Springtime Mods/Ideas

[jpmck03]

As some of you might know, I'm currently spending my time taking an Army-sponsored "vacation" to a lovely little place called Afghanistan. Luckily I'm at the point in my short-lived career where I'll be leaving the 'stan as well as leaving the Army.

As I'm about to get out, I'm considering "selling back" some of the leave that I've accrued for some extra cash. If I stick around for, say 10 days (of which at least 2 days will be a weekend), I can earn about $700. So, I'm considering some mods for the Yaris as I'll be using it for 40 mile round trip commute to college for the next 4 years.

Just looking for some feedback on these ideas:

Transmission:

NST Short Shifter Kit - $92 from MI
Seems like the "easier" route for getting a shorter shift throw, and claims to be 30% shorter than stock. Really simple installation.

or

NST In-Cabin Short Shifter Kit - $76 from MI
Might be a little "harder" to install as I'm, relatively speaking, a newb at ripping apart cars. Pros: cheaper, almost the same reduction in throw (25%).

Handling:

TRD Sport Lowering Springs - $179 + S&H from TRDSparks
Less expensive than most of the lowering springs offered by Garm, but less severe of a drop than the MI-exclusive ones from Garm (1.2" vs. 1.8"). Seems like they offer the ideal amount of drop for a guy that will be dealing with NWPA roads.

and

TRD Rear Sway Bar - $153 + S&H from TRDSparks
At 22mm, a little bit cheaper than a UR 23mm sway bar (~$10), but a bit more expensive than the UR 19mm sway bar (~$13). Mid-price out of the 3, and probably I have a subconscious urge to have a TRD bar.

Exhaust (Maybe):

TRD Sport Exhaust - $305 + S&H from TRDSparks
From what I've read, quieter than a Nitto, and cheaper than a Tanabe Medallion or Tanabe Concept G. Clips on YouTube sound pretty good, with a nice little growl. Still up in the air about the exhaust, as it's not going to be too much of a gain in HP (maybe 3HP), and it's more of a "it looks and sounds nice" thing.

Grand total: $713-729 + S&H (with an exhaust) or $408-424 + S&H (without the exhaust)

So, YW, gimme some opinions on this!

[Kaotic Lazagna]

Skip the TRD axle-back. That's purely just sound and aesthetics (axle-backs will not really give you any power gains). You can have a muffler shop make you a complete cat-back system for a little over half of the price of that TRD axle-back, which should net you some hp/torque gain.

Your suspension pieces are a good choice.

I never got a SSK since I don't race my car, and that won't really be of any use for me, so unless you're planning on racing your car, skip this.

Another option is to skip the exhaust entirely and buy a nice set of used rims and tires.

[Kaotic Lazagna]

Oh, and I could have sworn that the TRD rear sway bar is 19mm.

[big lo]

^ it is 19mm

[jpmck03]

Thanks for the feedback!

Originally Posted by Kaotic Lazagna

Skip the TRD axle-back. That's purely just sound and aesthetics (axle-backs will not really give you any power gains). You can have a muffler shop make you a complete cat-back system for a little over half of the price of that TRD axle-back, which should net you some hp/torque gain.

You're right, the exhaust is purely for sound and aesthetics... just that.

Originally Posted by Kaotic Lazagna

I never got a SSK since I don't race my car, and that won't really be of any use for me, so unless you're planning on racing your car, skip this.

I've always hated the feel of our "drive by wire" throttle/clutch, so I figured that a little bit of a short throw would help out there, and it's a relatively easy and cheap mod. And, reversible if I'm not feeling it.

Originally Posted by Kaotic Lazagna

Another option is to skip the exhaust entirely and buy a nice set of used rims and tires.

Woo, already done! Summer wheels: OEM Scion 7 Spoke wheels on my Yaris. NICE

Again, thanks for the feedback!

[severous01]

skip exhaust. not enough hp for price to me. yeah it's 10% but come one....7-10hp for 500 bux....no way.

you'd be better off with inputting the pulley set over the exhaust. at least it's at all rpm and not a specific rpm. and it's silent...and wont void warranties of any kind, and is cumulative with turning off the AC.

[Kaotic Lazagna]

Originally Posted by jpmck03

Thanks for the feedback!



You're right, the exhaust is purely for sound and aesthetics... just that.



I've always hated the feel of our "drive by wire" throttle/clutch, so I figured that a little bit of a short throw would help out there, and it's a relatively easy and cheap mod. And, reversible if I'm not feeling it.



Woo, already done! Summer wheels: OEM Scion 7 Spoke wheels on my Yaris. NICE

Again, thanks for the feedback!

Okay, so rims is out of the way. As for the SSK, that doesn't resolve rev hang. But if you really want it, go for it.

Originally Posted by severous01

skip exhaust. not enough hp for price to me. yeah it's 10% but come one....7-10hp for 500 bux....no way.

you'd be better off with inputting the pulley set over the exhaust. at least it's at all rpm and not a specific rpm. and it's silent...and wont void warranties of any kind, and is cumulative with turning off the AC.

The three pulley set is $249 I think. They should provide better acceleration as well as deceleration, so they're a good mod. I just have the CR-Lite crank pulley on my car, and noticed a slight difference.

However, technically, no mod should automatically void any warranties as it is illegal for a dealership to do so. Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act. I'm not going to go into how a dealership should determine if your warranty is actually voided or not. hahahaha

[Kaotic Lazagna]

OP, if you want to change up the exhaust sound, just have a muffler shop either weld a new muffler in place of the old one (can probably have that done for ~$100 depending on your muffler choice) or a complete cat-back as I mentioned earlier (stick to 2" piping).

[jpmck03]

Thanks for the replies, Kaotic Lazagna, severous01, big lo!

OK, so the suspension stuff looks good, as I don't see any negatives posted there. Good, easy 'nuff. Maybe if I'm lucky I can con my dealership into at least matching TRDSparks prices (like to help the local economy if I can) but I doubt it. The only question I have is based on a comment from a guy at work, basically saying that if you keep your stock shocks with lowering springs, then eventually you screw up the shocks as they are constantly compressed because of the lowering springs. Never heard of such a thing in my research? Anyone know what he's talking about?

SSK is up in the air, and might be something to do to see if I like it. I know that I drove a friend's Civic that had a much shorter and "notchy" throw and said, "hey, that's not too bad!"

And the exhaust, yeah, that'd be an impulse buy for shits and giggles. I realize that there's not too much of an advantage to it, other than looks and sound.

Now, these pulleys, can anyone give me an idea if they are simple to install, as they DIY was made by a guy named ChinoCharles, who replaced it with a period (prior to getting banned or something?). Can anyone let me know how involved this is? Or a general synopsis? I've got the basics down (less energy is sapped from the engine to turn the pulley because it weighs less), but have no clue what it takes to put this bad boy in...

Thanks.

[cali yaris]

^ crank pulley is on with one bolt, but it's ON THERE. Very difficult to remove without air tools. Even my compressor isn't strong enough; I send people down the street to a friend's shop.

Anything that reduces rotational inertia frees up power. That includes the crank pulley, the flywheel, and your wheels/tires.

Take a CD in with your fingers around the edge, and spin it back and forth. Now imagine it's made of steel and much heavier. Harder to spin. Same concept.

[ilikerice]

^nice analogy

[Jason@SportsCar]

Originally Posted by Kaotic Lazagna

Skip the TRD axle-back. That's purely just sound and aesthetics (axle-backs will not really give you any power gains). You can have a muffler shop make you a complete cat-back system for a little over half of the price of that TRD axle-back, which should net you some hp/torque gain.

Your suspension pieces are a good choice.

I never got a SSK since I don't race my car, and that won't really be of any use for me, so unless you're planning on racing your car, skip this.

Another option is to skip the exhaust entirely and buy a nice set of used rims and tires.

+1. We have the TRD exhaust on two of race cars we worked on TMS with, waste of money... Sounds nearly stock and I would expect only a small power gain.

I would skip the exhaust and shifter mod, and buy upgraded shocks to go with those springs - or get coilovers.

You need to spend a good bit more than your budget to really see an increase in power. I would work on the handling first, it is the easiest thing to improve, then add power later as the budget allows.

[jpmck03]

Thanks for the input, everybody!

So, here's the chiseled down list based on everyone's input (and some great info from this thread!):

• TRD Sport Lowering Springs (Sparks) $179 + S&H
• NST Lite Crank Pulley (MI) $112
• Ultra Racing 19mm rear sway bar (MI) $139.95

Grand total: $430.95 (Very under budget!)

Maybe at a later point, look into a NST SSK, but hell, maybe I'll find one FS on here to try it out.

Things I've learned:

• The TRD exhaust is still just what I thought it would be: bling with minimal gains.
• The SSK isn't the greatest thing since sliced bread, but it's still pretty nice. Sounds like it's really something that is personal preference.
• TRD lowering springs shouldn't cause to much wear and tear on my shocks (this coming from research on YW and Google). Long story short, the drop they give, isn't enough to cause too much trouble. (Hell, they even sold a Scion with these springs and stock shocks!)
• The NST pulley should give me a little boost in HP and throttle response, and IF* I don't drive like a jackass with my extra mods, should net me a few more MPGs!
  * (Big "if"!)

So, I've educated myself a bit (and hopefully others in the process!) and have a preliminary list of toys to get!

Thanks everybody! (And of course, comments/advice are still appreciated!)