On the verge of buying either slightly used 2011 or 2012 Prius 2 or 3. The only complaint that makes sense to me is that some drivers say the car bottoms out too easily. Will putting on 17" wheels mitigate that? Impact mileage, and drive? And what are the pros and cons? Also contemplating a stabilizer. What say you, Prius folks? I live in the LA area
I have no idea what a stabilizer is or why you would think that 17" wheels will help keep the car from bottoming out. 17" wheels will reduce fuel economy, be the same outside diameter as 15s or slightly smaller, increase ride harshness, improve handling and vehicle tracking at speed and look nicer. That is what 17s will do for you but you'll have to add them after the car purchase because 17s only come on the model Five.
stabilizer bar aka anti-roll bar and yes it will change the handling. When you put 17 wheels on any car you also use tires with a lower aspect ratio so that you do not change the rolling diameter. So no, 17 inch tires will not solve the Prius low clearance problems. The car will still bottom out.
Stiffer springs and or larger diameter tires. Honestly I'm not sure who has a problem with bottoming out. Do you have a super steep driveway with an abrupt transition or do you go offroading? You can easily add another inch in height with a tire change if you really need it.
As for why the cars bottom out here: The streets in LA are a mess, with lots of dips etc. Then the hills, of which we have many, often have drops, especially on the bends, which you don't see until you're right on top of them. So, I'm thinking of tighter springs.
They're probably pretty expensive. what exactly do they do to improve the ride? I want to keep the car from easily "bottoming" out every time I hit a dip on the stinking LA streets.
