Who says big things don't come in small packages? We at Ambient Lifestyle do and have proved it with our '07 Toyota Yaris. This year we've ditched our old automatic 2007 Toyota Yaris mid season and traded in for a newer facelifted model...this time in manual.
Since the beginning, we've been going outside of the box and tuning our Toyota Yaris platform which not many people know about its decently sized aftermarket support rather than a Honda Civic or a Nissan 240SX. It's actually kind of funny because before the start of Ambient Lifestyle, our previous automatic '07 Yaris was actually a daily driver to a Nissan 240SX that was being built and raced at the track. After the unfinished 240 project was sold due to not being a rare vehicle anymore because of the "drift craze," the Yaris became the new rare car to work on and little after that, Ambient Lifestyle came to be where it would become the official ride. The 2008 show season was the first test for our '07 Yaris where it began brining home trophies surprisingly and finished the season out strong. It then began again earlier this year dubbing the nickname of "Vitz RS" (named after it's actual name back in it's homeland of Japan) doing the same though it still wasn't enough for the larger events such as Hot Import Nights. That would all change during middle of the '09 season.
During the end of June this past year, Toyota had offered us a deal we couldn't refuse for a new Yaris. Of course we took it and it was out with the old and in with the new..."Vitz RS" v2.0. We stayed under the radar by purchasing the same color since the scheme that was being used was working quite well. Also, the purchase that was made switched from an automatic transmission to a manual. The real main difference rather than the tranmission is facelift that the 2009 model had recieved. Front and rear bumpers have an updated appearance as well as the shapes of the headlights themselves. This is the second design of the chassis or what some would call "chuki," a japanese term used to determine which design. According to talks by Toyota, it seems that this facelift would be the final design or "kouki" version of the chassis before a newly designed chassis comes into production.
As for the progress and modifications of the vehicle itself, nothing was really added to the new vehicle this year. All of the parts from our previous Yaris were a direct fit minus the aftermarket grill provided by Micro Image as the '09's have a totally new and redesigned grill. We are looking to get back onto the track for the 2010 season competing in auto cross and hopefully time attack. Future modifications include visual such as an ultra rare body kit by Kavin T of Taiwan and headlights from Micro Image, interior such as seating and upholstery, performance such as a GReddy TIC exhaust and Non Stop Tuning pulleys, and suspension such as Micro Image under panels and GTSpec under braces. Of course that's just to name a few. Hopefully we can gain the support of more future sponsors and make this a little blue bad ass from hell!
We would like to thank our supporters and sponsors for supporting us through the past 2 years with the Yaris and are looking foward to working with them for more to come. If you would like to keep up with the progress of our project, stay tuned for a future article or you can follow us at our page in the Show-Off section.
Build Stats
Owner: Joel Cardona/Ambient Lifestyle
Age: 26
Occupation: Para Educator/Freelance Graphic Designer/Ambient Lifestyle Founder
Engine/Performance: Micro Image Engine Cover, Custom Ground Wire Kit, AFE Stage 2 Short Ram Intake, NGK Iridium Spark Plugs, TRD JDM Oil Cap, TRD Radiator Cap, Braille Battery No-Weight B2015, Braille Verticle Battery Mount
Exterior: JDM Vitz RS Tail Lights (Replica), JDM Vitz RS spoiler (Replica), JDM Vitz RS Grill Badge (Authentic), JDM Vitz Front Badge (Authentic Toyota Netz Emblem), JDM Vitz Rear Emblem (Replica), TK Eyebrows, DLAA OEM Style Fog Light wiring Kit w/ Toyota OEM Lamps, Yellow H11 Fog Light Bulbs, Sylvania Silverstar Ultra H4 Bulbs, Toyota Yaris Liftback Exhaust Tip by Valor, G2 Autosports OEM Style Carbon Fiber Hood, Carbon Fiber B Pillars, Toyota/Scion xA Carbon Fiber Gas Lid
Interior: Glow Shift Yaris Tripple Gauge 'A' Pillar, Custom Trunk Audio Setup, Custom Sony PSP Setup, Micro Image Center Console Box, Custom Shift Boot
Suspension/Wheels: GTSpec Front Strut Tower Bar, GTSpec Fear Strut Tower Bar, GTSpec Rear Lower Tie Bar, TRD Springs, TRD Sportivo Shocks, Raze R74 Gold 17x7 +40, Nexen N3000 205/40/R17, JDM Wheel Mate Incandesent Lug Nuts
In Car Electronics: Sony PSP, Eclipse CD8443 Radio, TomTom ONE, Kenwood KFC-WS12 Shallow Subwoofer, MTX Thunder 2160 Power Amplifier, Monster Cable 1 Farad Cap, Glow Shift Water Temp Guage, Glow Shift Volt Guage, Glow Shift Vacuum Guage
Sponsors: Micro Image, GTSpec, Toyota, Sign-A-Rama
