I bought a used Prius v ( lowercase v for prius v )and find it's not the smoothest ride. Had the shocks checked and they say the are ok. Any suggestions on improving it?
welcome and congrats! there's a ton of stuff you can do including tyros and springs, sway bars and etc., plenty of threads in the mod section. all the best!
What tires and tire pressures are you running? We run the OEM 17" Toyo Proxes A20 at 41F/40R and the ride is smooth.
It's a low slung car, heavy and limited suspension travel. There's only so much it can do, and will never have a "cushy" ride like normal sedans. Most efforts to alter the suspension will effect the drag coefficient negatively. IOW there's a reason its built that way. Low profile LRR tires further add some degree of harshness, and again benefit MPG. Give yourself some time to get used to it, then decide if you want to trade MPG for comfort. That said, there are always better shocks than the OEM that might help, but with only a few inches of suspension travel the gains are small and it could stiffen it up even more. I find the v suspension to be quite agreeable, firm and well controlled. Handling is excellent. But then I like a stiffer ride.
What are you comparing it to? Station Wagons that have to carry lots of weight are going to be sprung differently than sedans. (I came from a Porsche and 4wd CRV to the v...three very different cars with very different handling with different weight carrying targets.) It is different, I'll grant that. After a year, you get used to it and its economy/utility is unmatched.
I just bought Michelin Energy Saver A/S tires at 56,000 miles, they seem noticeably smother and quieter.
Make sure the tires are not over inflated. You get a little better mileage but noticeably stiffer ride. The recommended pressures are on the driver's door jam. Front is different from the back. When I bought the 2012 v I tried to sell the factory tires and replace with Michelins, but no one wanted the tires. However the factory tires have 85k on them and are still going.
If comfort and factors other than mpg are your primary concern, go buy Michelin Premier A/S tires. MPG won't be quite as good as Michelin Energy Saver A/S, but everything else will be much better (see TireRack surveys for both tires). I was starting to really hate driving a Prius until I got the similar, discontinued, Primacy tire. Really softens the blows from bad city streets, but very good handling (no wallowing). Run them at normal pressures. The best the hypermilers have ever shown is a 1 to 2 MPG increase for running at higher pressures (and basically nada for anything over 40 psi).
Just got a set of Michelin Premiers and must say I'm impressed. It DOES improve the ride over the old Toyo Proxes 215/45/17's and I'm now a believer in Michelins. Just hope I get the 60K they promise. Incidentally, my dealer was the lowest price (!) anywhere at $191 because the 4th tire was free. Total with a 2 wheel alignment, mount/balance, and taxes was $769.
