Transmission swap 05 Echo

[johnny_vitz]

I was very happy after my swap to the xb transmission, it was definitely worth the high revs on the highway. Stock gearing is terrible

[thebarber]

Originally Posted by johnny_vitz

I was very happy after my swap to the xb transmission, it was definitely worth the high revs on the highway. Stock gearing is terrible

Some day I’ll swap...when the car is no longer a daily driver

@johnny: good to see you’re still around! How’s the Prius V?

[johnny_vitz]

Originally Posted by thebarber

Some day I’ll swap...when the car is no longer a daily driver

@johnny: good to see you’re still around! How’s the Prius V?

The Prius is awesome, although I'm obsessed with fuel mileage now averaging 4.7L/100 km. It creeps up closer to 5.0L/100km in the winter
Sad to say, I decided to get rid of my echo. It went to a good home though, a co-worker. He has spent the winter going over the whole car and taking stuff apart/doing maintenance and improvements. He plans to track it so upgrades are also coming soon (some stiff coilovers, race seat/belts and probably a cage)
My dad passed along his Mustang to me, so thats my toy now

[suprf1y]

Originally Posted by johnny_vitz

I was very happy after my swap to the xb transmission, it was definitely worth the high revs on the highway. Stock gearing is terrible

I only just started driving this car regularly and you're right, the gearing is horrible. It would be fine for a commuter, maybe ideal, but for any sporty driving it's absolutely horrible.

Where do you do the track days and what's involved? I may come out if I don't have to do any special prep work to the car.

[Ronnie V]

Originally Posted by suprf1y

Where do you do the track days and what's involved? I may come out if I don't have to do any special prep work to the car.

We go to Toronto Motorsports Park.....mostly on Wed and Fri evenings. It is open to any and all street cars. No safety equipment required other than whats needed for the street.

If you don't want to do any prep to your car then the track days may not be for you.

Cheers,
Ron

[suprf1y]

Originally Posted by suprf1y

I may come out if I don't have to do any special prep work to the car.

I was not referring to regular maintenance. More like coolant, safety wiring, wheel weights, that kind of stuff.

Any pad recommendations, and what helmet is required?

[tmontague]

Originally Posted by suprf1y

I was not referring to regular maintenance. More like coolant, safety wiring, wheel weights, that kind of stuff.

Any pad recommendations, and what helmet is required?

As Ron stated, TMP will pretty much allow you to take any street set up to their track. They allow coolant on their track and don't really do any sort of pre ride sign off.

It's your call on pads and how long/well they hold up entirely depends on your tires and even more importantly, how hard you want to brake in the braking zones. My first 2 track days were on old race slicks and Hawk HPS pads (performance street). I thought they were fine until the next season when I started working on late braking and glazed over 2 sets of pads rendering them downright scary and useless. I now use a track pad (Carbotech xp-10) but they are not really that great on the street as they have poor stopping power when cold.

Hawk Blue's as Ron stated will likely be more than adequate, or a Carbotech pad that is less aggressive like an AX-6. I use brake fluid from Canadian tire, the OEM brand makes a "performance" DOT 3 which has a dry boiling point just under 500F. I have never had an issue with fluid even when my rotors started turning blue, I just bleed the fluid every couple track days. That fluid is about $19 per liter vs around double the price for something like Motul 600 fluid. Yaris' are light cars and are not overly hard on brakes but TPM is a tight track with a lot of hard braking.

Just double check all of the maintenance things like fluids and make sure your radiator is clean/clear of crap. It's a great way to get out frustration, learn how to be a better driver and have fun in a safe environment. Oh and the Yaris group is a good bunch of people which makes it that much better.