New 2008 Sedan need some tips please

[CaseyA]

Hello everyone......this is great forum I was actually shocked to find a Yaris forum but I guess you can find anything these days.

So I bought a 2008 silver Yaris over the weekend ad everything on it is pretty stock. It is a 5 speed manual and has about 39k miles on it. I love this little car and the gas mileage is insanely good, no wonder you all love your car so much.

My question is a very open ended question and I apologize for making this my first post. I realize I could probably search google and the forum and find many answers but I just want some tips and opinions from the members as I am pretty clueless.

I have about 2k more leftover to spend on this car and would like to make it a little more fun to drive and perhaps sound a little meaner, but I really don't care if it drives faster or not. Perhaps some simple visual improvements to the car as well? My problem is I don't know how or where to buy any of this stuff or what I should even do for that matter?

What would you do to a stock 2008 Yaris sedan with a 2,000 budget? Help me out here please.....thank you very much.

[WeeYari]

Standard responses are going to be;

- axle-back exhaust
- lowering springs
- new wheels/tires
- and a rear sway bar

Keep watching the For Sale by Private Owner Thread
Post in the Willing to Buy Thread

SHOP microimageonline.com!!!!!!!!!!!

[CaseyA]

Okay sounds great......what are the best places to buy these upgrades? Would they fit into my budget or just a few of them? I think I have decided to keep the tires and wheels stock for now just because Winter is about to begin here in Utah. But I am curious about the other things?

Update: Ooops read too fast.....you already told me where to buy, I apologize for the quick reply. So microimageonline.com is a good place to buy?
Any tips on where to go for install once I but things? I am not mechanically inclined at all :-(

[WeeYari]

New;

exhaust ~$300 to $350
springs ~$200
sway bar ~$150

Install for exhaust and sway bar is very simple and there is enough info/help available for you here.

Springs are substantially tougher, but again there is enough assistance available.

As far as where to go for installation, I certainly can't help you since I'm no where near Utah.

[WeeYari]

You should also note that when searching/shopping, of the items I've listed, only the exhaust is unique to the sedan. Springs, shocks, struts, sway bars are the same for either the hatch or sedan.

[CaseyA]

Originally Posted by WeeYari

New;

exhaust ~$300 to $350
springs ~$200
sway bar ~$150

Install for exhaust and sway bar is very simple and there is enough info/help available for you here.

Springs are substantially tougher, but again there is enough assistance available.

As far as where to go for installation, I certainly can't help you since I'm no where near Utah.

Thank you very much for the quick response I appreciate your help, I have been trying to google things and understand but it is all a little confusing to me still.
The sway bar I think I understand now and it sounds like a great little easy add on.
The springs.......I am a little confused, are these to lower the car? What gain will I get from lowering it?
The Exhaust......okay I would love to understand this better too, everything I googled about this comes up with different answers involving cold air intakes, headers, and exhaust Are these things all part of the same system or are they separate? I am so sorry for being so clueless, I am an IT guy and work on computers all day and I am just now getting into cars. Thanks so much in advance

[WeeYari]

Springs

On stock springs, the Yaris has a gap approaching 3" between the top of the wheel and the bottom edge of the fender. Lowering springs will offer a cosmetic improvement by eliminating much of this gap. How much depends on the drop provided by whatever spring. A nice drop is around 1.5"

Performance wise, new springs will be stiffer thereby providing better response and less body roll when cornering. OEM ride quality can be maintained by getting springs with a progressive spring rate as opposed to a linear rate. Progressive stay soft during normal driving, but get progressively stiffer the more they are compressed in cornering.

Exhaust

Aftermarket exhausts are typically loader. Some very load, others with a nice throaty rumble. They will also offer slight performace gains as they are more free-flowing than OEM exhaust. Headers are at the engine side of the exhaust system. Aftermarket ones again provide slight gains by being less restrictive than OEM header.

Intakes

These replace the stock air intake box on the engine. They provide slight power gains by feeding the engine more, slightly colder air. They also add an aggresive sound to the engine under hard throttle as the sound of air being sucked into the engine is not baffled like the stock air box does.

I'm an IT guy myself, well ex-IT. Hang around here long enough and you'll learn plenty. I have.

[Kaykogi]

Awesome, another Yarisworld member in Utah, and northern Utah, no less. AND with a Sedan. AND an IT guy. We're like twins.

[Kaykogi]

Also, I'm planning on doing some new projectors, wheels, tires and coilovers next spring and I'm close enough that we could help each other out with projects and mods.

[CaseyA]

Originally Posted by WeeYari

Springs

On stock springs, the Yaris has a gap approaching 3" between the top of the wheel and the bottom edge of the fender. Lowering springs will offer a cosmetic improvement by eliminating much of this gap. How much depends on the drop provided by whatever spring. A nice drop is around 1.5"

Performance wise, new springs will be stiffer thereby providing better response and less body roll when cornering. OEM ride quality can be maintained by getting springs with a progressive spring rate as opposed to a linear rate. Progressive stay soft during normal driving, but get progressively stiffer the more they are compressed in cornering.

Exhaust

Aftermarket exhausts are typically loader. Some very load, others with a nice throaty rumble. They will also offer slight performace gains as they are more free-flowing than OEM exhaust. Headers are at the engine side of the exhaust system. Aftermarket ones again provide slight gains by being less restrictive than OEM header.

Intakes

These replace the stock air intake box on the engine. They provide slight power gains by feeding the engine more, slightly colder air. They also add an aggresive sound to the engine under hard throttle as the sound of air being sucked into the engine is not baffled like the stock air box does.

I'm an IT guy myself, well ex-IT. Hang around here long enough and you'll learn plenty. I have.

Thank you so much I really appreciate the info and this definitely gives me something to work with and a great place to start. The way you broke down that info is very helpful for a noob like myself. I am sure I will have more questions with time, again thank you for the advice.

[CaseyA]

Originally Posted by Kaykogi

Awesome, another Yarisworld member in Utah, and northern Utah, no less. AND with a Sedan. AND an IT guy. We're like twins.

Wow that is awesome, and quite a coincidence hahaha. Absolutely would love to discuss this and help each other out in any way. What part of Utah you from?