How to make the ride smoother

[KAR120C]

Geez, now I am worried. I know my wife commented on how rough she thought the ride on the GX550 OT was…..

And if that’s the better of the two….

I wonder if you feel much difference in ride quality after a few thousand miles?”.

It all comes down to your expectations. The body-on-frame nature of the vehicle will probably never be as smooth as a unibody vehicle. But, after getting the pressure set to my liking and playing with the suspension options, the ride is fine. I leave it on the Normal setting which isn't bad at all. I'll drop to Comfort if the road is really rough. Seems to do the trick.

I'm used to a firm ride with my sports cars so I don't find a little road feel to be irritating. Oddly, the little imperfections from the road can be felt while the bigger bumps are soaked up really well.

 

[DJ’s Sled]

I have a 2024 Overtrail.
I may receive some grief here..but I’m running significantly lower cold pressure (as checked by 3 different gauges, measured on my cold-floor garage) on the tires I switched to over a month ago.
Those are the Nitto Terra Grappler G3, 275/70 R18 (a SL version).
The combination of a slightly taller sidewall and lower pressure has fixed the majority of the jiggling vibration I felt with the OE version of the Toyo Overtrail tire.
I believe the G3 is built very well. It’s a 44 psi max cold tire.
Even after just a few minutes of my local slower roads they come up to 34 psi as shown on the TPMS.
At local highway speeds such as 65 mph or higher they will reach 35-36 psi, and again I’m experiencing way less, and less frequent vibration.
Once I begin towing I’ll start with 41 or 42 back, and maybe 38-39 front. And adjust from there.

 

[DaveK]

Which wheels are you running? I noticed a huge difference in ride going from an OE 20" rim with all weather tires that came with my Prem+ to OE 18" OT rims with Toyo A/T's.

I have a set of 18" OT with the Toyo's AND a set of the Lux + 22" as well the 20" that came with my Premium. I am very SURPRISED to hear that you feel the Toyo AT's are a better ride simply because they are AT tires and way more dirt aggressive than the 20 or 22"s. BUT.... I haven't actually tried any of the others yet. But looking forward to.

On my 2024 Jeep Rubicon X.... there is road whine, that HUMMMMMMM of the AT tires so assumed the GX550 OT wheels and tires would perform the same as my Rubicon tires. Again, all assumptions at this stage of the game for me.

 

[nonamex]

The OEM Toyo tires did not exhibit any pronounced humming, whirring noise. The Toyo 285/75R17 ones are a different matter. The road noise was terrible when the car was not aligned properly after suspension upgrade. The noise factor improved after alignment but the humming was still present.

 

[jfalabrino]

The rough ride is not because the GX550 is a body on frame design. If that were the case the last 4 GX's I've had would have also been a rough ride. The 460 and 470 were also a body on frame and were much smoother than the 550. If you've had the older GX, 460 or 470 you would have noticed the excessive lean when turning in a driveway, going off road and around street corners. When I switched the older GX' to the off road suspension setting they also road somewhat rough. They built the 550 to eliminate that excessive lean and rocking with a stiffer suspension.
I keep it on either comfort or normal and the ride is acceptable.

 

[hikerneil]

When I got my car in November I was coming from an Audi Q7. I HATED the ride of the GX550 - I felt any bumps in the road, and I missed the plush ride of my Q7. Fast forward 6000 miles and several months and I love my GX. I suppose it's a combination of forgetting how the Audi rode and also appreciating what offroad abilities this car has. I've been on miles and miles of soft sand, washboard, dirt and rock roads - all places that I could not have been to in my Q7. My advice is - give yourself a few months, you will love this truck and its slightly harsh ride.

 

[Jesse H]

I had a RX350 as a loaner car the other day while my brakes got replaced on the OT+.
It was like floating on a cloud compared to the GX.

Running at 34/35 psi on 18's - the GX is still quite rough.

We had a new RX as a loaner as well and wife made similar comments. She's aware that she's driving something fundamentally similar to my Tacoma.

 

[greenspacemarine]

It all comes down to your expectations. The body-on-frame nature of the vehicle will probably never be as smooth as a unibody vehicle. But, after getting the pressure set to my liking and playing with the suspension options, the ride is fine. I leave it on the Normal setting which isn't bad at all. I'll drop to Comfort if the road is really rough. Seems to do the trick.

I'm used to a firm ride with my sports cars so I don't find a little road feel to be irritating. Oddly, the little imperfections from the road can be felt while the bigger bumps are soaked up really well.

I'm not "all in" on chalking this up to a body on frame issue. The previous 460 offered a smoother, albeit floaty/boaty ride. My current LC 200 is also BOF and is great at soaking up bumps and imperfections, again with rather sloppy handling. During my two test drives of a 550 (one base and one OT) I'd say the handling characteristics such as steering, throttle, and braking have all improved drastically but the ride quality leaves something to be desired along with some other nitpicks I have. I'm still on my local dealers waitlist but am expecting my name to be called sometime this year. Just not sure if I'm going to actually go thru with it...

 

[KAR120C]

I'm not "all in" on chalking this up to a body on frame issue. The previous 460 offered a smoother, albeit floaty/boaty ride. My current LC 200 is also BOF and is great at soaking up bumps and imperfections, again with rather sloppy handling. During my two test drives of a 550 (one base and one OT) I'd say the handling characteristics such as steering, throttle, and braking have all improved drastically but the ride quality leaves something to be desired along with some other nitpicks I have. I'm still on my local dealers waitlist but am expecting my name to be called sometime this year. Just not sure if I'm going to actually go thru with it...

I guess a clarification would be that to achieve a higher level of handling and control that an ultra-rigid unibody usually provides, the BOF suspension needs to be firmer. That firmness makes the ride rougher. It can be made softer, as you say, but you’ll have to accept more wallow in the ride.