Looking to upgrade to some nice rims, but would like soften the ride some. Is there any suggestions for making an Xb ride softer. Does nt really bother me, but after riding in the rear for the first time, it is ruf!

Would like to fatten up my tires! Guess its the Georgia coming out in me but instead of a lower Xb I want to raise mine an inch or two and put fat clay gripping tires.

Any suggestions?

 

you want softer ride, stay with 15's. lesser tire wall will give you more bumps. on my experience, my tien s-tech is softer than stock springs. ask other if they feel the same.

 

I'm with you! Taller tires would improve the ride, but to really smooth it out you need to change the springs to something with a lower spring rate and greater free length. The xB springs are apparently single-rate and are quite stiff to keep the skirts off the ground

You can go to tires about two inches larger in diameter without rubbing anything. With the stock wheels, 205/65R15 tires would be about the correct diameter and will fit the stock rims nicely. Unfortunatly, 185/70 or 185/75 tires are not available for 15 inch wheels. You might want to try a set of Echo 14 inch rims to get a wider selection of tires.

I'd really like to do this, but Real Life is consuming a lot of my time. If you come up with a good solution let us all know!

George

 

the tien H techs are smooth as butter. But, they lower about 1"

 

205-65-15 tires would have a much higher diameter than the current 185-60-15's

there are more than a few downsides tho.............

1. larger diameter = larger circumference(sp?) which means you are covering more ground per rotation, this is going to put your odometer and speedometer "out of whack" (to use a less than technical term)----your speedometer will be 7.5 % too slow after you switch to the new size---you may not think its much, bu its more than enought to land your ___ a speeding ticket

2. its also going to affect your traction control and abs systems in a similiar manner

3. going to higher section width tire 185-->205, also means that you have more rubber on the ground at any given time, which means higher drag coefficient especially on the non-drive wheels---which translates to the engine using more gasoline to compensate--(sorry to be so long winded) but that means that your fuel efficiency will go down as much as 5 mpg especially at higher speeds.----------lower section width tires is one of the easiest ways increase mpg--afterall, why do you think that the honda insight runs 165/65/14's?

4. the unsprung weight (meaning weight not supported by your suspension system, e.g. tires, wheels, brakes, axles, etc) that a larger tire adds can be very significant. 1lb in unsprung weight = 8 pounds sprung weight---therefore every ounce you can save the better----as we all know that weight affects both acceleration and braking---------and I'm not even going to go into talking about the effects of increased rotational mass..............

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the answer to your problem lies in the suspension system--giving you 2 options

1. change out your springs with those that have a higher rate of travel and a lower overall spring rate ----springs are measured both by distance traveled and the amount of weight that the spring absorbs per inch (or centimeter) of travel.

2. "bag that b*tch" using airbags in place of your springs and/or struts will SIGNIFICANTLY increase the ride quality of the vehicle, even if only used in the rear----cadillac and lincoln have been using this secret for years---yes its more expensive, but its the best course of action, and it will give you the ability to control ride height

a word of caution about airbagging.....it will lessen your vehicle's ability to corner well unless done in a proper FBSS configuration

its up to you, but as soon as I procure an xB I'll be bagging it

 

Actually, the speedometer _comes_ "out of whack". It reads about 3MPH fast at 60MPH, or about 5% high. Combine this with larger tires and you'll only be a couple of percent low. As long as you remember that you'll be fine.

No it won't, since all four wheels are turning at the same rate. The folks who run 19s have larger diameter tires and have no problems with their traction control.

So, why does the Toyota Prius run 185/60R15s, just like the Scions?

A larger section width may cause a tiny bit more drag, but at the same time you are also lowering your engine RPMs by a bit. Considering the xB's high (numerically) "performance" axle ratio, this will probably offset the effect of the wider tires.

I don't understand your logic. there is already more than 50 pounds of unsprung weight on each corner of the car, and adding a pound or two isn't going to make a significant difference. Your 8:1 ratio has no basis in fact. You're probably wise to avoid the topic of rotating mass.


Springs are measured by spring rate and preload. For a softer ride, you need a lower spring rate and a greater preload. To do this, you need a longer free length.

Unfortunately, this is a _major_ mod, not a drop-in. Air suspension is great if it is correctly designed, but the normal air bag conversions are not. They're fine if you don't mind fiddling, but for a reliable street-driven vehicle this isn't the way to go.

 

My wife has H-Tech's and while they do soften the ride out a bit, you will still feel the bumps and potholes if your roads are as bad as Cali's. As for the drop, the site says 1" but it's gotta be more because it's definitely noticeable. And as for "airbags" they are extremely great if done correctly, however they are expensive too. Airbags are kind of the other extreme of the suspension spectrum compared with Coilovers. I have them on my E320 as part of my a factory sport package option, think they call it "Airmatic DC" or something like that I forget, and it really feels like you're riding on clouds. But then again, a Benz and a Scion have two totally different suspension setups so the feeling will definitely be different. If you're not looking to spend a whole lot, I would seriously recommend H-tech's first. After that, you can probably improve upon that with getting adjustable shocks and struts so you can soften the dampening rate. But I've noticed that because our xB's have a torsion bar rear suspension setup, it still feels more rough on the back than the front after installing H-tech's. Just my .02

 

2 probable reasons why the scions and the prius share tire sizes (as I do not work for toyota, I say probable)

firstly, bulk/wholesale puchasing cost goes down as volume increases--so it makes sense to put them on more than one production vehicle
secondly, the other likely reason is tire load range, the larger the time the more weight it can displace
and the last time I checked the prius had a fat ___
-----

also unsprung weight makes more difference than most people think, try putting your car on a diet and see how much better it handles/accelerates/brakes

a reduction of one pound per wheel/tire can be significantly noticable

I used to race honda's, I sell tires and wheels for a living--so yeah I do know a few things

I will admit that I don't know anything about traction control or abs systems, they are one of the first things that I remove from a vehicle, I don't like them, because they take control of the vehicle out of my hand


and as far as bagging goes, he asked what would be the best way to increase ride height and smooth out the ride

bagging, or at least air ride is the best way to go, I DID say it was expensive, and I figure the guy was smart enough to figure out that its something best left to a professional to install

 

I'm considering the Falken Ziex ZE-512 Tires as a replacement for the stock Goodyear Eagles to achieve a more comfortable ride but still keep good cornering, handling and performance.

NEW SIZE: 205/55R15

Here's the Specs and Ratings:

http://www.1010tires.com/tire.asp?ti...=Ziex+ZE%2D512

When you compare the stock 185/60R15 with the Falken 205/55R15, the Falkens change the Speedo as follows:

Speedometer Difference: 0.550% too slow - Diameter Difference: 0.55%

Check out a tire size calculator like:

http://www.1010tires.com/TireSizeCalculator.asp

Put in the stock size 185/60R15 as Tire-1. Experiment with Tire-2.

The Falken 205/55R15 seems like it may increase ride comfort and still retain (and improve) performance. The 185/60R15 Michelin Harmony are another consideration, but very pricey.

EXPERTS: Please provide further comment. Thanks. :D RPM