Yaris MK1 suspension.

[IICIIEII]

Hello!

I recently got a Yaris MK1 from 2005. It is a 1.0 car with the 1SZFE engine and manual transmission. The car is in great condition, although it was in need of some care. I was doing the engine and it runs great, but the suspension is in terrible condition and I was wondering if you would have some recommendations regarding it.

At the moment, I like the Koni STR.T Kits quite a lot because I love b roads, but because my partner is driving it every day I am a bit worried about their stiffness:

https://www.koni.com/en-US/Cars/Products/Sport-Tuning/STR-T-Kit/

Another alternative would be something like the Bilstein B6 but, sadly, I thing they don’t make them for this particular model. Do you have any other recommendations? I am after something that is sporty, but not brutally hard either.

Thanks you!

 

 

[Cyker]

I know Fensport do a range of adjustable coil-overs - They might be able to advise better. They're !Removed! expensive tho' - I think one set costs more than the car is now worth!

[flash22]

Be aware you are looking at Koni USA,

Swapping out most of the rubber bushes will tighten up the car no end you could go with poly bushes from super pro

Coilovers on 1.0 is a bit overkill, uprated shocks with Eibach springs, and new top mounts

The P10 cars also eat droplinks and arb bushes with age

 

[corradovr6]

as above, i would replace the bushes and definitely do the drop links with PU - i have yet to find a set of rubbers for the drop links that last more than 18 months before deteriorating.  Might also be worth investing in some replacement Tein springs and if your shocks are a bit tired you could change them too.  Bounce the front and back of the car and see the rebound and note any abnormal noises. Also do a side shake - be aware though that onlookers may think you're trying to nick the car though!

I replaced the rear shocks in my old yaris with ones from gsf and they were fine.

[IICIIEII]

Thank you for the answers!

I have coilovers in a rally car, but I was not considering to install them on the Yaris, no :D. My original idea was to go for that Koni kit, because I found it for less than 400 pounds, and then do the drop links and the PUs too, it would be good to replace the arb bushes as well (truth is that the suspension is totally gone, the car is bouncy as hell and the steering is all spongy).

I am totally open to another type of shocks and spring, though, if you could share a few links of particular recommendations (including bushes, etc.) it would be great. I am totally new to Toyota, my other car is a VW.

Thanks again!

[flash22]

http://www.fensport.co.uk not cheap but list stuff for the yaris

then you have

https://www.dcperformance.co.uk/

https://www.demon-tweeks.com/uk/section/performance/

https://www.merlinmotorsport.co.uk/

these have multiple sites

https://www.bilsteinsuspensionstore.co.uk/

try the autodoc App, one member got a set of Eibach for £100 delivered (app only specials)

 

[flash22]

The Bilstein B12 pro Kits are B6 shocks with Eibach springs

https://www.dcperformance.co.uk/uprated/bilstein-b12-pro-kit-suspension-kits/toyota/yaris.html

 

Power steering - is that the hydraulic type ? Its old fluid dump and refresh it may take a few flushes to get it nice and clean tho, it's more than likely needs the brake fluid done as well

[IICIIEII]

Bilstein B6 and Eibach is actually a very good combination, I used to have those in another car and I was pretty happy with them! I did not know that the B6s were made for the Yaris P1, but if they are it is possible the best choice. They feel sporty, but nothing crazy.  This kit should be compatible with the car, right? 🙂

https://www.dcperformance.co.uk/cheap/1326193/toyota/bilstein-b12-pro-kit-suspension-kits/46-207173.html

the VIN is VNKKV18340A221732

And yes... I will have to replace the brake and steering fluid too. I have to put it on an elevator and check the type of power steering I have though. I was planning to do the brakes these Christmas. At the moment I just did the essentials to the engine so my partner can use it: new plugs, oil, filters and mass airflow sensor cleaning. While doing the spark plugs I found that one was totally loose and wet, somebody tightened it just by hand 😢

 

 

[flash22]

That's what it comes up with using the car selector tool on the site

 

From that VIN.

Built - 05/2003

Model - SCP10R-CHMRKW

Colour - 1E7 (silver mica metallic)

Looking at the epc, it has Electric Power steering, Not Traditional Hydraulic PAS

 

You're right, no B6 for the P10

The Koni STR.T kit is better value and comes with H&R springs

[IICIIEII]

Koni STR.T kit will be then, because they come with the H&Rs and all, I just hope then won't be too stiff for her (for my partner, not for the Yaris). Also, good that it has the electric power steering, so no fluids to change! 😄 I will see if I find a polyuretane bush kit, sadly Powerflex or Superpro do not seem not make kits for this car (I quite like Powerflex, it is the brand I have in the other vehicle). Regarding the rest, the original droplinks and top mounts should be fine, I think.

[flash22]

Fensport list the Superpro bushes

due to the age of the car it may not be listed on the web, a quick google comes up with superpro Germany

https://www.superpropoly.de/Toyota/Yaris/NCP1_-NLP1_-SCP1_-_P1_/All_1685.html#productlisting

Use the part numbers to find them in the uk

It maybe worth dropping powerflex an email

[IICIIEII]

Awesome! Thank you so much for the link! Today I put the little bugger in the ramps and I was carefully checking it underneath. There is nothing very surprising there: the bushes are cracked and in miserable condition, all of them, and the same is true for the droplinks. Body is sound, although there is rust in the rear axle, with flakes here and there, nothing structurally compromising though. The rest is actually fine, even very fine, but I want to  coat everything with grease to prevent future problems (I am from Spain, although I have been living in UK for more than ten years, and that kind of issue is not so common there).  I heard that in UK covering the underbody with greasy things is not legal, but I found this company call Lanoguard that sells a very solid grease, similar to lard, that apparently is MOT friendly, I may give it a go 🙂.

On a separate note, I found that they did the oil two months ago (bill included with the car) but they kept the old oil filter. Way to go, I am tempted to go there and congratulate them myself, now I have to change the oil again 😬

 

[flash22]

There are many types of under body coatings, the OG British one is Waxoyl but there are loads on the market, Bilt Hamber Dynax is another widely used product

https://bilthamber.com/

https://bilthamber.com/awards/

[IICIIEII]

That Bilthamber also seems a good alternative, to be honest. Since this is a car I don't think I will keep a long time (around one year) my idea is to use it as test bed: remove the flakes, clean it with a wire brush and coat it to see what happens in twelve months. In the mid term, when this one is gone, I want to build a track car, and for that one I will need to strip everything in order to install the roll cage.  When that happens, I would like to have a treatment of choice in order to apply it as soon as the body is painted.

With the suspension and the rest of the car is a bit of the same. In here I drive an automatic vehicle, but that is out of question for a track toy (besides, I hate it) so I am using this one to practice changing gears with the left hand. It is an odd feeling, a bit like learning to drive again, because you need to think what you are doing. I also want to see what kind of job does with this car a mechanic I have nearby, because eventually I will need somebody to work on the other :).

Here is how it looks at the moment, first time I have a car with this kind of stuff in the rear axle. I think that after cleaning and treating it I will fill those cavities with grease.

   

 

 

 

[bathtub tom]

I hope those dark patches on the shocks and brake back plates are water and not oil/brake fluid. Can I see a split in the tube at the top RH of the middle pic. Filler pipe?

[IICIIEII]

Haha, sorry, yes, it is water! I should have told! I took the pictures just after leaving one of those wash tunnels with underbody wash. The rear drum was a bit stained, though, but I checked and seems very old, brake fluid levels are OK too... Where do you see the split? I am missing that one. The white thing that was there was a feather 😐

[bathtub tom]

2 hours ago, IICIIEII said:

Where do you see the split?

Top RH of the picture, immediately above the centre of the spring.

[IICIIEII]

Ah! I saw it now, the slipt inside the red box, right? I will have a look, because if there is a problem there it should be easy enough to fix it while doing the rest.

[flash22]

In looks like the pipe is just encrusted with mud

[bathtub tom]

1 hour ago, flash22 said:

In looks like the pipe is just encrusted with mud

I agree It's probably rust or mud, but what's that pipe for? I'm not familiar with the MK1. If It's the exhaust then I'd expect to see a black blow mark. If It's the fuel filler (I understand they were steel on the MK1 and did corrode) I'd expect a strong smell of petrol.

[IICIIEII]

Isn't it the pipe to the fuel tank? :?

[flash22]

21 hours ago, IICIIEII said:

Isn't it the pipe to the fuel tank? :?

Yep it's the filler neck

[IICIIEII]

I wonder how the mud managed to splash there and all 😳

[flash22]

Off the wheels and years of road spray, you should see some of the rav4's the filler is in the wheel well, and they rot in half (steel pipe)

[IICIIEII]

Crazy stuff that it comes unprotected on the RAV4, it is a SUV after all...

Oh well, today I was having a long chat with the mechanic about all this 😊. He looked at me as if I was insane at the beginning, something understandable, but then I explained that my idea is to build a real track car in one year more or less and use this Yaris to practice and test things while my partner does her daily commute on it.  After half an hour he was thinking about doing brake conversions and installing turbos :D.  

We agreed that first thing will be to take the car there one of these days and put in on the elevator, so we can check it properly and be sure that there are no surprises and it is sound. If everything looks all right, then I will source the components and we will proceed. The plan is to take the rear subframe and clean it properly, along with the underbody, and remove the surface rust. The we install the new suspension with the bushes, drop links, etc. and finally we apply a proper amount of rust treatment and grease (mainly grease) all over the chassis. At the same time, we would replace the brake fluid and do the oil.

He told me to try to allocate all the parts and do the math about the price, so I was wondering if there is a place where I could check the OEM numbers for this car using the VIN. I found the web below but it is American, are the numbers the same?

http://usa.toylexparts.com/decode

Cheers!