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New Tires or New Suspension for fixing Harsh Tight Ride?

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Main Forum' started by seany001, Jun 25, 2017.

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  1. seany001

    seany001 Junior Member

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    I was just about to purchase $350 worth of front and rear strut+shocks for my 2007 Prius, when I decided to dig a bit deeper and found that suspensions usually grow loose and saggy rather then the TIGHT FEIRCE bumps I am feeling on the road. I just FEEL every small bump, and after driving my friends Subaru, and feeling like I was driving a cloud, I wanted to change my suspension immediately. BUT is this really what I need? I have been searching and cannot seem to find a definitive answer. My car has 191k on it. Im new to suspensions in cars in general. And also new to tires. I read that new tires may be the solution, and not suspension? I have no way of knowing whether the suspension was changed before, however the previous owner stated that it was always taken to the dealer and serviced there. PLEASEE HELP! i dont want to do afull suspension job only to find it had nothing to do with the issue.

    I have the original toyota tires.
    Not sure if the struts are original, but I would guess 50/50 that they arent. WIll check to see if they are leaking oil. but is it normal to struts to go bad and become rigid? I keep reading on forums that Priuses will get bouncy, not rigid. So I am really confused, and happy that I didnt change the suspension (yet) haha.
     
    #1 seany001, Jun 25, 2017
  2. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    $350 sounds really reasonable for a 10 year old car. Deferred maintenance will always get you. Shocks are way overdue at your mileage
     
    #2 JC91006, Jun 25, 2017
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  3. edthefox5

    edthefox5 Senior Member

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    The struts are not rigid there no longer absorbing the bumps so what your feeling is a car with no struts at all. My 2007 to me has a very harsh ride
    . I bought mine new so At around 70000 miles
    The struts were shot so replaced them front and rear. It helped a lot
    But it's still a very stiff car where you feel every little bump.
    IMHO. Your car must be new to you. Usually if you had it for years you may not notice how bad the ride is.

    I recommend buying the stock struts on Toyota online.
     
    #3 edthefox5, Jun 25, 2017
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  4. seany001

    seany001 Junior Member

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    Ok thanks. Yea ive had the car for about a year, and just recently started to notice the harsh riding, but never did before. Is there anyway to tell if the struts were replaced before? I know after replacing the wheel bearing hub, that the boot cover was disintegrated to scraps.
     
    #4 seany001, Jun 25, 2017
  5. edthefox5

    edthefox5 Senior Member

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    Highly doubt they have been replaced. When u buy new struts buy the boots and the bumpers and in the front the top bearings. Top bearings allow the struts to pivot to steer and have a massive load on them. They wear out and increase steering effort which is hard on the electric steering rack.
     
    #5 edthefox5, Jun 25, 2017
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  6. seany001

    seany001 Junior Member

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    Ok so new struts it is I suppose. I was so convinced for a second that I could be the tires. Or possibly both. IM just trying to spend the least amount of cash honestly.

    So Maybe
    Now have you replaced your tires at all to see how that does?
     
    #6 seany001, Jun 25, 2017
  7. seany001

    seany001 Junior Member

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    ok I just checked and the struts are bone dry. So there is no leaking oil. And they definitely aren't empty of oil as the car is tight as ever. It would be bouncy if they had gone bad. So really what I need maybe just tires?
     
    #7 seany001, Jun 25, 2017
  8. opivy224

    opivy224 Junior Member

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    I would also like to know the answer to your question. My 2009 120k mile Prius feels like I am riding in a shopping cart sometimes. I feel every little bump and pot hole.

    Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
     
    #8 opivy224, Jun 25, 2017
  9. Lucifer

    Lucifer Senior Member

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    The after market KYB struts are better than the oem KYB struts, how much air in your tires?
    My 06 needed a new steering wrack at 80,000 or so and everything seemed harsh, struts were replaced at 60,000
    Are the tires radials and how much air pressure?
     
    #9 Lucifer, Jun 25, 2017
  10. Kevin_Denver

    Kevin_Denver Active Member

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    Tires definitely make a difference and air pressure. If the ride is most important to you I would run at stock pressure on the door placard 35psi. If you are just now noticing and just had some maintenance done (eg. oil change), it's likely they filled up your car tires at the same time. If you don't already have one, definitely purchase a tire pressure guage and see what pressures you have. Higher psi results in better fuel economy with a harsher ride and vice versa.

    Also the feel of the tires gets rougher as the tread wears off. My current summer tires are down to about 4/32 (last quarter of their life) and the ride is noticeably more harsh than they were 20k miles ago. Of course, I run near maximum side wall pressure ~50psi, so my ride is always fairly harsh.

    A proper working suspension is obviously most important for a comfortable ride, but the tires play a role as well. On your next tire purchase, I'd look at the tires on tirerack.com for tires well rated for ride comfort, and probably go for a grand touring all season tire, as these tires are generally used for luxury vehicles in order to have both great performance and comfort (not always the best FE though!). This is one of the best rated for ride comfort: Pirelli Cinturato P7 All Season Plus
     
    #10 Kevin_Denver, Jun 25, 2017
  11. edthefox5

    edthefox5 Senior Member

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    All tires are radials. If you want the nicest riding tire go with kumhos. If your tire Guy does not carry them you can have tire rack drop ship them right to there door, best tire ever on my car best meaning smoothest softest ride was a kumho solas k22 if I remember. There only good for about 25000 miles then they suck. Long mileage tire is because the rubber is hard as a rock and wears well but rides like a stagecoach.

    So you cannot have a soft riding tire that wears well. So forget LRR TIRES if you want ride soft.

    I ran the kumhos at 32 lbs and they were great. Mileage sucked but I was after a ride that you didn't feel every little pebble in the road. The g2 has a very harsh ride. Most reliable car ever but the ride is harsh.

    If you have lower back issues like L5 or L4 the g2 will make that worse. It is unforgiving. Back in the day I remember people changing the seats out. I own a Crown Vic so luckily I don't depend a lot of on our G2.

    My wife loves it though and doesn't mind the ride.
     
    #11 edthefox5, Jun 25, 2017
  12. seany001

    seany001 Junior Member

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    Ok so after some hard thinking, and strut research, IM almost positive its the tires, and not the struts. I really worked all corners of the car, and the struts are simply fine. Check out this crazy dude Scotty Kilmers vid about his wifes brand new car and shitty tires. I think Im having the same issues. "shopping cart" is exactly the right words for it!
     
    #12 seany001, Jun 26, 2017
  13. seany001

    seany001 Junior Member

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    I always keep my tires at normal 35 and 33 psi. Also my car handles very well on smoth winding rds. I can go 50 and take decently sharp turns and everything nice and tight, another reason why its not the struts.
     
    #13 seany001, Jun 26, 2017
  14. seany001

    seany001 Junior Member

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    Althought in the early mornings I do hear some creaking from the front springs I think. after they warm up though it goes away. But this is most likley the bushings now that I research this. Its amazing how much pain I can save myself by doing a bit of research.
     
    #14 seany001, Jun 26, 2017
    Last edited: Jun 26, 2017
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