Motegi Racing’s Killer AE86 Corolla GTS

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The cage mounting points have a lot of detail like these boxes which allow 360 degree welds and help the fabricator get closer to the roof.

The car was built to showcase Motegi wheels as a performance brand for the 2010 SEMA show.  The order was to build a show car with a twist; it was to be a show car that could walk the talk, being actually for reals fast and drivable.  Motegi had no desire to build a carpet queen.  Instead the results are perhaps the most badass AE86 ever built.

The stock lower links and panhard rod were replaced with these parts using spherical bearings.  The third link can’t easily be seen in pictures.  Notice that the lower arms have been dropped to reduce antisquat.  The lower arm mounting points are also adjustable.

The car started out as a 1986 Toyota Corolla GTS.  Papadakis Racing first stripped the car to a bare shell and removed all sound deadening, leaving a clean base to work with.  An integrated roll cage was fabricated of DOM 1020 tubing by Robbie Miller race cars to tie the chassis together for stiffness and driver safety. Then the chassis was seam welded to further improve stiffness.

The rear suspension uses a double adjustable Koni 30 series coilover shock.

The rear suspension was extensively reworked, the stock 4-link rear suspension was replaced with a 3-link to eliminate bind and excessive antisquat, problems that cause wheel hop and excessive oversteer in the standard AE86.  The rear shocks were replaced with Koni adjustable coilovers.  The front suspension had its links replaced with T3 Tuning adjustable units so the caster, roll center and bump steer could be tuned. The stock McPherson struts were converted to coilover with KYB AGX adjustable dampers as inserts.  Camber plates are used up top.

Spherical bearings and adjustability are in the new tension rod to make caster adjustment easier.