A noobs little Aygo project

[ErikNL]

Hi everyone,

First off, forgive me for any spelling errors, English is not my first language, so it gets difficult especially when talking about technical stuff. Anyway, tomorrow we will get our new Aygo from the Toyota dealer. It is pretty much standard except for alloy wheels. Maybe you guys can help me weigh the pros and cons of the different mods I have in mind. I know the Aygo is probably slower than your grandmother's car, but I'm not looking to create a racemonster. If I can improve on the fun of driving, while keeping it cheap, I'm happy. Mods I have in mind:

I think I would first modify the suspencion. Dropping the car 30 mm. It's not too expensive, seems not too complicated to do for a noob like me and improves handling and looks.

I read the article on suspencion mods (interesting articles you have here by the way). The main points I got from this article was not to go for a generic "one size fits all" suspencionkit and to combine changing the springs and dampers to match so the springs don't break. But most product information I find on the internet for the Aygo only includes lowering springs and no dampers. Even the Toyota dealer only seems to change the springs if you ask them to lower the car for you. So, in case of the Aygo: should I look at just the springs or also the dampers?

Next mod I have in mind is remapping the ECU. I read that Toyota locks the ECU, but I can find companies who advertise with custom remaps for the Aygo. So it seems the Aygo is an exception and the ECU is not locked? Assuming the ECU can be remapped, I wonder if it is worth it since the Aygo has no turbo and a custom remap is not cheap (500 euro's or something). They advertise they can get about 20% more horses and torque, but that's probably optimistic. Improving on mpg is an interesting side effect though. But on the downside I could get into warranty issues with this new car. Any thoughts on this subject?

At this point I am not sure about intake and exhaust tuning, though I fear if I change my mind in the future the ECU would need remapping again and that's costly. Any suggestions are very welcome.

Well that's about it for now. Thanks for reading!

Erik.

 

[Prince]

Hi everyone,

First off, forgive me for any spelling errors, English is not my first language, so it gets difficult especially when talking about technical stuff. Anyway, tomorrow we will get our new Aygo from the Toyota dealer. It is pretty much standard except for alloy wheels. Maybe you guys can help me weigh the pros and cons of the different mods I have in mind. I know the Aygo is probably slower than your grandmother's car, but I'm not looking to create a racemonster. If I can improve on the fun of driving, while keeping it cheap, I'm happy. Mods I have in mind:

Hello and welcome mate! Your English (like most Dutch people I've met) is probably better than most of us! The Aygo might not be everyon'es choice, but we all started somewhere. It's all about smiles per miles.

I think I would first modify the suspencion. Dropping the car 30 mm. It's not too expensive, seems not too complicated to do for a noob like me and improves handling and looks.

I read the article on suspencion mods (interesting articles you have here by the way). The main points I got from this article was not to go for a generic "one size fits all" suspencionkit and to combine changing the springs and dampers to match so the springs don't break. But most product information I find on the internet for the Aygo only includes lowering springs and no dampers. Even the Toyota dealer only seems to change the springs if you ask them to lower the car for you. So, in case of the Aygo: should I look at just the springs or also the dampers?

I'm a fan of starting with suspension so good call! I don't know what is and sin't available but it may be that aftermarket dampers have not been developed yet. However, a 30mm drop should be ok on standard dampers. Anything more and you may run into problems with the travel the damper makes.

It may be that you have to go completely custom. I know Spax can make you something custom but it'll cost a lot of money (around £1000 iirc)!

Next mod I have in mind is remapping the ECU. I read that Toyota locks the ECU, but I can find companies who advertise with custom remaps for the Aygo. So it seems the Aygo is an exception and the ECU is not locked? Assuming the ECU can be remapped, I wonder if it is worth it since the Aygo has no turbo and a custom remap is not cheap (500 euro's or something). They advertise they can get about 20% more horses and torque, but that's probably optimistic. Improving on mpg is an interesting side effect though. But on the downside I could get into warranty issues with this new car. Any thoughts on this subject?

At this point I am not sure about intake and exhaust tuning, though I fear if I change my mind in the future the ECU would need remapping again and that's costly. Any suggestions are very welcome.

Well that's about it for now. Thanks for reading!

Erik.

You are spot on there mate. Remapping the ECU should be done after all other power additions have been made otherwise it will have to be done again. A 20% gain is quite optimistic but not un-heard of. At this level a custom map is not needed, just a normal remap will do the trick.

However anything you do will invalidate the warranty. So you may need ti decide what's more important to you.

Anymore questions then fire away!

 

[ErikNL]

Hi Prince, thanks for your advice. Saturday we got the car as a surprise for my wife, that was fun . And that little car is perfect, exactly how she wanted it. I'll see if I can get a picture on this forum.

About the suspension: i did find a set of coilovers from KW specific for the Aygo. It is a basic set (v1) with factory pre-set damping. They are not adjustable. I do figure the springs, dampers and other parts are a match, whereas just changing the springs will create a mismatch (more or less). The set of coilovers is 780 euro's though as opposed to 180 for just changing the springs.
So basically I wonder if it is worth it. Secondly I wonder about the makers: KW. From what I read, it looks professional, smart technology, they aim to balance between handling and comfort, but I don't have any experience on the matter. What is your opinion on KW and the improvement a set of coilovers would be over just changing the springs? I know this is very subjective, but I would like to hear what others think about it.

And now that we have the car I did notice that 20mm spacers each side for the rear wheels would improve on the looks. So that's also on the list. I am still not sure on remapping the ecu. They do advertise they will take over the warranty for the engine.

Thanks again.

Erik

 

[obi_waynne]

Hi there, I hope you are well. May I wish you a warm welcome to TorqueCars, it is a pleasure to meet you.

You'll find us a pretty friendly bunch and I'm sure you'll start to love and enjoy the forums as much as we all do. (It gets quite addictive at times.)

Feel free to get involved in our other threads, all opinions are welcome and as they say "the more the merrier"! (It's also great when people start new threads and discussions and all adds to the great debate.)

Keep us up to date with your project as well, we like to see what people are getting up to with their cars.

 

[Prince]

Hi Prince, thanks for your advice. Saturday we got the car as a surprise for my wife, that was fun . And that little car is perfect, exactly how she wanted it. I'll see if I can get a picture on this forum.

You are allowed to post pictures once you've made 10 posts so get posting and then get a picture up for us.

About the suspension: i did find a set of coilovers from KW specific for the Aygo. It is a basic set (v1) with factory pre-set damping. They are not adjustable. I do figure the springs, dampers and other parts are a match, whereas just changing the springs will create a mismatch (more or less). The set of coilovers is 780 euro's though as opposed to 180 for just changing the springs.

I believe the v1s are height adjustable. If you go down this route then yes the springs and dampers will be matched. The coilovers will provide many benefits of just springs. It really depends on budget and requirements. Coilovers will make the ride stiffer whilst just sprigns will retain the ride comfort, but make it look better. Performance wise then coilovers is the choice, but only if your budget allows.

So basically I wonder if it is worth it. Secondly I wonder about the makers: KW. From what I read, it looks professional, smart technology, they aim to balance between handling and comfort, but I don't have any experience on the matter. What is your opinion on KW and the improvement a set of coilovers would be over just changing the springs? I know this is very subjective, but I would like to hear what others think about it.

KW are very highly regarded manufacturers. I've only ever heard good things about them from the BMW world. Again, coilovers will be mean a better handling car, but a less comfortable ride. I'd imagine the Aygo to be like a go-kart with them on though.

And now that we have the car I did notice that 20mm spacers each side for the rear wheels would improve on the looks. So that's also on the list. I am still not sure on remapping the ecu. They do advertise they will take over the warranty for the engine.

Thanks again.

Erik

If you get spacers then make sure you get longer bolts as well. It may even be an opportunity to get some nice alloys at the same time.

Decide on remapping the ECU once you have decided on other modifications. It's always the last thing you should do so think carefully about what you want first.

As always, more questions then feel free!