teleken

So let's face it - the xD is a QUICK car, but won't ever be a really FAST car without serious bucks invested. So to make it more fun to drive, certainly handling improvements will help.

From you gearheads that are much more serious about it than me, I pose the following question: which investment (plus sized tires/wheels or springs/stabilizer bars/shocks) will have a greater impact on improving the handling of the xD?

I could plus size to 17s or 18s, not a problem there, but if the difference in handling is going to be more readily apparent upgrading suspension first and maybe sticking with 16s, would that be the preferable way to go?

Finally, one remaining question - how much bother was it to recalibrate speedometer when changing tires/wheels?

Thanks for your advice.

jobunaga

1. lowering springs - a lower profile will noticeably improve handling. lower center of gravity = more stability in turns.
2. tires - you don't need bigger tires, you need wider tires. the more tire that meets the road the better your handling will be. these are the most underrated and neglected portion of a suspension profile.
3. everything else - struts, sway bars, strut bars etc. you'll get diminishing returns with the other suspension parts.

teleken

Thanks! Now another question along the same lines - is it cheaper from a labor perspective for me to get springs and anti-sway installed at the same time? Follow up question - if I stick with 16s, will I need to do tires/wheels simultaneously or can the stock steel wheels handle wider tires until I can swing new wheels?

greevedogg

if i were you, teleken, why invest money into wider 16" tires? just save your dough until you can afford to jump up and get into some wider 17's or 18's....
go lower first, IMO...invest in some springs...

teleken

Thanks - that's actually a huge plus. I'd hate to waste a set of Bridgestones with 510 miles on them.

So cool - sounds like my order of operations will be:

1. Springs
2. Sway bar(s)
3. Axle-back or cat-back, whichever makes more sense
4. Tires/Wheels at about 30K or when I can afford.

Figuring it makes sense to gather parts and do springs/sway at the same time? Any disadvantage to sticking with the stock shocks?

draxcaliber

i don't think the speedometers on toyotas can be recalibrated.

xDTool

You'll be fine with the stock shocks for a while, they'll wear slightly faster depending on what springs you end up going with. To add to some of the other good answers, I'd also look at the type of tires you plan to run, and what kind of applications for your handling. Autocrossing and riding in autocross, ive noticed how ridiculous the difference is between your good bargain ~$65 tires and some nice tires (Sumitomo HTR's vs Falken Azenis) are in handling with the same wheels and same suspension.

Just more food for thought.

CASTREX

The post above has pointed you in the right direction... just a few comments on my side...

Bigger / Larger is NOT better.

With that said keep in mind the following:

This small engine is very affected for any added weight... specially rotational weight (Big ___ wheels)

A 1 size upgrade would be nice for looks... but concider the wheels weight. Look for some light weight wheels. It will improve (or at least not hurt) your acceleration and braking.

Regarding tires: Wider is not always better. The xD is fairly light and above all... under powered. 205/215 tires are more than enough to grip you thru a fast corner... Wider tires will only add... guess what? weight!!

Is more important to pick the right tire... a high perf summer tire like a Z1 Star Spec on 205 wide will grip much more than a 225 with a harder rubber compound.

(Good and cheap high perf tires: Dunlop star spec, Azenis 615, Hankook RS-2, Kumho Xs.)

if you are going to keep the stock rubber for a while, here's a hint. Run higher pressures all around. By higher I mean 40psi that will improve the response of those tall profiles.


Why is the aligment always left off these threads????

Get some front camber!! You can get camber bolts for $30 which will give you about -1.75 on the xD. Not much but it will help with the traction hard turns and won't have any negative tire wear from that.

Once you lower the car, do the aligment... all the negative camber you can get from the bolts and as close to zero toe in.


Then... as the other said:

Springs
Rear sway bar
Tires
Shocks



You mentioned a cat back... is there a cat back available for the xD? I believe there are only axle backs available... Have you looked at your exhaust?
I'm running 2.25" from the cat back with a couple of magnaflow resonators. It made a big difference and it cost less than the average brand axle back

teleken

Thanks - that's all really solid advice.

Having given it some thought, I may simply go to wider 16s when comes the time. I absolutely agree the xD is underpowered to begin with - it'll never be a "fast" car by most definitions.

Current thoughts are 16s with some nice wheels. I may get the wheels and have the stock tires mounted on them until they're ready to go - no point in wasting good rubber I paid for.

Order of operations for me right now:

1. Inside - pedals and shift ****
2. Linkage mounted short shift kit
3. Suspension - springs and sway bar at a minimum, may go to different shocks as Toyota doesn't warranty shocks anyway
4. Axle back or cat back system - may go TRD on that so they don't have an excuse if there are engine issues later
5. Wheels - haven't decided just what yet
6. Tires when the old ones wear
7. Seat covers if I'm bored enough ;)

I really thought hard about plus sizing and given weight and the road conditions where I live, the added expense coupled with the lesser sidewall makes it a no-go for me.

CASTREX

A little hint for you ;)

Tire rack has a closeout on the RS-2's

205/55/16 for $64 a piece... that's a steal.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....omCompare1=yes

teleken

Thanks, man, but the stock Bridgestones have all of 700 miles on them.

CASTREX

XD owners should jump on this!

Any tire on this same category is way above $100 a piece.


They have the 205/50/16 in $68 and the 215/45/16 are only $45 !!! i would buy them to stock them if I used that size tire...

These will be slightly lower than the OE tires... but on the long ratio C50 tranny that would actually be an advantage in regards to acceleration...

For people looking to improve handling... here is a bargain!

notoriouseyk

aww man i just bought 18x8 axis widtrack wheels..you mean i should have stuck with 16's?

xDTool

What direction do you plan to go with the shift **** and pedals? Along with the SSK, when I moved to a weighted Momo shift ****, I was actually surprised how much smoother my shifting was, and along with a new shift boot it cleans up what is in my opinion, the ugliest part of the interior on a 5spd. As for wheels, just remember when you're budgeting you can have 2 of 3 things:

1) lightweight
2) durability
3) cheap

no way to get all 3, unless you get some older rims that arent very pleasing to look at, and even then its not easy

teleken

I was thinking the Scion aftermarket stuff for pedals and shift ****, unless there's better out there.

With respect to tires/wheels, I'm going to stick with lightweight 16s and the stock sidewall, just wider. My hope is that not plus sizing will give me enough sidewall to help protect the wheels.

Thanks again to you and everyone else for all of your input. I'm normally a totally "factory stock" guy, so I appreciate everyone's input to an obvious newbie.

xDTool

Awesome, I did O.Z. Ultraleggera's in 16x7, have had them since a week after I owned the car and have loved them since.

Pertaining to the bold above, sidewall size changes when you change the width of the tire. Its actually a percentage of the width if I'm not mistaken. So when you have 215/50s vs 205/50's 215's will have a larger sidewall, so when you go up a a couple width sizes, Id downsize a sidewall size or two to equal out.

Also you shouldnt have any problems with the protection, just keep em away from the curb. I drive some horrible roads here in louisiana, and I've never had a problem

JDMJim

doing a 16 rim will provide a lower rolling mass, therefore allow fro better acceleration over a 17 or 18. truth. on a trip, I had a guy with an xB2 on 20's and another on 19's rollin with me in my xB on 17's. my speedo said I was doing 75( which is accurate and true). they kept up with me and their speedo said I was going 60....keep that in mind. but drop springs( proper for the vehicle, not ones for a Yaris. has to do with weight) with adjustable shocks( thats the key) and you'll have a decent handling car....rear sway bar coupled with adjustables and the car SHOULD have good turn-in

CMM83

As others have said, on a car like the xD I'd imagine going larger 17+ will make the handling worse. The car has such low power that the unsprung mass will negate the extra rubber being put down unless you spend some big money for something exceptionally light.

I used to autocross a Miata some years ago, but I'm not spending too much money on car upgrades these days. So I figure, bang for the handling buck, I'll get a rear sway bar to help control some of the body roll and when the stock tires are spent, upgrade the wheels to some decent 16's with a nice set of tires.
It's not as satisfying slapping nice rubber on the tires as it is putting on hard parts that won't wear out, but it's amazing what a good set of tires will do for a car.

Sorry, just realized this thread is a month old....