Yaris T Sport daily - Build Thread

[Rhymes with Paris]

43 minutes ago, Cyker said:

That's one of my two favourite road features for getting rid of SUV tailgaters, the other being width restrictions   

I must admit the Mk4 has made me more resistant to tailgating tho' - Partly because I can see sweet FA out the back of it, so half the time I don't even know someone is tailgating me, but also because I am abusing the smeg out of the cruise control when I'm bored and for some reason, when the car is controlling the speed, the pressure to go faster just goes away!

Ah tailgaters 😠 the most hated driving behaviour in the UK according to some surveys.

I have been a passenger with drivers who think the way to stop them is brake checking.

However I remember as a pedestrian, seeing in the centre of the city an Austin maxi being tailgated by a city bus ,this being around 50 years ago before proper head restraints , dash cams etc.

The brake check obviously did not take account of the 10 or 12 ton weight of the bus and it's ability to stop.

The maxi driver finished up in hospital and later court, for dangerous driving, according to the local rag at the time , unusual I know,as the mantra used to be if you hit the car in front, it's your fault.

So where safe I would sooner pull over to force  tailgaters to pass if I cannot get away from them ,as in I can control my car behind them, but not theirs behind me.

Re weight ,do you know the kerb weight of your hybrid? I think the Tsport is 980 kg dry ,so with full tank and me a tonne and a bit.

I have had quite a few rwd cars over the years which of course handle very differently from fwd, but I can say the Tsport is pretty good,as you say understeer is coped with well, anyone who wants catastrophic under steer should try a Austin/Morris 1800 land crab from the 1970s.

Unbelievabley awful car, even when compared with the other terrible offerings from BL.🤪🤬

 

[Cyker]

My instructor taught me to slow down very gently if being tailgated - His reasons were a) It makes it less likely they will crash into you if you actually have to stop suddenly, b) Makes it easier for them to overtake you, and c) Really really winds them up  

That is my usual response (Or using my washer jets, they hate that  ) and I get a certain amount of schadenfreude out of it, but lately I have found they often back right off if I start to do that, and then stay backed-off when I resume normal speed.  Not that I'm complaining as that's the outcome I could only hope for!!

 

The Mk4 is a very heavy car for its class (As in a B-segment econobox) - Not sure off the top of my head but something like 1100-1200kg IIRC, plus all my gear in the boot! Easily the heaviest car I've owned -  You really feel it if you take a corner at any kind of speed, but they've worked some kind of magic into the chassis as it still somehow corners much flatter than any previous Yaris I've owned and just feels really sure-footed (Right up until it tries to throw you into a bush and the stability control kicks in  )

It makes me really wonder what the GR4 is like to drive, as if the normal TNGA chassis is this good, and the GR4's is even better, I can only imagine what it's like! I think I'd be too scared I'd bin it to actually take one for a hoon tho'!  

 

[Big_D]

7 minutes ago, Cyker said:

My instructor taught me to slow down very gently if being tailgated - His reasons were a) It makes it less likely they will crash into you if you actually have to stop suddenly, b) Makes it easier for them to overtake you, and c) Really really winds them up

Very true. If I'm in traffic and am being tailgated I tend to slow down. I'm allowing extra space for me, and the idiot behind me, to stop safely if I have to. If I kept the usual stopping distance for one car, and the car in front of me braked, I would stop but the idiot behind would drive into the back of me. Slowing down increases the spacing and allows both of us to stop safely. And as you say, it really winds them up 😀

[Bilbo_mk1]

I always found the best thing for tailgaters was the launch control/two step limiter on my old MX-5. You could press the clutch in while moving and activate it on the throttle and get some lovely 3 foot flames out the back 😂

They always backed off when you gave it a bit of this 😂 I had it set up on my current 5 but got some wiring issues with it I need to sort as it doesn't currently function correctly.

[Cyker]

Just mind you don't end up like this poor fellow!  

https://youtu.be/y7Cg9pxm2EQ?t=506

 

[Bilbo_mk1]

Not too much going on with the Yaris, though I did get around to fitting the OEM style stainless backbox I mentioned.

The one that was on there was essentially a backbox delete, and I already have the 5 which is super rowdy anyway, so just wanted the daily to be nice and quiet. It's a really nice quality backbox, and it shines up lovely with just a couple of minutes with the Autosol and a rag.

All fitted now, annoyingly the backbox delete had been sleeved over and welded on, so I removed the entire catback and carefully cut the welded pipe off, leaving the original sleeve underneath, and have clamped the backbox to it as it was designed. Basically an OEM sounding catback but it won't go rusty like mild steel, ideal!

The tip is a little off center here so I made some adjustments to the rear hanger and it sorted it after this photo. When it is lowered down the box is contacting the rear ARB I fitted, but a few taps with a hammer will have that issue sorted out haha.