Why does Tesla suspension suck so bad?

[Undecided_2]

Can’t wait to get mine in a couple months.
[/QUOTE]

You’ll love it! We absolutely love ours sure, it’s not perfect, but it’s right up there with one of the best cars we’ve bought and we’ve been fortunate to own 80k+ vehicles. We have terrible roads where we live and the pot holes are big. However, overall the suspension is good and the car handles excellently when pushed hard for such a heavy vehicle. No compliants from us. If we didn’t like we’d sell it and move on.

We have induction wheels on ours.

 

[goin2drt]

Is Tesla delivering two different types of suspensions or something? My experience was similar to yours. While test driving I drove on very poor roads, over poor railroad tracks, potholes on the freeway, etc. 2nd time I test drove it I took the wife, car seat, 10 and 6yr old kids and they felt like the car was better than my pre-Raven X.

I thought the ride on 21s was great and very acceptable for 21s and 19s are probably better . It wasn’t like a soft pillow or Mercedes, but that’s not what I want. Can’t wait to get mine in a couple months.

What you test drove it before buying it and they delivered EXACTLY what you expected. Crazy concept.

Enjoy the new ride, you will absolutely love it and it will not disappoint especially when smashing the right pedal.

 

[wandl]

Is Tesla delivering two different types of suspensions or something? My experience was similar to yours. While test driving I drove on very poor roads, over poor railroad tracks, potholes on the freeway, etc. 2nd time I test drove it I took the wife, car seat, 10 and 6yr old kids and they felt like the car was better than my pre-Raven X.

I thought the ride on 21s was great and very acceptable for 21s and 19s are probably better . It wasn’t like a soft pillow or Mercedes, but that’s not what I want. Can’t wait to get mine in a couple months.

Purely my opinion, I have a M3SR+ which I sold to get a M3LR and wife got a MYLR. She dislikes the ride, and I very very very much dislike the ride. However, we do notice when we have backseat passengers (and/or our kids) the ride does get better.

We did get the 20s (Gemini rims are pretty unattractive) which doesn't help. Exploring 19-inch rims (Replika R241 or Martians) with Micheline/Vredstein's or just selling the car outright. This thread was very useful!

 

[jellyfam]

I installed the MPP coilovers. I wrote about it here:

https://www.reddit.com/r/teslamotors/comments/nzuk95

Do you think I should spend the money replacing the 21 uber and the 255/275/35/21 Michelin all seasons to a smaller rim and bigger tire or going with the MPP crossover coils for a smoother ride? I used to drive a Lexus es350 hybrid so the drive on the MYP is harder for me

 

[Ruffles]

Do you think I should spend the money replacing the 21 uber and the 255/275/35/21 Michelin all seasons to a smaller rim and bigger tire or going with the MPP crossover coils for a smoother ride? I used to drive a Lexus es350 hybrid so the drive on the MYP is harder for me

The coilovers will make a bigger difference than wheels & tires.

 

[TomServo]

I’m a 70 year old disabled vet and haven’t found the ride in our 2020 LR AWD to be bad, and I run my tire PSI at 44 COLD. But then I have the 19” tires/wheels.

 

[gr8tdane24]

The coilovers will make a bigger difference than wheels & tires.

I have both larger sidewall tires (with 18" wheels after I got rid of my 20" inductions) and MPP comfort coilovers and I think they are equally important for overall ride smoothness but in different ways. I did the wheels/tires first and then the coilovers so I have a pretty good gauge of what the impacts of each modification were. The larger sidewall tires generally smoothed out road feel and small bumps but the MPP coilovers really help for larger road variations such as speed bumps, cracked pavement, expansion joints, potholes, etc... I couldn't say one is better than the other, but the combination of the two really yields improvements. I have had the MPP coilovers for the last two weeks and the ride quality has kept getting even better as the coilovers have started to break in.

 

[jellyfam]

I have both larger sidewall tires (with 18" wheels after I got rid of my 20" inductions) and MPP comfort coilovers and I think they are equally important for overall ride smoothness but in different ways. I did the wheels/tires first and then the coilovers so I have a pretty good gauge of what the impacts of each modification were. The larger sidewall tires generally smoothed out road feel and small bumps but the MPP coilovers really help for larger road variations such as speed bumps, cracked pavement, expansion joints, potholes, etc... I couldn't say one is better than the other, but the combination of the two really yields improvements. I have had the MPP coilovers for the last two weeks and the ride quality has kept getting even better as the coilovers have started to break in.

My plan is to get the MPP coils and put on some 265/285/40/21 on my MYP ubertine. Gonna do the tires first and if it’s not to my liking gonna try the MPPs. Hopefully it’s as smooth with 21 wheels and bigger tires. I drove a Lexus forever and just trying to get that feel

 

[after-dark]

Purely my opinion, I have a M3SR+ which I sold to get a M3LR and wife got a MYLR. She dislikes the ride, and I very very very much dislike the ride. However, we do notice when we have backseat passengers (and/or our kids) the ride does get better.

We did get the 20s (Gemini rims are pretty unattractive) which doesn't help. Exploring 19-inch rims (Replika R241 or Martians) with Micheline/Vredstein's or just selling the car outright. This thread was very useful!

I just moved down from 20" induction to 19" rims on Michelin A/S4.
For me it's a noticeable difference. Before I would describe the ride on downtown streets (very uneven, lots of tiny scattered potholes) as harsh, jarring, and brutal. Now, it has taken a lot of the edge off..it's rough but somewhat tolerable at 40 PSI

 

[hcdavis3]

I just moved down from 20" induction to 19" rims on Michelin A/S4.
For me it's a noticeable difference. Before I would describe the ride on downtown streets (very uneven, lots of tiny scattered potholes) as harsh, jarring, and brutal. Now, it has taken a lot of the edge off..it's rough but somewhat tolerable at 40 PSI

18 inch wheels have a better ride. I’ve had 19s, and 18s are better for me.

 

[Noflash]

I just drove home from dinner with kids in the back and there were really weird creaks coming from the back. Took me a minute to figure out but the bumps were causing the straws in there sodas to squeak up and down. LOL Yeah - great ride.

 

[Mjrotor]

Look. Tesla suspension does not suck. It may not be what YOU might want on your farm tractor or speed boat or some other form of transportation you may have, but on the Tesla car, it does what it's supposed to do, and this opinion is based on FOUR Teslas driven over 250,000 miles. I don't know just what you drive now, but my brother in law came to visit in his diesel Mercedes. He had to take me for a drive, and we drove into ditches and across plowe seed fields to prove the superiority of his ride. Somehow, he must have thought that we didn't have roads here in California, but we do, and I use them. I hope he's happy driving in the dirt, but I like driving on freeways. I've even paved my driveway! And my suspension is just fine, thank you.

I have a model.y. the suspension is horrible on roads that are not smooth. Most of the roads where I live are uneven. I feel every inconsistency with the y. In my 2013 Prius it was not as bad the Prius was 25 to 30k less than the y.the suspension should be better, Tesla did not focus on suspension. I have 19 tires on mylr

 

[smilepak]

The chip shortage will not end by next year. Not even close.

Now add nickel shortage to that list.

 

[eppyphotog]

I have both larger sidewall tires (with 18" wheels after I got rid of my 20" inductions) and MPP comfort coilovers and I think they are equally important for overall ride smoothness but in different ways. I did the wheels/tires first and then the coilovers so I have a pretty good gauge of what the impacts of each modification were. The larger sidewall tires generally smoothed out road feel and small bumps but the MPP coilovers really help for larger road variations such as speed bumps, cracked pavement, expansion joints, potholes, etc... I couldn't say one is better than the other, but the combination of the two really yields improvements. I have had the MPP coilovers for the last two weeks and the ride quality has kept getting even better as the coilovers have started to break in.

I am running 235/55-18 Pirelli Scorpio Verde LRR 104xl tires on Model 3 Aero wheels on my Y. My Wh/mi over 30k miles is 271 Wh/mi with a lot of that being long distance highway miles at over 75 mph. I am looking at coil overs next. I found a brand called HIRO performance that has complete coil over sets for considerably less than MPP or Unplugged Performance.

 

[Pianewman]

I am running 235/55-18 Pirelli Scorpio Verde LRR 104xl tires on Model 3 Aero wheels on my Y. My Wh/mi over 30k miles is 271 Wh/mi with a lot of that being long distance highway miles at over 75 mph. I am looking at coil overs next. I found a brand called HIRO performance that has complete coil over sets for considerably less than MPP or Unplugged Performance.

Caveat emptor. You get what you pay for.

 

[JimMay]

Just got my Tesla MYP with 21 inch uberturbines, and this and many other threads on TMC got me REALLY worried about ride comfort and I have to say these worries were completely unfounded. Coming from a 2018 Honda CRV EX-L, I would say the MYP is on par or slightly worse (but negligible) coming from that car. We also have a 2nd car, a 2017 BMW 320 xDrive, and the MYP is WAY better than that ride.

All in all, my take is YMMV, and I shouldn't have fretted so much about a lot of what people mentioned on this forum.

 

[Dennisis]

Just got my Tesla MYP with 21 inch uberturbines, and this and many other threads on TMC got me REALLY worried about ride comfort and I have to say these worries were completely unfounded. Coming from a 2018 Honda CRV EX-L, I would say the MYP is on par or slightly worse (but negligible) coming from that car. We also have a 2nd car, a 2017 BMW 320 xDrive, and the MYP is WAY better than that ride.

All in all, my take is YMMV, and I shouldn't have fretted so much about a lot of what people mentioned on this forum.

Yep, some people used to ES350's are shocked but fine for many, depends on what you're looking for.

 

[Noflash]

Just got my Tesla MYP with 21 inch uberturbines, and this and many other threads on TMC got me REALLY worried about ride comfort and I have to say these worries were completely unfounded. Coming from a 2018 Honda CRV EX-L, I would say the MYP is on par or slightly worse (but negligible) coming from that car. We also have a 2nd car, a 2017 BMW 320 xDrive, and the MYP is WAY better than that ride.

All in all, my take is YMMV, and I shouldn't have fretted so much about a lot of what people mentioned on this forum.

It really depends on the road type. I can drive around Denver all day and forget about the problem until I get back to the roads around my neighborhood. The roads do not look bad to the eye, but have large seams filled in with tar. Those seams create the severe "ba-THUMP" that is the issue for me. I can't wait for them to re-do the roads.

 

[sleepydoc]

It really depends on the road type. I can drive around Denver all day and forget about the problem until I get back to the roads around my neighborhood. The roads do not look bad to the eye, but have large seams filled in with tar. Those seams create the severe "ba-THUMP" that is the issue for me. I can't wait for them to re-do the roads.

My 17 year old son drove my car for a few days (MY LR, 19" Gemini wheels) while we were out of town. When we got back his comment was "your car is like riding on a board - the suspension sucks!" I have to agree. It's totally fine on smooth roads, but a go kart is fine on smooth roads. The test is when you have some bumps and that's where it fails. For half of my drive to work I can't drink my coffee because the ride is so bad, especially in the winter where the cracks in the road tend to expand from frost heave. You know it's bad when your 10 year old Odyssey does better.

I've thought about upgrading the suspension but I'm hesitant to spend $2500 on something without being able to test it first.

 

[ReversePolarity]

On my MYP I just went from 21" uberturbine to 20" and it was a night and day difference. The wheel and sidewall also contributes alot to the overall ride quality.