Tesla cheerfully swapped out the suspension on our 22xx vehicle. Even picked up car, dropped off loaner, and then dropped off car when finished. Saw (on app) them perform two road tests after work completed.
Did our own test drive last night. Findings:
Still feel every bump and feel them as strongly as before. However, harshness of bumps noticeably reduced. If boulevard cruisers make it feel that road has been re-paved and bumps reduced, this feels more as though road has been coated with thin layer of rubber. Hard bumps that used to make an instantaneous “thock” now make more of a rubbery “thoomp.” Very much like an E46 BMW 3-Series.
Excessive jiggly, jello-ey, our-of-phase, wrong-reboundy feeling now reduced.
However, freeway joint wuh-wuh-wuh-wuh sensation still there. Will have to compare in our Model S. Admittedly, I-405 headed north from US-101 is not Caltrans’ finest work.
All of the above is subjective and must be taken with a huge mountain of salt. When one is looking for change, one tends to find it. Our test drive included a windy segment on Mulholland Drive, a local mid-urban mountain road. I wanted to see how much the dampened suspension had hurt handling.
And, lo, it felt as though it had. In fact, when we reached my favorite S-turn segment, I consciously chose not to push things too hard. Didn’t want things things to get unsafe.
Didn’t push it too hard ... or, so I thought. Until I looked at the speedometer. 60 mph. Faster ... by at least 5 mph ... than I’d ever taken that particular segment ... over the past thirty years ... in a Supra, 3000 GT VR4, 330xi, S4, S5, or Model S.
Yes, Mr. Heisenberg, the very act of observing does compromise one’s observations.
Nonetheless, I can offer a bottom line:
Road feel still tight ... but no longer harsh ... no longer jiggly. Handling still epic.
And, my decision, whether to follow my wife into a Model 3 or stay with an S (either existing or refresh), is now tilting ever so slightly towards the Model 3!
Did our own test drive last night. Findings:
Still feel every bump and feel them as strongly as before. However, harshness of bumps noticeably reduced. If boulevard cruisers make it feel that road has been re-paved and bumps reduced, this feels more as though road has been coated with thin layer of rubber. Hard bumps that used to make an instantaneous “thock” now make more of a rubbery “thoomp.” Very much like an E46 BMW 3-Series.
Excessive jiggly, jello-ey, our-of-phase, wrong-reboundy feeling now reduced.
However, freeway joint wuh-wuh-wuh-wuh sensation still there. Will have to compare in our Model S. Admittedly, I-405 headed north from US-101 is not Caltrans’ finest work.
All of the above is subjective and must be taken with a huge mountain of salt. When one is looking for change, one tends to find it. Our test drive included a windy segment on Mulholland Drive, a local mid-urban mountain road. I wanted to see how much the dampened suspension had hurt handling.
And, lo, it felt as though it had. In fact, when we reached my favorite S-turn segment, I consciously chose not to push things too hard. Didn’t want things things to get unsafe.
Didn’t push it too hard ... or, so I thought. Until I looked at the speedometer. 60 mph. Faster ... by at least 5 mph ... than I’d ever taken that particular segment ... over the past thirty years ... in a Supra, 3000 GT VR4, 330xi, S4, S5, or Model S.
Yes, Mr. Heisenberg, the very act of observing does compromise one’s observations.
Nonetheless, I can offer a bottom line:
Road feel still tight ... but no longer harsh ... no longer jiggly. Handling still epic.
And, my decision, whether to follow my wife into a Model 3 or stay with an S (either existing or refresh), is now tilting ever so slightly towards the Model 3!
