Some of the reviews of the NAH have mentioned road noise and a stiff ride. I was pleasantly surprised when I put on four Blizzak Revo 1 snow tires and discovered that they give a smoother ride with less noise than the stock Continentals - exactly the opposite of what you'd expect.

On the minus side - since the cold weather is here in New England and the snow tires are on I've had my fuel economy drop from around 40 to about 36 mpg.

 

We're contemplating buying an Altima Hybrid and like a smooth, quiet car. Right now we have a 2007 Honda Accord Hybrid which is. My research brought up a Road and Track test which showed 68-70 db. and didn't mention road noise or vibration. I would appreciate any comments on the Altima so I can make an informed decision before I fly to CA and find out late in the process.

Chuck

 

Although there may be a difference between the accord and the NAH as far as road noise, i think it will be negligable. I have a vw golf and drive a honda civic hybrid at work. both of these cars have tons more road noise than the NAH. if you are looking for increased fuel efficiency- the NAH is second only to the camry hybrid in (lack of) road noise, and even then not by much. it is mcuh quiter than the prius and civic hybrid, but of course gets less mile to the gallon.

 

The ride improvement is not so big a surprise when you study up on studless snow tires and find out that the rubber is softer than the equivalent OEM tire from the same source. The tire manufactueres add veggie oils (Canola in one case) to the rubber and elastomers in order to get improved ability for the tire tread to deform. In this case deformity is not a bad thing. In fact, it is needed so the tire tread can grab every little piece of traction that it can find.

There are a LOT of misconceptions about tires on hybrids on the forums I have looked into. For example all of the statements listed below are true:

1. Studless snow tires are softer and ride better than road tires from the same manufacturer. (However, they will not wear as well on pavement.)

2. Low Rolling Resistance (LRR) tires do not reduce road traction. (In fact, the typically increase it.)

3. Over-inflation of LRR tires has less impact on FE that overinflation of conventional tires with higher rolling resistance.


More about snow tires on this thread: https://www.greenhybrid.com/discuss/...ded-tch-16033/

More about LRR tires on this thread:
https://www.greenhybrid.com/discuss/...tml#post152507

 

Thanks Pebes and FastMover for the info.

Chuck

 

I discovered yesterday - during my 3+ hour / 20 mile commute here in MA - that the NAH with the Blizzak snow tires is unstoppable. On inclines of packed ice and snow the NAH was able to keep going even if starting from a dead stop. Many others couldn't - probably with all season tires - and were the reason for the 3+ hour crawl getting home.

Edit - I should add that the standard stability/traction control also had a lot to do with the NAH's ability to keep things moving. I could see the light flashing and feel the system controling the power to the wheels.

 

I had no trouble, driving in the earlier stages of the same storm, with the stock tires on. The traction/stability control did kick in a couple of times, and the ABS kicked in once. The NAH was quite sure-footed in its first real winter workout.

 

Lloyd Sward, thanks for that info on snow travel. I have not been in snow yet but am having doubts b/c my car is not sticking to dry road as aggressively as before i increaced psi to 44. Certainly safety is more important than fe to me, i may have to air down.

 

I test drove two Altima's, and they both IMO had a lot of road noise infiltrating through. When I mentioned it to the salesman, he said that others said the same thing. I asked him if any models were quieter than others, and he said no.

As for ride stiffness, it did to me feel unduly stiff. Stiffer than it needed to be, IMO.

One characteristic I loved and wish my present car had was the dead-on straight-line tracking, seemed very BMW-esque in the short time I spent behind the wheel. Seemed to have zero tendency to roll off the road crown.

 

I had read that due to the extra weight of the hybrid components, Nissan used the six cylinder suspension - or at least some parts - which would account for a stiffer ride than the conventional four cylinder.