Yaris Power!

This past Sunday was the final regular race of this season’s SCCA Solo II auto-cross. I’d missed the last couple events due to events, which I’m sure if you’re reading this blog you know about. Stewing in my brain the past weeks was the thought of racing Mom’s Yaris. I really wanted to do it as something of my tribute to her, so I made up my mind on saturday. I tried fitting my 13″ race compound tires, but the Yaris brakes are too big. Imagine that, this little subcompact weighing the same and smaller than my FX has bigger brakes.  Anyway, instead of trying to swap the 15’s of the FX, I decided to go bone stock. So except for taking out spare wheel, tools, wheel covers, and running gas until almost empty (almost too empty!) the Yaris was exactly like off showroom floor. The event was actually quite fun! Always neat to have something new to learn. The Yaris was actually well behaved. Auto transmission takes a little getting used to, there’s that lag between mashing the gas and when it goes. I actually had less problems with push/understeer than I do with the FX, perhaps due to the softer suspension and that lag in power kicking in. In fact a couple instances I felt a tiny bit of oversteer creeping in. And 4 wheel ABS and EBFD made for a well controlled vehicle without it feeling like the car was restraining you. No matter how good a brake foot you have, you can’t modulate a single wheel lockup without letting up on the other wheels. The power steering boost is a bit high and so lacks a bit of steering feel. With good tires, a manual transmission, uprated suspension, I think the Yaris would be a great fun auto crosser. Oh, my results, 81 out of 102 total, 8th out of 12 in DSP class, and if I were to have run in the class that the car should have been, I would have been 3rd out of 6. I’m not sure what mom would have thought of my racing her car, I think she’s looking upon me with a bemused smile on her face.

Results at SCCA page