Model 3's Ride Quality

[JeffnReno]

Anybody who thinks their M3 has a harsh ride, come for a ride in my 3/4 ton straight axle pickup (which I drive 250+ miles a week). When you get back in your M3, you'll be thankful of just how plush the ride is .

I know what you mean. Had a lifted Ram 4x4 and expansion joints on the freeway felt like my teeth were loosing their feelings. I even notice a big difference now when I go from our Leaf to our Rogue with the AWD Rogue feeling much bumpier.

 

[qwerty]

Hi, I share the same sentiment. I've recently picked up my M3 and I also noticed the ride was definitely much stiffer than my MS. I figure it has to be the coil suspension. When I bought my MS I was debating if I should add the smart suspension. When I consulted with the dealership folks I was told I'll get a more comfortable ride with air suspension so I went for it. That's the difference and I guess I'll have to get used to it. It is what it is.....

 

[alloverx]

Drop the air pressure by 2 for each tire as a start but yes you cant go too low

 

[Shock-On-T]

Hi Bob,
Couple of points from someone who spent a few decades at another car company:

• OEM tire selection is based on engineering criteria most important to achieving program objectives and certification. Top among them, lowest rolling resistance compounds are spec'd for best efficiency (fuel or electric). These compounds have the downside of being harder, and will compromise ride and usually are noisier, even in the same size as much more comfortable tires. Imagine how well the ball rolls on a pool table, but also how it would bounce!
• You already have the optimal 18" size (vs 19" or larger), so the next step is tire selection. As noted earlier, tirerack.com is a great place to learn more. You might want to take a look at tires in the Grand Touring segment, noted mostly for great ride and quietness, where you will see names (be very specific about names, slight variations result in a very different tire!) such as Michelin Premier A/S and Pirelli Centurato P7 in the Grand Touring All Season category. Grand Touring Summer tires don't provide similar levels of comfort.
• A Grand Touring tire will inherently trade off some of the max handling capability to achieve the ride comfort/quiet. You need to find that balance which best satisfies your criteria, now that you know the priorities the Tesla vehicle development engineers had. They were building a BMW 3 Series fighter, while you might be more of a Lexus vehicle dynamics guy.
• A different set of tires can be quite transformational for a car. I know this may be obvious, but the four small contact patches of the tires are the only contact your entire car has (or should have!) with the outside physical world! A lot goes on down there, so always focus on having the very best possible where the rubber meets the road.
• It may seem wasteful, but if it makes you feel any better, I tossed out brand new tires on two new cars in recent years to replace them with my personal preference, improving both cars quite a bit, per my criteria, in the process. Someone on the classifieds on the forum might want them as "newly used" if they plan to be high mileage drivers, so you might recoup some money.
• Just a detail....your car doesn't have "head rests", they are head restraints designed not for comfort but to prevent rearward hyper-extension of the neck in a rear impact. NHTSA has evolved the requirements over the years, as earlier generations were sub-optimal. I wouldn't judge the car by the comfort of these devices...they are just there, literally, to "save your neck".

This is so true.
60% of the difference between a crappy hatchback and a great hatchback (eg Golf) is the tires.
There is no car on the road that can’t be vastly improved by spending the money on decent tires.

 

[Shock-On-T]

Hi, I share the same sentiment. I've recently picked up my M3 and I also noticed the ride was definitely much stiffer than my MS. I figure it has to be the coil suspension. When I bought my MS I was debating if I should add the smart suspension. When I consulted with the dealership folks I was told I'll get a more comfortable ride with air suspension so I went for it. That's the difference and I guess I'll have to get used to it. It is what it is.....

The weight of the vehicle also makes a fair bit of difference. The Model S is a big heavy mother, makes it pretty immune to little imperfections in the road.

 

[AustinPowers]

My two cents:
I had test drives with a 2013 P85 on coils and a 2016 P100DL with air suspension. The coil suspension felt "ok" for a car of that size, the air suspension felt more comfortable, yet not as good as the air suspension in my father's Merc.

I myself have only ever had cars with coil suspension, and the ride quality was very different from model to model. My current BMW has quite a "sporty" feel to it, both on summer (18'') and winter (17'') tires. Our VW Touran otoh feels much more comfortable on its 17'' wheels, both winter and summer versions.
Takeaway: I will likely get the Model 3 with the smaller rims.

As a side note: I would never go below the recommended tire pressure, rather a little above the recommended level. It can be highly dangerous to drive around with too low tire pressure. It also increases wear and fuel consumption very quickly.

 

[jbcarioca]

Stiff suspension is not inherent to coils, my late Citröen Grand Picasso (coils) had more comfortable suspension than my S on air.
Some tips would be to get the smallest rim size.
Another is to avoid any tire with "run flat" tech as this ruins any suppleness from the tires.

Well said. 'run flats' share with low profile tyres share the very stiff sidewalls that tend to make a ride stiffer. Whether coils, springs, air or hydraulic teh suspicion can be tum=ned to yield the soft pillowy ride of limousines or the harsh ultra-responsive ride of many sports cars. I'm no expert but I do know that.

Were I concerned about poor ride in a Model 3 I'd make certain to have 18" wheels and switch to more compliant tyres. Standard equipment are IIRC 'W' rated so I'd choose a lower speed rating and seek advice from a professional tyre expert to choose a better ride. FWIW, you'll almost certainly end out with a less expensive tyre and increased tyre life while making that change. Just don't drive a sustained speeds of more than 130 mph or so after you change the tyres.

 

[GSP]

Hey all,

I picked up my Model 3 on Jan 2nd and am disappointed to find that I really do not like the ride. The suspension is very stiff and seems to magnify every bump in the road. Any significant seam in the concrete will leave me bouncing in my seat. On anything but a perfect road, I find it impossible to rest my head against the headrest or I'm constantly being jarred by it. Also, the steering wheel will vibrate considerably at highway speeds.

I have owned a Model S in the past and currently also own a Model X and this wasn't a problem for either of them.

I took it into the dealership and they seemed unable to say whether this was intended behavior. They reduced the tire pressure a bit but it hasn't helped to any great degree. The technician also suggested it needed to be "broken in" (something about the bushings) which wasn't very convincing.

Have other Model 3 owners noticed this? I understand suspension is a bit of personal preference but this seems at the really extreme end for a car aimed at a more mass market and autonomy.

Thanks,
Bob

I think the best suggestions in the above thread are:

1) add some weight to the car "so it doesn't ride like an empty pickup truck." I suggest trying 50-100 lbs in the frunk and 100-200 lbs in the trunk lower compartment. If sand bags or water softener salt does the trick, you could replace them with steel plates of the same weight to take up less cargo space.

2) lower tire air pressure. Check the tire manufacturer recommendations to see how low you can go and still carry the load.

3) give the suspension and tires 1-2,000 miles to break in. (and give yourself some time to adapt to the 3)

4) If you can find tires that are rated with a significantly softer ride than the factory 18" Michelins, try them out (and sell your factory tires).

5) Another suggestion would be to see if 17" aftermarket wheels will clear the brake rotors on the 3. Tire Rack is a good resource to find out, but they may need more time to get info on the 3. If 17's fit, you could get a softer tire than for the 18" wheels.

Good Luck,

GSP

 

[Shock-On-T]

I think the best suggestions in the above thread are:

1) add some weight to the car "so it doesn't ride like an empty pickup truck." I suggest trying 50-100 lbs in the frunk and 100-200 lbs in the trunk lower compartment. If sand bags or water softener salt does the trick, you could replace them with steel plates of the same weight to take up less cargo space.

2) lower tire air pressure. Check the tire manufacturer recommendations to see how low you can go and still carry the load.

3) give the suspension and tires 1-2,000 miles to break in. (and give yourself some time to adapt to the 3)

4) If you can find tires that are rated with a significantly softer ride than the factory 18" Michelins, try them out (and sell your factory tires).

5) Another suggestion would be to see if 17" aftermarket wheels will clear the brake rotors on the 3. Tire Rack is a good resource to find out, but they may need more time to get info on the 3. If 17's fit, you could get a softer tire than for the 18" wheels.

Good Luck,

GSP

Options 1 and 2 would reduce range, increase stopping distance, reduce cargo capacity, reduce cornering max G, and increase the risk of a blowout.

It’s just a Euro-style stiffer sportier suspension. It is what it is.

 

[Neo_fd3s]

People are never satisfied. They want to be driving on a cloud, but when the situation demands it, they want the car to react like a Formula 1 car. You can't have it both ways. You either get great handling, or you get a comfy mushy ride. There is no in between.

Personally I was worried it was going to feel like a yacht (model S). Thankfully the reviews came back positive for being sporty. Seeing the car sit from a variety of angles, I hope suspension mods will come to the rescue. I'm use to driving really sporty vehicles. I want to be able to feel the road and understand what type of surface I'm dealing with. Not to mention in its stock form, it sits a bit too high. I'm pretty sure sway bars and springs will make it out soon enough for this version of the Model 3.

 

[Snerruc]

+1 on the thousand miles. My S on coils changed as the tires/suspension broke in. Also, if you go the different tire route, check out the Perillis Tire rack top rates for ride and wear on the S with 19s.

 

[bro1999]

Sounds like future Model 3 owners in the NJ/NY areas should invest in some mouthguards or upgrade their dental insurance, as the ride in a 3 on those horrible roads may be literally jaw breakers.

 

[zer0cool]

Ride quality on most premium cars is a matter of opinion since the suspensions are generally good but just differently designed for comfort or sport. Both my wife and I find Model S coils to be very comfortable and sufficiently stable. We had an air suspension one as loaner for a weekend and both didn't like it because it felt bouncy (floaty kind of bouncy) like some MB suspensions when going over certain road conditions.

I would imagine Model 3 suspension is probably like a non-adaptive BMW 3 series Msport suspension but more comfortable than a pure non-adaptive BMW M3 suspension. I think that's definitely the sweet spot between sporty and comfort.

As other said, the steering wheel should definitely not be vibrating, so that should be fixed. However if after a month or so you still don't like the ride quality, can always sell the car with no loss at all (if not some gain).

 

[TexasEV]

When I consulted with the dealership folks I was told I'll get a more comfortable ride with air suspension so I went for it.

Off topic, but calling the Tesla store a "dealership" is like nails on a chalkboard. One of the advantages of buying a Tesla is you avoid the auto dealer cartel.

 

[McRat]

... You either get great handling, or you get a comfy mushy ride. ...

It's a money thing, with enough bucks spent, you can have a smooth ride on the street and also a track-capable suspension in the same car. The cheapest MSRP of a car I've owned with such a suspension was about $80k. Not exactly cheap. The cost is over $5000 just for the shock absorbers.

 

[206er]

ugh... wife will not tolerate a ride that's sportier than our lame '14 Acura ILX. This, notice of the latest production delay, and the general software problems You You Xue seems to be experiencing on his cross country trip have me really down on this car. Hopefully seeing You You's car in person in Seattle later this week will help re-up my enthusiasm.

 

[Stoneymonster]

ugh... wife will not tolerate a ride that's sportier than our lame '14 Acura ILX. This, notice of the latest production delay, and the general software problems You You Xue seems to be experiencing on his cross country trip have me really down on this car. Hopefully seeing You You's car in person in Seattle later this week will help re-up my enthusiasm.

Can't speak for ride quality preference, as we're fine with it, but the car is amazing. Don't forget that you will hear *every* problem that *everyone* has for the next few months. Disproportionately. People don't generally go on the internet to tell you how everything is fine with their car.

Yes there are some software issues (though we've only seen missing stuff, not bugs), but they will be worked out.

 

[outdoors]

Feels as soft as cotton to me. Yet not floating. Plus I hate the sound that air suspension makes when it goes over bigger bumps.

 

[T34ME]

ugh... wife will not tolerate a ride that's sportier than our lame '14 Acura ILX. This, notice of the latest production delay, and the general software problems You You Xue seems to be experiencing on his cross country trip have me really down on this car. Hopefully seeing You You's car in person in Seattle later this week will help re-up my enthusiasm.

For every complaint posted, there are 100 satisfied that aren't posted. Don't jump to conclusions until you have seen the car in person. WOW!

(BTW, You You says he loves his car)

 

[Foxhound199]

One of my biggest concerns with getting my first "luxury" car would be one of those awful pillowy soft suspensions. Can't stand them. The stiffer the suspension, the better. Glad to see Tesla agrees. Let me feel the road, I want to feel every pebble I run over.