I’ve started to look into buying replacement shock absorbers and springs for a Toyota Yaris which might be coming my way (not seen or driven it yet, but I’ve been told it needs new shocks).

I don’t know much about suspension, but it seems that suspension kits from ‘name’ brands (such as Koni and Bilstein etc) are supplied with lowered springs (eg maybe 35-40mm lower) and probably firmer shocks. I presume this is because it improves cornering, but I think it would make the ride harsher, and possibly not as good for comfort on typical UK roads.

Is it possible to get suspension which is supple (for comfort over rough roads and pot holes) but which doesn’t wallow or roll when cornering hard on B roads?

Is this a case where it’s best to go for OEM parts rather than ‘upgrading’?

doesn’t wallow or roll when cornering hard on B roads?

Toyota Yaris

I’m vey confused

😆

I’ve no idea what the Yaris is like, but I suppose it’ll be similar to some little cars I used to hire – the engine will be gutless, but you can still go at a respectable rate on many roads.

It seems that the sportier cars get lowered and stiffened suspension, and low profile tyres on alloy wheels, plus anti-roll bars, which make them handle better (on a track?) but can mean they’re a bit too firm for some roads.

Yariseses don’t wallow and roll as far as I can remember. Ex had one, now has a new (14/15 model), sister-in-law and nice both have the old version. Decent little economical runabout. (Yeah, pretty gutless on the Mway, but ok if you like buzzing along!)
I’ll email my brother, see what replacements are recommended if you want?

To quote the great LJK Setright, “Often, what’s good for handling also benefits ride comfort”. Or some such.

There are other factors at play too – namely anti-roll stiffness and the age of the suspension bushes. If the shocks are knackered, chances are that the bushes will be shot too, so fitting a set of firmer Koni dampers to already ronnied bushings will result in a crashy, harsh ride. You may well need to budget for replacement.

As Dez said, they’re actually neat handling little cars (My Mum has had 3 of them). I wouldn’t recommend any lowering kits or the like – at best it’ll make the ride crap, at worse you’ll end up with a car with a sudden / sharp breaking point if you push it too hard because they’re fitted with small, narrow tyres designed for fuel economy and light steering in a little city car.

Not to mention they’re not really designed for that sort of thing, there’s little or no steering feedback.

Euro Car Parts offer Sachs Gas Shocks for them, which will be of decent quality and suit the car perfectly.

Thanks!

It’s the Mk1 Yaris (from around 2001).

I just think if it’s definitely needing new shocks and the rest of the car is decent it’ll be worth fitting something which optimises the handling.

I see they used to make a T-Sport model, but that apparently had a strengthened body shell, and presumably tuned suspension.

I wouldn’t want the car to end up looking like a boy-racer’s car – I’d prefer to keep it looking stock, but also have it handle as well as possible (Highland roads, and out to the West).

Me mate boy racer recommends for my Corolla …

Standard shocks.
Harder or lower coil spring that only lower the car by one inch.

B roads in the scottish highlands – stick with the stock set up – give your self some leyway for the rough roads and dirt tracks.

sticking shorter springs on standard shocks is such a bad idea it hurts.

trail_rat – Member
sticking shorter springs on standard shocks is such a bad idea it hurts.

Have you tried that set up before?

Back in the far east we change set up like we change our clothing coz it is so cheap and easy we mess with all sort of set ups.

The OP set up will definitely hurts especially with Koni racing shocks.

edit: Not the extreme hard springs … just slightly harder than the standard and lower by an inch.

what happens when you go over a hump back bridge(lots of in the highlands) and your shocks unweight your springs – which now unseat…… and the end of which is now through your tire….

either that or your making it wallow even more because the springs softer to allow it to sit further into the travel so it can extend and take up the full stroke of the shock on unloading.

a good quality shock absorber of OEM spec will help matters more than any modifications for the intended use.

any setup where the shock will extend further than the spring is a bad idea, surely, chewkw?

trail_rat & wwaswas,

I can only say give it a try …

If it is not for insurance cost I would have done it that way long time ago for my Corolla.

Me mate is the top boy racer in my home town so I trust him more than anyone when car is concerned. 😛

Op’s Koni set will end up like sitting in go kart if set at the stiffness point … 😛

I still remember the day when me mate set up his car with Koni … how we laughed. Mind you they were good and expensive but the go cart feel makes us laugh every time his mum complained. 😆

Just replacing your 2001 springs will make a difference as they would be old and tired. You will probably find the ride height will be slightly higher and probably a bit stiffer too.

Is it possible to get suspension which is supple (for comfort over rough roads and pot holes) but which doesn’t wallow or roll when cornering hard on B roads?

Yes… But not on a Yaris. 😉

Mk1 yaris? Just fit the cheapest ones you can find and spend the rest on bike parts.

Great cars – but most of the point of them is how cheap, reliable and simple they are….

We just binned/scrapped a Mk1/2002/d4d/two owner/130k one as all the glow plugs ceased to work, were siezed in, and emissions light would not go out, so mot fail. Garage gave us £550, which seemed fair for the abuse we gave it round highland roads….

Go on an aygo forum and see what they recommend. New shocks are probly well overdue.
Check the price of new front bottom arms (complete with new bushes and joints); nothing makes a car feel young again quite like new bushes!

How does one qualify to be a top boy racer ?

Mk1 yaris? Just fit the cheapest ones you can find and spend the rest on bike parts.

Great cars – but most of the point of them is how cheap, reliable and simple they are..

Me brother agrees.

“what happens when you go over a hump back bridge(lots of in the highlands) and your shocks unweight your springs – which now unseat…… and the end of which is now through your tire….
either that or your making it wallow even more because the springs softer to allow it to sit further into the travel so it can extend and take up the full stroke of the shock on unloading.
a good quality shock absorber of OEM spec will help matters more than any modifications for the intended use.”

Total rubbish. A shorter spring won’t pop out when you go over a bridge, unless you are stupid and put one on that’s far too short. 20-30mm drop won’t be a problem. Even cutting springs is ok if they are linear rate ones (like in my Volvo) as long as you don’t cut them too short.

Some nice Bilstein gas shocks with tighten up the handling a decent amount without sacrificing comfort.

I’ve just installed 40mm drop springs and Bilstein B4 dampers on my Volvo 940. Result? Car suspension now feels much better, no more wallowing around and leaning over when cornering. Corners flatter, yes it’s a bit firmer ride but not uncomfortably so. Kinda more like my modem Focus now, which is only a good thing.

So what’s the difference between cutting a spring and the last coil(20/30mm) snapping off….. because I know how that ends.*

*New tire.

The answer to the question & not to subsequent comments is Koni FSD shocks, Eibach progressive minimal drop springs & bigger ARB’s*, I have tried lots of kit over the years & have overseen at lot of suspension rebuilds on some top cars & driven loads, I’m not saying it the best handling but probably the best compromise.

* If they do them for a Yaris?

Cheers.

Or get a proper car to start with…

Something french with whoopidoo handling, that brings a smile to your face.
I cn’t imagine an Aygo bringing a smile to anyone’s face.

Insurance will probably go up…

I cn’t imagine an Aygo bringing a smile to anyone’s face.

I can. A lot of fun.

Jam if you think an Aygo is a lot of fun, then you obviously have never driven decent cars.

As to OP why pay for expensive shocks that would be wasted on a Yaris just get some aftermarket ones that will be fine

Aygo/c1/107 lots of fun.

Light, gutless, narrow tyred.

Feels like you’re about to break the sound barrier at 30mph, loads of steering feel and good brakes.

Different kind of fun to a proper hot hatch or sports car.

Speed is not directly proportional to fun. A powerful car at road speeds is mostly dull as ditchwater.

My 90s xc hardtail is great fun partly because it lacks the capability of my fs 29r. The fs 29r will do the same ride faster but it’s not always as fun on a tamer trail.

Tame trail = road
Big mountain trail = track day

trail_rat – Member
How does one qualify to be a top boy racer ?

Modify their own cars or others do it for them.

Yes, you can also get formula 1 engineers to involve if you wish no problem at all.

We have Jap driver driving Suzuki Vitara defeating Skyline … 😆

We have professional Japs scratching their heads being defeated by the locals … 😆

Win all the street races.

Very simple they speak with money.

If one driver thinks he is good then he bet £5k (yes, equivalent to GBP) to start with then progress to higher bet.

f you think an Aygo is a lot of fun, then you obviously have never driven decent cars.

That’s a big assumption based on zero data. Also a bit patronising to be honest.

Why wouldn’t a small, agile car be fun? Driving around city streets at legal speeds in a car with a noisy little 3 cylinder engine and sharp turn in.

Why wouldn’t a small, agile car be fun? Driving around city streets at legal speeds in a car with a noisy little 3 cylinder engine and sharp turn in.

Been there and had that argument with loads of folk.

I think it’s one of those things that you get or you don’t. Like single speeding, fat bikes, Marmite, moules, chicken vindaloo, sushi, Donnie Darko that sort of thing.

I used to drive a 660cc Daihatsu Nippa in far east which was a lot of fun apart from the weak air-conditioning system.

“So what’s the difference between cutting a spring and the last coil(20/30mm) snapping off….. because I know how that ends.”

One is modifying a component to get a result you want, the other is a catastrophic failure of a component. There’s a lot of force going on when a car is resting on its springs and way more when it’s moving. When one breaks when it’s moving bits are going to fly all over the show.

You’re asking on the wrong forum anyway, most people on here just drive their dull company A4 Avant/Octavia to the dealers twice a year and then come on here complaining about the cost of it. If they knew anything about fun cars to drive they wouldn’t buy either of the above in the first place.

Pop over to the Yaris forum and enjoy driving it when you get it! I test drove a T-Sport once and it was brilliant, still think about getting one.

Aygo/c1/107 lots of fun.

Is the Aygo exactly the same as the C1? If so I apologise profusedly!

The Mrs’s C1 is enormous fun to drive on the lanes. She won’t let me drive it now…

An ex Aygo owner, they are not great cars by any means, the handling is certainly not good compared to many cars

Surely the angle of lean is half the fun on a cheap small car? Standard kit with new OEM (NOT PU!) bushes all round and make progress.

Pop over to the Yaris forum and enjoy driving it when you get it!

Thanks. Which one is the Yaris forum? I’ve come across one or two when doing a web search, but the one which potentially seems the most interesting looks like it might be hacked. There’s also a UK Toyota forum with a Yaris section, but it doesn’t look very active on this type of topic.

I can’t say I’ve ever noticed a Yaris on the road before, but I’ve seen one or two since being made aware of them, and I think the Mk1 looks quite smart. I think the T-Sport would be really nice.

I don’t think Koni make an FSD kit, but they do have STR.T and Sport kits. I think Bilstein also do a B4 kit.

Is the Aygo exactly the same as the C1? If so I apologise profusedly!

Not exactly the same but pretty sure the originals of all these three platform shared, the French ones definitely did. The aygo may not any more as I think they’ve moved on a bit.

I’ve no idea what the Yaris is like,

and yet you plan to change it 🙂

Have you put it through its MOT yet? -Or are you going to change the shocks, springs, stub axels and tyres… then get it tested to find out what you real need to spend your money on?

Fwiw I’ve “dropped” a fair few vehicles for others and a T4 for myself and I’ve never, ever, done it to make it anything but “look better”. You can spend a small fortune and it will handle better but that line is very narrow. Cross it and you’ll ruin it for the vast majority of the driving you’ll do, just get new standard ones. It’s never going to be cool anyway and , at worst, it’ll end up looking like it’s crashed into a halfords spare parts bin. Leave it alone.

I had an ’02 Yaris T-Sport prior to my current Saab. Certainly won’t get a bike in the boot but loved it. Was gutted to get rid but the arrival of pesky kids necessitated a car with back doors.