Power Tips for Toyota Avanza/Xenia Users

The Toyota Avanza and Daihatsu Xenia are probably Toyotas and Daihatsus cheapest and most popular family MPV available in Indonesia. Their reliability, high resale value, and load capacity have been major key factors of why people chose these cars over the past six years. While I personally not too fond of its now beige interior, and its overlychromed exterior (one of Toyota and Daihatsu Indonesias biggest disease when handling facelifts), the Avanza and the Xenia are still overally good cars if youre on a budget.

As we know already, even the most expensive car available on Earth is bound to have flaws, the Avanza/Xenia has quite a long list of fixes if you want to have a good, comfortable, and a bit more exciting ride quality. As an Avanza user for four years and counting, Im going to share the key points on how to turn your Avanza or Xenia into a

better overall car. Remember, when you buy a cheap car, expect that you might need to spend more to get it where you want it, and heres a good example of that. Before we start, Im going to base this on my 2005 Toyota Avanza, so if Toyota and Daihatsu are concerned about their customers and they follow good business and manufacturing principles, theres no reason not to have improvements of the cars weaknesses in the newer models. Major Flaws There are some major flaws that I immediately encountered when I bought this car:

The engine often stutters on low gear and RPMs, this is because of somewhat an idiotic approach from Toyota and Daihatsu to create more fuel economy. I believe this symptom no longer exists starting from the VVT-i models and up. Overall body roll is almost unacceptable in high speed turns, and the car sways a lot during high speed commuting. This is due to the low quality shock absorbers that Toyota and Daihatsu chose to equip these cars with. The tires are too thick and the wheels are too small for the normal dimension of this car. This leads to the previous problem (swaying and unstable) as well as less grip, since the tires width are very small on the lowest end model of Daihatsu Xenia. The car bounces back vertically in a ridiculous manner when hitting a speed bump or a pothole. This is again because of the stock springs that is way too soft for a car of this dimension

Since most of the cars problems revolve around the running gear, Im going to base my tips on that, and have them presented in tiers that I found most important first, and the ones least important (or even optional based on your preferences) afterwards. Eliminating the Sway The ridiculous swaying of the car can actually be cured by using a simple Sway Bar or better known here as Stabilizers. I had mine custom-built, but you can find these easily. Just remember to find one that is prominently thick and that you cannot bend these bars by your bare hands. If you find ones that are easily bendable, they are not Sway Bars. Theyre accessories and does nothing to your car.

Once installed, youll begin to notice that your car can now cruise in a stable and straight position while driving high speed. Depending on how well you feel your car when driving, you will also find that your car will now have a slightly reduced body roll, especially when cornering. Eliminating the Bounce I found that most Indonesians prefer that their cars have soft suspensions. While this is probably comfortable for sedans or with cars that has more sophisticated engineering with automatically-adjustable suspensions, this is not the case for an Avanza or a Xenia. Having your car bouncing up and down continuously when hitting a speed bump or a pot hole is quite annoying, especially for the ones riding on the back. There are two sequential ways to overcome this problem. First, invest on a better and harder shock absorbers that doesnt bulge that much when you push your car while standing still. This gives extra stiffness to your ride quality, and as an added bonus, your car would even sway and roll even less on high speeds. While most people are skeptical that having harder shocks means more comfort, trust me, youll see the difference when you have this on. My shock absorbers of choice are KYB Excel-G gas shocks for the rear, and Gabriel gas struts for the front. You can also opt for other brands according to your preference, as long as you use the right sizing for your car.

Second, if you feel that you need to go even more stiffer than what the new shocks provide you, you can invest on a lowering kit. What a lowering kit does is that it lowers your car around 2-2.5 to the ground. This gives a lower center of gravity, which means better handling, and even less roll and sway. Additionally, it eliminates that ugly fender gap and gives your car a better stance to look at. I believe there are several good aftermarket lowering kits that could go with your Avanza or Xenia. My choice is from Eibach, and theres also another from Espelir, and Jamex (original ones, that is), among others.

Adding the Grip While most riceboys doesnt know shit about this and often ends up with rims that are too big and tires that are too thin, you can actually improve your cars grip and handling

if you know how to modify your cars tires and rims correctly. Since the stock Avanza rims are 14 in width, and Xenias are in 13 in width, there are two things that you can do with this. First, you could opt for a 15 rim. They usually go with a 6.5 width and you can pair them with 195/60/R15 tires. For most people this is enough and it gives you the balance between performance and comfort. Just make sure that you get yourself a good set of tires. I always go with Bridgestone whenever I can, but there are tons of good tire brands in the market for you to choose from.

If this is not enough for you, you can always opt for a 16 rim, with usually a 7 width. You can then pair them with 205/50/R16 tires. Youll get less comfort that the 15 rims, but it gives you a bit more grip, especially when cornering.

However, I will not recommend going with 17 rims. Why? Because it adds up the unneeded unsprung weight to your car, resulting in slower accelerations, and you wont be able to fit a nice and comfortable set of tires on your car. You might be able to get away with 225/35/R17 tires with no problem, but that means sacrificing your ride quality, not to mention that you may need to modify and forcefully shift those front springs to fit the tires and rims in. I dont recommend this at all. Firmer Handling One of the things that I dont like with most cars is that they have too-light steering wheels. While ladies and elderly drivers might appreciate this, I found that having a firm and a bit heavier steering is better. Again, this is my preference and it doesnt mean that it is a requirement. I opted for a Issota Meg steering wheel that is slightly smaller in diameter and has a slight bigger steering grip. Please note that I dont recommend changing your steering wheel if your car is equipped with airbags, as this is probably equal to suicide. So there you go, several ways to make your Toyota Avanza or Daihatsu Xenia into an overall better car to drive in. I hope you find them useful for a better and safer drive.

COIL SPRING BUFFER TO INCREASE SPRING LIFESPAN & IMPROVE HANDLING

Benefits of using coil spring buffer:- Helps restore spring tension and lifespan - Extend lifespan to sagging coil spring - Reduces noise and vibration from suspension component (ngek ngek sound)

- Improve stopping capability, Enchances drivability - Fast Installation and Result Oriented - Suitable for all types / modal of vehicles (only Ori and OEM Coil Springs)