Excessive body roll in the Yaris Mk3.

[TonyHSD]

When you push the car down should sink and then come up but not super quick., shocks should slow down the bounce back motion. When you have a shock testing by hands they should move both directions slowly if new or in good condition. Double check shocks both front and rear. When alignment is done on cars with only front wheels adjustable, the parameters of the rear one can be adjusted via adjustment of the front wheels but it is a tiny variation. 

[Max_Headroom]

 

[flash22]

43 minutes ago, TonyHSD said:

When you push the car down should sink and then come up but not super quick., shocks should slow down the bounce back motion. When you have a shock testing by hands they should move both directions slowly if new or in good condition. Double check shocks both front and rear. When alignment is done on cars with only front wheels adjustable, the parameters of the rear one can be adjusted via adjustment of the front wheels but it is a tiny variation. 

You can shim the rears to change toe and camber, but this can get costly, OP's car is within spec - the equipment is only as good as the operator using it

[TonyHSD]

28 minutes ago, flash22 said:

You can shim the rears to change toe and camber, but this can get costly, OP's car is within spec - the equipment is only as good as the operator using it

Agreed 👍

[Derek.w]

Personally I change droplinks and rubbers plus anti roll bar bushes as a starting point

[turtle15]

Has anyone put Eibach Pro-Kit springs on their Yaris? How does the car feel?

[flash22]

Had eibach's on a few cars, they do firm the ride up no end, H&R springs are the same quality but a bit less of a drop

As above droplinks and arb bushes are a cheap fix, for poly bushes look at whiteline, SuperPro, powerflex or Polybushes

[turtle15]

I hope you can help me (especially MK3 facelift owners). My car is left-hand drive and parked, unladen, on the front axle, the driver's side (left) measures 64.2 cm from the floor to the top of the wheel arch; the passenger side (right) measures 65.4 cm. Put succinctly: the passenger side is 1.2 cm higher in front (0.47 inches) than the driver side.

On the one hand it makes sense because the driver's side has the Battery, gearbox and other things that load the suspension more (more weight), but is this difference (1.2 cm) normal? I didn't measure the rear axle.

Can anyone with a Yaris Mk3 please compare the two sides? I know your cars will be mostly right hand drive but I don't think it matters.

[bathtub tom]

If the car's parked on a level site, check it again. Then turn it around and check it again! If you still get the discrepancy, then have a VERY close look at your springs.

I had a car with a very slight tilt and despite checking, it wasn't until MOT time when they asked permission to remove a wheel, found less than an inch had broken off a spring.

[Derek.w]

For a broken spring

put your hand up and feel the tops of the spring if the end is cut square its ok if its broken some off its be a raged end and in a diffrent aliment position to the opposite spring.

 

[turtle15]

Thank you. So I must assume that the difference is not normal, correct? I will lift the car and check the condition of the spring.

[turtle15]

I have already checked (both sides). I didn't find any breaks in the springs. So as not to spend money in vain, can you confirm that your Yaris is flat? I measured from the ground to the top of the wheel arch.

[TonyHSD]

7 hours ago, turtle15 said:

I have already checked (both sides). I didn't find any breaks in the springs. So as not to spend money in vain, can you confirm that your Yaris is flat? I measured from the ground to the top of the wheel arch.

I have Auris but this was the first sign I noted when one of my springs got broken. There was a difference in the arches gaps between left and right when the car was parked on level ground. The second note was while going over road cracks or potholes  in right turn I felt like the wheel its losing contact with the road when bump over the cracks, spring was too soft because has lost a peace of its top end. In my case was a rear left spring which was easier to spot. 
If you looking at front springs, one way of testing it is to lift front end both side with wheels off the ground, turn steering wheel slowly left to right full turns and watch the strut assembly for smooth and quiet movement. If there are noises or particularly jumps may point towards broken spring. Also left side should look like the right side, position of spring and appearance. 
Good luck 

[flash22]

Drop links - some one has only replaced 1 side, and it's a slightly longer/shorter, that will account for body roll and it being un even - replace both drop links

[bathtub tom]

2 hours ago, TonyHSD said:

 spring was too soft because has lost a peace of its top end.

Shortening a spring will make it firmer, not softer.

[TonyHSD]

58 minutes ago, bathtub tom said:

Shortening a spring will make it firmer, not softer.

I think it’s the other way around. 
When you shorten the spring you are taking away some material that will provide extra support. This is why when the spring its broken the car stays lower on that side.
When you drive over sharp pothole the wheel will jump upwards faster and at speed will lose contact with the road because the shock and spring are designed to work together, their characteristics matching each other performance, load capacity, respond to shocks and cancel unnecessary movements. My shocks were perfectly fine at the time and still are btw and I noted how the car wheel jumped off the road and then immediately been stopped bouncing up and down as the shock did it’s job. 
I only made my assumption after I changed the broken spring and all of that things went away immediately. I am talking about same car, same place, same time, same weather, the only difference was broken spring and then two new springs. Here is my drama. 

 

[turtle15]

I checked my father's Auris and it has EXACTLY the same difference - 1.2 cm (0.5 inch). As far as the Auris is concerned, I'm pretty sure it doesn't have broken springs. The Yaris I have to look more carefully (take the wheels off), but everything seems to be correct.

It seems that someone (also left-hand drive) has the same "problem" in the Prius: Driver side lower than passenger side. | PriusChat

[Derek.w]

Just maybe the spring is weak after years of use or extra load just on one side of the car.

If your measurments are lower at one side turn the car around and recheck just to take in irregular road surface.

Do a visual check on the drop links just to see both have the same amount of threads showing or disconnect one end at both sides as the rubbers are prone to wear.

[turtle15]

I checked and the stabilizer bar links are flawless and the springs are not broken. Also, not a bit of rust. Which leads me to believe that it is either by design or it is because of the left/right weight difference - the facelift springs are very soft (I think their springrate is 21.6 N/mm). With 40000 miles is it possible that they are "tired"?

I put the Continental PC5's to the front and the Michelin Energy Saver plus to the rear, and when I get out of the car and slam the door it wobbles significantly less, so there is definitely something with the sidewall stiffness. But I can't decipher which tires are "softer". Since the swap I haven't driven it yet (I'll give feedback later).

[TonyHSD]

Springs tired at this mileage, I don’t think. There is most likely nothing wrong with the car, it’s just how it is.
The tyres mixing isn’t gonna help you with the feeling and I can only recommend to you to buy another two same brand tyres as the new one you just had. Side walls even super soft won’t cause you anything bad in terms of stability. , tyre pressure and tyre mixture can but it will be small. Check another car same year and engine and see if it drives the same. 👍

[Max_Headroom]

10 minutes ago, TonyHSD said:

There is most likely nothing wrong with the car, it’s just how it is.

Having owned my MK3 for several months and living in the lake district where most roads are twisty i can honestly say my car has no more body roll than my Corsa SXI which has quite stiff suspension, if this members is rolling excessively there is something wrong especially at 40,000.

[turtle15]

Before my father bought the Auris, he had (and still has) a Corolla E100 Hatchback which, in my opinion was one of Toyota's best cars to date. The Auris came with 195/65 R15 tires (Michelin Energy Saver if I'm not mistaken) and my dad was really complaining about the body roll of the Auris (he was used to the Corolla which feels like a train 😄). He changed the rims and put on 205/55 R16 tires and was satisfied (and never complained again). At the moment, I drive the Auris more than he does and it curves very flat. I never drove the Auris with a 15 rim but always wondered if it could be as bad as my dad said. So I guess sometimes tire sidewall height (especially on tall cars) can be an important factor.

I am not a racing driver so I wonder if what I am experiencing (and what my father experienced with the Auris) is tire flexing rather than excessive suspension compression? I will try to drive a Yaris with a 16 rim and see the differences.

Thank you for your support.