I would love any thoughts on ride comfort / possibly improving ride comfort. I currently have an LS430, and obviously the CT is a totally different car. I have a 100+ mile commute that I didn't have before, and gas costs are getting prohibitive.

The seat comfort in the CT was great. But when I drove the car, it felt just as uncomfortable as the Prius. I know the ride is described as "sporty", but I would love to get the gas savings but have a bit more comfortable ride. Has anyone tried different tires on the car? Did that seem to make a difference? Any other thoughts would be appreciated.

I know the CT will never be an LS. I know there are tradeoffs. I was just wondering if anyone has had any ride quality improvement.

Thank you for your time in advance.

 

Don't waste your money as tires won't do much if anything.
It's the nature of the beast.
Some see it as a sporty ride and others feel it's a harsh ride.I'm with you,it's harsh.

 

what do you mean by "comfortable"?

 

1stWt2GS - as for "comfortable", I think Joeb427 summed it up, the ride feels harsh (to me). I drove an Acura ILX Hybrid, and it's not nearly the same. I personally like more comfort when I drive, hence the LS. But I've driven plenty of cars that are described as "sporty" which don't feel the way the Prius and CT feel. I know the cutting of weight brings some of this, I just was hoping there was some middle ground. I guess that middle ground is the likes of the 300h, but that would be $10-15k more than what I could find a used CT for.

 

One thing that you can do to increase the "cushiness" of the ride is to drop your tire pressure down a bit. For instance, I use 38psi front, 37psi rear. You could try 32/31 or even 30/29 and I bet you'll see a noticeable difference. You would be trading a bit of mpg for the ride quality though.

For reference the "tag" tire pressure spec is 33/32.

 

Don't know the answer to this, but would higher profile tires help? So instead of 45's maybe 55's, but that messes up your odometer?

 

I'll be getting 205/50/17 to minimize speedometer accuracy yet to slightly soften the ride, before year's end when my tires will be due.

 

How about softer spring rates, like tanabes?

 

How was the ILX? The only reviews I see are for the 2.4L, and I haven't seen any of them on the road.

Have you looked at a Camry Hybrid? That should be more comfortable on the road and keep Toyota/Lexus reliability.

 

Wait wait wait, who said the tanabe spring rates are lower than stock spring rates? Im almost positive that's not the case.