TLM GT86 Build
Discussion
Hi guys, thought worth putting a thread up, hopefully it is of some interest. The idea was to get back to circuit racing in something that wasn't a BMW and ideally Japanese, something that was rear wheel drive and didn't cost a fortune (initially). I love doing trackdays, racing etc but I also love the build and the story of getting there.
TLM is Team Lizard Motorsport, we went on a similar journey with much success with Abbey Motorsport in about 2008 - 2017 ish and I am hoping to pick Mark's considerable brain again when it comes to this build.
End goal, (maybe 2 years out) - is Endurance racing, Britcar hopefully, so at the moment the regs for that require slicks and about 310bhp per tonne at the fly wheel, the slight nuance here being that it will need to do that at the redline for 90 minutes, more on that later.
Step 1, find a CAT S car with a straight chassis, no rust and in a state that we could use it for trackdays whilst the team and I learn the car and how it hangs together.
Enter the Tango edition GT86 with questionable mods
720416502_1545590126907839_6903250157251756528_n by TeamLizard Motorsport, on Flickr
Car found, quick test drive and was fine, deal done with a very pleasant sales guy and we were off home.
Immediately on arrival we ripped the rear window louvres off, left it for 2 days and then couldnt wait any longer and started removing things
92bc7644-6f0e-4763-96e7-46d5605bea93.jpeg by TeamLizard Motorsport, on Flickr
20260705_114348 by TeamLizard Motorsport, on Flickr
Team forgot how seats work
20260705_143538 by TeamLizard Motorsport, on Flickr
The eagle eyed among you might clock the Lava Orange 911 in the background which is incredibly close colour wise to this Orange Edition 86 (at least some of the panels...)
Next, after some googling and getting an itchy mouse button I ordered an oil pickup and a cusco baffle from Fensport, appreciate there is some speculation on the baffle so we will need to keep a close eye on that and it may come back out.
20260627_155459_d1b3ec51 by TeamLizard Motorsport, on Flickr
Offered up the baffle and the killer b pickup
20260627_165520_3dfb62b3 by TeamLizard Motorsport, on Flickr
Spent what felt like 7000 hours cleaning the mating point on the sump and then the same on the engine side, I was determined to get all the glue off, which from factory was about 2cm into the sump in places and some of it stuck in the stock pickup... great.
20260627_151953_0297252f by TeamLizard Motorsport, on Flickr
After sorting that out, putting it together and then realising there was a slight weep from the crush washer, which we had replaced but not with an OEM part we decided to get a new HKS filter and washer and 10 Litres of fresh oil.
Whilst stripping the car we found a light up starry headlining, set to orange of course which looked like it must have been a mission for the previous owner to sort out! unsure what to do with that now but open to suggestions, can change the colour too!
20260705_125940 by TeamLizard Motorsport, on Flickr
Job 2 was inspect the car properly, look for any coolant issues or other things that might need sorting before it did it's first trackday.
Immediately found that the brakes were a bit on the edge for me, so we braided the front and back lines and swapped the fluid to Castrol rbf, the pads and discs will need doing but the we are in a circle of pain with brakes at the moment.
GKTech in Australia have managed to produce a kit to convert the GT86 to 114.3 pcd and the wheel bearing can apparently take some serious punishment - so a set of those are on route, when they arrive we will then make a decision on an AP Brake kit (probably CP9440) and an appropriate wheel (id like to stick with 17" and 8.5 to 9j) so we can run 245 slicks in a square setup, we then need to swap the suspension!!! lots to do...
That is all a bit further down the line though.
Next I was keen to get the stock car on track and see how she handles,
I am a nerd by trade so am obsessed with data, im keen to log everything we do so, on some advice from Mark@Abbey we ordered the AIM Solo DL v2 and Smarty Cam from Ebay and have now configured that with the GT86's ecu, the idea being that we will end up with an Oil pressure switch we can wire into the CAN sensor and start alerting/recording on any issues.
This is road view just showing RPM/Speed/Engine Temp/Oil Temp
20260711_163205_1cb3fc33 by TeamLizard Motorsport, on Flickr
Overlay for the camera using a mix of ECU channels and inbuilt GPS channels from AIM, speed, rpm, gear, throttle position, track map, best time, current time, difference to best. Brake is in PSI and I havent got a read of what maximum PSI is in the car so I cant create the math channel to convert it to % yet, but will do later.
4a4875b4-33d0-4b59-8bf8-155808ce1ce0 by TeamLizard Motorsport, on Flickr
Journey from my parents house to home, got to hit those apexes....
WhatsApp Image 2026-07-11 at 19.26.43 by TeamLizard Motorsport, on Flickr
More to come, obviously the FA20 wont be the engine we use for racing, discussions ongoing on that point
TLM is Team Lizard Motorsport, we went on a similar journey with much success with Abbey Motorsport in about 2008 - 2017 ish and I am hoping to pick Mark's considerable brain again when it comes to this build.
End goal, (maybe 2 years out) - is Endurance racing, Britcar hopefully, so at the moment the regs for that require slicks and about 310bhp per tonne at the fly wheel, the slight nuance here being that it will need to do that at the redline for 90 minutes, more on that later.
Step 1, find a CAT S car with a straight chassis, no rust and in a state that we could use it for trackdays whilst the team and I learn the car and how it hangs together.
Enter the Tango edition GT86 with questionable mods
720416502_1545590126907839_6903250157251756528_n by TeamLizard Motorsport, on FlickrCar found, quick test drive and was fine, deal done with a very pleasant sales guy and we were off home.
Immediately on arrival we ripped the rear window louvres off, left it for 2 days and then couldnt wait any longer and started removing things
92bc7644-6f0e-4763-96e7-46d5605bea93.jpeg by TeamLizard Motorsport, on Flickr20260705_114348 by TeamLizard Motorsport, on FlickrTeam forgot how seats work
20260705_143538 by TeamLizard Motorsport, on FlickrThe eagle eyed among you might clock the Lava Orange 911 in the background which is incredibly close colour wise to this Orange Edition 86 (at least some of the panels...)
Next, after some googling and getting an itchy mouse button I ordered an oil pickup and a cusco baffle from Fensport, appreciate there is some speculation on the baffle so we will need to keep a close eye on that and it may come back out.
20260627_155459_d1b3ec51 by TeamLizard Motorsport, on FlickrOffered up the baffle and the killer b pickup
20260627_165520_3dfb62b3 by TeamLizard Motorsport, on FlickrSpent what felt like 7000 hours cleaning the mating point on the sump and then the same on the engine side, I was determined to get all the glue off, which from factory was about 2cm into the sump in places and some of it stuck in the stock pickup... great.
20260627_151953_0297252f by TeamLizard Motorsport, on FlickrAfter sorting that out, putting it together and then realising there was a slight weep from the crush washer, which we had replaced but not with an OEM part we decided to get a new HKS filter and washer and 10 Litres of fresh oil.
Whilst stripping the car we found a light up starry headlining, set to orange of course which looked like it must have been a mission for the previous owner to sort out! unsure what to do with that now but open to suggestions, can change the colour too!
20260705_125940 by TeamLizard Motorsport, on FlickrJob 2 was inspect the car properly, look for any coolant issues or other things that might need sorting before it did it's first trackday.
Immediately found that the brakes were a bit on the edge for me, so we braided the front and back lines and swapped the fluid to Castrol rbf, the pads and discs will need doing but the we are in a circle of pain with brakes at the moment.
GKTech in Australia have managed to produce a kit to convert the GT86 to 114.3 pcd and the wheel bearing can apparently take some serious punishment - so a set of those are on route, when they arrive we will then make a decision on an AP Brake kit (probably CP9440) and an appropriate wheel (id like to stick with 17" and 8.5 to 9j) so we can run 245 slicks in a square setup, we then need to swap the suspension!!! lots to do...
That is all a bit further down the line though.
Next I was keen to get the stock car on track and see how she handles,
I am a nerd by trade so am obsessed with data, im keen to log everything we do so, on some advice from Mark@Abbey we ordered the AIM Solo DL v2 and Smarty Cam from Ebay and have now configured that with the GT86's ecu, the idea being that we will end up with an Oil pressure switch we can wire into the CAN sensor and start alerting/recording on any issues.
This is road view just showing RPM/Speed/Engine Temp/Oil Temp
20260711_163205_1cb3fc33 by TeamLizard Motorsport, on FlickrOverlay for the camera using a mix of ECU channels and inbuilt GPS channels from AIM, speed, rpm, gear, throttle position, track map, best time, current time, difference to best. Brake is in PSI and I havent got a read of what maximum PSI is in the car so I cant create the math channel to convert it to % yet, but will do later.
4a4875b4-33d0-4b59-8bf8-155808ce1ce0 by TeamLizard Motorsport, on FlickrJourney from my parents house to home, got to hit those apexes....
WhatsApp Image 2026-07-11 at 19.26.43 by TeamLizard Motorsport, on FlickrMore to come, obviously the FA20 wont be the engine we use for racing, discussions ongoing on that point
First trackday in the basically stock GT86, all we had done really was take the interior out, swap the oil pickup, add a baffle and Fensport swapped the clutch for us.
Initially went out with the traction in trackmode and within half a lap realised it wants the TC entirely off, after that it was just about getting used to the car, I must say for a stock car it's a lot of fun, an entirely different proposition to what I have been used too but the balance of the chassis is lovely once you get your head around it.
I spent a while remembering and forgetting how to brake/enter corners - it definitely benefited from some trail braking and getting on the power super early but with everything being new and the number of cars on track I didnt really get into a rhythm. I was mindful that the stock brakes and the oil temp/pressure were all worth worrying about, so doing more than a few laps would be a mistake.
The most we did was out, 2 quick laps, in lap - with one exception where we did a cool lap, one more quick lap and then a cool and in. I had the brake pedal go solid at one point and we hit 125deg oil temp and just backed off in both instances.
IMG_7104_tlr6o by TeamLizard Motorsport, on Flickr
IMG_7116_tlr6o by TeamLizard Motorsport, on Flickr
We did get the logger setup which was the other thing we wanted to achieve and the ecu stream worked a treat, I am a big fan of data and am used to assessing lap data to see where there is time to gain. The bracket that came with it however was rubbish and unfortunately kept getting moved - so the camera was a bit off kilter.
377e81c0-7c48-46af-95e2-d1956a10c7f7 by TeamLizard Motorsport, on Flickr
Some video of one of the sessions - the throttle and brake overlay isn't quite working but seems inconsistent so still some stuff to do!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7LMC4Nkt-G8&t=...
Initially went out with the traction in trackmode and within half a lap realised it wants the TC entirely off, after that it was just about getting used to the car, I must say for a stock car it's a lot of fun, an entirely different proposition to what I have been used too but the balance of the chassis is lovely once you get your head around it.
I spent a while remembering and forgetting how to brake/enter corners - it definitely benefited from some trail braking and getting on the power super early but with everything being new and the number of cars on track I didnt really get into a rhythm. I was mindful that the stock brakes and the oil temp/pressure were all worth worrying about, so doing more than a few laps would be a mistake.
The most we did was out, 2 quick laps, in lap - with one exception where we did a cool lap, one more quick lap and then a cool and in. I had the brake pedal go solid at one point and we hit 125deg oil temp and just backed off in both instances.
IMG_7104_tlr6o by TeamLizard Motorsport, on FlickrIMG_7116_tlr6o by TeamLizard Motorsport, on FlickrWe did get the logger setup which was the other thing we wanted to achieve and the ecu stream worked a treat, I am a big fan of data and am used to assessing lap data to see where there is time to gain. The bracket that came with it however was rubbish and unfortunately kept getting moved - so the camera was a bit off kilter.
377e81c0-7c48-46af-95e2-d1956a10c7f7 by TeamLizard Motorsport, on FlickrSome video of one of the sessions - the throttle and brake overlay isn't quite working but seems inconsistent so still some stuff to do!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7LMC4Nkt-G8&t=...
Edited by MrLizard on Tuesday 4th August 12:37
Trip to RCM -
As mentioned earlier in the thread we are looking at engine options. For the series we want to race in the ideal is to keep the same layout, flat four. We need to make 310bhp per tonne at the flywheel, at the moment we don't necessarily know what that means at the engine but I would be surprised if it is more than 400bhp, likely to be 380ish - weight dependent.
357c4d24-bae5-4e64-ae3f-0567f811b818.jpeg by TeamLizard Motorsport, on Flickr
We started a conversation with RCM, based in Hinkley, who have been fantastic with advice and happy to try and build a package around our requirements. 380bhp ish, about the same in torq and happy to run at the redline for 90 - 120 minutes.
2a11a1f7-5a9f-42a1-b28a-fbc572dfd0b3.jpeg by TeamLizard Motorsport, on Flickr
Walking around the workshop it was great to see some lovely examples of customer cars and of course the three Gobstoppers, number 3 being very loosely based on a GT86 but in reality just the shell. Some incredible packaging and fabrication on this car though and the Mrs was a fan of the gigantic rear wing.
0d52a222-ef8d-4e6a-936e-1107be5c8577.jpeg by TeamLizard Motorsport, on Flickr
They wont notice if we borrow this splitter right?
094b67b6-7cb0-46ca-b43d-8ba934198893.jpeg by TeamLizard Motorsport, on Flickr
Mike G and Matt Clark were keen to ensure that we put a plan together and have a look at the car to make sure we can make everything fit for our use case, next step is going to be a quick stop to see a fabricator but, assuming all is well, it looks like we will be going for a Semi Closed deck built EJ21 with a drysump and a modest turbo. Evidently you can still buy brand new EJ20 short blocks so the core of the engine will be new but everything else is custom built by RCM or chosen/tested parts.. super excited to get this part progressing but in reality we can't start quite yet until we have a staged plan. Watch this space!
Matt is a wizard, here you can see him levitating an entire engine with his mind.
32004bfb-70e0-483a-8b75-938b096fe0d2.jpeg by TeamLizard Motorsport, on Flickr
As mentioned earlier in the thread we are looking at engine options. For the series we want to race in the ideal is to keep the same layout, flat four. We need to make 310bhp per tonne at the flywheel, at the moment we don't necessarily know what that means at the engine but I would be surprised if it is more than 400bhp, likely to be 380ish - weight dependent.
357c4d24-bae5-4e64-ae3f-0567f811b818.jpeg by TeamLizard Motorsport, on FlickrWe started a conversation with RCM, based in Hinkley, who have been fantastic with advice and happy to try and build a package around our requirements. 380bhp ish, about the same in torq and happy to run at the redline for 90 - 120 minutes.
2a11a1f7-5a9f-42a1-b28a-fbc572dfd0b3.jpeg by TeamLizard Motorsport, on FlickrWalking around the workshop it was great to see some lovely examples of customer cars and of course the three Gobstoppers, number 3 being very loosely based on a GT86 but in reality just the shell. Some incredible packaging and fabrication on this car though and the Mrs was a fan of the gigantic rear wing.
0d52a222-ef8d-4e6a-936e-1107be5c8577.jpeg by TeamLizard Motorsport, on FlickrThey wont notice if we borrow this splitter right?
094b67b6-7cb0-46ca-b43d-8ba934198893.jpeg by TeamLizard Motorsport, on FlickrMike G and Matt Clark were keen to ensure that we put a plan together and have a look at the car to make sure we can make everything fit for our use case, next step is going to be a quick stop to see a fabricator but, assuming all is well, it looks like we will be going for a Semi Closed deck built EJ21 with a drysump and a modest turbo. Evidently you can still buy brand new EJ20 short blocks so the core of the engine will be new but everything else is custom built by RCM or chosen/tested parts.. super excited to get this part progressing but in reality we can't start quite yet until we have a staged plan. Watch this space!
Matt is a wizard, here you can see him levitating an entire engine with his mind.
32004bfb-70e0-483a-8b75-938b096fe0d2.jpeg by TeamLizard Motorsport, on Flickr2nd trackday
Other than trying to cobble together a bracket for the little data logger and a better bracket for the camera we haven't done much to the car ahead of the second track day. We are still trying to work out what the plan is and the right order to do it in!
We got to Donington a little early again and had a chance to see some of the proper teams running their cars, super impressive.
20260730_165311 by TeamLizard Motorsport, on Flickr
The sun was quite brutal and we needed a way of keeping the summer sun at bay so MrsLizard applied a sunstrip - in what can only be described in a really angry way, apparently trying to apply a straight thing to a curved thing is tricky. Still, eventually it went on and the advantage was I am able to see again!
20260730_180206 by TeamLizard Motorsport, on Flickr
The conditions were very similar to the first day, super hot and dry, maybe 1 degree less in heat but not much! There were some super quick cars in attendance again but I would say probably less than there were the first day, I was hopeful we could get some clearer laps, the issue with the GT86 at the moment though is the power, I tend to get overtaken on the straights but the cornering ability, relative to the straight line performance is on another level, even with road tyres and stock suspension, so a number of times although quicker over a lap I got stuck behind people. Still it's only a trackday and much fun was had so happy days.
55432925337_a96d7b7a26_o by TeamLizard Motorsport, on Flickr
body roll!
55432919282_cca647fe7b_o by TeamLizard Motorsport, on Flickr
We got some good data, I am feeling more confident in the car now and what it's going to do at/past the limit, from the image below you can see the minimum corner speed is about 13mph higher through t1 and is kept all the way to the old hairpin, where we are also quicker at the apex, by turn 3 we are already 1.3 seconds up. I did however get a bit carried away on the brakes whilst lapping and could feel the front left taking a bit of a battering, the car was enjoying a bit of trail braking but it started to fade a little and then the performance degraded. I am still backing off every 3rd lap due to concerns with the oil and it probably just meant there wasn't enough time between sessions to cool the brakes properly.
Screenshot 2026-08-02 135911 by TeamLizard Motorsport, on Flickr
Another thing on a long list to upgrade totally, but in the interim we are swapping the pads tomorrow!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l22Y0kNLVT4
Other than trying to cobble together a bracket for the little data logger and a better bracket for the camera we haven't done much to the car ahead of the second track day. We are still trying to work out what the plan is and the right order to do it in!
We got to Donington a little early again and had a chance to see some of the proper teams running their cars, super impressive.
20260730_165311 by TeamLizard Motorsport, on FlickrThe sun was quite brutal and we needed a way of keeping the summer sun at bay so MrsLizard applied a sunstrip - in what can only be described in a really angry way, apparently trying to apply a straight thing to a curved thing is tricky. Still, eventually it went on and the advantage was I am able to see again!
20260730_180206 by TeamLizard Motorsport, on FlickrThe conditions were very similar to the first day, super hot and dry, maybe 1 degree less in heat but not much! There were some super quick cars in attendance again but I would say probably less than there were the first day, I was hopeful we could get some clearer laps, the issue with the GT86 at the moment though is the power, I tend to get overtaken on the straights but the cornering ability, relative to the straight line performance is on another level, even with road tyres and stock suspension, so a number of times although quicker over a lap I got stuck behind people. Still it's only a trackday and much fun was had so happy days.
55432925337_a96d7b7a26_o by TeamLizard Motorsport, on Flickrbody roll!
55432919282_cca647fe7b_o by TeamLizard Motorsport, on FlickrWe got some good data, I am feeling more confident in the car now and what it's going to do at/past the limit, from the image below you can see the minimum corner speed is about 13mph higher through t1 and is kept all the way to the old hairpin, where we are also quicker at the apex, by turn 3 we are already 1.3 seconds up. I did however get a bit carried away on the brakes whilst lapping and could feel the front left taking a bit of a battering, the car was enjoying a bit of trail braking but it started to fade a little and then the performance degraded. I am still backing off every 3rd lap due to concerns with the oil and it probably just meant there wasn't enough time between sessions to cool the brakes properly.
Screenshot 2026-08-02 135911 by TeamLizard Motorsport, on FlickrAnother thing on a long list to upgrade totally, but in the interim we are swapping the pads tomorrow!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l22Y0kNLVT4
DaveK-S1 said:
Its worth keeping an eye on the diff oil temp as well as they get seriously hot.
A friend runs one as a training car , and has the extended capacity rear cover ,and a cooling fan .
Diff oil is changed every two track days
Thanks for that - we did have a goose at the diff last night and can see the bushes look like they are in the process of leaving the chat - the temperature was getting up there, keeping sessions quite short at the moment due to engine oil cooling/pressure problems too. Will be swapping diff oil soon! A friend runs one as a training car , and has the extended capacity rear cover ,and a cooling fan .
Diff oil is changed every two track days
I remember seeing your car mid July at Donington - think it was the evening where there were some racing minis and various other race cars testing.
Worst track day I’ve done, that one. Heavy traffic, some overly aggressive driving and my own car wasn’t behaving at all as the tyres were destroyed. I gave up half way through after three sessions and went home.
Had a better session there last week but there are some very fast cars there and far too many trying to get the most out of an evening session.
Car looks good, though!
Worst track day I’ve done, that one. Heavy traffic, some overly aggressive driving and my own car wasn’t behaving at all as the tyres were destroyed. I gave up half way through after three sessions and went home.
Had a better session there last week but there are some very fast cars there and far too many trying to get the most out of an evening session.
Car looks good, though!
Crumpet said:
I remember seeing your car mid July at Donington - think it was the evening where there were some racing minis and various other race cars testing.
Worst track day I ve done, that one. Heavy traffic, some overly aggressive driving and my own car wasn t behaving at all as the tyres were destroyed. I gave up half way through after three sessions and went home.
Had a better session there last week but there are some very fast cars there and far too many trying to get the most out of an evening session.
Car looks good, though!
yer that first trackday was a bit mad, lots of very quick cars and aggressive drivers which resulted in a number of red flags, we got some data but the 2nd day (last week) was much better.Worst track day I ve done, that one. Heavy traffic, some overly aggressive driving and my own car wasn t behaving at all as the tyres were destroyed. I gave up half way through after three sessions and went home.
Had a better session there last week but there are some very fast cars there and far too many trying to get the most out of an evening session.
Car looks good, though!
We actually went last night too but it was a bit mad again, there was a radical in the garage next to us which was about 30 seconds a lap quicker!
MrLizard said:
yer that first trackday was a bit mad, lots of very quick cars and aggressive drivers which resulted in a number of red flags, we got some data but the 2nd day (last week) was much better.
We actually went last night too but it was a bit mad again, there was a radical in the garage next to us which was about 30 seconds a lap quicker!
Just seen you were there on the 30th on your sticker; I was at that one as well, but in my new track project Mini! Much better evening that one, but still some crazy quick cars and a lack of etiquette from some. We actually went last night too but it was a bit mad again, there was a radical in the garage next to us which was about 30 seconds a lap quicker!
I’m going to stick to Croft and Blyton for a while now; the standards seem higher at Croft and it’s a lot friendlier, and Blyton doesn’t attract the silly quick cars. Donington just seems to attract……I dunno…….a different type.
I run a gt86 race car and got it down to 1040kg with weight saving rather than swaping in lightweight parts, it was one of the original TGM cup cars to start.
But sometimes wish I kept the AC
Plenty of scope to improve suspension etc, a few years ago they even ran turbo gt86 in British gt3.
Drop me a DM if you have any questions for your build
But sometimes wish I kept the AC
Plenty of scope to improve suspension etc, a few years ago they even ran turbo gt86 in British gt3.
Drop me a DM if you have any questions for your build
e21jason said:
I run a gt86 race car and got it down to 1040kg with weight saving rather than swaping in lightweight parts, it was one of the original TGM cup cars to start.
But sometimes wish I kept the AC
Plenty of scope to improve suspension etc, a few years ago they even ran turbo gt86 in British gt3.
Drop me a DM if you have any questions for your build
you absolute hero - thanks I have a lot of questions!But sometimes wish I kept the AC
Plenty of scope to improve suspension etc, a few years ago they even ran turbo gt86 in British gt3.
Drop me a DM if you have any questions for your build
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