TRD Lowering Springs?

TRD Springs - 1.1" drop (front) and 1.3" drop (rear)


Read more: http://priuschat.com/threads/trd-lowering-springs.108899/page-2#ixzz2ADEuXA3E

like OCkevin said in an earlier post

"I have the TRD springs and sways and nothing rubs at all. I have had 15" , 17" and 18" wheels and nothing rubs."

I have the TRD springs installed myself, no problems with any clearance, i'm on 17's. Make sure you just go slow over bumps and driveways.

The going price for the Springs install is around $150-$350, $500 is a bit much, but than it included alignment, so I guess it's alright.

 

The springs don't lower the car a great deal but with the wrong choice of tire and improper inflation the car could drop low enough to cause problems. If you are truly worried about scraping the bottom of the car then go with a 205/50/17 tire instead of the shorter 215/45/17 and make sure they are well inflated. Because of the extra weight on the front end, the tires tend to deform more and are thus shorter than the same tire in the rear. Low tire pressure will also cause the tire to squash and thus drop the front end lower. The result can be quite drastic.

I'm going to play with tire pressure tonight to measure the difference in height at different pressures. When I measured tire height last week I observed over 1/2" difference between the front and rear tires.

 

Thanks guys, ucs what kind of tires are you rolling on?

Also thanks for the input F8L, very impressed with ur tire knowledge. Are you getting more ride comfort from the 205/50s? or did you choose that setup to reduce tire gap and increase ride height? I am inclined to purchase a set of michelin primacy mxm4 when the springs settle in.

I'm new to this forum but you guys make me want to mod the hell out of my prius but Christmas is coming so I have to slowdown! I am getting springs installed this week, did you guys change anything with the suspension or are the trd sprigs made to work with stock? Thanks again for all the info greatly appreciate the input

 

I bought the tires for the ride height, wheel well gap and fuel economy (hopefully). Taller tires are generally better for FE but the fact it is an XL tire may nullify the FE benefit of the larger tire. Bleh

I think the MXM4 215/45/17 is probably more comfortable than my particular tire. Between the EP422 and the MXM4 in the same size I couldn't say.

 

I'm running on Motivo Nitto tires, bought them from discount tire at $120 a piece, 6 year, 60,000 warranty.

 

Lol dang just realized all the info was under y'all's signature! Thanks again

 

Welcome to the forum........we try to make it easy by listing out mods

 

Since this is a Prius forum, each sticker adds 10 mpg not 10 hp like on the Honda forums

Mike

In the middle of an Ohio cornfield on my SGH-i717

 

Yep.. It's all about the mpg now ! Thanks Sean

 

Taller tires will usually hurt calculated fuel economy since the odometer will record fewer miles traveled compared to a smaller tire that spins more & records more miles traveled even though the actual miles traveled will be the same no matter how tall a tire that is used.

 

I

If only it were that simple.

Besides, my "taller" tire is only .1" taller than the OE 15" tire. The 215/45/17 is .3" shorter than the OE 15" tire.

OE 15" revs/mile = 829
OE 17" revs/mile = 844
EP422 205/50/17 = 829

So what I lose with the added 1lb in tire weight I make up in better appearance and possibly better highway efficiency due to reduced engine strain. Maybe. LOL

 

F8L, Ecopia EP422 Or Primacy MXM4? I know you're using the ecopias and seems like you have enjoyed it so far.. I like the idea of the 205/50/17 - i don't know why Toyota just doesn't make that part of the option when buying a Prius since it is closer to the OE 15" tire and will give better clearance vs 45s, it would make my tire upgrade choice alot easier!

If I go with 205/50/17 will the speedometer be off or does it ever rub? or has it been trouble free for you?

I have OE 15" right now with Mastercraft tires, I've never heard of the brand and I don't think they are LRR, averaging in the low 43mpg with them.

 

No rubbing even in hard cornering.

I am avoiding making any fuel economy comments right now because the weather has changed quite a bit and we are now on winter fuel. I have also been driving much much faster and more aggressively than I did with the 15" tires. Temps were already dropping by the time I started switching between the last 3 17" tires so it is difficult to make comparisons. Confounding this is the fact that all 3 tires changed fairly dramatically after being broken in so after 800 miles or so they felt like different tires.

IMO the only drawback to the 205/50/17 is the fact they are Extra Load tires so the ride is worse. On the other hand, the XL rating means they are more robust and safer because they do not drop the load rating over the OE 15" tire. The 215/45/17s are mostly lower load ratings than OE 15s.

So where does that leave us?

Lowering or Not

• If you are not lowering the car then I would go 205/50/17 all the way because it looks nicer with less wheel well gap.
• If you are lowering the car then either size will work but the 205/50/17 helps maintain a higher ground clearance although it is not much (approx. .20")

Fuel Economy

• Either size will work well BUT the 205/50/17 will likely cause you to drive faster than the 215/45/17 because it helps correct the speedo error whereas the 215/45/17 makes the speedo error worse!
• EP422 or PureContact for fuel economy. MXM4 (V) or Bridgestone Turanza Serenity Plus for everything else!

Handling and traction

• EP422 is a somewhat mushy tire in the corners. I do not recommend it at all for people who love corner carving. However, I don't feel it is unsafe for most Prius drivers.
• The Primacy MXM4, PureContact with EcoPlus and Turanza Serenity Plus blow the EP422 out of the water where handling, traction (especially wet) and steering response is concerned. If you want a sports car feel with the refinement of a Luxury car then go with one of these three. The Serenity Plus is a hell of a deal when Bridgestone runs the $70 rebate! Without the rebate the PureContact is a better deal due to higher MPG.

Comfort and noise

• EP422 started off really comfy and quiet but grew to be as bumpy or slightly worse than the MXM4. It is still fairly quiet.
• The MXM4 is a damn good tire in these respects. It felt softer and quieter as it broke in. Quiet the opposite of the EP422.
• PureContact was pretty hard even at low pressure but it was fairly quiet. Steering response was MUCH better than the other tires. It just felt sportier.

Breaking all this down to what matters to you.

Safety - MXM4, PureContact or Turanza Serenity Plus
Wet Climate - MXM4 or PureContact all the way!
MPG - EP422 or PureContact
Sporty - PureContact or MXM4
Tire Life - Serenity Plus, PureContact, EP422, MXM4

For more info on the PureContact and Serenity Plus
Tire Test Results : Testing Grand Touring All-Season Tires

For more info on the MXM4
Tire Test Results : Testing New Grand Touring All-Season Tires

 

Mxm4 looks like a clear winner here. I loved how it felt on my stock 17s. Quieter and smoother for sure. When I got my pp wheels. I had originally transferred my mxm4 onto the rims. However one of my rear tires were damaged and my 2 front tires were wearing out so I decided to get new tires. At that time I was only looking for the cheapest option available so I went with the motivo nitto. At first I felt they are crap. But now I'm starting to get used to it and I like it now. It's comparable to the mxm4 however the ride is abit bumpier. You still get a quiet ride with great fuel economy.

 

nice! yeah.. I checked tire shops around here and they're going for 170 a tire with a 70mail in rebate or something like that..

anyway now I'm having trouble finding a good place to get my TRD springs installed - cheapeast quote I found was $582 with alignment at a Toyota dealership who can gaurantee the install for one year. Theres a couple aftermarket performance shops around here, best quote I could find was $250 for the install. What would you guys do? Go to a performance shop or stick with a Toyota dealership to do the install? Thanks

 

Toyota quoted me $800 without alignment. I went to a aftermarket performance shop and they installed my springs perfectly for $140. I would recommend going to aftermarket performance shop

 

Thanks, you got a pretty sweet deal there, did the shop do the alignment for you? If so was it way off after springs were put on?

 

The alignment was not included, however, it doesn't feel off at all, very straight. I will get the alignment done sometime in the near future

 

The price has been going up on the MXM4 recently which is why I feel the Serenity Plus is a better deal. At $138 a tire plus a $70 rebate they are a steal.

$200-$300 is the average rate for a spring install around here. If you know people then you can sometimes find it for cheaper.

 

F8L, I'm tempted to go back to the MXM4, the Motivo Nitto still feels abit bumpy for me