Not happy with ride on new Prius

I addressed that specifically.

The issue is that the rim itself is only a component (~25% perhaps?) of the unsprung mass, and it's already made of lightweight materials (aluminum). You're not even going to an alternative material (i.e. magnesium, beryllium). You're merely going to a different forming technique that produces a stronger product that allows you to engineer lighter. But even if a non-existent magical technique can make aluminum 100% stronger, that's only going to enable a 50% decrease in the mass of the rim... which itself is only ~25% of the unsprung mass, giving you at best a ~12.5% reduction in unsprung mass.

You can do the math back in reality, where forging is "only" 25% stronger than casting. (Actually, I already did it in the quoted post.)

So you can see the problems with that claim.

I find that more-or-less plausible. But please see what I said above in terms of actual, effective reduction of unsprung mass. The ride comfort of the 15" rims have little to do with its mass, and everything to do with its higher sidewall height and compliance, which both 1) increases effective suspension travel (suspension travel + tire compliance), and 2) lower "unsprung mass" (because that tire compliance before the suspension actually has to move has about... oh, a couple of pounds of "unsprung mass", of just the rubber and sidewall?)

It's not to say that the 17" wheels don't have tire compliance... but a lot less of it. We're talking about 1" of sidewall difference on the contact side.

I think you're forgetting that 1) a sportbike weighs only 1/8 of the unladen Prius (~400lbs vs. ~3000lbs), 2) each sportbike rim makes up a much greater proportion of the overall vehicle (~16lbs* vs ~24lbs, ratios of 4%-of-vehicle-mass vs 0.8%-of-vehicle-mass), and 3) a motorcycle has additional considerations (gyroscopic effects, most notably) that would reward lighter wheels.

* - Honda CBR600RR Rear Wheel Rim - Motorcycle Sports, Inc.

Alas, I'm on the opposite side of the country relative to Florida, and I don't have any 17" rims on the Prius for primarily FE reasons (the play car is another car).

 

Wow. I have absolutely zero interest in continuing this discussion.

Knock, Knock Knock - Sheldon.

 

Hey, you're the one making fantastical claims. If you can't defend it, at least man-up and admit it instead of shrugging it off and trying to play for an exit with a barbed joke.

It's a cheap squirm, and everyone knows it.

 

Is fantastical a real word? I've only heard it in rap songs...

I said the ride was BETTER with forged wheels. I supplied a quote to explain why. It's not a claim, it's a fact. I don't have time in my life to argue with you over it... You have an opinion, you are entitled to. Opinions are like sphincters, everyone has one!

Next, you will probably tell me that you were the only one who had no problem signing up for insurance on healthcare.gov...

 

*facepalm*

If you keep going back to Wisegeek as some authoritative source, I think you might actually force me to come to the same conclusion as you did: I don't have time to argue with you. It is pointless.

Real advice without cheap, jokey barbs:

Work on some cars. Work on a few different kinds of cars. Get real-fleshed-out sense of how things work, and how much they comprise the whole of a car.

Do some reading. Carroll Smith is a good place to start. Anything Carroll Smith is fine. And do some math.

 

I had a 2010 III with stock 15's and the ride was soft but tracking and cornering was way inferior to the 17' s on my 2013 Persona. I've been keeping the 17's at 40 psi and the ride is a bit bumpy but handling is much better.

 

I have 17' plus forged wheels and trd rear sway bar on my prius. I find that the ride is jarring and probably would not go with lowering springs. That being said, the roads in my city lick balls. There are potholes, expansion joints, train tracks everywhere and the city doesn't seem to put a priority in keeping the roads smooth. Perhaps if i lived in the usa, with the freeways and better maintained roads, I would get lowering springs.

Not to drift off topic but you said you were not happy with the ride. where you not happy with the harshness or handling or road feel?

 

I run my tires at 49 psi front and 47 rear. The ride is awesome ;-) BTW my tires are MXM4 Michelin's. Don't know what the original poster's tires are.

Mike

Mobile on my SGH-i717

 

For $1000 you could get new 15" tires and rims at The Tire Rack.... then sell your almost new 17"s to someone here or Craigslist or Ebay to recoup some $$.
As I had mentioned earlier in this thread- I've had both the stock 17" and stock 15" Toyota rims/tires on a 2012 Prius- the difference in ride comfort between the two is startling! While I concede the 17" setup looks great on the Prius, I'd go with the 15"'s again in a heartbeat for every day comfort. Once the pressure gets close to 40 psi on the 17" tires the ride is jarring on anything but the smoothest roads.

 

We split the difference and replaced the persona OEM 17's with 16's. The ride is MUCH more comfortable, yet the handling is plenty crisp. Made the swap as a near wash, as the OEM's were mint and the tires had <1,000 miles on them. Got decent looking Corolla 16" 5 spoke take-offs and Michelins. Mom and Pop both happy with the swap.

 

To the OP...

That vehicle is too beautiful to not be happy with.

The standard Prius suspension from the factory is pretty much the standard Prius suspension from the factory. I'd think the difference you are feeling is coming from the tire and rim set up. (Which I think looks great).

You could probably create a more familiar ride feel by changing back to a more OEM factory standard wheel and rim combination.

Or as some have suggested, making some suspension/brace upgrades.

I think the Cherry Persona looks great. Personally? I might sacrifice a little comfort to just keep the look.

 

"That vehicle is too beautiful to not be happy with. I think the Cherry Persona looks great. Personally? I might sacrifice a little comfort to just keep the look."

Agreed! That's why I bought the Black Cherry with the 17 inchers. I personally don't think the ride is bad, but maybe it's because we have good roads here in so cal.

 

I have always owned cars that I could feel every crack and bump in the road. I could never give up the stellar look of fancy wheels and low profile tires ;-)

Mike

Mobile on my SGH-i717

 

I have a feeling that a coil over suspension with adjustable compression and rebound with progressive rate springs could be dialed in for a plush ride while still allowing the car to handle like it is on rails.

Mike

Mobile on my SGH-i717

 

It depends how deep your pockets are, but a good H&R coilover set up and some slightly higher profile tyres will improve the feel/ride

What profile are the 17s fitted?

 

If you want to improve the ride, swap to 15" tires. I would advise against changing suspension parts in the hopes of making the ride better, as I have never seen that work well in practice. It's easy to make a car handle better with upgraded suspension parts, making it ride better is a lot bigger challenge.

 

This.

The overwhelming majority of suspension mods out there are either focused on the aesthetics of the car (often in the form reducing the wheel gap via lowering), performance, or some combination of the two. Both of these (not to mention the combination of the two) involve shortening of the working suspension travel and increase in springs rates. If done right, you will also need an increase in damping rates. All three things individually contribute to decreases in ride quality, and any combination of the three more so.

The only suspension mod that I have ever seen that led to an improvement in ride quality are Tein CS coilovers. "CS" being specifically "Comfort Spec", and even then it was a tiny improvement in comfort, some improvement in performance.

 

But once you find those components that make that awesome setup, you will become the Prius Guru ;-)

Mike

Mobile on my SGH-i717

 

I really like the look and handling of the OEM Toyo Proxes 215/45/17's. To replace is crazy expensive so eventually I will go with another tire... Hopefully these last a long time.