Hi, I’ve been lurking on this forum for a little while but realised I haven’t introduced myself.
I’m Mike, and I live in Bristol, UK. I’m a software engineer turned car buff who has been driving Daihatsu’s since 2022 when I bought my L880K copen. This car had 11 previous owners to me, no service history, and was bought on a whim from FB Marketplace. Since then its had top end rebuild (blown head gasket) and a reasonable amount of welding to cills and arches due to rust. I’m now in my 3rd summer of ownership.
I’ve now just bought a 2003 M101 Sirion Rally 2 which is one of 17 left in the UK. I am in the process of sourcing springs and need to get it to pass its emissions to go through MoT.
I’m currently on a hunt for a OEM springs if anyone knows a good UK source. I can see plenty of lowering springs but don’t want to lower it as its plenty close to the ground already.
4 Likes
Welcome, would be great to see some pics - I’m a fellow UK Rally 2 owner so welcome to an exclusive club!
UK springs are tricky. There are a few options
-
Amayama.com is a really comprehensive parts catalogue and distribution network. You can get standard springs from there for ~£60 a go: https://www.amayama.com/en/genuine-catalogs/epc/toyota-japan/duet/M101A/147899/chassis/4803
-
Have custom springs made. Not as expensive as you’d think, I would guess at ~£100 per side at most? You’d need to provide a spec though which might be tricky. Are both your front ones broken? If one is salavageble then you might be able to take it along and have a firm make up two (or more!) to the same spec.
-
Look for breakers. If you’re not on there already then there is a UK perfromance daihatsu page on Facebook which often has people breaking these. Someone to look out for is a guy called Phillip Harris who is quite active and has loads of spares for Rally 2 and 4 cars and is quite helpful. He’s not that far from you, just outside Exeter IIRC.
The Rally 2 had/has stiffer springs than standard, but same height I think. I speak from experience when I say that I think that it would actually handle better on standard front springs. A light, FWD car needs some roll in the front suspension to allow it absorb bumps better (as there is less weight to dampen the impact) and to improve the grip of the front wheels on road surfaces. I find that driven hard, my Sirion rally 2 will quite easily spin up the front inside wheel as the suspension is too hard at the front.
What is wrong, specifically, ith emissions? Too high CO? Bad Lambda? Or idling too high? If the latter then you need a new idle control valve which I can def help with if needed. Its a common issue and easily and cheaply fixable if you know where to look.
2 Likes
Great Intro mater and welcome to the forum. Copen is a great first Dai to have. Also now a rally2 Big thumbs up from me. Looks like Granger has got you covered for info. 
Thanks @Granger thats a good point about the spring stiffness that I didn’t know. Will track down Philip Harris and see what he’s got.
Emissions issue we think is due to faulty o2 sensor. The car is being supplied with both, and will need one fitted.
I know someone breaking a similar looking sirion2 so will see what his mood is for parting the springs for me.
Below is a photo of my son with it yesterday. You may have already seen this car about on YouTube.
3 Likes
