• From: California
  • Registered: 2019-09-30
  • Posts: 1

Topic: 2020 hopeful team captain looking to figure out how far out we are

TLDR; I’ve got a yaris with some mods, and I want to figure out where in SoCal I can get it Lemons ready.

So I have a totaled family car that we want to give a good send off, and I’m hoping Lemons might be he fanfaire event we need. It’s a 2007 Toyota Yaris 1.5L AT hatchback. 150k, bashed 1/4 panel, passenger door is stuck shut, and steering is a little weird at full lock to it seems like a perfect candidate (transmission not withstanding).

Since it was no longer in use we’ve been auto crossing it though so it has some mods that will add to our cost. Brakes, wheels, and tyres are fine I’ve read, and all our stiffening I’m happy to remove to do the roll cage anyway, but our coil overs, intake, and seats might make it 100 laps down ( which is fine with us, we just want to have fun) is having a bullshit factor that high frowned upon?

The car is pretty stripped and ready for a cage, but it like to get an idea costs to get it ready. Mainly I’m curious about the Rollcage, fire suppression, and kill switch. I’m looking for a SoCal garage that could install these things or at very least I want to get a rough idea of what costs will be.

What are some other big “more than a entry level builder can handle” type things I might have overlooked?

Thanks in advance for any help!

  • From: Tustin, CA
  • Registered: 2010-12-30
  • Posts: 3,275

Re: 2020 hopeful team captain looking to figure out how far out we are

Where exactly in SoCal?

1990 RX7 "Mazdarita"  1964 Sunbeam Imp (IOE 2013 Sears Pointless) 2002 Jaguar x-type (Winner C-Class 2021 Sears Pointless)
Gone bye-bye
1994 Jaguar XJ12 (Winner C-Class 2013 Sears Pointless)  1980 Rover SD1 (I Got Screwed 2014 Return of Lemonites)
  • Zoo944
  • Rookie Driver
  • Offline
  • From: SoCal (LA and San Diego)
  • Registered: 2018-05-08
  • Posts: 8

Re: 2020 hopeful team captain looking to figure out how far out we are

Seats are safety and driver comfort - so these are exempt.   The fire system is actually really easy to install (It took us (2 guys with mediocre wrenching skills) ~1.5 hours to install in our car (car was already stripped and caged).     

Where in SoCal are you located?

Zoo Racing #950 zebra 944.  Org Choice Thunderhill 2018
  • From: Houston, TX
  • Registered: 2012-06-21
  • Posts: 1,608

Re: 2020 hopeful team captain looking to figure out how far out we are

Coilovers and intake are technically budget items, but I seriously doubt the judges will give you hell for putting them on a Yaris. I'd expect Class A with no penalty laps at your first race. If you're slow, they might let you play in Class B at subsequent races.

Some tiny econoboxes can start eating wheel bearings for dinner when hooned around a road course, or so I've read. Hence you might hear about Civics running Acura spindles and hubs or whatever. I seem to remember reading that brake and suspension upgrades from a Scion xA could be used on an Echo (back when I daily drove an Echo for a few months). Maybe the Yaris has similar factory upgrade options.

Automatic transmission? You can pretty much never have too big of a cooler.

Use racing brake pads of some kind, at least on the front. On this forum you'll hear a lot of recommendations for Raybestos ST-43, and maybe the occasional recommendation for Carbotech from teams that can actually make Carbotechs work without problems. EBC Yellows are probably fine for a car that small if you can't find anything better.

Most of all, go into it with the mindset that you won't win the first time and just try to keep the car running. Don't overdrive your car trying to set fast lap times, or you'll just break shit faster. Check out the pinned post in the Newcomer's section titled "The best tips from us idiots on getting started..."

Escape Velocity Racing
  • From: Sacramento, California
  • Registered: 2012-08-02
  • Posts: 354

Re: 2020 hopeful team captain looking to figure out how far out we are

Ian Korf (DrKorf on forum) ran his scca Yaris in Lemons at the last thunderhill race, you might contact him to see what mods he has done to the car for racing.  ($500-my-ass...  see Lemons hq race video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gIEK5xXp4SY  )

John Pagel (Evil Genius Racing, http://www.evilgeniusracing.com/) in Davis, CA did the cage for the Yaris.

Installing the shutoff is easy (to get wrong...) just don't forget to also cutoff the alternator output, not just the battery.

Fire system comes with directions and is not hard to install, we did it at the track with just a drill and normal tools, if I recall.