Will suspension in "Very Low" give you more range?

[Brandon332]

Just wondering people's thoughts on this: I know that many people on here drive with the Model X in "standard" suspension and have it auto lower to low at 60MPH+. Do you think that if someone goes on a long road trip (~150 miles), putting the car into very low would give a bit better range?

I have no plans for a trip and can't figure any scientific way to test it, but it would seem to make sense that a lower car would give less air resistance. Even if it's like 1-3 miles during a trip, it could still prove useful. Thoughts?

 

[ThosEM]

That's the idea behind it. But it's been difficult to document quantitatively. It certainly makes the car look slicker! Perhaps the right way to view it is that it may give you a bit bigger buffer at the end of the trip?

 

[Pandamoanium]

I've been told before by some Tesla staff that it helps make it more aerodynamic and would maybe increase range but not by much, meaning less than 10 miles.

The important thing IMO though is that very low will camber your wheels/tires and you will have uneven wear on the tires as well as increased wear.

 

[outie]

Is the negative chamber/uneven wear confirmed by Tesla? When you lower the car there's no disclaimer about the impact. I only saw the YouTube video saying so.

 

[jeffro01]

I can say on the Model S it does improve the range when on "very low"...

Jeff

 

[Brandon332]

I can say on the Model S it does improve the range when on "very low"...

Jeff

@jeffro01 that's awesome to hear. By how much have you noticed?

 

[jeffro01]

@jeffro01 that's awesome to hear. By how much have you noticed?

Roughly 2-5% so not a huge number but it is noticeable on the S...

Jeff

 

[PaulusdB]

I can say on the Model S it does improve the range when on "very low"...

Jeff

And so does 'Very Low' on a X 60D. It improves by approx. 5%, driving at 100 km/h (62 mph).

 

[BerTX]

It tends to help cars that are not so aerodynamic underneath a lot more than it does for the slippery Teslas. A small improvement, but still worthwhile at highway speeds