New-to-me 2008 Yaris 3 door MT

[mittra]

I took a leap of faith and bought a 2008 Yaris over the weekend. It certainly fills my fun quotient. My previous car was a 2002 VW Beetle Turbo Sport (1.8L). So far I'm impressed by the Yaris' tighter turning radius and peppy feel. I'm not missing the turbo just yet, but have this sense I likely will soon.

I'm a little frustrated that my manual transmission Yaris doesn't have a tach. From poking around and reading her a little, it appears this came in very few models. If I go dumpster diving at the local salvage yards, which other Yaris models came with a tach and is it a reasonably simple swap? I'm fairly mechanically inclined, but want to be sure there isn't a lot of specialized tools or knowledge needed.

I definitely get the impression this little car is not going to be a let down at all when it comes to fun. So what are the typical, immediate mods that veteran Yaris owners recommend doing?

[IllusionX]

I tell you, you are going to miss the turbo.
That's coming from someone who get to drive a CDi Smart ForTwo daily. Nothing more fun to spool that turbine to pick up boost before merging into the highway.

The cluster is apparently direct plug and play.

[mittra]

Fortunately, I don't do much highway driving. My commute is a whopping 10.4 miles door to door and there is only one stretch of road roughly three miles long that jumps to a 55mph speed limit.

Having the instrument cluster in the center of the dash and not directly in front of me is taking some getting used to. I definitely want one with a tach though. Have driven manual transmission vehicles for almost 25 years and this is the first one I've driven without a tach.

[IllusionX]

My daily commute used to be 18mi that involves taking the highway. Now it's 2.4mi :)

It's amazing how places are so far apart in the US.
I learnt driving manual without a tach. But I've never owned a car without a tach. When I wanted to buy an echo back in 04, I waited for the 05 model that had a tach instead. lol (echo hatch as the sedan never had a tach in Canada unlike some in the US)

[twowheels]

Originally Posted by mittra

Have driven manual transmission vehicles for almost 25 years and this is the first one I've driven without a tach.

You'll get used to it. Unless you're constantly hunting for the redline, I honestly don't see the value in a tach. I have driven my Yaris about 130000 without one and have never missed it.


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[Jedz123]

Originally Posted by mittra

I took a leap of faith and bought a 2008 Yaris over the weekend. It certainly fills my fun quotient. My previous car was a 2002 VW Beetle Turbo Sport (1.8L). So far I'm impressed by the Yaris' tighter turning radius and peppy feel. I'm not missing the turbo just yet, but have this sense I likely will soon.

I'm a little frustrated that my manual transmission Yaris doesn't have a tach. From poking around and reading her a little, it appears this came in very few models. If I go dumpster diving at the local salvage yards, which other Yaris models came with a tach and is it a reasonably simple swap? I'm fairly mechanically inclined, but want to be sure there isn't a lot of specialized tools or knowledge needed.

I definitely get the impression this little car is not going to be a let down at all when it comes to fun. So what are the typical, immediate mods that veteran Yaris owners recommend doing?

Congrats on the purchase!!!

I've logged 100K on my little HB and I love it. I don't drive it as a primary commuter but as the primary cage for winter commuting it has been stellar.

I do allot of solo driving or if I need a cage I use it to haul things around so I have removed my rear seats and it makes a great all purpose hauler from groceries to 500lbs of sand or rock salt, bike parts or bring the Christmas gift to multiple family events. I wouldn't look into modifying for any kind of performance there really non to be had unless you want to empty your pockets and that point your better off just buying a different car.

I generally see mid to high 30's in MPG. Just take care of it and it will take care of you!

Good luck!