Project Vitz.

I guess I'd better christen my new blog by talking about one of my projects: Project Vitz.





*Project Vitz will be undergoing some tranformation over time, so check here for updates from time to time (:

Where to begin?

I've owned this car for over a year now, as a birthday gift. Since then, I have been putting a lot of effort into it, by making it uniquely my own, and trying to stand out from the other Yaris. She'll never be finished.

Many of you may not agree with me, or anyone modifying an economy car. But there is a market for these awesome cars. What's that? You heard me right..an economy car. This car gets 30MPG on the street and 35MPG highway. The Yaris is totally capable, and in fact, is seen tracked at some auto events.

http://www.yarisworld.com/ is a great community for all to join and find out more about this car.

I am currently employed by Garm Beall, a business owner and car enthusiast. He owns http://www.rainchains.com/, which is the company I work for, half of http://www.g2autosports.com/, and http://www.microimageonline.com/. I am proud to have my car sponsored by him, and have our decals placed on my car. He is also the founder of the modern day, micro club: Micro Image. His social networking site can be visited here: http://www.microimage.ning.com/.

Here is his turbo'd Yaris, currently pulling 183WHP on the stock motor. He has a fully built 1NZ-FE ready for transplanting, and with that said, he's looking to push his car to it's limit.






Makes you want to get a Yaris now, doesn't it?

Anyways, I just completely whored my company, sponsor, and awesome boss. Back on topic.

After having received the car, and slapping on my muffler and rims I decided that I would go for the "JDM" look. I know.. I know, I said I was trying to be unique. You're probably thinking, How is trying to look like your Japanese counter-part unique? And aren't others doing that too? I didn't say that was all I was going for, I'd be doing as much as I can to stand apart from the usual JDM. The only thing that holds me back is money, which is something I can't be spending entirely on my car as I need food, clothes, and other necessities (ie: insurance, gas, school, girls.. just kidding on the last part :p) So with that said, my car will be built piece by piece, over a period of time. Along the way, I will make decisions that many will find tasteful, or not. That's how it's come to be!

Frustration with the stock headunit.

Damn false advertising.. Said it'll play mp3s.. Well it does to some level, then it decides it wants to keep your CD! This was one of the many problems Yaris owners were having with their vehicles. People would pop in their mp3 filled CD in this player and soon it would throw an error, or worse.. hold your CD hostage. I decided that I would bring my car in to have the headunit replaced, thinking that mine was defective.. turns out, that after a few days or so, the problematic CD player's newer unit was a problem child as well. This problem was easily fixed by having a simple Pioneer (DEH-P5900iB) headunit installed. Had it for over 10 months, with no problem whatsoever :D

And then, came Black Friday. I scored a killer deal on a 7" Panasonic headunit (CQ-VW100U). Goodbye Pioneer!

The moon rover look.. Begone!


If you've ever seen a stock Yaris, which is like.. everywhere lol, you'd probably agree.. The damn poor thing looks like a moon rover! I mean, look at it! It sits too damn high!! I would take pictures at angles to fool the eye that there wasn't that much wheel well.. There was enough space to freely stick your entire fist in that wheel well.. so unsexy.



Before I even hit 4k miles on my car, I had my car dropped on TRD Sportivos & Tanabe DF210s. Also installed was my TRD rear sway bar to stiffen up the rear.

Here she is recieving the new goodies :D

All done!

The car handled so much better afterwards. Also, I don't get tossed around on the freeways anymore. The gusts of wind from bigger cars and whatnot would totally manipulate the movement of my car. Not anymore!

Other modifications.

NST SKK
Upon sponsorship by G2AutoSports, I recieved an NST SSK. NonStopTuning's short shift kit was installed in the engine bay in less than 5 minutes by myself. It makes going through the gears so much fun!

Clifford 12.5X
I didn't think Toyota's keyless entry would cut it for me. So while employed at Fry's Electronics, I took advantage of my employee discount and bought the Clifford 12.5X security system. Half a mile range, and notifies you of any break-ins, disturbances with the vehicle, and allows you to check if you actually locked your car via lighted, on-screen display.

300mm Clifford rearview mirror
Think oversized rearview mirrors are for old folks? Well, these are actually cool! Allows you to view the whole rear window with ease. Mine has a distinct blue tint :D

AutoMeter Cobalt Tachometer
Sad to say, the Yaris doesn't come with a built-in tachometer. So I purchased this aftermarket tachometer to assist me in seeing my RPM. It may come off as ricey to you, but I like it. Don't think I cannot drive without seeing my RPM, I just bought this because it would be nice to have. A member from YarisWorld, Jkuchta, had done the installation for me. What a great guy!

Razo 400G CF weighted knob
It's a really nice weighted knob. It helps to get a weighted knob, it makes your shift throws more precise and reduces the chance of misshifts.

RedLineGoods shift boot
Nothing special, just a leather shift boot which I've ordered from http://www.redlinegoods.com/. The Yaris came with a disgusting rubber boot that would get all sorts of junk stuck in the crevices.

Sparco Speed, Sparco 4pt harness & Weapon*R seat bracket
After I removed my rear seat to reduce weight and make room for my future audio equipment, I decided it was time to replace my front seats. I ended up purchasing just one racing seat, as the passenger airbag would not function properly anymore if I removed that seat. So I settled on purchasing a simple bucket seat. I always sit in an upright position; makes you more aware of your surroundings and allows for proper posture. I paired the seat with a Weapon*R seat bracket, which required a bit of modification to make the seat work properly with the bracket. My Sparco 4pt harness now awaits a harness bar for proper use.

Carbon Effects carbon fiber hood
Again, with the weight reduction.. Although I honestly did it for looks (: This hood was straight off my boss' car. I've been in love with it's glossy weave ever since.

JDM rebadge
In order to confuse people of my car's make, I had replaced all factory badges (except the Toyota emblem in the rear) Just kidding, well maybe.. But anyways, the Yaris is Japan is known as the Vitz, sporting a Netz badge in the front and the Toyota emblem in the rear accompanied by a Vitz logo in the upper left portion of the trunk.

Wheels & tires
Currently sporting 15" Konig Reasons wrapped with 205/55 BFGoodrich Traction T/A. I'll be purchasing new wheels soon!

Clazzio Leather seat covers
My boss had worked a deal with Clazzio, to make seat covers for the Yaris. I am the first Yaris to have Clazzio seat covers installed. Sadly, I only have the passenger seat covered in leather goodness, as I have removed the rear seats, and replaced my driver's seat for a racing seat.

More to come!

Most recent pictures of my car