SR+ vs LR handling?

[ElectricNerd]

We just picked up our brand new M3LR this evening. We have a ‘21 SR+ as well. Both have the same 19” sport wheels. We noticed that the LR goes over bumps and railroad tracks a lot smoother than the SR+. Is the suspension different or is it just the weight of the battery and front motor helping dampen the bumps? The ‘21 you can feel the bumps for sure.

 

[tm1v2]

When I drove a loaner X back in late 2017 or so, I didn't get this feeling at all. It felt nearly as planted as my coil-spring 2014 S 85 that I had at the time.
Possibly the air suspension on the X versus the springs on the Y?

@BigNick I must've missed this post!

Yes most likely the X air suspension vs your S on coil springs is why you felt that way. I test drove coil and air Model S back-to-back when the S was new, and the air suspension actually handled significantly better, in addition to riding much better.

There's no fundamental handling advantage to air suspension that I know of. Just Tesla clearly put more effort and budget into the S air suspension, whereas the S coil suspension really felt like an afterthought to be honest, like someone spec'd it as cheap as possible so the S could have a lower base price.

Come to think of it, the stock Model 3 and Y coil suspensions feel like that too. I've never been impressed by any Tesla factory installed coil suspension. Which is why my M3P now rides on Öhlins DFV coilovers...