Yaris Off-Road

[CTScott]

Originally Posted by mitchell12

Stiffening the suspensions is not the way to do it, Offroad you need compliant suspension ESPECIALLY with an open differential and 2wd like we have. Spacers are certainly an option, as for the shocks in the rear they aren't exactly complex. I'd be willing to bet if you poked around a junkyard you could find something longer from another application. Then you could either use the junkyard parts or buy new ones based on that application.

Making the car higher isn't even half the battle. Making it flex and comply to the terrain is equally (if not more) important, as soon as one of your driven wheels lose traction you aren't going anywhere at all. Don't forget to do something to protect the base pan at least.


My two cents.

True, but the stiffening is only in the non-driven and extremely light rear end of the car. The spacers that I used in the front don't noticeably stiffen the front (at least not when the plow is off).

A locking or limited slip diff would be a huge help with an off-road Yaris, as once I take the weight of the plow off the front, I do find that traction is significantly reduced.

[mitchell12]

Originally Posted by CTScott

True, but the stiffening is only in the non-driven and extremely light rear end of the car. The spacers that I used in the front don't noticeably stiffen the front (at least not when the plow is off).

A locking or limited slip diff would be a huge help with an off-road Yaris, as once I take the weight of the plow off the front, I do find that traction is significantly reduced.

Nah if the spacers are at the top of the strut then they aren't going to affect spring rate really. But even in the rear keeping the suspension compliant is important. All depends on the terrain but I'm assuming by offroad we are talking uneven ground. But if you think about it, having a stiff rear suspension is exactly what will lift the front wheels especially in a crossy-upy situation, if the rear can't compress anymore that it's going to lift the front wheel on the same side.