Rear spring swap info

[The Spectacle]

Here's an article unrelated to the Yaris but contains good info about the rear torsion beam suspension: http://autospeed.com/cms/A_107831/article.html

[supmet]

USED DAEWOO springs?? ya... let me jump right on that..

junkyards are good for lights, seats, interior stuff, but do you really want springs 1)off of a wrecked car 2) that have been sitting outside without flexing for months 3) OFF OF A DAEWOO..

this article made me laugh... especially when you think about how cheap aftermarket springs for the yaris are.

The author of the article nailed it - "you can make all those things[understeer and handling] worse, too!"

[cali yaris]

fun to experiment, but that's what it is, hit and miss to find something that works.

LOL @ this line though:

But hold on – why do you need to take the springs out? You want to do that so you can replace them.

[The Spectacle]

Haha I missed that one

[Loren]

It's not as crazy as it sounds, guys. Springs are springs, and they don't need to "exercise" to stay healthy. As long as they're not overly rusted (more than surface rust), they're fine. As for spring rate, you can calculate that easily by taking a couple simple measurements (diameter and wire thickness).

If you have access to a salvage yard and a ton more time than money... why not??? Especially if the salvage yard will take returns on stuff that didn't work for you.

Find a set of springs that has the right upper and lower perch ends (which might limit you to Toyota/Scion springs... but might not), the proper length, and a rate that is slightly stiffer than your stock springs... you'll reduce understeer. And if you can do that for $20 (I just checked the price sheet from my local yard... $9.99 per coil spring), that's a helluva deal!

It's not for everyone, but like everything else, IF YOU DO IT PROPERLY, there's no reason it can't work.