Magellan55

I'm getting more annoyed by how jiggly the ride is on my HS Premium - even on smooth roads, it just seems to vibrate a lot. Not what I expected of a Lexus. It smooths out more at highway speed (or maybe the vibrations increase in frequency enough that I no longer notice it), so it's more of a back road / around town thing.

Wondering if anyone else has noticed this on their HS? Do those with the base model 17's experience this? It just feels like the tires don't match the suspension. Like it was tuned for the 17's, and they just slapped on the 18's to look cool on the Premiums. Or maybe Toyo's just have poor ride quality? I'm used to Michelins. What tire do the base models come with?

And it's not a sporty ride thing either - the HS doesn't handle as well as the Saab / Acura / Passat I've owned in the past (with only 16" wheels). I'm OK with that, but not the punishing ride.

I'm giving serious thought to asking the dealer to swap out the 18's for 17's, or maybe putting on some Michelin Pilot Sports, but wanted to check others' experiences first. The sales guy kept bragging about how far Lexus goes to make customers satisfied - let's put it to the test

KGenaidy

I suspect the issue at hand is the "45" profile tires. There's just not a lot of sidewall to act as shock absorbers. I have the 18's ... and they feel about like what I would expect. It does tame down a bit if using the Lexus recommended tire pressures.

Magellan55

Agreed - my guess is the 55 aspect ratio 17's would give a softer ride. I'm sure the 18's have better grip and steering response, but IMO the rest of the chassis isn't up to the capability of these tires, so maybe the 17's will be a better match to the car.

BTW, I'm not complaining about the sportiness of the HS - it's a fine compromise between secure handling, luxury (except for the tires), and economy. Much better IMO than the Prius / Insight for my tastes, and worth the extra $$ and reduced mpg. I'm babying it a bit like I do any new car during break in, but so far I haven't felt the need to drive it any differently on my commute to work. Other than I find I'm a bit bored not having to shift, so I end up calling people with the cool bluetooth connection

Canesguy

I agree with you about the jiggly ride but I wouldn't quite call it punishing.

Magellan55

You're right, "punishing" is too strong - just annoying. Maybe I'll get used to it in a few weeks, or at least tie down / remove all the things that are rattling from it.

tonyscv

My tires were significantly over-inflated on delivery (36-37 PSI cold). Double check your tire pressure and match it to what's printed on the drivers side door sticker.

Once I adjusted my tire pressure to 32 front / 33 rear cold the ride improved noticeably and the Toyo's have been fine since then.

dalton

I did the same. Tire pressure was 36-37 psi on delivery and I adjusted it 32/33 psi. I do notice the difference from when they were over-inflated. Try it.

dalton
SoCal