-
Want to remove ads? Register an account and login to see fewer ads, and become a Supporting Member to remove almost all ads.
Had mine for about 15 years; loved that car. Purchased with 124k miles on it in 1979, swapped engine blocks at 200k, and and added another 100k miles on top of that. A can of STP did wonders for its habit to burn oil. Besides the stiff ride, there was no power steering, but it had a larger steering wheel (more leverage). Stiff clutch and brakes too, if I recall. 20 years later, I still catch myself reaching down to close the manual choke after driving for a few minutes.
But to Jerry, if you've been in a 240Z, yes, that was a quieter car from the road and wind noise perspective, and had a slightly softer ride. The Roadster has a much quieter motor, of course. Overall, I'm not sure which one wins. The Z was also about 300 lbs lighter and front-heavy, and unless you have the skills like @wiztecy to tune up the suspension, you will definitely feel the effect of the Roadster's battery sitting behind the seats.
But, to be clear, the Roadster has a right and left side, not port and starboard.
This thread has been a great read. Without other Roadsters to compare against, I've always wondered whether I needed to do something about my suspension or shocks or whatever. Glad to know that what I experience seems to be perfectly normal, and I'm not the only one swerving to avoid every imperfection in the road.
I have the sport suspension on my Roadster 1.5 with it set to Lincoln Town Car mode. The ride is surprisingly supple to me; way less likely to break out your teeth than a stock Elise. However, I still have PTSD after driving my Roadster in Houston. The roads there are f'n terrible. So, I think your perception might vary depending on the quality of the roads in your area.
Do you recall what was involved (especially cost) in the upgrade? I have a 2.0 with the stock suspension, and could use an additional 5/8" height in order to get into my garage cleanly. (I currently drive over a piece of wood positioned in the drainage trough.) Also out of kindness to my dentist.
Curt
Roadster Signature #55
@gregd - I had the same problem getting into my driveway with my 1.5.
I solved it with one of these: Bridjit Curb Ramps. Works great!
I solved it with one of these: Bridjit Curb Ramps. Works great!
Mmmm, interesting idea, but not quite the situation what I have. Too thick. The driveway slopes steeply down, then has a small dip before the flat garage floor. All I need is the thickness of a redwood fence board on the drivers side to keep the nose of the car from hitting the floor.
Roadrunner13
Member
Well, the adjustable suspension seems to still be available at Tesla for a mere 6000$
Tesla — Adjustable Suspension Kit
I don't know if this what Jeremyz got though...
ThosEM
Space Weatherman
These are interesting details about the Roadster. I've never owned anything as race bred as the Elise, but my 2008 BMW 328i convertible was feeling somewhat soft and wooly in spirited driving, compared with my previous 2001 convertible with a sport suspension. So I put in Koni adjustable shocks and H&R lowering springs to see if it could be improved. Initially, I set the shock adjustments to 50%, but that was very jouncy so I cranked them up to 100% and now it is well-damped.
The car still has the same run-flats which are very firm. The combination is surprisingly stiff and brings out a number of rattles in the convertible (hardtop) roof, and in body panels. A year of driving it has softened things up a bit or I've grown more accustomed to it. I'm hopeful that replacing the run-flats with normal tires will make it a bit more supple, still.
The car still has the same run-flats which are very firm. The combination is surprisingly stiff and brings out a number of rattles in the convertible (hardtop) roof, and in body panels. A year of driving it has softened things up a bit or I've grown more accustomed to it. I'm hopeful that replacing the run-flats with normal tires will make it a bit more supple, still.
Sparrow
S105/ Roadster 189
Not a sports car guy at all. Do not rocket around in my Roadster. Just love electric cars. I added the adjustable suspension on my 1.5 Roadster for that $6000 plus cost. I did it because my Roadster always seemed to hit those bumps really hard (like it was bottoming out), but I also thought it might be good to have when I get the new heavier 3.0 battery.
Anyways, I first tried to adjust the suspension to a very soft setting of 2, but it felt just as bad as without the new suspension. I then went the other way to 8 and it seems to feel better. Still not what I had hoped for, but I did not seem to be hitting those bump as hard if that makes any sense at all.
Anyways, I first tried to adjust the suspension to a very soft setting of 2, but it felt just as bad as without the new suspension. I then went the other way to 8 and it seems to feel better. Still not what I had hoped for, but I did not seem to be hitting those bump as hard if that makes any sense at all.
@wiztecy did a thread about modifying his Roadster to aftermarket adjustable shocks for a lot less than $6K, see Alignment knocked out of whack...
wiztecy
Active Member
If I was going to spend that premium of a price for shocks, I'd go for the Moton 3-ways:
Lotus 3 Way Adjustable Moton Dampers
Or the JRZ 3-ways:
JRZ 3-Way Dampers
The 6k package with the Bilsteins come with front/rear adjustable swaybars, but if you dial you're shocks in correctly you really don't need to me messing with those. The stock front/rear swaybars work fine. I see the Bilsteins blowing out their shock seals prematurely and honestly never been a fan of them.
The Nitrons I'm running are still working excellent, I have them dialed in pretty tight but you can soften them up some if you like. Again, you trade off on your handling when you do. Nitrons are a proven race shock on the Elise and many people run them on the track / street.
Lotus 3 Way Adjustable Moton Dampers
Or the JRZ 3-ways:
JRZ 3-Way Dampers
The 6k package with the Bilsteins come with front/rear adjustable swaybars, but if you dial you're shocks in correctly you really don't need to me messing with those. The stock front/rear swaybars work fine. I see the Bilsteins blowing out their shock seals prematurely and honestly never been a fan of them.
The Nitrons I'm running are still working excellent, I have them dialed in pretty tight but you can soften them up some if you like. Again, you trade off on your handling when you do. Nitrons are a proven race shock on the Elise and many people run them on the track / street.
By sport suspension, I meant the adjustable suspension that Tesla sells for $6k. I didn't buy the upgrade, the original owner of the car did. By lincoln town car mode, I meant setting the shocks to setting 9 (or whatever the maximum setting is). The handling is still sharp, but it's a compromise for driving on real streets. I think if my girlfriend didn't also drive the Roadster, I would turn them down to 1. With the shocks on the least firm setting, the car is still fairly brutal, but I find it totally acceptable. My girlfriend doesn't complain it and it's rougher than my evo. Interestingly, she won't ride in my evo since she finds it too rough.
When my wife was very ill last year, she found that riding in the Roadster (stock suspension) was sometimes preferable to our Honda CRV "boat". I think the difference is that the CRV is so much higher that the motion of going over holes and patches is amplified. The quick bumps may be a bit jarring, but won't make you nauseous.
djp
Model 3 Performance
Dropping the tire pressure down to the Comfort settings (25psi front, 36psi rear) also helps compared to the standard setting (30/40). I think the standard setting is overinflated to help reduce rolling resistance and extend range, but it has the side effect of a harsher ride. I've been keeping mine on Comfort for the past few years and have also noticed the tire wear is more even at the lower pressures.
thefortunes
Active Member
djp
Model 3 Performance
Same, I haven't noticed a difference in range. I'm sure it's slightly lower, but I don't ever push the range to a point where it would matter. The improvement in ride is well worth any impact to hypermiling. Although if I ever did a long distance road trip at the limits of range I'd pump them back up to be safe.
Tex EV
Member
I've lived in the same house for 8 years, and the day I got my Roadster I discovered bumps on the street that I never knew existed. Tightest and lowest car I've ever owned, and I love it!
Similar threads
