Have you reduced your tire pressure?

[Electroman]

I always suspected that 45 psi that Tesla recommends for M3 is a tad high. Although my car doesn't ride that harsh as earlier M3, it is definitely rough than any other car I have had in the past. My 130k miles LX RX 350 rides much more smoother and quieter. Almost all of that is tire noise and I hardly have any wind noise.

And then Musk tweeted this: Elon Musk on Twitter

I have plenty of range. Too much range for everything except long distance driving. So I am thinking I will reduce the pressure to 40 psi and gladly sacrifice some range for extra riding comfort.

Anyone else done this? Do you see any improvement? perhaps a before & after water cup tests are on order ?

Most importantly do you foresee any other issues with riding it at 40 psi? perhaps more tire wear?

 

[goto10]

Tire noise tends to go up with lower pressure but I don't know if it'll be a detectible amount going from 45 to 40 on a Model 3.

 

[techmaven]

I always suspected that 45 psi that Tesla recommends for M3 is a tad high. Although my car doesn't ride that harsh as earlier M3, it is definitely rough than any other car I have had in the past. My 130k miles LX RX 350 rides much more smoother and quieter. Almost all of that is tire noise and I hardly have any wind noise.

And then Musk tweeted this: Elon Musk on Twitter

I have plenty of range. Too much range for everything except long distance driving. So I am thinking I will reduce the pressure to 40 psi and gladly sacrifice some range for extra riding comfort.

Anyone else done this? Do you see any improvement? perhaps a before & after water cup tests are on order ?

Most importantly do you foresee any other issues with riding it at 40 psi? perhaps more tire wear?

My Model 3 was delivered with 48 psi in the tires and that was definitely too high. I backed off to 42/43 psi and it's fine to me.

 

[Electroman]

48 psi? that would like riding on roller skates

 

[gearchruncher]

48 psi? that would like riding on roller skates

The door wants 42 PSI and you think 48 would make the tires rock hard? Bikes and Trucks often run 100 PSI.

 

[buddhra]

No. My door says 42. I keep the tires at 42. I have no complaints about ride quality or range.

 

[daniel]

No complaints here about ride quality. This car has the best ride quality of any car I've ever owned. (Jeep CJ5, Honda Civic, Toyota Prius, Zap Xebra, Tesla Roadster.) The Model 3 is the closest thing I've ever had to a luxury car.

 

[pavankp]

My car was delivered with 42 psi and that's where I have it. I find the ride quite comfortable, and I do get the full advertised range of 310 miles with the sport wheels.

 

[Electroman]

My bad. The door indeed says 42psi. Don’t know why it was delivered with 45 and I assumed that was the recommended pressure.

I am planning to get it down to 40psi and hopefully get some relief from every crack and stone on the road.

 

[amitmishra4]

I’m glad I found this thread. Mine was delivered with 45-47 psi on various tires. Does backing down 3-5 psi make such a noticeable difference? Because, like the OP, I feel most cracks and imperfections in the road through the wheel. I get in my 6 year old Audi and it’s smooth to the point where absolutely no vibration gets transmitted to the wheel. While I really enjoy the sporty tight steering feel of the 3, I would definitely appreciate a slightly smoother ride.

 

[psgabin]

any thought s on X just reduced to 42 from 44 because i’d like a little smoother ride seems better has anyone else experimenting?

 

[SPIKE's M3AWD]

ELON just tweeted: Best way to improve ride is drop tire pressure to ~39 psi. 45 psi is best range, but lower comfort.

 

[pazdan]

I agree the suspension is a bit tight, going to lower to 40 - 42 and see what happens. What VIN# range are you? Mine's 58xx's

 

[03DSG]

42 PSI cold. 3800 lb car with those tires should be fine at 36 to 40 psi as well.

 

[Electroman]

Allright... I reduced to 40 (from 45) , and it sure makes a difference. Much better now, rather tolerable. I can live with this. Not smooth as my Lexus but acceptable. As for tire noise, I am not sure this increased it. Maybe.

On the range hit - will find out by how much.

My VIN 13k

 

[Aellinsar]

I find the comments on ride quality/noise fairly funny. I'm coming from a 2002 RSX - I'll give you a ride in that and then you can see if you describe the 3 as "harsh".

 

[daniel]

I find the comments on ride quality/noise fairly funny. I'm coming from a 2002 RSX - I'll give you a ride in that and then you can see if you describe the 3 as "harsh".

Same here. I can't offer to give anyone a ride in the old Zap Xebra (I think the gummint made them recall all of them after I had sold mine, because they were so unsafe) but the Roadster is not exactly smooth. Even the Prius is not as smooth as the Model 3. I love the ride in the 3. I don't know the tire pressure. I'll check it one of these days. I'll pump them up to 45 for my summer road trip. Woo, hoo!!! I'll be able to do that trip electric for the first time ever. And the 3 is so much more comfortable than the Prius that I'm really looking forward to it.

 

[Aellinsar]

I don't know the tire pressure. I'll check it one of these days.

Swipe right one the display and you'll see the tire pressures as reported by TPMS. Mine were 44 psi at pickup.

 

[mrsandman]

I’m curious to know if most people complaining have the sport wheels or if this is their first time driving a car with tires as low profile as these. The rubber on the 19” wheels are pretty thin (40 series) and you don’t normally find those on cars unless you’re talking about the performance models like BMW M3 and the Audi S4. On those models people expect tighter suspensions. Coming from a BMW M3 I would say the suspension is just as tight/stiff on the Model 3 but where I do notice a difference is with road noise. When driving on a highway with grooved lanes it is loud. Loud enough that people in the car need to raise their voice when talking. The car feels almost hollow. Perhaps softer rubber would alleviate this?

 

[Electroman]

..and the unscientific efficiency test results are in: My usual 40 mile morning commute typically gets anywhere between 220 - 230 wh/mile. And today it was no different. It was right at 225 wh/mile.