Air suspension - need vs. wish? Premium sound

[sp4rk]

I am finalizing my order for my S.

Two things knawing at me ...

1) Air suspension ... years ago I owned a Range Rover ... and it had some sort of leveling system on it; faster you went, lower the ride.

I felt that it was a waste. Even the trunk lowered and I felt it was overkill.

Does the S's "air thing" equate to the Range Rover? Or have any "non-air" models even been delivered yet for anyone to know the difference?

2) Premium sound. Has anyone compared the two? I drive 99% with nothing playing. But never been in a truly quiet car. Always felt that with road noise there's no point in luxury sound as the ambient noise makes driving with "premium sound" a waste of money.

 

[dsm363]

I am finalizing my order for my S.

Two things knawing at me ...

1) Air suspension ... years ago I owned a Range Rover ... and it had some sort of leveling system on it; faster you went, lower the ride.

I felt that it was a waste. Even the trunk lowered and I felt it was overkill.

Does the S's "air thing" equate to the Range Rover? Or have any "non-air" models even been delivered yet for anyone to know the difference?

2) Premium sound. Has anyone compared the two? I drive 99% with nothing playing. But never been in a truly quiet car. Always felt that with road noise there's no point in luxury sound as the ambient noise makes driving with "premium sound" a waste of money.

The air suspension provides a great ride which is why I like it (never had a car with it before) but can't compare it of course because I don't think there are any cars out there with the standard suspension yet.

It sounds like you can probably get away with standard audio. Does the standard audio include hard drive space for music though? Might be something to consider if you think that will be useful.

 

[v12 to 12v]

I just got my car a couple days ago and I have used the air suspension multiple times to raise the car. I have a sloped driveway and it keeps me from scraping the underside or having to navigate ithe driveway at odd angles . We also used it to raise the car for getting on and off steep ferry ramps because of tidal changes. I know of some old underground parking garages where it will come in handy too.

I'm not ready to make a judgement on the sound system upgrade yet. I think it is still buggy, WIP, or my system in particular is not playing properly. I still have to talk to someone at Tesla about it after the holiday weekend.

 

[William13]

+1 v12 to 12v. I think the sound system still is a work in progress, I hope.

 

[bosgig]

I'm with you on the air suspension. I have no first hand knowledge of the real difference but since I don't have any steep driveways, etc., I'm now leaning towards passing on it if I don't do the performance version (but still going back and forth myself--well into my configuration window now. . .just waiting on my test drive!). As for sound, I listen to music all the time and I also understand from multiple prior postings that the sound upgrade is a relatively good value. So I'm definitely doing that. For you, though, I'd say pass. If you usually drive with nothing, you don't need 580 watts and 12 speakers. The base system (200W/7 speakers) will be fine to provide you with some ambient sound when you want it (and remember there's still road noise at speed). It holds 500 songs, while the upgrade holds 3000, assumed to be at 128kbps compression I believe. But remember that can be supplemented with external USB/iPhone, etc. The other thing to consider--I'm guessing 128kbps won't be adequate to get the most of the upgraded system--probably need a library of 192 or 256kbps to take advantage of it. So if your MP3's are mostly at 128, that's another reason to skip it. But that's a bit of a guess--if anyone has played 128kbps next to 256kbps on the upgraded system please chime in and confirm or refute. Bottom line--if you're not really into music when you drive, skip it.

 

[dailydriver]

You also need to consider the the ride and handling benefits of the active air suspension, not just the leveling feature. You should test drive cars with and without the option to evaluate properly, which is hard to do right now. I love the the ride of my car, but I have not driven a Model S with the standard suspension.

 

[bosgig]

They definitely market the air suspension as more about raising/lowering for road conditions and aerodynamics, more so than handling and ride, but that may just be the marketing angle. I'd love more input from people who have made the direct comparison. Here's a link that (if I remember correctly) Robert.Boston posted on the subject in another thread:

contionline.com: The Leading Conti Online Site on the Net

 

[spatterso911]

They definitely market the air suspension as more about raising/lowering for road conditions and aerodynamics, more so than handling and ride, but that may just be the marketing angle. I'd love more input from people who have made the direct comparison. Here's a link that (if I remember correctly) Robert.Boston posted on the subject in another thread:

contionline.com: The Leading Conti Online Site on the Net

I have indirectly made that comparison between the M5 (conventional multi-link) and the MSP (air suspension) and found that the MSP has a balanced suspension that manages sport and comfort simultaneously in a way that can't be done in the M5. With the M5, you have trade-offs between comfort and sport in whichever mode you choose. I am very familiar with air suspension, as my other two vehicles are equipped with it. No issues thus far on quality or reliability over the past 5 years.

 

[sp4rk]

They definitely market the air suspension as more about raising/lowering for road conditions and aerodynamics, more so than handling and ride, but that may just be the marketing angle. I'd love more input from people who have made the direct comparison. Here's a link that (if I remember correctly) Robert.Boston posted on the subject in another thread:

contionline.com: The Leading Conti Online Site on the Net

Could you try that link again? The one posted is "dead"?

 

[Jason S]

Air suspension: WORTH IT!!

Upgraded stereo... not sure, but prolly not worth it at this point. It could improve, but for right now it seems paying the money to a custom shop would get better boom for buck.

If I could choose only one: air suspension.

 

[kevincwelch]

I haven't finalized yet.

I am definitely getting the air suspension. With respect to the sound, I am by no means a sound aficionado. I have been diligently listening to radio, CD, mp3s, and bluetooth sound on my Honda's radio, which is only 160 watts or something in that territory. I can't even tell you what speakers there are or what sizes exist. I certainly didn't upgrade anything in my Honda.

The sound is actually great for me.

So, for me is the sound package worth it? I will probably have my music on USB sticks or use Internet radio. The extra storage (although paltry by today's standards) really doesn't mean much to me. I've read through a lot of the posts written by people who know a lot more about sound than I do.

My take is that it probably won't make much of a difference to me, but it is only $1000. It probably will be worth it in the long run, and it will probably improve resale.

Sent via Tapatalk.

 

[bosgig]

Here's the link again. I copy/pasted straight from the site--maybe try a copy/paste into your browser. Don't know why it's giving a line break but the link looks right. If it doesn't work this time it's over my head!

Continental Automotive -Electronic Air Suspension System for a smoother ride

Edit: No line break shows up when I post--that's good, and it seems to work--that's even better.

 

[Robert.Boston]

We've heard through other sources that Continental is no longer the supplier of the air suspension. Nonetheless, the Conti site gives you an idea of the benefits of air suspension generally.