GR Yaris What did you do to your GR Yaris today?

Pappyjohn said:
I have to say having owned a few hot hatches in the 90's it wasn't the lack of grip that made them "playful".; they had loads for the amount of power they had. The Rallye above was only 100-120bhp.

What they did have was hydraulic (or in some cases unassisted) power steering and lightness (easily less than 900Kg). This led to driving feel and quickness of reactions that you just won't get with the modern car.

If you are trying to get the GRY to handle close to those cars I'm afraid you're out of luck unless you can lose about 300Kg and 4WD. The closest you'll get these days is perhaps a Clio 182.

Enjoy the Yaris for what it is because back when the 106 Rallye was around the equivalent to the GRY in terms of weight and power was a Honda NSX (1370Kg 270bhp).
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182 Trophy had grip to spare on a new set of Pilot Exalto 2s. Actually quite hard to unstick it on the road, turning in on the brakes helped, it would cock a rear wheel and tripod around a roundabout. I went from a non PAS 205 GTi , which was much more playful, better steering and throttle response, noticeably lighter (910 vs. 1,080 kg), but quite lethal if you trail braked in that, and wouldn’t see which way a Trophy went on a b-road.

The GR Yaris has moved it on again, in terms of cross country pace, but has to lose a little playfulness in return, at least at lower cornering speeds.

The three cars have ~16 years between them (1988-2005-2021), so not surprising really.

I think everyone needs an old Frenchie in their lives. I’ve got a 172 Cup but would love a Mk 1 106 Rallye with the carburettored 1.3.
 
Pappyjohn said:
I have to say having owned a few hot hatches in the 90's it wasn't the lack of grip that made them "playful".; they had loads for the amount of power they had. The Rallye above was only 100-120bhp.

What they did have was hydraulic (or in some cases unassisted) power steering and lightness (easily less than 900Kg). This led to driving feel and quickness of reactions that you just won't get with the modern car.

If you are trying to get the GRY to handle close to those cars I'm afraid you're out of luck unless you can lose about 300Kg and 4WD. The closest you'll get these days is perhaps a Clio 182.

Enjoy the Yaris for what it is because back when the 106 Rallye was around the equivalent to the GRY in terms of weight and power was a Honda NSX (1370Kg 270bhp).
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CRX B16A1. 900 kg awesomeness.
 
SW230 said:
Have AC lost the Toyota Franchise throughout Scotland?
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They have given it up apparently, rather than losing it.
Park's are opening a Toyota branch in Aberdeen, I'd be surprised if they don't open more in other cities too.
 
Pappyjohn said:
I have to say having owned a few hot hatches in the 90's it wasn't the lack of grip that made them "playful".; they had loads for the amount of power they had. The Rallye above was only 100-120bhp.
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It's more a direction/inspiration, instead of trying to imitate track cars and chasing say GT4's down a track, I'm more in that direction. Grip is what it is, I'm still on 205 section versus 175, absolute grip is still higher, and power per grip is comparable if considering the number of driven axles (1 vs 2). I see people keep misunderstanding this point of less grip, that doesn't mean lack of grip, just less than the mahoosive grip of the stock car....

I owned a Swift Sport, that was closer to that Rallye and great fun too, and wanting something in that spirit but with awd, the GRY is the closest thing (with some miror changes) 👍
 
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Steve said:
The GR Yaris has moved it on again, in terms of cross country pace, but has to lose a little playfulness in return, at least at lower cornering speeds.
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And that's the point of lesser grip/more movement, the car becomes a lot more playful at lower, easier reachable speeds and what I was missing...
 
Polished my tip… 😏

77CC905A-C5F2-4373-BF09-F6BFA10A4F95.webp

Well, ceramic coated them actually. Still waiting on the exhaust to put them on though.
 
This arrived today. A bit of GR86 on my GR Yaris. Only issue is that fully tightened down, the extended cover stops the reverse lifter engaging. Needs lifting less than a centimetre so some nylon washers under it did the trick.
84F8E57E-2BB9-4283-AD40-EEAD346B37B2.jpeg

A8619792-DC3F-4C19-9193-0B446E4BDFFC.jpeg
 
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Nothing as in Saudi until Friday, lots of new bits to fit over my 3 weeks at home. However wife's new car
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had a brand new GR beside it when she went to see it today.
 
Stuck it in 'Sport / 30-70' mode now that summer is here, and the roads up here have dried up, and took it to the Borders for some driving antics.
Although the warmer weather has increased the grip, sports setting really gives the steering more finesse, particularly on an undulating, uneven, winding B road.
I'll say it again - what a great car it even makes me look like a half decent driver.
 
MrJ said:
This arrived today. A bit of GR86 on my GR Yaris. Only issue is that fully tightened down, the extended cover stops the reverse lifter engaging. Needs lifting less than a centimetre so some nylon washers under it did the trick. View attachment 5602
View attachment 5603
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Been considering this myself but holding out in case the GRMN Yaris one becomes available

How does it look from the side profile with the washer raising it up? Assume you cant tell and it looks OE?
 
DE-GR4 said:
Been considering this myself but holding out in case the GRMN Yaris one becomes available

How does it look from the side profile with the washer raising it up? Assume you cant tell and it looks OE?
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Onehp said:
How much higher is that effectively when assembled (middle of sphere)?
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Hey both, can’t provide measurements right now, en route to Switzerland 🙂

Hope this helps. This is how much I needed to raise it, I added the metal washer and the four nylon ones above. When screwed down, the extended bottom part on the TRD knob was originally touching the horizontal part of the reverse lifter that sticks out. The knob itself is basically just a spherical one with an extended cover at the bottom for the shaft, so it feels like I’ve raised the standard one by the height of the washers. Not a lot of difference, but doesn’t feel negative so far.

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Not the best photo, but the best side view I took. The extended part at the bottom does cover the reverse lifter, so there aren’t any gaps. The colours and finish are a good match for the GR Yaris, especially if you ignore my fake stick on carbon fibre tackiness 😆

5798DF9D-F7D6-4E19-A160-9FE95B15A3CB.webp
 
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