I love our Model 3, 2020 even thought the ride quality is a bit crappy.
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Comfort Suspension Not Much of an Improvement
- Thread starter Engi_Nerd
- Start date
Late to the party here but yes, lower tire pressure has some drawbacks. I saw a myth busters review of tire pressure and fuel economy (prior to EV’s being a big thing) and you’ll take a small hit on range with lower pressure. That said, if you want much better range add some PSI!
Control, 35psi (manufacturer recomendation)
tyres at 10psi = 3.7% increase in consumption
tyres at 30psi = 1.2% increase in consumption
tyres at 40psi = 6.2% decrease in consumption
tyres at 60psi = 7.6% decrease in consumption
Additionally, as you bring the 42 PSI down (or up) the tires COULD start to wear abnormally. This could be news from decades ago though as I’d be interested to see if modern tires still do this. I personally wouldn’t go lower than maybe 39-40. That should give you a very minor improvement and also a placebo effect (which lets be honest is good enough sometimes).
I run mine at 36/37 PSI cold, which is just above where the "Low Pressure" warning comes on. It makes a big difference in ride comfort, which I find becomes very harsh above 40 PSI.
Some will disagree but I have found 44 PSI (2 PSI higher than the label on the A pillar to be an improvement, i.e. more cushioned and not as harsh a ride as 42 PSI.) Another factor, beyond our control, is the compliance of the suspension of the Tesla Model Y when the temperature is below 60F(15.5C). The ride totally changes (for the worse) as the temperature drops (even after adjusting tire pressure to correct for the lower temperature). Once the outside temperature reaches 70F(21C) or above the ride is noticeably improved.
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So I should definitely update this thread with my experience of an overnight test drive of a 2023 MYP directly from Tesla a few weekends ago. I had the car for about 15 hours and drove about 100 miles.. both city & highway. I'll say right off the back the suspension was noticeably better than what came on my 2021 MYSR which now has the factory 19" Gemini wheels & Continental tires. Getting out of that car and returning to my car the next day the difference was stark & immediate. I even did most of my daily 60-mile commute as I wanted to drive the car as much as possible.. and I know exactly where the potholes and other imperfections in the road are. I did notice it takes the suspension of 2023 to settle a bit longer.. I'd describe it as dribbling over some bumps. But generally speaking, it was just a much softer, more comfortable ride. I didn't have any of those thumps that make you clench your teeth in my 2021. Now that I think about it.. I should have brought along my open coffee mug for a real test 
I did very much miss the parking sensors. The MYP was ridiculously faster.. but mostly just from a complete stop. The exterior & interior felt exactly the same. And the car had FSD activated so it was cool to play around with extras. And I also run my tires at 45psi cold. That said the overall difference alone still isn't enough to make me trade up for a 2023 Y. I've been on the fence for quite a while thinking about trading my MYSR for an MYP.. and the primary thing the test drive confirmed is that I'll be keeping my 2021 a lot longer than I thought.
I did very much miss the parking sensors. The MYP was ridiculously faster.. but mostly just from a complete stop. The exterior & interior felt exactly the same. And the car had FSD activated so it was cool to play around with extras. And I also run my tires at 45psi cold. That said the overall difference alone still isn't enough to make me trade up for a 2023 Y. I've been on the fence for quite a while thinking about trading my MYSR for an MYP.. and the primary thing the test drive confirmed is that I'll be keeping my 2021 a lot longer than I thought.
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vickh: Tire rolling resistance is the same, regardless of the drivetrain: ICE gas, ICE diesel, EV. The % increase/decrease isn't an exact number.
Simple analysis: lower PSI, greater rolling resistance. higher PSI, less rolling resistance. Finding the sweet spot for efficiency vs. comfort, for Tesla purposes, is somewhere between 36psi and 45psi.
Check your PSI specs again. Yours is the first I've read here with 45psi as Tesla's recommendation. I've only read/heard that 42psi is recommended.
Simple analysis: lower PSI, greater rolling resistance. higher PSI, less rolling resistance. Finding the sweet spot for efficiency vs. comfort, for Tesla purposes, is somewhere between 36psi and 45psi.
Check your PSI specs again. Yours is the first I've read here with 45psi as Tesla's recommendation. I've only read/heard that 42psi is recommended.
Bikeman
Member
Tires are more compliant at warmer temperatures, which is why the ride comfort changes vs. winter. My model Y (not a performance) has a slightly less harsh ride now from when I picked it up back in December. I can't believe it could be the suspension loosening up with some age. The tires, though, must play a more important role in the equation considering temperatures, and of course air pressure.
When the mobile service tech was at my house last week, he brought out a compressor and was increasing my tires to 42 psi. I told him that I like them at 39 ("cold") for slightly more comfort. He looked puzzled. In the summer, these go from 39psi in the morning to 42psi all by themselves in the heat of the day. He didn't believe that either. Then as I drive 10 miles or so, the pressures report up to 43 or 44psi. He told me that couldn't be true unless I was cornering at high speeds and going 100mph.
I asked him what tires he was using on his? (21's and low profile). Well, mine are 19" and have more air volume, so temperatures affect those differently, and more profoundly. Again he looked puzzled.
I was in the bicycle biz for 30+ years and know for a fact that extremely skinny 700 x 18c tires at 110psi don't vary that much during a ride, but 26 x 2.x tires at 50psi can change dramatically on hot or cold days and by riding in rough terrain.
All I am saying here is that monitoring tire pressures and temperatures and driving condition changes are all correlated to ride quality. Well, that and wheel/tire sizes 19, 20, 21's.
When the mobile service tech was at my house last week, he brought out a compressor and was increasing my tires to 42 psi. I told him that I like them at 39 ("cold") for slightly more comfort. He looked puzzled. In the summer, these go from 39psi in the morning to 42psi all by themselves in the heat of the day. He didn't believe that either. Then as I drive 10 miles or so, the pressures report up to 43 or 44psi. He told me that couldn't be true unless I was cornering at high speeds and going 100mph.
I asked him what tires he was using on his? (21's and low profile). Well, mine are 19" and have more air volume, so temperatures affect those differently, and more profoundly. Again he looked puzzled.
I was in the bicycle biz for 30+ years and know for a fact that extremely skinny 700 x 18c tires at 110psi don't vary that much during a ride, but 26 x 2.x tires at 50psi can change dramatically on hot or cold days and by riding in rough terrain.
All I am saying here is that monitoring tire pressures and temperatures and driving condition changes are all correlated to ride quality. Well, that and wheel/tire sizes 19, 20, 21's.
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Much agreed with everything here.
Im a bit of a tire fanatic, thanks to many years of racing a motorcycle around local racetracks. Tire temperatures are also a great way to track how much heat is in a tire.. which at the racetrack could be the difference between you setting record laps or you sliding off into a corner and wrecking lol. Its a combination of heat + pressure as that pressure expands depending on how much heat is stored in the tire. If you've ever seen any type of professional race on hard surfaces then you have seen the prep work that goes into heating those tires.. road racers use dedicated tire warmers (basically plug-in electric blankets).. whereas drag racers perform burnouts before the race actually starts. Under yellow (caution flag) you will often see racecars weaving back & forth in an effort to keep their tires as warm as possible until the track turns green again.
That all said.. I've personally watched my pressures barely climb from 45psi cold to around 47 in the wintertime after about 10 miles of driving.. to almost 50psi in the summertime (which is the max psi for the OE Continental Pro-Contact).
On the sidewall of the OE 19" Continental Procontact RX tires on my 2020 LRMY - Maximum Inflation 350 KPA, 51 PSI.
Tire pressures are always measured cold, before the vehicle is driven. I am sure there is a margin of safety so no worries if the tire heats up to ~50 PSI when driven. (Per Google: 350 KPA = 50.76 PSI.)
There was that one time I attempted to inflate the rear tire on my Schwinn Stingray bicycle to near 100 PSI using the gas station's air hose. My friend sat down on the Stingray and Boom! (Friend freaked out.) I had to call for a ride home.
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fholbert
Active Member
Haven’t taken the DMV driving test in over 25yrs. They didn’t have TESLA’s back then.
nooooooRight on both counts
But I have a Y on order and would like to learn the principles and the specs for both
This is the TESLA Motors Club forum.
You are speaking on the Model 3 thread.
I, for one, enjoy hearing about ALL TESLA questions, comments, and discussions.
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