P85D Buyers, did you want Smart Air Suspension or were forced to add it?

[REBroker]

I was just looking at the P85D spreadsheet on the tracking thread and noticed that pretty much everyone in there opted for the smart air suspension, was that a choice or did a lot of people get forced to add it? I ask because I initially didn't want to add it but I feel it would adversely affect resale value if the option is so desired/popular by everyone.

Thanks!

 

[spentan]

Personally I think it's better than the coil springs because of the added functionality.

Also if you ordered for delivery before 2015, I think you had to get the Air

 

[Vitaman]

I have lots of speed bumps in my area and liked the flexibility to be higher up when traversing them.
Also, the engineers optimized the suspension with Air in mind and I wanted to take advantage of their expertise.

 

[sickfox]

Having that option is a need for me. We weren't thinking about the resale value, but now that you mentioned it, that's a plus! :wink:

 

[point1]

I have lots of speed bumps in my area and liked the flexibility to be higher up when traversing them.
Also, the engineers optimized the suspension with Air in mind and I wanted to take advantage of their expertise.

Not likely that they optimised them anymore than coil. They are completely separate shock absorbers. They are most likely optimised by tesla and the supplier for the same characteristics.

 

[breser]

It's worth pointing out that the Air Suspension cars are the only ones being delivered in December. If you wanted a P85D on coils you had to wait until I believe it was March.

 

[RAW84]

I definitely wanted it.

Had them on the S85 I ordered before I swapped that out for a P85D.

 

[randompersonx]

I definitely wanted it.

I've never had it on any other cars before, but it was quite an interesting difference driving into the Dania Beach location over the railroad tracks in my Porsche (with the tracks very noticeable), and then test driving in the Tesla (and not noticing them at all).

At the same time, I threw the car into some turns on the test drive, and it did not feel like it lost any handling ability due to the air suspension.

 

[JKW]

I ordered it to get a lower center of gravity, not much you can do with the stock suspension other than lowering it through air suspension.

 

[3mp_kwh]

I did not want Air, in place of the coils I have now. I don't like the feeling of a car sending air from side to side, or floating, as happened on a test drive. When Tesla called me to switch a pre-configured P85D order, to air, I declined and requested my deposit back. That was 11/21, and I am still waiting for it, several calls later.

 

[Super Snake]

I did not originally order the SAS. I had a Range Rover that had air suspension and it was a nightmare, so I was understandably hesitant. I was called by someone at the factory who "recommended" the SAS and assured me that it would be nothing like the experience I had with my RR. So I then opted for it. I do hope that I made the right decesion.

 

[mknox]

FWIW, when I ordered my car in 2012, SAS was the only available suspension. They hadn't produced cars with coils yet. With past bad experiences, I was hesitant but didn't want to wait until coils went into production. So far, at over 40,000 miles and 22 months in, I am happy to report no problems with it whatsoever. I do like the added functionality, but will admit to preferring the ride in a coil-equipped loaner I had a while back. The coils seem smoother and better at keeping the car firmly planted IMHO.

 

[REBroker]

Yeah, it seems pretty clear that SAS may be a very desired feature in a future resale market, specially for the P85D which is at the highest end and people expect most features. I've changed my order to include it, I'm a February delivery and haven't even confirmed yet, hoping to read some reviews here before I finally confirm my order

 

[Alysashley79]

FWIW..I have the SAS on my P85 and wouldn't trade it for anything! I've got 35k miles on my 1 year old car and it functions beautifully.

Ive driven a P85 with coils and like the SAS ride so much more. It's much smoother, quieter and at least in my car I only get the "floaty" feeling with my studded tyres in the winter. I think that the tires you have on the car make a huge difference.

Mia's far as resale..I don't think it makes a difference over the coils because it's all a matter of opinion sort of like the pano roof. Tesla didn't seem to offer any less to a friend of mine with a like car as mine but with coils. Our #'s were almost the same.

 

[REBroker]

Thanks! When I talk about resale I'm not thinking that it'll cost more, I'm just thinking it may sell faster vs the car languishing on the market due to a lack of demand since this featured is so desired/needed by many. It would be like having a Florida vacation home without a pool, in hindsight you would say that the pool is high maintenance, may only be used a few times a year and you can always go to the pool at the clubhouse, but try to sell a vacation home without a pool around Orlando and demand is way lower than others, even at lower prices. I personally saw the SAS as a high repair cost item that I may only use a few times here and there and that can be reasonably replaced by coils, however, if it is desired, and perhaps a deal breaker for some future buyers, I wouldn't want to handicap my Model S by moving on without it. I appreciate everyone's input, it's been very helpful!

 

[hennla]

Thanks! When I talk about resale I'm not thinking that it'll cost more, I'm just thinking it may sell faster vs the car languishing on the market due to a lack of demand since this featured is so desired/needed by many. It would be like having a Florida vacation home without a pool, in hindsight you would say that the pool is high maintenance, may only be used a few times a year and you can always go to the pool at the clubhouse, but try to sell a vacation home without a pool around Orlando and demand is way lower than others, even at lower prices. I personally saw the SAS as a high repair cost item that I may only use a few times here and there and that can be reasonably replaced by coils, however, if it is desired, and perhaps a deal breaker for some future buyers, I wouldn't want to handicap my Model S by moving on without it. I appreciate everyone's input, it's been very helpful!

The air is a nice feature, but I wish they would have delivered the car also with adaptive magnetic shock absorbers. Then you could have choosen the ride comfort, i.e. BMW Adaptive system where you can choose; Comfort, Normal, Sport and Sport +.

 

[Thud]

I didn't get SAS on my S85. The coils feel more like the BMW sport suspensions that I'm accustomed to. I can see the utility in SAS though, but there aren't any steep driveways that I have a problem with.

 

[OConnorStP]

I went with SAS because I need to be able to adjust the height of the snowplow... er, P85D... to get up the road in the winter.

 

[Danal]

I wanted Air. And was told that only Air cars would be delivered in December.

Win/Win

 

[rays427]

Originally ordered coils but changed to avoid delay in delivery.