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Coil springs vs air suspension

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One thing to keep in mind is that coil tends to need to have a higher spring rate than air. Coil rides higher so that, under max weight, the car still meets minimum ride height. Air, by definition, adjusts thus Tesla can run lower ride heights single driver and have a lower spring rate without ever having a concern about making minimum ride height fully loaded.
 
One thing to keep in mind is that coil tends to need to have a higher spring rate than air. Coil rides higher so that, under max weight, the car still meets minimum ride height. Air, by definition, adjusts thus Tesla can run lower ride heights single driver and have a lower spring rate without ever having a concern about making minimum ride height fully loaded.
This seems about right, what different does 1/4" of ride height make? I guess you might get less body lean in a hard corner? A lower ride, coil vs coil matters a very small amount, but air vs coil is hard to judge by talking. Need to run it around a track and see the times, with Apples to Apples cars, coil and air only difference to tell about turn speeds. It couldn't change wind resistance could it?

I'm not sure what lower ride height, with one person in the car gets you? Can anyone explain it?
 
This seems about right, what different does 1/4" of ride height make? I guess you might get less body lean in a hard corner? A lower ride, coil vs coil matters a very small amount, but air vs coil is hard to judge by talking. Need to run it around a track and see the times, with Apples to Apples cars, coil and air only difference to tell about turn speeds. It couldn't change wind resistance could it?

I'm not sure what lower ride height, with one person in the car gets you? Can anyone explain it?

Bjorn Nyland tested the energy consumption of his 2013 P85 at normal vs., low ride height, and found 0.5%-1.6% difference in energy use, varying with highway speed (more effect at the higher speed). As he says, however, the results are likely not precise because of variables he had difficulty controlling. His video is here:
 
Bjorn Nyland tested the energy consumption of his 2013 P85 at normal vs., low ride height, and found 0.5%-1.6% difference in energy use, varying with highway speed (more effect at the higher speed). As he says, however, the results are likely not precise because of variables he had difficulty controlling. His video is here:
Nothing quite like a 1% difference to hang your hat on?
 
I test drove a Coil Spring MS, then immediately test drove an Air Suspension MS (both with the same stock 19" wheels/tires) on the same roads to get a good feel of the difference before ordering our MS. I found the Air Suspension to be "too floaty", like my Mom's Lexus, where the Coil Spring felt more like my BMW 5-Series (which the MS was replacing). I liked the firmer feel of the Coil Spring - felt less body roll round the corners, and just felt more planted to the road.

Additionally, with the 19" wheels/tires, I didn't feel every pebble and crack in the road surface, as I did when I test drove the 21" wheels/tires. The taller sidewalls of the 19" tires make a big difference in comfort without sacrificing corning feel.

Ultimately, I choose the Coil Spring with 19" wheels/tires.
 
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One benefit I see from the air vs coil is air you can raise at supercharging stations and back in with confidence that you won't hit the cement block at the end. I don't know if the coil will ride high enough to avoid this. Some of the parking at supercharging stations are pretty high while others are shorter.

One downside is you have to deal with the are suspension adjusting so you might hear it at low to no speed.
 
One benefit I see from the air vs coil is air you can raise at supercharging stations and back in with confidence that you won't hit the cement block at the end. I don't know if the coil will ride high enough to avoid this. Some of the parking at supercharging stations are pretty high while others are shorter.

One downside is you have to deal with the are suspension adjusting so you might hear it at low to no speed.
If you get over the block, you could hit the Tesla only parking sign. Pick your poison. lol
 
Thanks good to know. I'll avoid Charlotte or at least be more careful there... but wait, I think the backup camera and the sonar sensors solves that problem pretty well for me.

The loaner I was driving was an autopilot car, so it had the full sensor suite. Thankfully, no damage. Just a smudge that rubbed off. I think that particular post was just positioned incorrectly because for a while afterwards, it was tilted back, indicating others backed into it with more force than me.
 
I can see why... I had a P85+ loaner while my 70D with coils was in for service and the P85+'s air suspension was a floaty mess. Yes, it was far less harsh than my coils, but the floating feeling from the active air suspension was really annoying (you could feel the subtle but never ending oscillation as the car worked to correct road unevenness).
When I was looking to buy, I went for a test drive in a P85+. I was soo disappointed with how it felt. After, I made an appointment to go on another drive of and to purchase an Audi S7.

Someone on here mentioned I should drive a coil car. Drove an S85 with coils, which also had the textile seats. Loved both, bought a P85 with both. Would have liked the better suspension bits that came with the +, but that package was locked to air suspension, so regular P it was for me.

Loaners almost always have air, and I rarely regret my decision. I did get a 90D two loaners back, and was pretty impressed. It felt MUCH better than the 2013 S85 with Air I got this most recent time. They must have made some major improvements these past few years.
 
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But only if you remember to. As the standard air hight is lower that coils, the air cars are more likely to scrape unless you actively raise the car. My driveway is like that. No scrape for coil cars, air cars will scrape unless they notice it and raise the car. Both are like raised pickup trucks compared to my Viper!

Going from my Viper to the P85 I knew I wanted the best handling I could get and wasn't worried about a rough ride. Very happy to have the coils and not the mushy ride of air.

The other part of the story is the height adjustment. The coil version of the Tesla is lower than my Prius that scraped bottom all the time--very disconcerting. I could imagine a convex driveway entrance being even worse with the longer wheel base of the Model S. With air suspension, I can raise the car .7" higher than the Prius. Not much, but at least not lower.