The official "my Yaris handles bad on the highway/with crosswinds" thread

[sdmf]

well i do alot of highway driving on the weekends, usually around 80mph, i dont really feel the crosswind anymore, im running on trd springs, trd struts, trd rear antisway bar, 205/50/15 tires, i try to whip it around on turns. me likey alot

[blacksan]

Originally Posted by grampi

Good article, but it doesn't specify exactly what is considered overinflated. If you ask around, I think you'll find most tire experts will say a tire isn't overinflated unless the max pressure listed on the tire's sidewall is exceeded. As long as you stay under that, you're fine. BTW, for what it's worth, driving on underinflated tires posses a much higher risk of a blowout than does driving on overinflated tires. Remember the Ford/Firestone debacle a few years back? Almost all of those accidents were attributed to underinflated tires.

Unless the tire is specifically made for the car it is mounted on then the max printed sidewall inflation holds no relevance what so ever. Open your vehicle manual, or study the info plate that gives you a recommended inflation based on GVW for that particular vehicle. "Tire Experts" did not design the vehicle. The engineers that are employed by the manufacture do, and know the correct operating perimeters for said vehicle.

[grampi]

Originally Posted by blacksan

Unless the tire is specifically made for the car it is mounted on then the max printed sidewall inflation holds no relevance what so ever. Open your vehicle manual, or study the info plate that gives you a recommended inflation based on GVW for that particular vehicle. "Tire Experts" did not design the vehicle. The engineers that are employed by the manufacture do, and know the correct operating perimeters for said vehicle.

Both tire and auto experts are above my knowledge level. I'm just repeating what I've been told and obviously somebody's wrong. The tire guys say one thing while the car guys say another. I can verify one thing from my own personal experience though. My tires definitely last longer running them on recommended pressure +5 PSI. That's tire guys 1, car guys zip.

[blacksan]

Originally Posted by grampi

Both tire and auto experts are above my knowledge level. I'm just repeating what I've been told and obviously somebody's wrong. The tire guys say one thing while the car guys say another. I can verify one thing from my own personal experience though. My tires definitely last longer running them on recommended pressure +5 PSI. That's tire guys 1, car guys zip.

Are you my X wife impersonating a Yaris pilot with the screen name grampi???

[grampi]

Originally Posted by blacksan

Are you my X wife impersonating a Yaris pilot with the screen name grampi???

I didn't know you still cared.

[Pavel Olavich]

Originally Posted by blacksan

Hmmmm, I really do believe that folks are just not use to the sensitive steering input. I drive for a living and found my Yaris groove after about 50 miles. Yes, I am in the process of upgrading my suspension too, but not as radical as some of the folks here.

The Yaris steering is no more or less sensitive then most other cars. The only difference is that it uses an electric motor for assistence. That aside, it's functionality and performance is the same as 90% of all cars Japanese or domestic. I air travel and rent too many different cars to think otherwise.

I think part of the problem is that the newness of the coil sprints, suspension and tires conspire to make a new Yaris jumpy and twitchy, all of which will go away as everything seats in.

[Jerkratt]

i agree with that i have almost 3k miles and it seems to take corners and highway drafts a little better now acually.. im only 154lb so it cant be me helping it. the car does have a noticable body roll and i do notice getting slitghtly pushed on the highway during strong winds nothing major but im also going like 70-85mph. tire pressure a must but i am going to spring and sway it when the extra money comes in so i can get rid of that nasty body roll over tight corners. i have a new born myself and i feel comfortable having him in the car with me.

[hystria]

try inflate the tires to 34-36psi (do not inflate over this value)

on this car, bad handling comes first from the soft wall tires. when doing hard cornering - like on a emergency situation - there comes in equation the rear suspension which is too soft (springs) on this car. stiffer springs will offer much improvement for such situations

my yaris hb runs on 185-60-R15 inflate to 36psi and feels very tight on highway with stock suspension. the same car was much more instable and the steering was less precise with a tire pressure of 30-32psi

[Rabbit]

i also had the same problem. changing rims and tires helped my problem . i put 17s

[gm830]

Originally Posted by Mead

"has me scared to drive on the interstate now"

"60-80mph the car is ALL OVER the road. almost uncontrollable"

"barely made it home from the dealer"

"the interstate driving is killing me"



C'mon, if the Yaris is such a liability, the DOT would never legalize it, hwy fatalities would be all over the news, Toyota stock would plummet on the bad press...

There is nothing wrong with this car and NO you don't have to TRD it to make it track straight. Did you guys come from a Lexus LS or Bentley? making the Yaris so hard to get used to? Sure the Yaris is buzzy but it's damn smooth for a sub 2300lb car. Short wheel base? same as the Fit.

I also have a Jeep wrangler with 93" wheelbase and high CG, I've passed semis doing 85mph in Texas crosswinds Quite frankly y'all don't know how good you have it.

ON a serious note, if you're really scared to drive the Yaris on the hwy you need a new car. Dont' mess with tire pressure or feel you have to lower it 2" to feel stable. Get a 3300 lb Camry with 110 in wheel base

I'm really hoping you're right about all of this because after reading all these posts I'm scared to buy my yaris liftback lol

[blacksan]

Originally Posted by gm830

I'm really hoping you're right about all of this because after reading all these posts I'm scared to buy my yaris liftback lol

You will find it enjoyable after getting use to the car. I only notice heavy cross winds, but they are even worse in truck which has a lot more metal and a higher center of gravity.

[Jerkratt]

ive noticed driveing on teh parkway today that doing 80 with the windows down.. the car was more stable then with the windowa up. i felt like i had to "correct" the car more then. compaired to the windows being down.... i guess the wind acts as a natural stabilizer? sorta

[Mead]

Originally Posted by gm830

I'm really hoping you're right about all of this because after reading all these posts I'm scared to buy my yaris liftback lol

my only complaint about high speed driving in the Yaris is it gets a little noisy, mainly due to the lack of insulation but it keeps the car light. Other than that the car handles great on the hwy, it's very peppy. I'm confident next to semis.

Sure, the steering is probably a little light but it's not a danger to society. IMO if anyone thinks the Yaris is uncontrollable at speed, then they either don't have enough expereince with other cars or just don't know how to drive. (assuming there's no mechanical issues and the tire pressure is correct)

[nsmitchell]

Originally Posted by deebrown

no offense, but "the diesel stop" website looks pretty cheesy - like it was put together by some guy with Frontpage in his basement. Plus, and more importantly, the person who wrote the article doesn't list outside sources or detailed studies - seems like he's pretty much just giving his opinion...

He does seem like he's giving just his knowledge, but it also jives with my understanding as well. My brother, who was a mechanic for 20+ years explained this stuff to me more than once. The chalk test is a surefire method to make sure your tires are correctly inflated. You can't really argue with his article. His website may look cheesy because this guy may primarily be a mechanic or an engineer.

[blacksan]

Originally Posted by nsmitchell

He does seem like he's giving just his knowledge, but it also jives with my understanding as well. My brother, who was a mechanic for 20+ years explained this stuff to me more than once. The chalk test is a surefire method to make sure your tires are correctly inflated. You can't really argue with his article. His website may look cheesy because this guy may primarily be a mechanic or an engineer.

+1 I have an engineering background and the article does a real good job of explaining things in a layman's terms. If he would have presented his thesis then no one would have been interested in reading it. I still get a kick out of folks that want to argue away things that they themselves are noy really shore about.

BTW, Have you ever been to the Harbour Freight store? I want to slip down there sometime soon and pick up a floor jack.

[Thirty-Nine]

I had a Yaris sedan for a rental car for over a week. I loved it, but the handling did seem twitchy, especially at highway speeds. I did get used to it, but I'm glad to see that I wasn't the only person who thought this.

[nsmitchell]

Originally Posted by blacksan

+1 I have an engineering background and the article does a real good job of explaining things in a layman's terms. If he would have presented his thesis then no one would have been interested in reading it. I still get a kick out of folks that want to argue away things that they themselves are noy really shore about.

BTW, Have you ever been to the Harbour Freight store? I want to slip down there sometime soon and pick up a floor jack.

I will pick mine up at Costco. I've seen them about every time I visit. It's a lot closer to me. Right now I'm still licking my wounds after that speeding ticket. I have a very heavy Craftsman jack right now so no rush, and it gives me a good workout too.

[Jerkratt]

i got aharbour hreight like 5-10 mins from me... lol maybe we can work something out and i can get it and ship it or osmething