Toyota GR Corolla Circuit

[TGS]

Not being much of a 4wd guy, I have never driven an STI or the Mitsu competitor. But I have been under the impression that front diffs w/ some type of lim slip were very limited use for the street because they could really affect the steering as the lim slip went into action. Of course the more HP the worse the effect. Any of you have any experience w/ that?

Torque steer is one of the main reasons I hate FWD cars.

Supposedly some of the newer performance cars have electronic control that mostly mitigates it, a good thing for ya'll who like FWD cars. No experience, but check out reviews from your preferred source.

Or, if you want the real details, check out this video from Engineering Explained about the Honda Civic Type R which really shines in this development:

[OlongJohnson]

The author of this went on to work for Mazda R&D and had a significant hand in the latest Miata, as well as everything else they sell in North America.

https://www.motortrend.com/news/9909scc-technobabble/

It's a pretty good explanation of why even a torque steer canceling suspension design is still subject to big torque steer on real world pavement (or dirt).

[JRB]

Yep. The hole is still there. From what I understand, there are ways around that but I have no interest. It’s all stock. I don’t drive it on the track. It’s not a daily driver. Where I get enjoyment is driving it along the river roads, widows open, enjoying the view. If you’re a taller person, yeah...it’s gonna be cozy. No more so than a Miata or similar. It’s a fun car.

You're enjoying it right!

Yes, there's quite a number of ways to deal with the torque hole. Basically they ran into the same issues many other Subaru WRX and STi models had around the engine's 'natural' peak torque in that they had to lean it out and pull power out of it around 4-4500rpm to truly make the EPA happy enough to green light the configuration.
This had second and third order effects particularly in 07-10ish STi's where they leaned it out so much the stock tune had a tendency to destroy pistons. Owners were faced with getting a new engine under warranty, and keeping the engine-nuking stock computer or getting it remapped by aftermarket intervention to solve that problem but thereby lose their warranty coverage.

There's a number of methods available to re-tune your ECU to get rid of the torque hole and basically leave the rest of it well enough alone. Whatever you do, don't change the stock intake piping or airbox unless you're going with a turbo kit or supercharger. Every single aftermarket intake kit we tested in those 2013-2016ish GT86's was worse overall in real-world driving. Do a K&N drop in if you want to get rid of the stock panel filter but otherwise leave that stuff all alone. Similarly, leave the stock catback on it if you want to make exhaust changes, all the HP to find on those engines (in NA form anyway) is in the header. Get an equal length design if you want it to sound pleasant, and get a tune to match your total modification package.

My absolute favorite GT86 we ever did used the older HKS Supercharger kit and a Tomei equal length header, and kept the stock catback. That car made ~260whp and between the total power and linear power delivery it was just perfectly balanced for that chassis on good tires. I just couldn't quite warm up to the exhaust note, as much as I tried to. If those cars had been built with an inline 4 like a Beams 3S-GE or an aluminum block doppelganger of that, I'd own one right now.

[entropy]

I appreciate all the info. At some point I might look into fixing the hole, but for what I do with it, I’m happy. It’s a blast to drive, the wife enjoys cruising around in it, so all is good presently. I DON’T like the hood floating above about 80-85mph. That’s annoying as heck. I think the interior and electronics are a bit dated, but I bought it to drive. Over the years, our Toyota dealer has had a few in that I had casually looked at. One black, one a sort of cobalt grey. I went in for an oil change on my truck once and...I’m a sucker for British Racing Green. (Eventhough that’s not what the color is called.) It was the most rash, immature and spontaneous thing I have ever done as an adult. 😁

[OlongJohnson]

I appreciate all the info. At some point I might look into fixing the hole, but for what I do with it, I’m happy. It’s a blast to drive, the wife enjoys cruising around in it, so all is good presently. I DON’T like the hood floating above about 80-85mph. That’s annoying as heck. I think the interior and electronics are a bit dated, but I bought it to drive. Over the years, our Toyota dealer has had a few in that I had casually looked at. One black, one a sort of cobalt grey. I went in for an oil change on my truck once and...I’m a sucker for British Racing Green. (Eventhough that’s not what the color is called.) It was the most rash, immature and spontaneous thing I have ever done as an adult. 😁

Ima be selling a set of these https://enkei.com/shop/wheels/racing/rpf1/ in 17x8 silver Subie specs soon. Perfect for the car with stock size tires. Just sayin'.

[noguns]

I bet with “dealer market adjustment” this will sail right over what a golf R would sell for. As much as I prefer the Toyota reliability, the golf r can always add a third party warranty to extend the coverage and it looks a little more grown up.

I definitely appreciate that Toyota is bringing this to the USA though. I’d rather see a circuit toyobaru with more power though. Even then i think I’d just buy a 1LE SS Camaro.

[Navin Johnson]

I bet with “dealer market adjustment” this will sail right over what a golf R would sell for. As much as I prefer the Toyota reliability, the golf r can always add a third party warranty to extend the coverage and it looks a little more grown up.

I definitely appreciate that Toyota is bringing this to the USA though. I’d rather see a circuit toyobaru with more power though. Even then i think I’d just buy a 1LE SS Camaro.

Toy will crush Golf in re-sale......especially 4-5 years out with 60-80k.

[CraigS]

... Over the years, our Toyota dealer has had a few in that I had casually looked at. One black, one a sort of cobalt grey. I went in for an oil change on my truck once and...I’m a sucker for British Racing Green. (Eventhough that’s not what the color is called.) It was the most rash, immature and spontaneous thing I have ever done as an adult. 😁

And I can read between the lines and I am confident that it is also the most satisfying thing you have done as an adult. Well, other than getting married and having kids of course.