The discreet Grey Goose

[kuveris]

Hi All,

I'm from Australia and have just bought a Grey 2009 Yaris (The Grey Goose) after lurking on this site for about a month or so.

As i need to drive the car for work, ill have to keep the ecomods pretty discreet. So links to sly mods would be greatly appreciated.

No mods yet, but id like to get a couple of tanks done with no mods to get a baseline for the car and my driving with no gauges.

Mods I'm so far set on are, in order:
- Scangauge
- Grill block (need scangauge first as Yaris doesn't have a temp gauge)
- Under car stuff and wheel spats

[Daox]

Welcome to the site.

Your biggest gains will be from driving technique.

I'd also add to air up those tires.

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

What's the engine of your Yaris? And where in Australia are you from?

[kuveris]

Sydney. I got the 1.5L as i will need to tow so the extra power would come in handy

[D.O.G.]

Welcome.

As already said, higher tyre pressure and driving techniques are your friend.

What sort of conditions are you normally driving in - urban, highway, peak hour, etc.?
Where and when you drive can have a big influence on what mods are worthwhile for you.

[kuveris]

Originally Posted by D.O.G.

Welcome.

As already said, higher tyre pressure and driving techniques are your friend.

What sort of conditions are you normally driving in - urban, highway, peak hour, etc.?
Where and when you drive can have a big influence on what mods are worthwhile for you.

Most of my driving is during peak hour, it's mostly steady driving at 60 kmh (35mph) generally only stopping for lights. Otherwise most of my driving us urban, generally only hitting highways once a month.

I should also add, i don't want to do mods that compromise safety, hinder other drivers (eg I won't drive 90 on a single lane road with a 100kmh speed limit) or will not provide saving within around 12 months.

[D.O.G.]

Originally Posted by kuveris

Most of my driving is during peak hour, it's mostly steady driving at 60 kmh (35mph) generally only stopping for lights. Otherwise most of my driving us urban, generally only hitting highways once a month.

I'd definitely go for a grill block. How much to block is up to you.
I did it trial and error with an old piece of coreflute (coroplast in the US) (for sale signs etc) held on with cable ties.
If the car starts to get too hot, pull over, cut off the cable ties and try again the next day after trimming the grill block down a bit.

Weight reduction works in stop start traffic, it might help for you.

Originally Posted by kuveris

I should also add, i don't want to do mods that compromise safety, hinder other drivers (eg I won't drive 90 on a single lane road with a 100kmh speed limit) or will not provide saving within around 12 months.

Safety is "in the eye of the beholder".
What I consider safe, some others are horrified by.
Turning off the engine at traffic lights is worthwhile. Using the key works, a kill switch is more convenient though.
Turning off the engine while moving takes practice and is only safe in some circumstances but the gains can be considerable. Don't close your mind to this until you've tried it on quiet streets.

I understand about not wanting to hold up traffic on single lane roads, but don't feel pressured to go over the speed limit.
I sometimes find a slower moving vehicle to follow, then it's "not my fault" if traffic is slowed down a bit.

Anyhow, whatever you choose to try, treat it as a game to keep boring commutes fun.

[kuveris]

Will do a grill block once I get a scan gauge as the stock yaris dash has no actual water temp gauge, only a cold and hot light.

Anyone worked out a way to leave the radio on in a car when it's turning on? I stream music with Bluetooth and of I turn off the car at lights, it's cuts out when I turn it back on and takes 15 or so to reconnect, restarts the songs or can't use the phone properly.