Is the V suspension different? C&D says yes..

[Bruno_S]

According to Car and Driver the V has firmer shocks. Can somebody confirm this?

"Specify the 17-inch wheels and 215/45 tires (yes, 45-seriestires on a Prius), however, and watch the Prius take on a more spirited persona. Priuses thus equipped adopt a much quicker 14.6:1 (versus 17.6) steering rack with just 2.8 turns lock-to-lock (versus 3.7), as well as firmer shock tuning, resulting in much more grip and less bitching on the part of the stability-control system."

Source:

2010 Toyota Prius - First Drive Review/2010 New Car Reviews/Car Shopping/Hot Lists/Reviews/Car and Driver - Car And Driver

[patsparks]

At Prius Connection Detroit we were told all Prius would have the same suspension but that might have changed since.

[donee]

Hi Pat and Bruno,

In the 2nd Gen Prius, the stiffening plate makes the car feel like it has a whole new suspension. Specifically, the 2G Prius feels very underdamped in the rear stock. Having only driven Stock Prius, I can forgive Car and Driver for mistaking that feeling with shock absorber calibration. The 3 G Prius has added rear end stiffening. This will make the car feel much less like a mini-van and more like a car. This will also have effects on the stability control action.

[stream]

Originally Posted by Bruno_S

According to Car and Driver the V has firmer shocks. Can somebody confirm this?

"Specify the 17-inch wheels and 215/45 tires (yes, 45-seriestires on a Prius), however, and watch the Prius take on a more spirited persona. Priuses thus equipped adopt a much quicker 14.6:1 (versus 17.6) steering rack with just 2.8 turns lock-to-lock (versus 3.7), as well as firmer shock tuning, resulting in much more grip and less bitching on the part of the stability-control system."

Source:

2010 Toyota Prius - First Drive Review/2010 New Car Reviews/Car Shopping/Hot Lists/Reviews/Car and Driver - Car And Driver

My recollection is that for the press demo cars, the V had a sportier suspension tuning, but Prius Team said that all production models will have that suspension set up.

[Boo]

Originally Posted by patsparks

At Prius Connection Detroit we were told all Prius would have the same suspension but that might have changed since.

That's right -- and it was the lead engineer of the Gen III Prius who said this. Also, there's nothing in the US Gen III Prius brochure or website that says that the suspension is different on the 17" wheel model.

I think Car & Driver magazine was wrong when it said that the shocks on the 17" wheel model were tuned differently.

[wvgasguy]

Originally Posted by Boo

That's right -- and it was the lead engineer of the Gen III Prius who said this. Also, there's nothing in the US Gen III Prius brochure or website that says that the suspension is different on the 17" wheel model.

I think Car & Driver magazine was wrong when it said that the shocks on the 17" wheel model were tuned differently.

Does the literature go into details like the tighter steering ratio and the brushless motors? If not, then I'm guessing spring rate and sway bar dimensions are not something they would necessarily get specific on with a Prius. However the information should be available if someone is interested. Toyota should have a "spec" page that is easy to find.

[CenVal]

Originally Posted by Bruno_S

According to Car and Driver the V has firmer shocks. Can somebody confirm this?

Here's what the Prius Team said awhile ago:

Alrighty. There have been scads of people claiming we at TMS have had no idea what we are talking about when it comes to wheels, steering, and shocks on the 2010 MY Prius.

You were right. But we have good reason, as a lot of final tuning has been going on. Now we think we're at the end of tuning, so in the interest of full disclosure, here's the skinny.

Wheels and Steering
Prius Connection LA/SF attendees were right to notice that on the Prius V, due to the 17" wheels, there is a different steering ratio (~2.75 lock to lock, versus ~3.75 lock to lock for the 15" wheel). This is planned for the production car. Fun fact: the 17" wheel EPS has a brushless motor system that allows the tighter ratio.

Shock Absorbers
We recently made a decision that all US cars will now come with the "European" absorbers (i.e., the same absorbers that will come on European Prius). Our understanding is that those of you who drove the car at Prius Connection events experienced only the "Euro" absorbers on the Prius V (all other cars had a different absorber that now won't come stateside).

EPS System
The same goes for the EPS tuning - the 17" wheels on Prius Connection event cars had a slightly tighter tuned system than the 15" wheel cars. Ultimately, ALL production cars will have the same EPS tuning as the 17" wheel (even 15" cars), but that won't begin in production until late Summer. We understand early buyers of the 15" wheel cars could probably update their system at the dealer later on.

Finally, none of the above is set in stone, but that's the way we understand it as of now.

Hope it helps.

Doug Coleman
Prius Product Manager
Toyota Motor Sales USA

[freo-1]

Originally Posted by CenVal

Here's what the Prius Team said awhile ago:

Alrighty. There have been scads of people claiming we at TMS have had no idea what we are talking about when it comes to wheels, steering, and shocks on the 2010 MY Prius.

You were right. But we have good reason, as a lot of final tuning has been going on. Now we think we're at the end of tuning, so in the interest of full disclosure, here's the skinny.

Wheels and Steering
Prius Connection LA/SF attendees were right to notice that on the Prius V, due to the 17" wheels, there is a different steering ratio (~2.75 lock to lock, versus ~3.75 lock to lock for the 15" wheel). This is planned for the production car. Fun fact: the 17" wheel EPS has a brushless motor system that allows the tighter ratio.

Shock Absorbers
We recently made a decision that all US cars will now come with the "European" absorbers (i.e., the same absorbers that will come on European Prius). Our understanding is that those of you who drove the car at Prius Connection events experienced only the "Euro" absorbers on the Prius V (all other cars had a different absorber that now won't come stateside).

EPS System
The same goes for the EPS tuning - the 17" wheels on Prius Connection event cars had a slightly tighter tuned system than the 15" wheel cars. Ultimately, ALL production cars will have the same EPS tuning as the 17" wheel (even 15" cars), but that won't begin in production until late Summer. We understand early buyers of the 15" wheel cars could probably update their system at the dealer later on.

Finally, none of the above is set in stone, but that's the way we understand it as of now.

Hope it helps.

Doug Coleman
Prius Product Manager
Toyota Motor Sales USA

Why didn't Toyota keep the Touring suspension in the 2010? With the improvement it provides, seems as if they would have kept it going forward.

[shawnb2]

Glad I'm getting a V! Being a sports car guy and this being such a huge swing in a different direction for me it's good to know it has better steering than the III's that I have test driven. Felt pretty numb to me, but sounds like the V will be more responsive. Should be here any day.

[CenVal]

Originally Posted by freo-1

Why didn't Toyota keep the Touring suspension in the 2010?

Not able to address your question. May want to ask the Prius Team or some of the senior members.