Dmiracle.One

After much consideration and wanting more of a long format post I figured why not create a blog documenting all that is happening with the shop GR86. It’s a good place for me to document the build and have you guys queued in on some new products that are in the works for this chassis.

Let’s start off with the reasons why I chose this platform. As much as I love schassis’s they are becoming quite a commodity these days. Expensive to own and get into for most people these days and lets be honest for a quite old chassis most things have been explored. Not to say that there isn’t more to offer for it but I feel like the first and second generation GT86/BRZ/GR86 is the future for most enthusiasts. A lightweight rear wheel drive chassis that is perfect for someone to grow into and enjoy over the years. Now if Toyota can quit playing around and put an inline turbo engine in this I feel like it would be an instant classic. Anyway, not to drag on in my opinion, let’s get to the car. 

It is a 2025 GR86 performance model with the Sachs dampers and Brembo brakes and all the options. Now it’s a bit overkill for the “simple” car but I figure if the plan is to road trip it to tracks later down the line the creature comforts will be worth it. 

For visual mods I have installed a Greddy/Voltex lip kit. I feel like it really brings out the lines of the car and compliments it. A nice touch of carbon on black gives it that elevated race car feel without being too over the top. I will eventually install a body kit but it will probably look like this for a while until I decide I want a wider track and overfenders. 

First suspension mod going on the car is a set of DG-5 coilovers. After much research I concluded that DG-5 will fit my current needs and it coming with 8k and 6k Swift springs makes it a no-brainer for a street oriented coilover. They do sell higher tiers of coilovers but I feel like I wouldn’t even have a good reason to make all the adjustments unless I was chasing under a min lap at Tsukuba. 

Installation was quite straightforward for the fronts and DG-5 provided the brackets for the ABS sensor and sway bar end links for the front. I set the camber to 0 degrees in the front  for now until I get my wheels in. 

The rear was also not too bad for installation with the additional work of taking out all the rear interior trunk panels to access the two top strut bolts. 

It took me quite a while to adjust the coilovers to the height that I wanted. At first I maxed out the height of the rear coilovers to the lowest setting. Then I ended up raising it to somewhat match the front. 

After dialing the height I took it for a test run. At first I had the dampers set way to stiff. About 8 clicks from max stiff and the ride was…stiff. I then dialed it all the way down and ran 4 clicks from full soft and the ride quality was just as good if not better than the Sachs damper. It handles so well being lowered and very confidence inspiring to take corners quicker. 

For future mods I plan to put some bigger wheels and grippier tires. I’m not sure what route I would like to go with for suspension arms yet but hopefully something proven and will last. 

Sneak peak.