Zephyr Blue Sedan!

[ERA]

Hey everyone,

I signed up for this forum years ago but had never really been active. However, recently I've been thinking of spicing up the Yaris and I wanted to share with you guys what some of my plans were for the car.

http://i68.tinypic.com/289vrd4.jpg

Here's just some background... It's a 2010 5-speed Yaris sedan with around 50,000 miles. My family bought the car brand new 6 years ago and I've been driving it ever since. I really like that the car is small and agile, has great gas mileage, is a simple design visually and mechanically, and to be honest, is Toyota!

http://i66.tinypic.com/2rppap5.jpg

Personally, I'm a little more into what a car looks like than performance so most of what I want to do with the car is going to be visual. So, some of my goals for the car include having it lowered, bigger and wider wheels and...I guess that's it! Maybe a shift knob?

Back when I first had the car, what I really wanted to do was to lower it and throw some BBS mesh wheels on it. This was a rendering I did from all lthose years ago:

http://i41.tinypic.com/24vp551.png

I found a really great company called ESM Wheels that manufactures BBS mesh replicas:

http://www.benzworld.org/forums/attachments/r-c107-sl-slc-class/306668d1273117060-esm-wheels-esm-002-silver.jpg
http://www.esmwheels.com/

I think these are great because of the price and the sizes and offsets that they offer! I'm planning on going 16x8, +20. I'm also going to go for a coilover setup but am not exactly sure what brand just yet. Any suggestions would be great!

So that addresses some of the major changes I want to do with the car. I'll be posting about some of the minor details I've done and will be doing in the posts to follow.

Thanks!

[ERA]

So a couple of years ago one of the first things that I had done with the Yaris was to paint the headlight housings black. I really liked the S model headlights but at the time I couldn't really afford them. I had a friend offer to help me paint them but I guess they weren't properly sealed and as time went by more and more water had getting into the housing:

http://i66.tinypic.com/o0kyu.jpg

At this point, they had become really oxidized too.

To remedy this I decided on purchasing new headlights. The ones that I really wanted are the headlights off of the Japanese Belta where the whole thing is clear:

http://www.goo-net-exchange.com/car/toyota/img/toyota_belta.gif

as I thought that they would compliment the silver BBS rep wheels that I wanted. I just also like it when small things are changed on a car with regards to where it originally came from... i.e. non USDM parts! Also, if I were going for black wheels however, I think I would have looked into matching the headlights by buying real S model ones.

I posted a WTB add on here for Belta lights with no luck, checked eBay every now and then with the same results (there's one right now for sale...but ONLY one!) but ended up buying these weird pair of headlights...not from the same eBay seller but two different people who happened to be selling a left and right one each!

I say "weird" because:

http://i63.tinypic.com/546alw.jpg

I've never seen any Yaris or Belta with the turn signals/parking lights half amber half clear? Maybe someone can explain to me why these are? I thought that these were pretty unique so I snatched these up as quick as I could!

You can see the lights installed in the first picture in the first post but here's another view:
http://i65.tinypic.com/jualjp.jpg

I think they'd definitely be better if they were all clear though!

[ERA]

With regards to breathing, I installed an afe intake a couple of years ago. I really liked it. It had a great sound but I'm now actually looking into a K&N Typhoon after listening to a couple of clips on YouTube. This will be my next purchase!

Also, I was looking for ways to feed more cooler air towards an intake. My car didn't come with foglights but I thought it would be really cool and clean looking to buy a driver's side foglight bezel and fit some piping into it and have it direct the air to the filter. This is just a quick mock up:

http://i66.tinypic.com/2e2m0s5.jpg

As you can see, the hole isn't a perfect circle so I ended up trimming the top a bit so that anything round can just slide in without parts of it having to be flattened:

http://i68.tinypic.com/2nu96u.jpg

It isn't perfect as some of my measurements were kind of funky but I think it should get the job done!

http://i64.tinypic.com/2wm0vph.jpg

http://i68.tinypic.com/2eleagx.jpg

It's great because the 3 inch laundry piping? seems to be just the right size and is flexible enough to find its way up to the filter!

http://i68.tinypic.com/2b76n9.jpg

http://i68.tinypic.com/30vnhn7.jpg

Plus. the offset inlet kind of gives the car that racing vibe ha!

http://i66.tinypic.com/5320lw.jpg

Anyway, I'll be buttoning this up once I find better piping but that's about it for now!

[tmontague]

I like the duct work idea. I've been thinking about doing this for my short ram air intake for a while now. Good to know that simple 3" tubing will do the trick

[WeeYari]

I like the duct work idea.

Approach this idea with caution is all I can say. Several years ago we had a GTA member who experimented with pointing the snorkel on the stock intake downward to the lower grill area. Performance and mpg wise worked great. Not so great when it turned itself into a wet-vac during a massive rainstorm and hydro-locked his engine. Expensive and inconvenient modding experiment.

[ERA]

Yes, very good point! As much as I would like to say that I live in an area where rainfall doesn't happen too often (southern California) the car is my daily driver and it's important that it be able to get me to where I need to go without trouble no matter the conditions (Whenit does rain here, it floods!) I was thinking I could put together some sort of cover for wet days? Maybe finding a way to temporarily block/seal/cap the inside passage as well? I'm not really sure but I'll think of something!

[Kalispel]

Zephyr Blue is a really good looking color. I really like the look of the Yaris sedan even after all these years. It's still much nicer looking than any Corolla - especially after you tweak it with a couple of modest upscale accessories (alloy wheels, trunk lip spoiler, exhaust tip, etc.). :thumbup:

[TerenceCruz]

Nice render with the BBS, I still think you should go for that ;) I feel like I've seen that before when I first got my Yaris and joined YarisWorld. Haha as far as coilovers I'd recommend BC coils with maybe a 10k/8k Swift springs set up, maybe even stiffer depending on how tight you want your fitment to be.

[cparker]

That's the same color as my 2014 Yaris hatchback, nice !! If you don't have a new shift knob yet, and like the idea of a wood one.,you can easily make one. Find a nice shape piece of wood you like, sand it and stain it. Drill a 1/4 inch hole in the bottom and screw it onto your stick shift. Did that with mine and added a wood like steering wheel cover. Looks real classy !!

[ERA]

Nice render with the BBS, I still think you should go for that ;) I feel like I've seen that before when I first got my Yaris and joined YarisWorld. Haha as far as coilovers I'd recommend BC coils with maybe a 10k/8k Swift springs set up, maybe even stiffer depending on how tight you want your fitment to be.

Thanks for the suggestion. I really like what you've done with your 2011 by the way!

[ERA]

Zephyr Blue is a really good looking color. I really like the look of the Yaris sedan even after all these years. It's still much nicer looking than any Corolla - especially after you tweak it with a couple of modest upscale accessories (alloy wheels, trunk lip spoiler, exhaust tip, etc.). :thumbup:

I really like the color as well! And yes I agree, simple and subtle personal touches can definitely make a car much nicer looking!

[ERA]

That's the same color as my 2014 Yaris hatchback, nice !! If you don't have a new shift knob yet, and like the idea of a wood one.,you can easily make one. Find a nice shape piece of wood you like, sand it and stain it. Drill a 1/4 inch hole in the bottom and screw it onto your stick shift. Did that with mine and added a wood like steering wheel cover. Looks real classy !!

A wood shift knob might be an option! Which reminds me, I definitely like the bamboo shift knob that can be found in Eddie Huang's custom Scion iA:

https://www.scion.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/eddie-huang-bamboo-shift-knob.jpg

Something like this out of wood I think would be pretty cool to have!

[ern-diz]

Nice ride!

Looking forward to watching the progress.

Wet vac is a scary thought.

[ERA]

A few updates with the Yaris:

Got rid of the janky CAI setup (you know when you feel like something seems really cool at one time and then its..not?)

I finally found a pair of genuine Belta headlights (all clear housing)

Will be replacing the front turn signals, front parking lights, and rear license plate bulbs with LEDs from superbrightleds.com

Just purchased a K&N intake

Planning to delete the muffler

Planning on purchasing Enkei 92 wheels (15x8, +25 in silver...they'll go great with the new headlights) with Tein Street Basis coilovers..

Quick render:
http://i63.tinypic.com/2ntcq3q.jpg
(smaller wheels, more rubber, livable ride height!)

[ERA]

Here are the LEDs for the rear license plate. Super bright!

http://i64.tinypic.com/fnv5w9.jpg

http://i63.tinypic.com/qywfgz.jpg

Very refreshing!

[TerenceCruz]

Here are the LEDs for the rear license plate. Super bright!

http://i64.tinypic.com/fnv5w9.jpg

http://i63.tinypic.com/qywfgz.jpg

Very refreshing!

So happy to see you update this thread! I love the LEDs! I wish the liftback license plate had 2 bulbs instead of 1. IMHO you may feel like 15s will end up being too small. Unfortunately Enkei 92s don't come in 16s.. Which is why I opted for 16x8 +15 Klutch SL1s. But, the 15s can still work with some meaty tires ;) Maybe that could be a direction you could go towards? I'm excited to see the coilovers and intake on!

[ERA]

So happy to see you update this thread! I love the LEDs! I wish the liftback license plate had 2 bulbs instead of 1. IMHO you may feel like 15s will end up being too small. Unfortunately Enkei 92s don't come in 16s.. Which is why I opted for 16x8 +15 Klutch SL1s. But, the 15s can still work with some meaty tires ;) Maybe that could be a direction you could go towards? I'm excited to see the coilovers and intake on!

I agree with going with 16s for something bigger. I've have looked into klutch sl1s like you've mentioned but what I was concerned with in going with the Sl1s was the low offsets..

I admit, lately I've been less interested in aggressive wheel and suspension setups and have, visually, tried to stick as close to a factory style as much as possible..so 15s that don't poke out so much is absolutely fine with me! but more rubber definitely

Recently, what I like to keep in mind when modifying a car are things like keeping true to the factory shapes and lines (no lips or body kits, etc.), trying not to fall too much into what's trending... (slammed, wide wheels, low offsets, overfenders) being careful not to make the car into what it wasn't originally designed for (not gutting the interior, carbon fiber hoods, big wings, getting rid of that cai setup!), something like..what you would be able to see to in a Toyota museum but isn't bone stock.. something with at least some styled expression. Small subtle changes that when looked at as a whole can feel like a big difference (JDM headlights, also planning on adding sidemarkers). Lastly, trying to mimic either the JDM/EURO variation of the model (stuff we never get always seems so much cooler..side mirrors with turn signals!) As for the wheels, I wanted to go for something that was factory looking (in the 80s at least!) that weren't hubcaps, nothing flashy, just simple style (I really do think mesh wheels are pretty timeless and can be pulled off by a lot of cars of any era, plus when I think of mesh wheels, I think of japan)

Sorry, this whole post was one big ramble, but I do really get into the stylings of cars and what little bits work together well and which ones don't (to me at least, for example you'll notice that I took off the old toyota logo sticker because I thought that the red clashed too much with the cool blue and silver of the paint, headlights, wheels). But when finished, what i'd like is for the casual fan of the yaris to appreciate it's natural "beauty" all the while catering to enthusiasts with small surprises like the jdm headlights and stuff like that.

[TerenceCruz]

I agree with going with 16s for something bigger. I've have looked into klutch sl1s like you've mentioned but what I was concerned with in going with the Sl1s was the low offsets..

I admit, lately I've been less interested in aggressive wheel and suspension setups and have, visually, tried to stick as close to a factory style as much as possible..so 15s that don't poke out so much is absolutely fine with me! but more rubber definitely

Recently, what I like to keep in mind when modifying a car are things like keeping true to the factory shapes and lines (no lips or body kits, etc.), trying not to fall too much into what's trending... (slammed, wide wheels, low offsets, overfenders) being careful not to make the car into what it wasn't originally designed for (not gutting the interior, carbon fiber hoods, big wings, getting rid of that cai setup!), something like..what you would be able to see to in a Toyota museum but isn't bone stock.. something with at least some styled expression. Small subtle changes that when looked at as a whole can feel like a big difference (JDM headlights, also planning on adding sidemarkers). Lastly, trying to mimic either the JDM/EURO variation of the model (stuff we never get always seems so much cooler..side mirrors with turn signals!) As for the wheels, I wanted to go for something that was factory looking (in the 80s at least!) that weren't hubcaps, nothing flashy, just simple style (I really do think mesh wheels are pretty timeless and can be pulled off by a lot of cars of any era, plus when I think of mesh wheels, I think of japan)

Sorry, this whole post was one big ramble, but I do really get into the stylings of cars and what little bits work together well and which ones don't (to me at least, for example you'll notice that I took off the old toyota logo sticker because I thought that the red clashed too much with the cool blue and silver of the paint, headlights, wheels). But when finished, what i'd like is for the casual fan of the yaris to appreciate it's natural "beauty" all the while catering to enthusiasts with small surprises like the jdm headlights and stuff like that.

I totally get and respect where you're coming from! I too love the original body lines combined with timeless wheel set ups, etc. I guess for me I have to go through the stage to really see whether I like it or not. I do love the aggressive fitment and low ride height, but as I get older I'm drifting towards meaty fitment and somewhat of a more comfortable ride! At the end of the day it's all about what the owner of the car likes. So all is good with me! I'm sure the car will turn out great regardless of which direction you choose to go with it!

[ern-diz]

So happy to see you update this thread!

+1

[ERA]

I totally get and respect where you're coming from! I too love the original body lines combined with timeless wheel set ups, etc. I guess for me I have to go through the stage to really see whether I like it or not. I do love the aggressive fitment and low ride height, but as I get older I'm drifting towards meaty fitment and somewhat of a more comfortable ride! At the end of the day it's all about what the owner of the car likes. So all is good with me! I'm sure the car will turn out great regardless of which direction you choose to go with it!

Ah sorry! Given your response, I feel like I might have come off as writing all of that and directing it towards you but that wasn't my intention! I just gave a quick response to wheel size question and should have started another post just generally explaining the ideas behind what I wanted to do with the car.

[ERA]

I totally get and respect where you're coming from! I too love the original body lines combined with timeless wheel set ups, etc. I guess for me I have to go through the stage to really see whether I like it or not. I do love the aggressive fitment and low ride height, but as I get older I'm drifting towards meaty fitment and somewhat of a more comfortable ride! At the end of the day it's all about what the owner of the car likes. So all is good with me! I'm sure the car will turn out great regardless of which direction you choose to go with it!

But yes, I agree. It's nice to be able to drive your car everywhere and not worry about bottoming out!

[TerenceCruz]

Oh no worries! I know that wasn't towards me haha you're all good man! No offense taken.

[ERA]

Received the intake today!

http://i66.tinypic.com/6r7ad5.jpg

Will now be waiting for the headlights to come in to install everything at once.

[TerenceCruz]

Received the intake today!

http://i66.tinypic.com/6r7ad5.jpg

Will now be waiting for the headlights to come in to install everything at once.

Love the intake! Which headlights are you getting? Sorry if you mentioned it before, I might have missed it. Post pics when the install is done please! :thumbsup:

[ERA]

Will do! The headlights that I've bought are Japanese market Beltas with the all clear housings:

http://i64.tinypic.com/2552ovd.jpg

I'm thinking that the all clear headlights will go well with the blue/frost color of the body

http://www.bcarwallpapers.com/contents/member/carwalls/photos/2011-toyota-belta-toyota-belta-2011-toyota-2011-be-2be40b.jpg

Edit: Actually, I think all clear headlights on these cars can look great on any color! Visually, I think it helps to clean up the front end and helps to make the face less busy

http://i67.tinypic.com/2la8tbc.jpg

http://i64.tinypic.com/b3x56p.jpg
(especially cars towards the lighter end of the colors)

[ERA]

And just for fun, I used to mess around with photoshop a lot and I thought that stock photo of the light blue Belta would be great to put some of my all-time favorite wheels on:

http://www.bcarwallpapers.com/contents/member/carwalls/photos/2011-toyota-belta-toyota-belta-2011-toyota-2011-be-2be40b.jpg
http://i67.tinypic.com/2m5l73q.jpg

Also added a little front lip!

[ERA]

Installation complete! Couldn't quite wait. Love the sound, have hardly been listening to the radio since then!

http://i66.tinypic.com/2s7ust4.jpg

[ern-diz]

Very nice.

I've been going back and forth on getting an intake. Some folks love them, others say they actually reduce performance and I'm stuck in the middle not knowing enough to agree with either lol.

[ERA]

Very nice.

I've been going back and forth on getting an intake. Some folks love them, others say they actually reduce performance and I'm stuck in the middle not knowing enough to agree with either lol.

To be honest, I just like the sound!

[ERA]

Just received my Belta headlights the other day!

http://i65.tinypic.com/28vt0z8.jpg

Will be switching the bulbs with superbrightled lights before install!

[TerenceCruz]

I love the intake! Too pricey for me though, although the sound is amazing. Geeze those Work wheels would look so good on this car haha. And sweet I can't wait to see the headlights on!

[ern-diz]

:thumbsup: