Nov. Trackday @ California Speedway! - Page 2 - Toyota Yaris Forums

jkuchta · 11-24-2008, 10:11 PM

I was in the white group...lots of fun.

The first session I was waved past an M6, a Z06, and an E36 M3. Got lapped twice by a guy in what was either a 360 or a 430 (didn't get a good look!). There isn't very much that can run away from a yaris in turns, especially the last series of lefts that lead onto the front straight. The last three sessions saw fewer point-bys, but my laptimes dropped considerably. I was running 2:32 in the first session, and 2:25 in the third (haven't seen the results for the last session yet).

As for how the car handled....it did quite well!

My HB is more or less stock suspension wise (stock struts/springs, no sway bars, stock steelies). I have installed a Thermal axle back, Simota carbon SRI, and nology hotwires plug wires. The tires I ran were Yokohama Avid V4s, with about 1500 miles on them. As far as brakes are concerned, I'm running Carbotech XP8 pads on slotted rotors up front, and Carbotech 917 shoes on stock drums out back. The fluid was changed to ATE Super Blue Racing DOT 4 fluid.

First off, the brakes were crazy good. So good in fact that I could feel the tires squirming around pretty bad under braking once the tires got too hot. I never experianced ANY brake fade, though there was a pretty much 1 mile long straight to let things cool off just a little bit. Initial bite was great, hot or cold (though better hot), and modulation was a piece of cake. An added benifit of the 917 rear shoes is that they shifted a little bit of the braking bias rearward, such that under really hard braking I could feel the rear end moving around a little, such that I was able to get a little bit of a slide going pretty easy which, timed right, helped just a little bit in getting the car turned in some of the tighter turns in the infield

The tires, as good as they are on the street, just could not handle the monster cornerspeed and braking that a stripped Hatch with race pads a fluid can through down. For the first two or three laps the tires were really grippy and responsive, but after that things just kind of went south. Once overheated, these particular Yokos get really gooey, such that they'll slide without making any noise whatsoever. The entire day I never heard so much as a chirp from them. They were very perdictable though, and once really hot the car would develope a bit of a push on corner entry, with a little bit less push on corner exit under power (thanks front wheel drive). Slides, both 4 wheel and rear only, were easily managed, which allowed me to do a bit of exploring in terms of corner speed. Another nice thing with these tires is that they recovered really well between sessions. I thought once they got overheated that would be it for the day...that they'd just get worse and worse. In fact, though, they came back more or less to normal in time for the beginning of the next session, where they would hold on for 3 or so laps, and then cook off again. All in all not bad for a 500 AA A rated tire.

As far as the suspension is concerned, I think everyone pretty much knows that the stock setup is really soft, such that body roll is really evident on the outside sholders of the rear tires. The thing really liked to lean, but I have to say it would take a pretty mean set, once leaned all the way over. It'll corner like a mofo! A set of coilovers would make this car a true weapon at the streets of willow, and would bring the laptimes down even further on the roval. Lowering the C of G couldn't hurt either.

All in all, after a day of 4-6k rpms, and half of a tank burned in a little more than 100 miles, the yaris is none the worse for wear. The highest oil temp I saw during the day was 103 C (217 F), and the water temp was pegged on 184 F all day on the track. I think she'll be ready for the streets of Willow this weekend, especially with the WR 4-2-1 header that Garm helped me install this afternoon. Maybe the slightly lower speeds will help the tires hang on a little bit better too.

I should have some pics to put up in the next few days. I'm waiting to see what the event photog comes up with, and my instructor took a few pics of the car in the pits...numbers and all.

If there are any questions I can answer just let me know.

Malaya1221 · 11-25-2008, 01:00 AM

lots of fun there j...hope to go with you next time around!

jkuchta · 11-25-2008, 01:04 AM

Can't wait bro!

largeorangefont · 11-25-2008, 10:43 AM

Streets will be a very good track for the Yaris. Get some camber bolts if you dont have them already and dial in som extra negative camber in the front.

I may bring mine out to Streets this December with my new track car.

jkuchta · 11-26-2008, 02:46 AM

Hey everyone.....here are a few pics that my instructor took at the speedway. I'll post the pics the photog took when they show up on the web in the next day or so.

largeorangefont · 11-30-2008, 01:41 PM

You have to get the track pics of your car.. they look good.

http://pa.photoshelter.com/c/motorsp...y8sSZU-&GI_ID=

http://pa.photoshelter.com/c/motorsp...y8sSZU-&GI_ID=

http://pa.photoshelter.com/c/motorsp...y8sSZU-&GI_ID=

cali yaris · 11-30-2008, 01:51 PM

Nice!

blacksandiegovitz · 11-30-2008, 02:10 PM

Good stuff man , That is one truely gutted yaris , I love it . with some suspension modds that thing will be a real track star .

id3379 · 11-30-2008, 07:15 PM

cant belive u didn't have any suspension stuff done!

jkuchta · 12-01-2008, 12:36 AM

Hey everyone,

Thanks for all of the great comments. The suspension is coming along. As soon as I have enough saved, the car will be on coilovers with pretty stiff springs. It's pretty neat though to really push the car on the stock suspension...kind of like riding on top of a marshmallow...which is in turn perched on top of a spring.

I'm having the photog put together a cd of all of the pics of my car...Gotta have proof of passing an M6 and an M3 on the Auto Club Roval in a basically stock yaris!

I just got home from another trackday at the Streets @ Willow Springs. Hopefully there will be some good pics to share soon.

Hey Cali, make sure you have a set of camber bolts after the holidays, I think that is the next suspension mod.....maybe I'll be able to slap on some shocks too (I hope Santa is listening!)

largeorangefont · 12-01-2008, 11:22 AM

Ill bet the car ran really well at streets.

jkuchta · 12-01-2008, 02:00 PM

the car ran pretty well, though I pretty well shagged the left front tire in 4 20 min. sessions. Rotating the tires with 0z322's help made the 5th session a little better, with a best time of 1:42..., about 6 seconds better than my first session, but slower than 0Z322's best of 1:36. He's really quick. Over all it was a lot of fun. Hopefully I'll have some pics up in the next couple of days.

CASTREX · 12-01-2008, 02:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jkuchta

the car ran pretty well, though I pretty well shagged the left front tire in 4 20 min. sessions. Rotating the tires with 0z322's help made the 5th session a little better, with a best time of 1:42..., about 6 seconds better than my first session, but slower than 0Z322's best of 1:36. He's really quick. Over all it was a lot of fun. Hopefully I'll have some pics up in the next couple of days.

Can you share some times of other cars there... so we can compare how good the Yaris did against others and how fast is a 1:36 on that track?

jkuchta · 12-01-2008, 09:15 PM

A completely race prepped miata did a high 1:26. A dude in a toyota turbo-powered Super 7 did like a high 1:19 I think. 0Z322 would be able to give a better recount on the times.

largeorangefont · 12-01-2008, 09:50 PM

1:26 is pretty fast on that track for a steetable car on DOT R compounds. The track is 1.8 miles long. There are a couple guys I know with Street Class Time Attack cars that run in the 1:26s.

I can cut 1:29s in my Cobra on Kumho MXs.

Sounds like you did good for your first time there. You need camber bolts! I bought some on eBay for a scion XB.

jkuchta · 12-01-2008, 10:00 PM

I need camber bolts AND more appropriate tires. 500tw tires just can't handle any kind of prolonged cornering.

I'm looking forward to going back with a set of Advans and some coilovers!

largeorangefont · 12-01-2008, 11:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jkuchta

I need camber bolts AND more appropriate tires. 500tw tires just can't handle any kind of prolonged cornering.

I'm looking forward to going back with a set of Advans and some coilovers!

11-24-2008, 10:11 PM	#19
jkuchta View User's Garage Drives: 2007 Yaris hatch (red) Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: L.A. Posts: 557	I was in the white group...lots of fun. The first session I was waved past an M6, a Z06, and an E36 M3. Got lapped twice by a guy in what was either a 360 or a 430 (didn't get a good look!). There isn't very much that can run away from a yaris in turns, especially the last series of lefts that lead onto the front straight. The last three sessions saw fewer point-bys, but my laptimes dropped considerably. I was running 2:32 in the first session, and 2:25 in the third (haven't seen the results for the last session yet). As for how the car handled....it did quite well! My HB is more or less stock suspension wise (stock struts/springs, no sway bars, stock steelies). I have installed a Thermal axle back, Simota carbon SRI, and nology hotwires plug wires. The tires I ran were Yokohama Avid V4s, with about 1500 miles on them. As far as brakes are concerned, I'm running Carbotech XP8 pads on slotted rotors up front, and Carbotech 917 shoes on stock drums out back. The fluid was changed to ATE Super Blue Racing DOT 4 fluid. First off, the brakes were crazy good. So good in fact that I could feel the tires squirming around pretty bad under braking once the tires got too hot. I never experianced ANY brake fade, though there was a pretty much 1 mile long straight to let things cool off just a little bit. Initial bite was great, hot or cold (though better hot), and modulation was a piece of cake. An added benifit of the 917 rear shoes is that they shifted a little bit of the braking bias rearward, such that under really hard braking I could feel the rear end moving around a little, such that I was able to get a little bit of a slide going pretty easy which, timed right, helped just a little bit in getting the car turned in some of the tighter turns in the infield The tires, as good as they are on the street, just could not handle the monster cornerspeed and braking that a stripped Hatch with race pads a fluid can through down. For the first two or three laps the tires were really grippy and responsive, but after that things just kind of went south. Once overheated, these particular Yokos get really gooey, such that they'll slide without making any noise whatsoever. The entire day I never heard so much as a chirp from them. They were very perdictable though, and once really hot the car would develope a bit of a push on corner entry, with a little bit less push on corner exit under power (thanks front wheel drive). Slides, both 4 wheel and rear only, were easily managed, which allowed me to do a bit of exploring in terms of corner speed. Another nice thing with these tires is that they recovered really well between sessions. I thought once they got overheated that would be it for the day...that they'd just get worse and worse. In fact, though, they came back more or less to normal in time for the beginning of the next session, where they would hold on for 3 or so laps, and then cook off again. All in all not bad for a 500 AA A rated tire. As far as the suspension is concerned, I think everyone pretty much knows that the stock setup is really soft, such that body roll is really evident on the outside sholders of the rear tires. The thing really liked to lean, but I have to say it would take a pretty mean set, once leaned all the way over. It'll corner like a mofo! A set of coilovers would make this car a true weapon at the streets of willow, and would bring the laptimes down even further on the roval. Lowering the C of G couldn't hurt either. All in all, after a day of 4-6k rpms, and half of a tank burned in a little more than 100 miles, the yaris is none the worse for wear. The highest oil temp I saw during the day was 103 C (217 F), and the water temp was pegged on 184 F all day on the track. I think she'll be ready for the streets of Willow this weekend, especially with the WR 4-2-1 header that Garm helped me install this afternoon. Maybe the slightly lower speeds will help the tires hang on a little bit better too. I should have some pics to put up in the next few days. I'm waiting to see what the event photog comes up with, and my instructor took a few pics of the car in the pits...numbers and all. If there are any questions I can answer just let me know. Last edited by jkuchta; 11-24-2008 at 10:43 PM.

11-30-2008, 01:51 PM	#25
cali yaris ULTIMATE View User's Garage Drives: 07 Yaris Turbo Join Date: May 2007 Location: Canoga Park, CA Posts: 14,859	Nice! __________________ Micro Image forums, online store and shop are now closed. It was a great eight year run, but it was time to focus on other things. I'm still selling parts on eBay under micro*image seller ID and customers can still make requests for anything specific.

12-01-2008, 11:54 PM	#36
jkuchta View User's Garage Drives: 2007 Yaris hatch (red) Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: L.A. Posts: 557	Oh, and that 1:26 was put in by a miata that was not street legal...the thing had a full cage (with hard top), a splitter (that works) and a rear wing (that also works). The thing had an open exhaust, and was really fast! It was a beast, and it sounded like it.

11-25-2008, 01:00 AM	#20
Malaya1221 super duper M*******TOR Drives: 2007 jahPANIS egg(Sarao Phil) Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Torrance, Ca Posts: 1,011	lots of fun there j...hope to go with you next time around!

11-25-2008, 01:04 AM	#21
jkuchta View User's Garage Drives: 2007 Yaris hatch (red) Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: L.A. Posts: 557	Can't wait bro!

11-25-2008, 10:43 AM	#22
largeorangefont Break'em off some. View User's Garage Drives: 07 Yaris LB, 04 Cobra Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: So Cal, OC Posts: 854	Streets will be a very good track for the Yaris. Get some camber bolts if you dont have them already and dial in som extra negative camber in the front. I may bring mine out to Streets this December with my new track car.

11-30-2008, 01:41 PM	#24
largeorangefont Break'em off some. View User's Garage Drives: 07 Yaris LB, 04 Cobra Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: So Cal, OC Posts: 854	You have to get the track pics of your car.. they look good. http://pa.photoshelter.com/c/motorsp...y8sSZU-&GI_ID= http://pa.photoshelter.com/c/motorsp...y8sSZU-&GI_ID= http://pa.photoshelter.com/c/motorsp...y8sSZU-&GI_ID=

11-30-2008, 02:10 PM	#26
blacksandiegovitz Your mom goes to college View User's Garage Drives: 08 Vitz Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Just chillin' out brah ! Posts: 1,434	Good stuff man , That is one truely gutted yaris , I love it . with some suspension modds that thing will be a real track star .

11-30-2008, 07:15 PM	#27
id3379 §†ęĄ¶‡Ћ-NCP96 Join Date: Oct 2008 Posts: 727	cant belive u didn't have any suspension stuff done!

12-01-2008, 12:36 AM	#28
jkuchta View User's Garage Drives: 2007 Yaris hatch (red) Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: L.A. Posts: 557	Hey everyone, Thanks for all of the great comments. The suspension is coming along. As soon as I have enough saved, the car will be on coilovers with pretty stiff springs. It's pretty neat though to really push the car on the stock suspension...kind of like riding on top of a marshmallow...which is in turn perched on top of a spring. I'm having the photog put together a cd of all of the pics of my car...Gotta have proof of passing an M6 and an M3 on the Auto Club Roval in a basically stock yaris! I just got home from another trackday at the Streets @ Willow Springs. Hopefully there will be some good pics to share soon. Hey Cali, make sure you have a set of camber bolts after the holidays, I think that is the next suspension mod.....maybe I'll be able to slap on some shocks too (I hope Santa is listening!)

12-01-2008, 11:22 AM	#29
largeorangefont Break'em off some. View User's Garage Drives: 07 Yaris LB, 04 Cobra Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: So Cal, OC Posts: 854	Ill bet the car ran really well at streets.

12-01-2008, 02:00 PM	#30
jkuchta View User's Garage Drives: 2007 Yaris hatch (red) Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: L.A. Posts: 557	the car ran pretty well, though I pretty well shagged the left front tire in 4 20 min. sessions. Rotating the tires with 0z322's help made the 5th session a little better, with a best time of 1:42..., about 6 seconds better than my first session, but slower than 0Z322's best of 1:36. He's really quick. Over all it was a lot of fun. Hopefully I'll have some pics up in the next couple of days.

12-01-2008, 09:15 PM	#32
jkuchta View User's Garage Drives: 2007 Yaris hatch (red) Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: L.A. Posts: 557	A completely race prepped miata did a high 1:26. A dude in a toyota turbo-powered Super 7 did like a high 1:19 I think. 0Z322 would be able to give a better recount on the times.

12-01-2008, 09:50 PM	#33
largeorangefont Break'em off some. View User's Garage Drives: 07 Yaris LB, 04 Cobra Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: So Cal, OC Posts: 854	1:26 is pretty fast on that track for a steetable car on DOT R compounds. The track is 1.8 miles long. There are a couple guys I know with Street Class Time Attack cars that run in the 1:26s. I can cut 1:29s in my Cobra on Kumho MXs. Sounds like you did good for your first time there. You need camber bolts! I bought some on eBay for a scion XB.

12-01-2008, 10:00 PM	#34
jkuchta View User's Garage Drives: 2007 Yaris hatch (red) Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: L.A. Posts: 557	I need camber bolts AND more appropriate tires. 500tw tires just can't handle any kind of prolonged cornering. I'm looking forward to going back with a set of Advans and some coilovers!