this makes sense to me. raising the suspension changes the angle that the struts make with the axles (higher reduces this < slightly, inverse with lower), if you are keeping the wheels from turning even the slightest amount during this, there will exist a force differential that will settle once the calipers relax (parking brake may not hold as firmly as main brakes and allow a slight inching to lockup). i would imagine that this is not a change in wheelbase per se, which would involve relative axle movement, probably not possible, but just a slight tire rotation due to changes in angular force from the struts in a different position.... 2¢.
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Possible air suspension height settings issue
- Thread starter stevezzzz
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- Driving Dynamics Model S
this makes sense to me. raising the suspension changes the angle that the struts make with the axles (higher reduces this < slightly, inverse with lower), if you are keeping the wheels from turning even the slightest amount during this, there will exist a force differential that will settle once the calipers relax (parking brake may not hold as firmly as main brakes and allow a slight inching to lockup). i would imagine that this is not a change in wheelbase per se, which would involve relative axle movement, probably not possible, but just a slight tire rotation due to changes in angular force from the struts in a different position.... 2¢.
harry
Member
Well, since this thread started I've been watching very carefully when I park. I routinely raise the suspension to "Very High" when pulling into a parking lot. I check the clearance of the nose when I get out of the car and again upon return. Even when the initial clearance is only an inch or so, the car is still at the same height when I return -- every time. Our VIN is 166. I wonder if there has been some (perhaps inadvertent) modification of the behavior in later production.
gg_got_a_tesla
Model S: VIN 65513, Model 3: VIN 1913
Harry, if you can report your software version, that'd help too. If Stevezzzz has a different version, there could be a problem with that.
mknox
Well-Known Member
My current car is the same. The front air dam is about 5" above grade. Problem is, the Model S is a lot bigger than the roadster and this might be easier said than done. I've bruised my front end more than once even though I intended to stop short of the parking curb. This is where parking assist sensors would be a big help.
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I've only had one car with air suspension, and it did not "settle" when it was working properly. Once, there was a small leak that caused the car to "squat" slightly when left overnight and on a separate occasion, one of the air springs let go and the car "settled" all the way to the ground. I became paranoid and actually began measuring the vehicle (bumper to ground and tire to wheel well) after the second failure, and when it was working properly, it didn't settle a millimeter overnight when parked. I'm a little dubious of this "settling" statement when on the other hand, Tesla claims the car will continue to "self-adjust" even when off, and that's why you're not supposed to dolly-tow it.
contaygious
Active Member
The part that most concerns me is that the car can say very high when you get back in but can be lower when I want to go down my steep driveway. Hopefully tesla can solve this before I get mine.
Yeesh! Um, that's insane? How about parking on grass or dirt, which I have to do fairly regularly? I do not want to neatly settle the car onto rocks, thankyouverymuch.
Uh, yeah.
This really needs to be addressed in the next update, if not sooner. It is potentially dangerous. what if you are in drive and your cat goes under the car, put in in park and the cat gets squished? 
Oh, it was my neighbors cat, no worries :tongue:
Oh, it was my neighbors cat, no worries :tongue:
NigelM
Recovering Member
Model S only goes to the low setting above 55mph. If you have engaged the high setting (e.g. for parking) the car settles to "standard" when the parking brake is engaged. It does NOT automatically go to "low" when you park.
That's exactly what my test drive car did in late october, as predicted by my Tesla co-pilot. I had set the height to standard, put the car in park, and watched its reflection in the store window lower further.
Obviously this may be car specific, and may have been changed via a software update, but it did happen. And given the OT, I suspect not just to me.
Are you sure this is the car for you? What kind of rocks do you park on? It will be no different than any other car when it settles down to standard setting when parked. If you park off road on a regular basis, maybe something like the Model X or a pickup truck with much higher ground clearance might work better.
NigelM
Recovering Member
I'm not disputing what happened in your test car; I'm saying that the production cars don't automatically lower below "standard" when the parking brake is engaged.
The DS-21 went down far lower than the Model S when sitting, also had a flat bottom like the Model S, and never squished anything. It's not like it settles in a few seconds, The DS-21 settled over a several hour period.
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This really needs to be addressed in the next update, if not sooner. It is potentially dangerous. what if you are in drive and your cat goes under the car, put in in park and the cat gets squished?
Oh, it was my neighbors cat, no worries :tongue:
So now we have to transition from Cats On Your Roadster, to Cats Under Your Model S !!
I can only hold this up a little longer!!!
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OK, that's a relief.
If it's been fixed since the test cars, that falls in the No Problem category. Air Suspension Height Changes
I got the air suspension figured out.
My car was delivered last week and this is how it works with the latest updates:
If you put your car in the Very High Setting and leave it there, it will stay in that position until you select another height - or- until you reach 10mph.
At 10 miles per hour the car lowers to High.
At 20 miles per hour it lowers to standard.
I wasn't watching when it went to low.
It is not lowering on its own while in park or while turned off.
I got the air suspension figured out.
My car was delivered last week and this is how it works with the latest updates:
If you put your car in the Very High Setting and leave it there, it will stay in that position until you select another height - or- until you reach 10mph.
At 10 miles per hour the car lowers to High.
At 20 miles per hour it lowers to standard.
I wasn't watching when it went to low.
It is not lowering on its own while in park or while turned off.
NigelM
Recovering Member
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