[JSB33]

Greetings all,
I am contemplating buying a new 2014 xB and am looking for some info before signing the big check.

This car will be a drastic change from anything I have owned in the last 20+years. I have always had to have full sized work trucks loaded down with tons of equipment, my current one is a Ford E350 cube van. With a few breaks I will be able to hang up my tools and have a regular job very soon and I want to have the xB as my daily driver.
I have spent a lot of time researching cars and it looks like the Scion will be just right for me due to the cargo space. I have wanted to have something a bit sporty to drive forever and I may finally have that chance thanks to the tunability of the xB.

I have the following questions.

1) I like the 17 inch wheels, I don't like the price. Better options?

2) Springs and shocks and sway bar look interesting, again the price seems very high. I would like to have more responsive handling but don't want to give up very much ride comfort as I live in a state (OH) with bad roads because of the cold weather.
How much of a difference do the TRD part improve the handling and at what cost to the ride.

3) Cold air intake
as above, very pricey, is there a performance gain that you can actually feel or is it more of a "looks fast so it must be fast" type of thing.

4) When I bought my wifes Venza I was able to buy a drastically reduced extended warranty plan from a dealer from out of state. I have looked and cannot find my info for him. Does anyone know of this?

Thanks in advance for the help.

 

[zinger]

Welcome to the site! I'm sure you'll enjoy your xB.

1) I have 17's on mine. I think it is a good balance between performance and ride comfort. Aftermarket will always be cheaper than TRD. I bought mine used with good tires at a great price. I saved a ton of money and I have Blizzak snow tires on my stock steelies for the winter and can have a performance tire on the alloy rims for summer. I'm sure you could spend days looking at tires on Craig's List.

2) For handling I think the sway bar is a must-have. I bought the TRD because I wanted it before I went on a road trip. I just went to the dealer and picked it up. If I wasn't in a hurry, I would have ordered the Hotchkis set online. At the time you could get the Hotchkis front and rear sway bars for the same price as just the rear TRD.

I have TRD springs because I found them slightly used at a fantastic price. Buying new, I would probably have gone with the Tanabe NF210's. The sway bar made a bigger difference in handling in my opinion. I'm not really throwing it around corners though.

3) You will find many differing opinions regarding added horsepower from cai's. Personally, I doubt it does much (maybe a couple hp if anything). Most people seem to enjoy them for the aggressive sound. Again, TRD is expensive. It's basically just a tube for air to pass through. I would probably just get a cheap one from eBay if it were me.

4) I have read about that too. I think it was a dealer in NY state. I don't remember who though. Search the forum for "extended warranty" and you should find it.

There's my 2 cents.
Good Luck!

 

[willie1321]

welcome! I live in Canton so I figured I'd chime in... As far as wheels go There's definitely better, cheaper, and more options than factory.

as for springs I have Tein s techs. If you lower yours you will not be able to drive it like a truck or van in Ohio lol. You'll have to watch out and be careful with all the pot holes but it is do able. I've managed just fine all winter lowered and we both know how bad that's been ha. As far as the ride its obviously stiffer. I don't really mind it and don't find it to be unbearable or uncomfortable even for hours at a time.

i don't have the TRD intake but i have the weapon r intake. It does sound way better, gives it a lil growl, and it does give it a tiny bit of power. Nothing to noticeable though. I bought my intake used off this site cheap and am extremely happy

 

[JSB33]

Thanks to the both of you for some very helpful posts.
Looking around you can really save some money over the cost of the dealer/TRD parts. Its nice to be able to roll the cost into the note and have them in place from day one but I don't really think its worth the outrageous cost.

And a little bit of a loss in ride comfort over stock is nothing to worry about as like I said, I have been driving one ton trucks for the last 30 years.
I just don't want a harsh little penalty box. Good to hear this won't be the case.