Toyota Yaris Forums - Ultimate Yaris Enthusiast Site
 

 


 
Go Back   Toyota Yaris Forums - Ultimate Yaris Enthusiast Site > Technical Forums > Performance Modifications
  The Tire Rack

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 11-05-2006, 01:31 AM   #1
littlecarlove
 
Drives: Want a Yaris
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: KY
Posts: 101
More advice please

Ok, I need some advice here. I want to get the most out of my car, but
that is hard because I’m not a car-smart guy.

My first thought was to squeeze out as much hp as I could by adding a
cold air intake and the sports muffler. Then I read somewhere here
that focusing on the suspension would give higher yields in performance.
Would that mean the lowering springs and sports shocks?

I’m not trying to make a sportscar. My driving habits are pretty boring.
Most of the time I will use the car for commuting. I live in a VERY small
town so the commute is about 6 miles a day round trip. Once a month
I make a 400 mile trip.

I have enough cash to either do the air/exhaust or the suspension but
not both right away. Whichever I don’t do right off I will probably do
later.

If it were your car which would you do first?

Gosh, I don’t even know what to think of the Front Strut Tower Bar,
the Front Sway Bar, Front Lower Tie Bars, and those Under Brace
things… WHEW!

Hays
littlecarlove is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-05-2006, 02:07 AM   #2
Bones
 
Bones's Avatar
 
Drives: 07 Yaris S Type
Join Date: May 2006
Location: San Diego
Posts: 42
If you drive where there are alot of twisty roads, I would do the suspension upgrade first. Your car would be more stable through the turns.

The ehxaust and intake would give you more acceleration/horsepower. With the sound of the ehxaust, it makes the car feel like it's going much faster and funner than it really is!!
Bones is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-05-2006, 02:22 AM   #3
Kr0n1k
 
Drives: AE101 Prizm('07 Yaris 3DR TBA)
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Rochester, NY
Posts: 55
Highway Commute = Air Intake/Exhaust
City Commute = Springs/Shocks (Wheels w/ better,wider tires would be a big plus here.)

Strut and sway bars stiffen up the chassis to help reduce body roll and flex when cornering. Tie bars and under braces also help stiffen the chassis. All this combined with springs and shocks would result in a much sharper handling car. The reason you may be steered away from an exhaust/intake is because you will only make marginal gains in HP, maybe not even noticable gains. It will shift the powerband somewhat, thats why I recommend it if your commute is mainly highway, if its city, you will benifeit much more from better handling.
__________________
Finally got a loan... going to test drive Metorite Metallic 5SPD Hatch 11/06...
Kr0n1k is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-05-2006, 10:13 AM   #4
littlecarlove
 
Drives: Want a Yaris
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: KY
Posts: 101
Looking at the math is just no help. In a 31 day month I’ll spend 28
days commuting, so that’s 168 miles and I’ll round that up to 200 miles
a month. My trip is exactly 312 miles highway and I guessed 100 miles
city driving. Total miles for the month about 600.

I should put exactly ½ of my miles on the interstate and ½ on city
driving.

On the other hand, I will spend just about every day doing the city
driving and only 2 days on the interstate… OK, I think I should do
the suspension first.

What exactly does that entail? Is it the springs and shocks? And maybe
one of those braces? And if it does mean a brace - which one?

Hays
littlecarlove is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-05-2006, 11:00 AM   #5
07WYarisRS
HardlyDangerous
 
07WYarisRS's Avatar
 
Drives: 09 Yaris LE, H/B, auto
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Ridgeway Ontario
Posts: 573
power is nothing without control

Always set up your suspension and tires first.
Think about it, an exhaust and intake will add 5-10 hp, that's not going to make you much faster. On An autoX track it won't improve you lap times much at all if any.
A better suspension set up will make you faster, put the power to the ground better and make the car handle better and on an autoX track you will shred lots of time off your laps.
I would start with tires, springs, struts/shock and brakes, then stiffen it up later on.
Once you have the cars suspension set up then you can add all the HP you want.
__________________
The early bird gets the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese.
07WYarisRS is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-05-2006, 11:04 AM   #6
ItsMyDaily
The LittleBastard
 
ItsMyDaily's Avatar
 
Drives: 2007 Yaris Liftback
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Posts: 297
So basically you are only using this car for daily use. Why bother modding the suspension aspect at all. Forget the idea of coilovers because you will just loose the ride comfort. Why get a sway or any other kind of chasis reinforment when you say yourself you drive with boring habits. But if you must do something then maybe just some anabe springs to give you a bit of a drop, a nice lower stance, and a bit of better handling feel. The car will still be comfortable for daily use. It'll look better due to the lower stance too.

Other then that nothing else is needed really. Intake and exhaust you can get just for the hell of it. It'll free up a bit of hp, and help with the efficiency of the motor. Help you get better gas mileage, , but depending on the exhaust you may start to hate it if it is too loud for city driving.

So think about what you want before doing any modifications.
Seems to me you are looking for a ride similar to what I'm going for. I also drive this car normally because I do not see it for a race car. I put about 300 miles on it every week and half so my focus is to have it look good but perform better for daily use while still keeping the ride comfort.

So far I have done ground wires. I'll be adding a cold air to help the engine breath better, and to further help with gas efficiency. I'll use tanabe nf springs to drop the car to improve handling a bit but still maintain stock ride comfort, and add a good looking stance to the car. Add some leight weight wheels to further help gas mileage and looks, and maybe a nice exhaust tip.
Would make a good quality ride that looks great, and best of all would suit my needs.
__________________
Yaris Mods:
20% Tints
Ground wires

2007 Toyota Yaris Liftback - Current
2004 Honda S2000 - Sold
1986 Toyota Corolla SR5 - Sold

DIY: Groundwire Kit
ItsMyDaily is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-05-2006, 11:21 AM   #7
Kr0n1k
 
Drives: AE101 Prizm('07 Yaris 3DR TBA)
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Rochester, NY
Posts: 55
He's commuting though... not auto-x'ing. From what it sounds like, he's not going for a very serious setup, just a little extra something to make the commute more fun. While I agree with you on setting up the suspension first when it comes to racing, an exhaust and intake will not make a considerable difference, not enough to be upgrading the whole suspension and brakes before he puts it on. When doing mild upgrades, its best to cater to the type of commute rather than setting up the car for competition. He may not want to add any braces, because they will have an affect on ride quality. In fact, if ride quality is a concern little, you may want to go with the slightly milder springs from Tanabe, just to keep it comfortable for all those trips.
__________________
Finally got a loan... going to test drive Metorite Metallic 5SPD Hatch 11/06...
Kr0n1k is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-05-2006, 01:31 PM   #8
littlecarlove
 
Drives: Want a Yaris
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: KY
Posts: 101
I used to have a Miata and a TR6 so I’m accustom to stiffer suspensions.
I actually like them because you feel more in control. And like I said I plan
to eventually upgrade with a CAI and muffler too, just not right away.

Everyone seems to be in agreement that suspension is the first place
to upgrade. I’m not sure what that means, you will have to spell it out
for me.
Are the upgrades I should be looking at:
Springs
Shocks - Is that different than struts?
Maybe bigger tires? - mine will come with the 15”

Hays
littlecarlove is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-05-2006, 02:46 PM   #9
Katana
 
Katana's Avatar
 
Drives: Yaris LB 1.3lt 06
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Under the hood!
Posts: 1,124
Send a message via MSN to Katana Send a message via Yahoo to Katana
The stock setup is not bad.

If you drive on twisty roads buy the suspension.But, the CAI and the sports muffler will make you think that your car is very fast!
Katana is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Questions and advice required about power upgrading(windows & locks) W.A.S.P DIY / Maintenance / Service 10 07-22-2009 02:59 AM
need wheel & tire upgrade size advice manborn Wheels, Tires and Suspension Forum sponsored by The Tire Rack 2 09-26-2006 11:27 PM
HID - Seeking Advice on Equipment, Installs, Kits, etc. bigsky2 Cosmetic Modifications (Exterior/Interior) 18 09-05-2006 01:12 PM


All times are GMT -4. The time now is 04:43 AM.




YarisWorld
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.