Korina

rydabent

What a bunch of drivel by some one that just has been brain washed about SUVs. I assume he loves tiny little 4 cyl front wheel drive tin cans. Four cyl are a horrible engine that has both a vertical and a horizonal shake. The belong on ag equipment.

When talking SUVS we are a heavy duty full frame vehicle. They have double A frame front suspension, and have two levels of road noise isolation. Then there are all the look alike CUVs that are a front wheel drive tin can. The only real vehicle that you can buy that is not too big is the smaller Pickups like a Chevy S-10 and its follow ons.

This poster can say what ever he wants, but lets do a head on crash test with a Honda civic and the hated Caddy version of the Suburban and lets see who walks away!!!!

But remember if a cyclist is hit by a Civic doing 70 he will be just as dead as if he were hit by a Suburban!!!!!

Korina

@rydabent, I'm guessing you didn't watch the video and are basing your opinion on the title. That's your prerogative.

Gyro

SUVs for me are an upright version of station wagons of the past. The cargo area in the wagons being short in height, more difficult to use. I bought a SUVs instead of, do they still call them pickup truck? To transport items I want to stay dry depending on the daily weather conditions. Imagine the up-row if station wagons still prowled the streets!

Leisesturm

Sadly, their prerogative is why we can't have nice things. Like a planet, to name only one ...

Troul 

problem with a lot of compact vehicles is how susceptible the driveline is to poor road conditions. Most larger vehicles can take the potholes, washboard run roads better & go longer without needing maintenance. I don't view SUVs such as the JGC & Aviator as a behemoth on wheels. The late model "electric" Hummer is a massive turd though. That thing weighs about a ton more, has less capability, & looks horrid.

JoeyBike

"SUVs and Light trucks are marketed to '@-h0le$' who are:

Obsessed with status,

Self-centered,

Likely bad drivers,

Fearful Poseurs who are impressionable, AND

Easily manipulated by marketing."

I can't argue with any of that.I know plenty of them.

Excellent production. Thanks for posting that!

(I also enjoy my farm/paramilitary vehicle driving friends are the first to cry like babies when fuel prices rise. They are the CAUSE of it! At least at the supply and demand end of the process. Hilarious)

Korina

And of course it's the giant vehicles that are tearing up the roads. Circle of life.

I read somewhere that the batteries for the massive turd could power 380 e-bikes, a much better use.

Troul 

it's the answer from the people to the government demonstrating where the taxes are not going.
Seeing an owner of such turd freely wanting to charge those many e-bicycles would be a rare sight.

JW Fas

Smaller cars wouldn't have much of a problem dealing with potholes if manufacturers weren't fixated on equipping new cars with large diameter wheels and [expensive] low profile tires. They do it because they make the car look better, and they rake in a higher margin. Ultimately, it comes at the cost of less shock absorption.

JoeyBike

In fairness, the profile tires are lighter and rate higher pressures which improves fuel efficiency. Same as road bikes with 100+ PSI tires accelerate easier and roll with less effort at speed. I get your point, but it's not just for show. Those "Indy" profile tires were designed for race cars driven on perfect surfaces. Cheers.

Troul 

when a regular trailer bends its rim, axle, or destroys a fender when banging into a pothole, I dont think the 195/60r15 are the issue.

JW Fas

The low profile tires have to be run at a higher pressure to compensate for the less air volume. Plus, they are typically wider than standard tires to provide an adequate contact patch. They do offer slightly better cornering due to less sidewall deflection, but that's one of the few advantages. While they might offer slightly less rolling resistance on perfectly smooth surfaces, the wheel/tire combo is heavier than a smaller diameter wheel with standard profile tire. This greater mass and rotational inertia yields worse gas mileage in city driving.

livedarklions

On the other hand, SUVs are more prone to rollover, need greater braking distances, and are more deadly to people outside of the vehicle.

I don't think there's a case to be made for this size inflation making us safer as a society.

livedarklions

What kind of argument is that? First of all, the driver of the Civic would be a hell of a lot safer if they weren't having to face a huge fleet of oversized vehicles every time they drove. That's the point of the video, going to the small truck as the default vehicle is a disaster for a lot of reasons.

Second, so what if a Civic going 70 mph is deadly vs. a cyclist/pedestrian? Anything going 70 mph with significant mass is going to cause you injury. What you find if you lok at the stats is that SUVs are deadlier at the speeds you're more likely to get hit because of their mass and their height. I haven't checked their source, but the video cites a figure of 3x more likely to die when hit by a light truck than a car.

Troul 

I didn't intend to come-off as making a case, as I'd much rather have something not heavy & large for an automobile.

I'd prefer to have a decently sized aspect ratio no matter the wheel size, nothing as much as what 4x4's have, but not as little as a compact sedan. Sadly, OEMs produce what they produce & rely on the suspension to create a comfortable ride & to take on the road blows.
If the big SUV's could go on a diet & drop 40%+ of the weight, the stopping distance could be reduced. For that matter, if all current passenger vehicles lost 40%+ weight, it'd not only help reduce braking distance, but lessen the pavement pounding, potentially increase MPG, reduce materials during production, & other possible positives.

Bald Paul

Really? Can you explain why Toyota lists the same tire pressure on everything from a standard 16 inch diameter wheel with standard tire profile to the optional 19 inch diameter wheel with low profile tire?

livedarklions

The high ground clearance is also a factor in why light trucks are so lethal to others--you're way more likely to die if the front of the vehicle strikes you in a vital organ vs. cutting you off at the legs. Can you keep the front of the hood/bumper as low as a sedan while increasing the aspect ratio? Honest question, I haven't a clue.

livedarklions

What's the math on calculating the air volume? Does bigger wheel/lower profile = smaller wheel/higher profile? I have no geometry skills, so hell if I know.

Troul 

The 'nose' can be engineered to slope a bit (ford aerostar, Chevy APV) but that design isn't attractive to todays folks.

Bald Paul

It's far too early in the morning for those calculations (I haven't even finished my coffee.)
But, imagine on the left is the cross section of a tall tire on a small wheel, and the right is a low profile tire on a larger wheel. Here's a hint: the rectangles (tires) are all the same.

JW Fas

I don't know why Toyota chose the exact same PSI for each tire size, because it's a stupid idea. Most of the time you have to run a low profile tire at higher pressure than a standard profile tire.

livedarklions

Cursory google searching will show you that isn't a universal rule or even close to one. I suspect Toyota would have very good reasons for this as they would face enormous liability if they are making bad recommendations. There's no way they would make recommendations without having studied the hell out of the issue.

Bald Paul

Yeah, those automotive designers and tire engineers over at Toyota don't know what they're talking about. They really need to cruise the forums on the internet to listen to the experts.

retswerb

True, but this requires the tire width to increase a lot more than is typically the case. In the Camry tire sizes listed above, the widths vary from 205 - 235 mm while the sidewall heights vary from 94 mm to 133.25 mm (assuming I'm remembering how to read tires right, literally one of the worst measurement standards ever conceived). So widths vary by 30mm while heights vary by 39.25mm, meaning that the volumes don't remain consistent even though the recommended tire pressures are the same.

For the record, big SUVs suck whether or not low profile tires and their relative pressures have anything to do with anything.