Prius II suspension/shocks

Wow, there is a blast from the past (Horizon). My buddies felt like there were no shocks whatsoever. I think the Prius suspension is far superior. Anyway, I believe the V (w/ 17") has a tune suspension. So I suspect a better ride there.

 

Struts/shocks on all 2010+ are the same regardless of option package. I'm really surprised you think the ride is too harsh.

 

Indeed. I drove mine home today and it was soo plush. I prefer stiffer suspension and I'm used to that so that could be why.

 

I think it feels kind of like a golf cart.

Seriously, though, it's not bad, but I keep the tires at 40/38 cold. This makes for a good bit of "wander" and a feeling of not tracking, plus you feel every road imperfection. But even a few pounds less, while providing a better ride and more stable tracking, cuts fuel economy by about 5-6 per cent.

 

I guess it depends on what car you came from and what your used to. For me the Prius rides very smoothly and feels like a town car compared to what I had.

 

I thought the II rides smoother than the IV or V. So they may handle better but will ride worse.

 

1) Check your tire pressures. Don't be surprised if they are over-inflated; a lot of dealers fail to inflate them correctly when they come off the transporters.

2) The ride is indeed border-line harsh, with no payback in handling. It's the only negative with this car, and was true of the Gen 2 car, as well. I run the tire pressures in the low 30s, usually around 33 psi all around. This helps. I also dumped the OEM Bridgestones, which were already the best-riding of the 4 OEM tire choices, for Michelin Harmonys - everything got better: ride, handling, braking.

If you want to see 50 mpg, you have to put up with the ride as part of the trade-off. If you're satisfied with 45 mpg, as I am, then let a little air out of the tires and accept the fact that this is the least satisfactory aspect of this otherwise fantastic package.

Incidentally, there is no difference in the suspension settings for the cars with the 17" wheels. They ride even worse because of the low-profile tires, albeit with better handling, at least compared with the thoroughly mediocre OEM 15" tire choices - all of them are about lowering rolling resistance. The change to the 15" Michelins made a noticeably positive difference in our car, but at the price of a couple of MPG.

 

When driving over say cracks on the road perpendicular to the direction of the car, the ride quality is fine. When driving slowly (5-20mph) over bumps or ruts that occur only on one side of the car, thats when it gets annoying, as it feels as if the rear end wobbles left and right a lot more than the Acura TSX (unfair comparison I know). Someone told me its due to the rear torsion beam suspension. Maybe it just needs a rear swaybar, who knows. Otherwise the ride is fine at faster speeds & I just avoid the street irregularities.

 

Adding a swaybar or putting on a stiffer one will make one wheel bumps feel harsher. The reason for that is that when one wheel moves up, the sway bar applies force to cause the opposite wheel to move up. That effectively stiffens the spring rate for one wheel bumps because you are compressing the spings on both sides of the car. How much you compress the spring on the opposite side is a direct function of how stiff your way bar is.


I think the Prius Gen III rear torsion beam axle is about as good as a twist beam gets. Better (not just stiffer) shocks will help reduce a lot of suspension weaknesses.

 

Are you sure Josh?... http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-iii...ion-different-c-d-says-yes-3.html#post1146893

 

Welcome to the world without independent suspension!

Checking your alignment will help too

 

I'm a little confused by the differences of opinion about whether the rear suspension is not independent, independent or semi-independent (whatever that is).
Can anyone provide a link to a picture?
That should clear it up.

 

Take a look at the website "Suspension Bible". Nice little pictures and explanations. The torsion/twist beam that the Prius has seems to be a type of "beam axle" and seems to be considered a semi-independent here. Nice reading regardless.

Car Bibles : The Car Suspension Bible page 2 of 4

Some picture & descriptions, including VW Golf's torsion beam rear axle (same as Prius I believe):

http://www.autozine.org/technical_school/suspension/tech_suspension21.htm

 

Yup, please read my posts in that thread (last page)...the V has different spec shocks AND springs, along with the 17" rims and better steering.

 

Well here are some pictures. Appears there is a beam between the wheels.

 

No.

 

Check your parts department. There are separate parts number for both springs and shocks depending on TIRE SIZE. So, Prius V (with 17" rims) has different parts number for shocks and springs. I have checked with two Toyota dealerships and they confirm the different parts number. And please, next time, please elaborate on your answer...otherwise, you sound like an arrogant nice person.

 

Anyone have an update on the V suspension, is it same or different?

That being said, I wonder if the II-IV still have the "euro-tuned" suspension then.