Yaris Track Review

[03Z33]

I had a chance to take the Yaris out to an open track day this past Sunday at Willow Springs Raceway "Big Willow" track. The event was run by Speedventures who always run a great event with LOTS of track time

It was my first time out in this car (only had ~850 miles when I got to the track) and had been "breaking in" the car up till the time I got there. I always like to take any new car out to the track at least a few times, just to get to know it better and fully realize its potential. As for mods I just have DF210 springs, OEM 12.4mm front camber bolts (-1.2deg camber), Tanabe axle back exhaust (so I can at least hear if it's on!), and some lightweight 15x7 wheels with DOT R tires (195/55/15 Bridgestone RE555/540S)

I was most impressed with how EASY the car is to drive! It was so much fun getting back in such a lightweight FWD car and being able to just cruise it near the limits without feeling like your pushing that hard. The car got a lot of funny looks and gained a lot of respect once people realized it's capable of keeping up with (and passing!) a lot of higher dollar machinery I went up with a good friend who drives a Lotus Elise (which I got to co-drive ) and was actually faster than him, though he is fairly new to track driving... some of the other "slower" cars included:

BMW E46 M3 (street tires)
Nissan 350Z (stock on street tires)
Masserati (all stock)
Mini Cooper S (modified with race tires)
NA Miata (race tires)
etc...

Now I realize a lot of these drivers probably don't push their cars as hard as they can, but it still feels great to pass some of those cars in a $10K econo-car

Overall, I felt it was a worthwhile experience, and though track duty is not the primary purpose for this car, I think I'll end up taking it out at least a few times a year The only upgrades that would really be nice to do for track use would be:

LSD
shorter gearing
stiffer suspension (coilovers/sways)
seat (more support)
harnesses (safety and support)
rollbar (safety)

Everything else held up great including brakes, clutch, power, etc.. I hope to see more Yaris owners taking their cars out to their local tracks!!!

Pics:







the Elise on track