r/ft86 2d ago

Official Q&A Jul 20 - 26, 2026 weekly Q&A thread

2 Upvotes

r/ft86 4h ago

I wish to confess - I've let you all down

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77 Upvotes

Everyone told me to get the 225/45. I'm sorry.

205/45 is how this car was meant to be driven. It's how Kiichiro Toyoda would have wanted it to be driven. It's how Tetsuya mothafuking Tada wanted it to be driven. And it's how freaking Takumi Fujiwara would have wanted it to be driven—if he had the GT.

Holy tail-happy, fishtailing, traction-allergic 86. The car is 10X more fun.

It's so much more responsive. You flick it left or right and it changes direction faster than the UK changes prime ministers.The difference is so obvious, I could feel it from the very first twist of the wheel. I spent the entire drive grinning.

It's a lot more eager and feels much lighter.

I was worried that having less grip was going to get me on the line with my insurer, but boy, the car was grounded and playful at the same time. Just perfect.

You will definitely feel the speed bumps more, but who the fuck buys this car for comfort?


r/ft86 5h ago

150k mile check in

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66 Upvotes

Hey everyone!

Just wanted to share some my experiences up to hitting 150k miles today on my 2013 BRZ

Long story short, the car has been incredibly reliable (knock on wood). It did have a major service within the past month, and that’s resealing the timing chain cover. Thanks to the help of AutoTuned in Monrovia, CA (incredible shop for 86’s in Southern California) they took care of the job plus tackled a bunch of “while we’re there” items such as the water pump, thermostat, serpentine belt, coolant hoses and plastic fittings, and a few more small related items. This all started when I was noticing oil coming from the bottom of the cover dropping onto the skid plate and the headers (which would smell after longer drives). There was barely any noticeable difference on the dipstick between oil changes.

Besides that, that’s the only major thing to report besides being on top of oil changes (3-3.5k) and all other fluids/maintenance items like PCV valve and some aging suspension components. This car sees 20-25k miles a year. This is a really late model 2013, so there’s no valve spring recall associated with the vehicle after checking the vin on numerous occasions.


r/ft86 10h ago

86 / BRZ Armrest

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74 Upvotes

Don’t sleep on this drop-in arm rest from Alibaba / Temu. Makes a huge difference


r/ft86 2h ago

86 and GR86 out at the track!

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6 Upvotes

r/ft86 49m ago

The curse is real, but she ain't gone away yet!

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Upvotes

All this from a goddamn sneezing fit in traffic


r/ft86 7h ago

Where my vision for my car came from… hashiraya drift game what do yall think?

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14 Upvotes

Anyone play this game anymore?


r/ft86 2h ago

Car doesn’t start 30% of the time, battery?

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5 Upvotes

Hello! I recently bought a 2015 FRS and did circles in a parking lot to get a feel of when the car would start sliding. Never hit a slide however. I am learning how to control the car.

After the matter, for about a week, 30% of the time I turn the car on it just dies. Sometimes the ignition will come on, with half crank, but with a full crank to start it dies and it doesn’t start.

The only fix I found was wiggling the positive clamp on the battery and wiggling the whole battery. Then the car starts fine. The car has not died mid drive.

My guess is that the existing battery (that’s apparently a Walmart battery) is super corroded as seen on the pics.

Please let me know if y’all had similar stuff and I should do, thank you a lot!


r/ft86 7h ago

Anyone know the body kit on this gt86 as I’m thinking of buying one

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11 Upvotes

r/ft86 14h ago

What do u think about my build as a german jdm guy

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33 Upvotes

What’s up guys. This is my first post. Im 23 y/o and from Germany.
We got quite the strict car modification laws.
If u want ur car to be street legal u can only buy parts that are checked by the “tüv“ and have documents. This typically makes these parts more expensive. For example the coilovers that I bought are 1300€ new. After the install u need to get ur car papers updated which is probably around 200 € for that whole process.

That being said, let me list up what I got installed:
Toyota aero spoiler
Sideskirts (TRD skirts already ordered)
Front lip
ST XTA coilovers
Borbet db8gt2 wheels (8.5 x 18)
Valenti tail lights
Valenti side markers
Vland headlights (at home ready to be installed)
Mishimoto oil cooler (at home ready to be installed)
Muffler delete

Im planing to get new wheels. I’m in love with the work meister s1. The image with these wheels is AI generated. I wanted to know ur opinion on those.

Also just in general, tell me what u think.

Greetings from Germany!


r/ft86 2h ago

!? LCA's to correct camber after installing Coilovers

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3 Upvotes

‼️Coilovers arent on yet, those are just the wheels I put on‼️

Back with another question, appreciate all the help on my last post about the Tein Flex Z's... I noticed this morning looking at my wheels that I have a slight bit of camber in the back, so it got me wondering about how much that'll exaggerate after lowering the car. For reference I am lowering on the Flex Z's, and I also got Whiteline adjustable End Links for the front and rear. Bottom line is I wanna know what Rear Lower Control Arms I should get (if I even need to), I don't want to spend a billion dollars, just want a set so I can adjust my rear camber to a slightly negative/near OEM degree. Currently just thinking about getting either MeganRacing or maXspeeding rods ones. The maxpeeding are cheap but like I said I just need one that'll get the job done. Not looking to stance or anything CLOSE to that lol. What you guys think?


r/ft86 8h ago

Options for UEL headers

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9 Upvotes

I've been looking online for UEL headers and my biggest concern is if cheaper options could sound tinny and raspy?

How drastic is the difference between a more expensive header like tomei compared to those cheaper brands?

Thanks in advance!


r/ft86 10h ago

New shoes

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14 Upvotes

Finally got my new rims whoop


r/ft86 38m ago

How?

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Upvotes

r/ft86 1h ago

Back hurting since buying an 86

Upvotes

Hey guys, just curious on if anyone else has dealt with this, I’m 24 with a pretty cooked back, I had s1, l5 and l4 bulging disks in the past that were doing fine until a few weeks ago when I bought an 86, I’d been looking at them forever and they’re one of my dream cars so I’m pretty upset that it seems to be making my back pain come back, I also don’t know if I’ve just hurt it at the gym and the car is exacerbating it or not, I’m 188cm/6’2.


r/ft86 1d ago

Round 2 of so called curse 🫩

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137 Upvotes

Just a few months ago, I got rear ended in my first BRZ, this time a semi made a turn too shallow and smoked my shit 🫩🫩🫩


r/ft86 1m ago

90k on FRS

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Upvotes

Just hit 90 k on my 2016 frs today , the oil change is due at 90.5 k just wanna ask if there is anything else i should be looking forward to get changed or get service other than oil change using 0w-20 btw ! Thanks for help


r/ft86 3h ago

86 day🍻🍻🍻

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2 Upvotes

r/ft86 53m ago

The best $30 mod for the BRZ / FRS / 86

Upvotes

Hey everyone,

I hated the cheap factory silver plastic trim, so I covered it using a $30 roll of black Alcantara wrap.

I made a short before and after showcase video so you can see the final results: Best $30 Mod For Your BRZ, FR-S, or 86

It took about two hours but it was easily the best $30 I've spent on the interior. Let me know what you think!


r/ft86 7h ago

Rear Wheel Bearing Replacement Quote

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3 Upvotes

Recently took my 2017 86 to the shop and they mentioned my back wheel bearings are pretty worn, is this price standard for a job like this? Im not really knowledgeable with this issue


r/ft86 8h ago

Rebuilt FA24 (Subaru short block) — intermittent knock only when lugging in 4th at low RPM/speed, gone at redline in 1-3. Old gas or something else?

3 Upvotes

Background: 2022 BRZ sat for 2 years. Recently did a full rebuild using a factory Subaru short block (new everything else under the hood too). About 80 miles on it since the rebuild. Tank still had old 2-year-old gas in it when I started driving (topped off with fresh gas on top rather than draining).

Symptom: Knocking noise from the engine bay, but only under a specific condition — 4th gear, low speed, "bogged down" (lugging) and getting into the throttle around 4k RPM. It's inconsistent — happens sometimes, not every time under the same-feeling condition.

What doesn't trigger it:

  • 1st-3rd gear pulls to redline are completely clean, no noise at all
  • Only shows up specifically in that lugging-in-a-tall-gear scenario

Other details:

  • Using the car for DoorDash, so lots of stop-and-go city driving, shifts running ~7 hours continuous
  • Seemed worse toward the end of long shifts / after dark (though could be heat soak + tank getting toward the old-gas dregs rather than actual temperature)
  • High humidity when it's happened
  • Dipstick is clean — no metal flake
  • Oil smells a bit like fuel, but I drive a Mini daily and get the same smell there since they upped the ethanol content in local gas — so assuming this is normal and not diagnostic
  • No check engine light / haven't pulled codes yet

My working theory: stale gas (2 years old, diluted rather than drained) lowering effective octane, showing up specifically under classic lugging conditions (low RPM + high load = hardest test for octane), made worse by heat soak on long shifts and/or running the bottom of the tank where the oldest fuel sits.

What I'm doing about it:

  • Draining/running down the old gas rather than continuing to dilute
  • Running premium (91/93) going forward
  • Avoiding lugging in 4th, downshifting before getting into the throttle at low RPM

Questions for the sub:

  1. Does this pattern (clean at redline in lower gears, knock only when lugging in a tall gear, inconsistent) sound like classic detonation to you, or does it point somewhere else given this is a fresh rebuild?
  2. Anyone dealt with knock like this after a long sit + old gas specifically on the FA24/FA20?
  3. Worth pulling codes/knock sensor data before assuming it's just fuel, or is this a pretty textbook stale-gas-lugging case?

Appreciate any input — trying to figure out if this is a "flush the gas and move on" situation or if I should get it scanned before putting more delivery miles on it.


r/ft86 2h ago

Groundhog chewed my wiring. I know how to solder and all that. But is there a way to get better access to these wires right now there's very little clearance.

1 Upvotes

r/ft86 6h ago

Front Steering Rack..

2 Upvotes

Hey yall, I was looking into putting on the gk tech v3 kit I already have but have been seeing alot of ppl add extended inner tie rods. At that rate I almost wanna extend the flca and or get the offset rack spacers, and rack limiter/ knuckle stoppers.

But at that rate if im about to dedicate time and money into changing all that shit around I almost wanna do the Rack relocation and just call it a day.

My problem with that is I dont entirely have the resources or know how to make it all happen just yet so id rather not start cutting shit until ive either practiced or am accompanied by someone with enough previous experience.

Wondering if anyone has any info or insight on how to achieve a sort of happy medium. I make more of a headache out of it then it really is lol. Has anyone ever just driven on extended flca and longer tie rods woth no offset spacers or rsck relocation? What can I play with while avoiding serious trouble as far as the front end goes, if possible id like to avoid any cutting but if that means I won't get as much angle then its okay, as long as im not dogging my shit and ruining it.

I also may not have done the best job at giving all the Info I have to talk abt this so if you have any questions like I will. Would love to talk and learn more! Thx


r/ft86 1d ago

Reliability and Longevity

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48 Upvotes

everyone first post here this is my 2013 scion Frs bought this the other day clean title has 108,000 miles on it but the whole long block was rebuilt with receipts took around five to $6000 and I know these motors have a knack for being unreliable so any tips would be appreciated. I’m coming from A Civic SI. I want to track this car and i also have a time attack style abandoned road so i will be sending it, also any tips for rwd lol

Edit: the previous owner had gotten a oil change at Firestone and apparently they put 5.8 quarts, but it looks very overfilled

Also dude said that he had a flash tune from a shop and burbles but only when sport mode is on (Manual Trans btw)


r/ft86 8h ago

Help coolant leak

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4 Upvotes

So, my car 2015 Scion frs overheated yesterday seen steam coming out noticed my coolant was low, and if I’m not mistaken should be blue ( also want to know what yall recommend) after noticed I got white/ blue stains splattered everywhere I did some testing did a coolant pressure test 16psi couldn’t see or hear anything took it for spin while I was driving it was slowly warming up, but when I parked and blasted my a/c fan on Max i noticed it quickly started getting more hot so I went and look and noticed well 1 of radiator fans was on while the other wasn’t, and also I noticed that appears to me that under the throttle body there’s 2 hoses not sure what for, but it appears out of that area there was something leaking/spraying? Need ur guys help and opinion before I bring to shop?