There has been hype of the GT86 being released as a convertible and the first of the concept pictures have started popping up online over the past couple of days.
Discuss what you think of the FT86 Convertible Coupe, which online enthusiasts have already dubbed the MX86 here
We would like to welcome JDM Wheels on board as a AE86 club sponsor who can supply quality JDM wheels and genuine Toyota GT86 TRD Parts to within Australia or other international destinations.
So what are you waiting for, get your new ZN6 86 setup with some of the best gear on the market!!
Thanks to the guys at Spirited Drive, a $500 gift voucher has been donated to be spent with Spirited Drive.
In line with the Spirited Drive moto, "for the spirited driver" to enter the competition simply update your members ride thread and you will be in the running for this great prize.
What a great incentive to complete that project you had been slacking off on.
The winner will be drawn on the 31st December 2012 by the AE86 Driving Club administration team!
Like all new Toyota vehicles, the 86 is covered by the capped-price servicing plan, Toyota Service Advantage, with up to four scheduled services at just $170 each.
Submit your automotive story here and go into the draw to win an AE86DC t-shirt.
All you have to do is submit your (funniest / weirdest) automotive story and on 30/06/2011 we will pick the best story and the lucky winner will get an AE86DC t-shirt for free.
This is absolutely your last chance to get a hold of a copy of the AE86DC 2011/12 Calendar. Any orders not made by Wednesday 1st of June 2011 won't be printed... The only exception made will be if you ask us to put your copies aside until you can pay for them.
Click to see the ordering info in the following thread -> AE86DC Calendars
Well, after all of the hype about the release of the FT86 Concept II at the Geneva Motor Show, I don't think it has failed to tease a lot of people with the photos posted over the past few weeks by Subaru...
My personal opinion is that I want to see it in a lighter colour to see all the curves (black absorbs light and makes it harder for your eye to pick the styling lines in the body shape. Can't wait to see a photo of this one in a colour like red.
The discussion has already turned to "filling that grille with intercooler" and I can't wait to see a photochop of that ! I don't think you would have to go overboard, just a tasteful intercooler that spans the entire grille area will make it look like a beast!
Hi Guys and girls, just a quick update to let you all know whats happening.
We are in the initial stages of planning our first official AE86DC Track Day in Brisbane. This will be our pilot to see if the "all-day" Track Day format we have planned actually works. If all goes well, we will roll it out to other states later this year. For more information on that one, please have a quick read of the EOI thread here ...
2011 CALENDARS WERE A NON-EVENT... SORRY ! - Due to my November & December (2011) being stuffed up completely by random "real life" stuff the AE86DC calendar did not happen. Since it doesn't really make sense for a calendar to begin in February / March, I am still trying to find an interesting way to make this happen.
We may actually phase the calendar in mid-year (starting in say July) and running 12 monthly - like many things, that time of year (August - December) just gets away on us every year and to be blunt, it is damned hard to make it happen under normal circumstances anyway. So stay tuned, just because the calendar didn't happen doesn't mean there won't be one in 2011 !
On that front, we will also be having a clearance of all current merchandise as we have heaps of t-shirts that need to find a home. I am just finalising pricing, but you will be able to pick up some really cheap AE86DC Gildan T-shirts really soon. Keep an eye on your email PLEASE ADD webmaster@ae86drivingclub.com.au to your email address book, so we don't announce this offer to your spam box ;)
It is good to see you all back from the New Year holidays... Thanks as always for your support!
Well, we once again find ourselves just days out from christmas. I don't know about the rest of you, but this year has definitely flown by really quickly!
On Behalf of AE86DC, we wish you all the best over this festive season. May your holidays be long and fun, and your travel on the roads be safe (lookout for the idiots, and PLEASE don't drink & drive).
We look forward to seeing you all back here soon (drunken posting on the forums is apparently OK, thanks Biggo!)
Hi guys... We have a little bit more downtime to come in the next few days due to the fact that we are totally maxx-ing out the "temporary" webserver's limits. We have another one lined up, but it is going to be another couple of days mucking around and access will be on-and-off until it is all sorted out again. My apologies for any issues that this causes you while I start the move to the new webserver. We will back online ASAP. Thanks -Nick
So you've just busted your ass for a month to afford shiny new anodised parts for your car and lived on mi-goreng noodles to help save every penny possible. The postie shows up and your hard earned (and well deserved) parts are in your hot little hands... You spend the best part of a week under the car in an effort to have it ready for the track.
So you line up for your run, what happens next is less an issue of skill or talent... It is an issue of - "I purchased my (genuine) parts from a reputable supplier" or the (more and more common) "Why spend $1000 for something you can get for $250 off ebay".
So this is the part where the hero (or noob) of our story comes home with the trophy, or comes home on the back of a towtruck...or lets seriously hope the less likely "body bag" option.
All of this has come from a thread that was posted in an effort to work out whether some "cheap" Cusco branded parts were the real deal or not. Sadly, not everyone is always wise enough to ask for some second opinions before hitting the "Buy it Now" button...
I would like to make it crystal clear that whilst 75% of what comes out of China is a grey-import that can come direct from the factory and just as good as the "store bought" item... a lot of the rest of the stuff from China is a sad tale of scams and fakes and is just going to end up in the junk.
Now with online forums and "importers" and "resellers" so prevalent in our community, it has never been a better time to re-iterate the famous phhrases : "BUYER BEWARE" and "IF IT IS TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE, THEN IT PROBABLY IS".
And with the level of detail in counterfeit parts now, without having a real item and a fake side by side, it would be virtually impossible to even know what you've got yourself into. And lets hope that it isn't too late when you find out that safety items (harnesses, seats, suspension, rollcages brakes etc) aren't up to the task.
Without rabbiting on a lot about this issue, I will leave you with some images and links to do some further reading. And as a few of our members ahve already found out - as simple as posting a thread is, it is MUCH better to look naieve in retrospect than to purchase a counterfeit. Full stop!
The best way to stop these things from flooding the market is BUY GENUINE. It is as simple as that. If there wasn't a market for cheap counterfeits, and the people stupid enough to pruchase them, there wouldn't be a problem in the first place...
Our Discussion thread on fakes and what to keep an eye out on can be found here.
Ever since Toyota was rumoured to be releasing a modern design based around a Toyota Chassis and Subaru Boxer engine, the critics and fanboys have been on a mission to pick the car apart and tell the world that it is an unforgivable combination.
Discussion has been very up and down on our own forums in relation to the "Toy-baru" subject. The thread can be followed here
However, some of us still think that it is a fantastic fusion of a torquey, low center of gravity engine capable of being "hotted up" and being the next best Toyota since rear wheel drives were pretty much dumped in the mid to late 1980's...
One of the bone of contention has been that Toyota have been unable to confirm that the rumoured $20,000 pricetag will be able to be kept intact and if the current rumours are to be believed, Toyota will be making a "Baby FT86" or to the rest of us, a more "no frills" and mildly-tuned version of the FT86 to keep the pricing down around the $20K mark like we have been hearing. Meanwhile the full-blown FT86 will be up around the $30K mark.
Update : The Baby FT86 may be 300mm shorter compared to its bigger sister, and also is rumoured to potentially be sporting the toyota 3SZ-VE engine, a 1.5-liter inline-4 that produces 109 bhp.
Whatever happens, some of us are waiting patiently to see what design is revealed for the Australian market, since the AE86 has such a huge following, it won't be long until the modding begins... We are waiting to see.
Check out this cool live webcam on Japan's Ebisu circuit!
Sadly we have already missed the AE86s lapping around there from the recent Matsuri, but it looks like it is well worth keeping an eye on anyway. Enjoy.
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Just a quick update to let you know that the homepage of AE86DC isn't broken... It is under construction and shortly news posts made on the forums will be displayed directly on the homepage.
We are hoping to have the basics of the homepage sorted out by the end of this weekend.
Thanks :)
Please welcome, to the AE86DC Administration team :
Silver Styler (Jon)
and
70XIN (Seamus)
Many more changes will be happening to AE86DC over the next couple of months and we will be keeping everyone updated from now on with all changes with as much notice as possible.
Tonight we held a quick meeting to discuss the future of AE86DC and we have a few things planned that will be revealed shortly.
Thanks guys for your assistance in keeping AE86DC real.
Two site-sponsor positions are currently available.
Site sponsorship keeps the AE86DC webserver online and kicking.
Please PM me if you are interested.
Thanks
Nick
Another patch has been released for vBulletin and we will be upgrading starting at 9:45am AEST
This may affect users for up to 30 minutes.
There will also be an upgrade to version 4 of vBulletin forums which we haven't tried yet so there may be some drastic changes to features and functionality.
If you experience any problems, please post up in the bug tracker forum.
Thanks for your patience.
Nick
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