Turn Radius...

Yes, I find it a little wide.... About like a Town Car. My 1999 S500 can make some the Tesla cannot. It's not terrible, but noticeable.

-m

I actually find the turning radius to be quite good given the size of the car.

I think turn radius a lot to do with how far the two axles are from each other? I suppose if the wheels are really far apart, the turn radius suffers

Tesla's Model S spec page at Model S Specs | Tesla Motors says the turning radius is 37 ft. It does not give a separate spec for any D model so it may be the same or it may be different, we don't know. So far no one has posted they have tried to measure it but it shouldn't be terribly difficult to do.

I had a Lexus LS400 that had a turning radius of just 34.7 ft which was very impressive for that size car.

I looked the specs up on Edmunds. 1999 Mercedes S500 and 2014 Tesla Model S.

The Tesla is 3 inches wider. (74.3 vs 77.3)
The S500 is 9.2 inches longer. (205.2 vs 196)
The S500's wheel base is 7.1 inches greater. (123.6 vs 116.5)

Not sure it's a overall size issue. Maybe the wheel wells are wider on the Merc so the wheels can be allowed to turn a little further without rubbing. My S50 has 18" AMG wheels and my Tesla 19" Aero.

Would be interesting to find out someday what they are using.....

-m

PS: It's smaller then a Town Car too... When I got the S500 after my last Town Car, I could park that S500 anywhere without looking it felt so small!

The 1999 s500 is showing 39.9ft turning circle on Edmonds vs 37 ft for the model s.

Hmm, so it is.

I don't know what the deal is then. All I know from driving both cars on the same streets/parking lots/u-turns the S500 can make some turns the Tesla can't...

As I said before, it's not a huge deal, just a little noticeable.

Thanks.

-m

I thought it has a very good turning radius compared to many much smaller cars.

invisik said:

Hmm, so it is.

I don't know what the deal is then. All I know from driving both cars on the same streets/parking lots/u-turns the S500 can make some turns the Tesla can't...

As I said before, it's not a huge deal, just a little noticeable.

Thanks.

-m

Click to expand...

I'm curious about the D. With additional mechanical up front, the wheels may not turn as far. For example, our front drive much smaller car has a turning circle of 40ft.

If yours is a D, can you measure it?

Turning radius is as much about steering component articulation capability as it is about vehicle dimensions. Both are important.

ecarfan said:

Turning radius is as much about steering component articulation capability as it is about vehicle dimensions. Both are important.

Click to expand...

Correct. Because of the way steering components are made to produce the toe out on turns alignment angle, the smaller the turning radius, the more tire wear it causes. There are only two points in the turn where the tires don't scrub: straight ahead, and at some designated point (guaranteed not to be at full lock).

I don't know the specs, but I find the Tesla turning radius very wide! My Genesis, which is also a big car turns MUCH sharper. When I try a 3 point turn, it often turns into a 4 point turn in my S85. There have been many times in parking lots or near curbs that I have to do extra maneuvering that I don't have to do in my Genesis to avoid curbs or cars.

scott jones said:

I don't know the specs, but I find the Tesla turning radius very wide! My Genesis, which is also a big car turns MUCH sharper. When I try a 3 point turn, it often turns into a 4 point turn in my S85. There have been many times in parking lots or near curbs that I have to do extra maneuvering that I don't have to do in my Genesis to avoid curbs or cars.

Click to expand...

Edmunds shows the Genesis turning circle as 36 ft versus Model S at 37 ft. Not much different.

I believe the Tesla uses the Land Rover steering rack.. (read this somewhere on this forum)

Yeah, been making a ton of 3-point u-turns compared to cars I had in the past, but quick steering + truck style uturn + driving deeper into the intersection before turning around solves the problem, haha.

Now "The Mammoth Car" theme is stuck in my head...

When I need to make tighter turns on my model S than the steering radius allows, I turn off traction control.
Then press hard on go pedal. The rear end spins around to where I want it.

Not sure if this works on D models, though.

You can get radius down to about 10 feet with practice. Your concern shifts from turning radius, to "swept area"of the car and now wheel base and overall length are concerns.