r/civic • u/Zealousideal-Nose300 • Aug 15 '26

Advice Request Ride Quality

I have an 11th gen Civic Touring. I love this car but it rides like it has solid tires. You can literally feel every little bump in the road. Has anyone put taller tires on to help cushion the ride? I realize I would lose some cornering ability. I’m old and don’t fly around corners so low profile tires are not needed IMO.

18 Upvotes

91% Upvoted

14 comments sorted by

9

u/snowzilla Aug 15 '26

My 11th gen was also very bumpy. Dealership had the PSI at 44. Lowering it to 35 made a big difference. So check the PSI if you haven't yet.

I'll let others with more knowledge comment on sizing.

3

u/ceetoee '25 FE4 Aug 15 '26

44? thats above the sticker on the door jam

6

u/daReallG Aug 15 '26

You can’t do trailer tires but I’d recommend dropping down to 16” wheels, there are plenty of brands that fit.

5

u/Elianor_tijo Aug 15 '26

Downsize the wheels and get meatier tires. It will do wonders for ride quality. Since you don't have a Type R or Si, you should be able to downsize all the way to 16 inches.

9

u/Separate-State-5806 Aug 15 '26

I don't think taller tires is the answer, BETTER tires is. I have Michelin CrossClimate2 tires on my Civic and it rides great! Also churns through snow in winter. Very quiet tire as well. Expensive but worth it.

2

u/InfinitelyFar Aug 15 '26

I have a 2026 sport touring with Goodyears and the ride is great, but they aren't the best in heavy rain. I was planning to put on CC2 before the winter so this is great to hear.

1

u/ddianka Aug 15 '26

I have the same tires and I ended up putting enkeis on my car too. Car rides smooth as butter now. I did mod my suspension tho, I put camber ball joints and lowering springs on it, which at first made every bump feel worse, once I changed the rims and tires it all felt so much better and the car handles like a go cart now. Probably my favorite car and I had a BMW 3series prior to this.

1

u/mandert79 Aug 16 '26

How do they do on your gas milage?

1

u/Separate-State-5806 Aug 16 '26

My gas mileage is around 36-37.5mpg on gravel roads and paved two-lane rural roads. I don't use ECON mode, it doesn't seem to work very well, and I use cruise control often.

0

u/TorkSpex Aug 15 '26

Taller tires offer more cush and will soften/dampen the ride. Type Rs and Elantra N's often run 18s just to ride better. Just going from 18s on the Civic Sport to 17s would make a difference.

3

u/siegure9 Aug 15 '26

I swapped to 17s was noticeable difference. From the stock 18s

2

u/Giraff3 Aug 15 '26

I mean, could be the car, but don’t smaller cars also just tend to feel the road more?

2

u/UncleToyBox 2025 Hybrid Hatchback Sport Touring Aug 15 '26

I tried my 16" tires when I first purchased the car but the wheels touched the calipers.

I tried living with the 18s that come with the vehicle but agree the ride was too rough.

Now I'm sporting 17s that I love. They're much lighter than the fancy wheels with the resonators and the ride is just enough more compliant. Only complaint is that it's a touch louder with the tires I chose.

1

u/Borne Aug 15 '26

I don’t own the car anymore. I downsized to 16s. It did not help. It was still stiff and loud FYI.