in my basement. (I got rid of my old CS-21 wheels that had these tires mounted on them, and rather than mount these on my new Apex forged wheels, I'm running a set of Bridgestone RE-71R's that I picked up on clearance last year.)

 

[pilotgore]

Sorry for your GT350 woes. Hope to see you on track with something different next year.

BTW, if your buddy with the local GT350 is interested in a set of four Goodyear Supercar 3R tires (305-30R19) with only 2 track days on them, for cheap, let me know. They're just taking up space in my basement. (I got rid of my old CS-21 wheels that had these tires mounted on them, and rather than mount these on my new Apex forged wheels, I'm running a set of Bridgestone RE-71R's that I picked up on clearance last year.)

I have 4-5 locally that I can ask. Pm me pics and price.

I’m still running in the mini this weekend, but I hope to be back to higher Hp next season. Maybe you’ll get to come out next year and see if you can lap me twice in the mini in a session

 

[honeybadger]

I hear a certain kit car makes a pretty fun track toy

 

[pilotgore]

I hear a certain kit car makes a pretty fun track toy

There are so many good ones! Which one specifically are you referring to?

Are you planning on an LS swap in that Miata of yours?

 

[Paul McWhiskey]

If the photo you showed was a damaged fracture surface, then I withdrawal my Metallurgical Offer.


Metallurgical Disclaimer
Metallurgically, the metallurgical analysis of a metallurgical analyzed analysis would offer a metallurgical answer based on the metallurgical analysis.

Thanks, Quemala!

 

[honeybadger]

There are so many good ones! Which one specifically are you referring to?

Are you planning on an LS swap in that Miata of yours?

I ordered one of these about 2 weeks ago. Long wait (May '23), but going to be well worth it

Miata will stay Mazda BP-powered. Love Miatas, but don't want that kind of power in something that bend-y

 

[pilotgore]

I ordered one of these about 2 weeks ago. Long wait (May '23), but going to be well worth it

Miata will stay Mazda BP-powered. Love Miatas, but don't want that kind of power in something that bend-y

Love it. Are you planning to wear a cold shirt? I hear they get scorching hot.

 

[honeybadger]

Love it. Are you planning to wear a cold shirt? I hear they get scorching hot.

Oh ya. Going to put a Chillout system in it since half our track days are in the 90s down here TX

 

[Hack]

Do you think you'll move on to another track car? I've debated moving to something like a GR86 (mine has also been in and out of dealer for the same warranty issue that has taken 4 months and 3 tries to fix).

I really like my GR86 as a daily commuter, but I would be very reluctant to track it. I don't think Toyota will cover the warranty if you go to the track. I have heard stories of warranty denial if any online evidence is found of track use. To me it's a great daily - and if you have enough money to replace something that fails it would be awesome on small tracks. I wouldn't use it on a semi-large track though. Above about 50 mph the rate of acceleration will disappoint and bore you.

Toyota does give away a track day with the car, but they say right in their paperwork that your warranty might be forfeit if you use the car on track. This really disappointed and angered me. Vague weasel words mean Toyota doesn't stand behind Subaru's product - at least not for track use. For me this wasn't a deal breaker because I bought the car as a winter beater / daily commuter. A little track use here and there would have been a bonus.

Also, I'm not so confident in the robustness of Subaru engines. I think they are ok, but not over-built like Fords. Remember, Toyota doesn't build sporty cars. The 86 is a Subaru and the Supra is a BMW. Toyota engines might be reliable, but that only holds for the bland 4 cylinders in Camrys. It takes a lot more to build an engine that can handle track use. For now I'm taking a wait and see attitude. Possibly over time the car will get a reputation of being bulletproof on track. If so, I might take it to a track a couple times a year. Until then I have the Mustang GT for occasional track use. I installed coolers for the transmission and rear diff - so far it seems to be sufficient and I think the Coyote will be relatively reliable.

 

[brokenblinker]

I really like my GR86 as a daily commuter, but I would be very reluctant to track it. I don't think Toyota will cover the warranty if you go to the track. I have heard stories of warranty denial if any online evidence is found of track use. To me it's a great daily - and if you have enough money to replace something that fails it would be awesome on small tracks. I wouldn't use it on a semi-large track though. Above about 50 mph the rate of acceleration will disappoint and bore you.

Toyota does give away a track day with the car, but they say right in their paperwork that your warranty might be forfeit if you use the car on track. This really disappointed and angered me. Vague weasel words mean Toyota doesn't stand behind Subaru's product - at least not for track use. For me this wasn't a deal breaker because I bought the car as a winter beater / daily commuter. A little track use here and there would have been a bonus.

Also, I'm not so confident in the robustness of Subaru engines. I think they are ok, but not over-built like Fords. Remember, Toyota doesn't build sporty cars. The 86 is a Subaru and the Supra is a BMW. Toyota engines might be reliable, but that only holds for the bland 4 cylinders in Camrys. It takes a lot more to build an engine that can handle track use. For now I'm taking a wait and see attitude. Possibly over time the car will get a reputation of being bulletproof on track. If so, I might take it to a track a couple times a year.

In the one issue where someone's warranty was denied (by a dealer, not Toyota) after being seen drifting and Auto crossing the car, Toyota corporate went back and honored the warranty. I've not seen a single instance of anyone else's warranty not being honored.

 

[Hack]

In the one issue where someone's warranty was denied (by a dealer, not Toyota) after being seen drifting and Auto crossing the car, Toyota corporate went back and honored the warranty. I've not seen a single instance of anyone else's warranty not being honored.

That's great, but remember that Toyota corporate only did that many months later after the issue went viral online. The guy had already sourced a used engine and paid out of his own pocket to have the engine replaced before Toyota stepped up and did anything. I don't know whether I would be lucky enough or stubborn enough to get any issues I have to be covered.

And also, Toyota says right in their brochure about the free track day that track use might cause warranty coverage to be denied. If Ford said that in their official paperwork I would have bought a Camaro 1LE instead of a Mustang.

For me it's just not worth the risk. I'll use my older Mustang on track. It's a lot of fun and it's faster than the 86 on all but the smallest tracks anyway.

I don't want to post only positive things about the 86 on here. I love it, the interior is quite a bit nicer than Mustang interior and the size and weight of the car is perfect. Suspension is not overly soft and compliant like most Mustangs. Consumables on track would be a lot cheaper than the Mustang. But I don't feel comfortable with Toyota warranty coverage like I did with Ford and my GT350.

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