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Active Air vs. Standard Suspension
- Thread starter Benjam
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- Driving Dynamics Model S
Volker.Berlin
Member
here it is.
car rides relatively stiff. corners flat (but not sure if that's from low CG or just stiff spring). I love it, that's exactly what I want in a sports sedan.
I've never pushed hard on an active S, so can't really compare.
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Whoa, that looks great! It sits pretty, nice and snug in the arches. No need for lowering. A soothing sight. So glad to hear that it rides stiff. Exactly how a drivers car should be. Responsive and not sluggish. And to hear something like that come out stock from an American car company blows my mind. You Americans are, no offense, not exactly notorious for sporty, tight suspensions in your sedans :wink:
Anyway. Congrats man
Btw - other pics from other standard suspension cars are more than welcome
How does it do on rough spots, pot holes and speed bumps? For me the smoothness was one of the most amazing features during test drives, but I couldn't tell if it was due to the large mass of the car, or the air suspension.
Also, does it have auto-leveling headlights?
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Volker.Berlin
Member
I'm still looking for evidence whether or not the air suspension offers significant range savings at highway speeds. Any news on that front?
Mine does not have auto leveling lights. That might come with the Tech Package, which I do not have.
With the standard suspension mine handles flat, feels stiff but at the same time you feel nearly nothing over cracks, pot holes and speed bumps. Persoanlly, I prefer the ride of standard over air suspension.
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To know for sure would be a long scientific experiment. I can tell you that without air suspension, if I drive conservatively but still with a bit of fun thrown in, I am still getting batter than "rated" range. How you drive makes such a big difference in range that I believe the lowering of the suspension will be a "needle in the haystack" by comparison.
I am sure there is some savings, but I doubt it is significant. most lower cars offer little fuel savings. Tesla would be even less as it has a true flat bottom.
if you really are that much into range saving, go with a narrower LLR tire, that will get you significant advantage....
Volker.Berlin
Member
That's what I figure. Would be nice to have some quantification of this idea but I guess, unless Tesla provides some accurate numbers, such quantification will be difficult to obtain.
Oh sure. It all adds up.
driving a few more days, I have some more input for standard suspension.
it rides pretty stiff, very Euro, it is as stiff as AMG or M-series. definitely stiffer than your regular E class / 5 series / A6....
it has busy high speed compression (small bumps), but low speed compression is very very good,
with crappy Goodyear 19" tire, I was surprised by how high the G limit was (from low CG is my guess). just ordered some Bridgestone S04 to replace stock tires (not sure why Tesla chose RSA tire, it is neither performance nor LLR tires, worst of both world).
it definitely understeer a bit at limit. I am thinking about adding a little more negative camber front (or reduce rear camber) to fix it.
it rides pretty stiff, very Euro, it is as stiff as AMG or M-series. definitely stiffer than your regular E class / 5 series / A6....
it has busy high speed compression (small bumps), but low speed compression is very very good,
with crappy Goodyear 19" tire, I was surprised by how high the G limit was (from low CG is my guess). just ordered some Bridgestone S04 to replace stock tires (not sure why Tesla chose RSA tire, it is neither performance nor LLR tires, worst of both world).
it definitely understeer a bit at limit. I am thinking about adding a little more negative camber front (or reduce rear camber) to fix it.
anticitizen13.7
Not posting at TMC after 9/17/2018
I checked Tirerack.com and the tires are actually Goodyear RS-A2, which is different than RS-A. The tread pattern is different on the RS-A2, and I suspect that the tire compound is probably different as well.
Tesla likely chose the RS-A2 because it was a reasonable balance between cost, performance, and the need for all-season capability.
I have the original RS-A on my Civic. They have good performance in dry conditions, but it is easy to spin the tires on wet roads. Considering that the Civic's engine makes only 128 lb-ft of torque, this is pretty bad.
Johan
Ex got M3 in the divorce, waiting for EU Model Y!
Please correct me if I'm wrong: I thought the active air suspension is basically a regular suspension with an added feature: the car can raise and lower on the suspension. That is, with the car set to "low" for example, the suspension does not get stiffer. Nor does it get softer/bouncier with the car set to "normal" or "high". The "air" feature does not change the stiffness of the suspension, only how far above the ground the car sits on the suspension. Am I completely wrong?
I think this is important, since if buying active air for convenience and comfort is a trade off v.s. a more sporty standard suspension with better handling, then it's hard to choose. Also, the suspension in the Performance plus package is air, right? In fact, active air suspension is standard on all P85 cars.
I think this is important, since if buying active air for convenience and comfort is a trade off v.s. a more sporty standard suspension with better handling, then it's hard to choose. Also, the suspension in the Performance plus package is air, right? In fact, active air suspension is standard on all P85 cars.
Volker.Berlin
Member
That's my understanding as well. On top, as far as I know, the air suspension is more capable of offering a comfortable ride without sacrifices on the handling front, whereas a traditional spring suspension to some degree is always compromizing handling for comfort or vice versa.
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