Ride Quality of Tesla Model Y

[Lipper]

I thought I read that there was a mention of air suspension in the manual or hidden in the UI for the Y. I could be wrong

I was in the same situation, debating upgrading my 2018 M3 to a MY for over a year. I had also been holding out for an updated suspension and increased range but ultimately decided that with the elevated value of used cars right now and some of the recent updates to the MY, to pull the trigger. I still get a heatpump, HW3, AMD MCU, Li-on 12v, front double glazed windows, heated steering wheel, Bioweapon defense and a few other upgrades.

I would say that you still get a lot of road feedback with the MYLR suspension but due to increased tire sidewall (19" tires on MY vs 19" tires on M3) I feel like the big thumps are dampened a bit in comparison.

The biggest improvement for me though has been the much more solid build quality on the MY. I had probably spent a solid year sound deadening and hunting down rattles, squeaks, creaks and never was able to resolve all of them in my M3. The MY doesn't have any of that (yet) so my enjoyment is already higher.

Ultimately, I still would like an upgraded suspension option and decided to order another MY as soon as I took delivery of my current MY. I figure it's a $250 hedge to see if 4680/range increase and some sort of adaptive suspension is released before my July EDD.

 

[PNWLeccy]

I thought I read that there was a mention of air suspension in the manual or hidden in the UI for the Y. I could be wrong

Yea there are literally rumors about air suspension on the M3/Y since 2017. Multiple leaks have implied that the air suspension is “coming soon” but that has never been the case so far so I’m not holding my breath.

 

[DanCar]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1226989747098263552

https://twitter.com/x/status/1352052405525950467

Summary: No on air suspension. Definite possible maybe on adjustable suspension.

 

[tangible1]

I've been toying with the idea of ditching my 2018 M3 for an MY now for about a year but can't pull the trigger due to Tesla not offering an adaptive suspension option on the Model Y.

I've driven performance oriented cars for years but the suspension on the Model 3 is about as firm as I can take in something I use with the family.

The hard suspension also means that all rattles/squeaks in the vehicle are worse and more noticeable.

Hopefully we'll see some kind of mild refresh by middle of next year that includes longer range and some kind of suspension option. I'd like to get out of my Model 3 before the battery deteriorates too much.

I just took delivery of a MYLR 8 days ago.

As I remember the test drive MY's I drove, they were quite taut/firm riding, had a bit of rattle to them, and were passable at best.
In short, marginal suspension. But I know how to fix that, there are several vendor options out there, so I went forward with the order.
I have several friends with M3 cars and they all ride firm but smooth, and as a passenger I had no issues with the suspensions in them.

I've driven my new MYLR now about 300 miles and it's much like the M3 cars my friends have. It's acceptable and solid but sometimes a bit too firm.
The chassis is very solid, no squeeks or rattles, and the power just comes on with no drama, 0-60 or 50-80 the same.

All this just to give a bit of confidence to you regarding the MY.
The new chassis build will likely be even better. It will be stiffer, lighter, better quality panel gaps. I doubt Tesla will deliver much if any more range than currently.
The handling will be better, the performance better, and if some of the new interior fittings from the China MY get included, all the better.

 

[Lipper]

Thanks

Yea there are literally rumors about air suspension on the M3/Y since 2017. Multiple leaks have implied that the air suspension is “coming soon” but that has never been the case so far so I’m not holding my breath.

 

[voip-ninja]

I just took delivery of a MYLR 8 days ago.

As I remember the test drive MY's I drove, they were quite taut/firm riding, had a bit of rattle to them, and were passable at best.
In short, marginal suspension. But I know how to fix that, there are several vendor options out there, so I went forward with the order.
I have several friends with M3 cars and they all ride firm but smooth, and as a passenger I had no issues with the suspensions in them.

I've driven my new MYLR now about 300 miles and it's much like the M3 cars my friends have. It's acceptable and solid but sometimes a bit too firm.
The chassis is very solid, no squeeks or rattles, and the power just comes on with no drama, 0-60 or 50-80 the same.

All this just to give a bit of confidence to you regarding the MY.
The new chassis build will likely be even better. It will be stiffer, lighter, better quality panel gaps. I doubt Tesla will deliver much if any more range than currently.
The handling will be better, the performance better, and if some of the new interior fittings from the China MY get included, all the better.

Tesla has continued providing range improvements so certainly the longer one can wait to order the higher the likelihood of catching more range. Switchover to new cells for the Y looked like it was going to happen immediately with the new factories but now it seems that it will be a pack transition later, so maybe middle to late next year for that. That will however likely bring range of over 400 miles to long range Y and I would be willing to wait for it.

In the climate I am in I get maybe 70% rated range at best in the winter time and with my own car I experienced range loss of over 10% in the first 24 months of ownership.

So for this theoretical 400 mile MY I would still have usable winter range of 200 miles on a full charge even after owning it for a couple of years which makes it more practical for me.

Adaptive suspension is not a must have but would be a nice to have, I will have to test drive a Model Y to see, but my Model 3 is already marginally too stiff for the kind of roads where I drive.

Other likely thing we get by waiting is the much rumored new AP hardware that was originally expected to arrive end of MY 2021 but might now be end of 2022. It is supposed to be 4X-8X more powerful than AP Gen 3 and more likely to make useful FSD a possibility.

 

[DealMasterMike]

Tesla has continued providing range improvements so certainly the longer one can wait to order the higher the likelihood of catching more range. Switchover to new cells for the Y looked like it was going to happen immediately with the new factories but now it seems that it will be a pack transition later, so maybe middle to late next year for that. That will however likely bring range of over 400 miles to long range Y and I would be willing to wait for it.

The change in battery cells will reduce weight as they are more dense so Tesla can put less of them into the vehicle to get the same amount of range, but they aren't necessarily going to put more cells in just to get to 400mi marker. This has yet to be proven they will do this vs just cost savings of putting less cells in for the same range.

In addition, there isn't any confirmation they are going to put in the 2170 as a 'structural pack' then transition later. Elon said it was a backup plan, but 4860 is already being produced out of Kato Rd and the 4680 lines are up and running being tested in Texas. The only thing certain is that there are Tesla Semi trucks spotted which we know are going to use 4680 and that Berlin had the 4680 structural pack on display.

 

[voip-ninja]

The change in battery cells will reduce weight as they are more dense so Tesla can put less of them into the vehicle to get the same amount of range, but they aren't necessarily going to put more cells in just to get to 400mi marker. This has yet to be proven they will do this vs just cost savings of putting less cells in for the same range.

In addition, there isn't any confirmation they are going to put in the 2170 as a 'structural pack' then transition later. Elon said it was a backup plan, but 4860 is already being produced out of Kato Rd and the 4680 lines are up and running being tested in Texas. The only thing certain is that there are Tesla Semi trucks spotted which we know are going to use 4680 and that Berlin had the 4680 structural pack on display.

Good information.

Elon has said 400 mile is the "stop talking about range anxiety" magic number so I expect Tesla will continue to push on this front regardless of how they achieve it.

 

[tangible1]

Good information.

Elon has said 400 mile is the "stop talking about range anxiety" magic number so I expect Tesla will continue to push on this front regardless of how they achieve it.

It will be competition-related.
For the time being, Tesla is pushing for cost and process improvements; range improvement might be a byproduct but not a focus. Although they'll hype it if they get it.
For example, there may be some minor range improvement from the lower weight (440lbs is a lot) of the v2.0 chassis.
But Tesla will likely roughly match the kWh rating of the 2170 packs currently shipping. Until competition forces them to improve. That won't be soon.

At the Earnings Call, they indicated production plans are not constrained by 4680 battery availability.
That would imply MY chassis will all be 4680 very soon.