When aligning front wheels, caster is an important setting that can make any car feel wobbly and unstable. Setting the caster to a positive angle stiffens steering and encourages the steering wheel to find center (think the front wheels on shopping carts trailing behind the as you push the cart - they always find center). Setting the caster angle back makes steering very light and soft. If it is too far back, the car will float side to side (think the front wheels on a shopping cart pointed the wrong way). I would ask for an alignment report and have them show you the actual caster angles; compare to factory specifications which they must have. Good luck. My P90D is rock solid at any speed up to 85mph which is my max so far.
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Unstable steering at speeds around 80 mph
- Thread starter Socaltiger
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- Driving Dynamics Model S
SUV owner complaining about instability at 147mph in "fairly windy" weather. Love this forum.
I have the 19" Goodyears and have a similar tracking problem on the freeway. The steering starts wandering at around 60 mph and up.
The Service Center realigned the car (came from factory out of alignment) but that only solved a pulling and misaligned steering wheel problem, the wandering problem still exists.
Did the Service Center try rotating your original tires?
mobe
Member
SmartElectric
Active Member
SUV owner complaining about instability at 147mph in "fairly windy" weather. Love this forum.
Stable at 157 mph according to @Bjorn
Well bad news. After driving more on the new 21 inch wheels, I can feel the swaying. It's not as bad as the 19 inch wheels but it's there. I find myself having to always try and keep the car going straight. It feels floaty. Also kind of feels like the rear tracks left and right at times when the road is not perfectly flat.
Maybe there's a difference between "MS 75 with coil suspension" and "P90DL (which comes with air by default)"?
SmartElectric
Active Member
I've never driven a Tesla on coils. They've all been air suspension.
Our 2013 Model S 85 with 90000km on it handles beautifully at high speeds.
The reports of poor handling don't match our experiences.
Our 2013 Model S 85 with 90000km on it handles beautifully at high speeds.
The reports of poor handling don't match our experiences.
I had my S85 go into this state after I put the Hakka P2 snow tires on a month ago. I found the feeling of "dancing" subsided substantially when I lowered the tire pressure down to 40psi (as registered on the TPS display). It got even better after an alignment at my yearly service interval.
Oddly, none of this happened when I put the snow tires on LAST winter.
I'll report back when the Michelins go back on this spring.
Oddly, none of this happened when I put the snow tires on LAST winter.
I'll report back when the Michelins go back on this spring.
Thanks for the update. The condition you describe sounds very similar to what I experience.
Do you have any vibration in the steering wheel? I have a slight vibration at highway speeds that's been there since new. Not sure if it's associated with the tracking problem or not.
artsci
Sponsor
Not necessarily, in fact likely not. The steering wheel is mounted on splined grooves on the steering column. When it's installed at the factory if it's off one groove it will be off center. I had that problem and it was corrected by removing and remounting the steering wheel.
The poster's problems are very like caused by his tires not the suspension or steering settings. ButI could be wrong if his alignment is out of wack. Could also be wheel balance issues. Lot's of possible causes.
The swaying is there on both 19 and 21 inch tires which were both brand new and balanced. It was worse on the 19 inch OEM Good Year. The last time it was in service, tesla said it was common on the 19 inch wheels and that's part reason I got the 21 with Michelins pilots. I did a search and there were reports back in 2013 that had the same issues that was fixed by replacing a washer in rear axle. I don't sense any vibration in my steering wheel.
How many times have you had your car in the SC for this problem? Its been three times for me so far.
My Model S seems more prone to tramlining than other vehicles I've owned. You are likely experiencing tramlining, which is the vehicle's tendency to follow grooves or imperfections in the road surface. This can lead to a feeling of "floating" or "wandering". Tesla says this is totally normal and common with wider tires. I've driven many loaners over the last 3 years with both 19" and 21" wheels, and all but the staggered P85+ exhibit this issue.
Buckeye2320
Member
Acceleration Shudder
Check out the thread on Acceleration Shudder and Tesla doing a Road Force Balancing on the tires
Check out the thread on Acceleration Shudder and Tesla doing a Road Force Balancing on the tires
Just a data point...
I've definitely noticed a difference on what you're calling tramlining with the staggered wheels in the last month vs. all the non-staggered S that I've driven in the last 4 years.
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