Real World Test: Yaris vs Yaris

[nurburgring]

cleong is a good buddy of mine, and we brought our cars up to a windy stretch of 2nd-3rd gear roads. We wanted to see how different our cars felt.

cleong's silver yaris:
1.5l 5sp manual
TRD springs
1.8 degree camber bolt
Zero toe-in upfront
Buddyclub P1 replicas 15 x 6.5"
Michelin Preceda II 195/55r15

nurburgring's black yaris:
1.5l 4sp ECT
Tanabe NF210
no changes to suspension geometry
Buddyclub P1 replicas 16x7"
Dunlop SP Maxx 195/50R16

Ride comfort:
Although having 16" wheels, my car (nurburgring) felt softer and I felt rode better. Just a tiny bit stiffer than stock. In fact, I dont have to slow down too much over speedbumps. I should attribute this to the NFs being clearly softer, especially in the back. Tyre noise for both cars is actually pretty good, with the Preceda's (according to cleong) being a tad quieter. To me though, I felt my tyres were quieter. *shrugs*. The Preceda's squeal more easily (still requires a massive dose of provocation), which is a good thing I feel.

Handling:
Quite different I would say. cLeong has a lighter, and more direct steering. Turn in felt sharper. It is immediately noticeable. I'll attribute this to his suspension geometry. Grip levels for both cars are very high, with the cleong's car pulling higher G's before breaking traction. Both cars feel progressive at the limit, although I must the Dunlops dont squeal much, so you gotta feel it. I think progression wise, my geometry was more friendly due to the slightly stretched tyres and more positive camber, cleong's car had a higher grip level, but when it understeers, it chatters a bit. I felt that my car was less grippy, as the car was riding on the outer edge of the tyres too much, so much so the sidewalls were bending. It felt soft at the limit. I think a -1.2 degree bolt will change things. I like the way cleong's car felt in corners, very flat.

We had tons of fun, exchanging cars, sitting in one another's car, and in the end, going together for the run. Obviously, he had more balls than me. I could only smell smoke.

But I'm happy I made a good choice to my tyres, quiet yet grippy. THe NFs felt good too. But less sporty than the TRDs.

cLeong, your take ?