Welcome to Tesla Motors Club
Discuss Tesla's Model S, Model 3, Model X, Model Y, Cybertruck, Roadster and More.
Register

P85D "Extra Firm" Ride - Love it or hate it?

This site may earn commission on affiliate links.
I'm on the hater side.

I don't want to feel every crack in the road. Uneven surfaces bounce the occupants side-side.

I have the performance seats - they don't make a difference. I've driven it with the 19" and 21" wheels - no difference.

I drove a P85 loaner yesterday and it had a much nicer, smooth ride - and the handling didn't feel a lot different. I owned an S85 for 18 months before I bought this, it had a very nice ride.

If I wanted a track car I would have bought one. This is a performance sedan.

So why does this version have such a harsh ride? The weight and placement of the motors?
 
It's harsher because it's heavier and a lot faster. Try putting all that torque and power down with softer springs. It also needs to do 155mph on the autobahn and maintain stability at such high speeds.

You inadvertently bought a track-esq car in plain clothes.

The 70d/85/85d might have felt different for you
 
I don't find my P85D overly harsh. There is a non flush manhole cover on the freeway I take every day. On both my old BMW 550 and wife's old Infiniti Q50, it was almost jaw rattling to go over it at freeway speed. In the P85D (when i'm unable to steer around it) it feels like just a regular bump.
 
Hate it. Overkill for street driving. It's setup for the track but I don't drive on the track. The P85+ loaner I had was the perfect balance. I complained to the SC and they told me the + suspension is the same as the PD and that the reason it was probably overly harsh is due to the 50 PSI in the 19" wheels. So I lowered it to 45 and it made no difference. Then I lowered it to 40 and it still made no difference. After that, I put the tires back up to 45 for safety.

+ and PD suspension are obviously not the same. There's far more compression and rebound damping on the PD that the plus and the spring rate of the air suspension is far stiffer. My loaner + had 21" wheels so it should have been harsher than my PD with 19" wheels. Both have air.

I can go around a smooth on or off ramp at the limits of traction yet the car doesn't lean even an inch. It should lean some for a street setup even if it's aggressive. This is far stiffer than the Z51 setup on my Corevette.
 
Yeah, I don't really know what ppl are complaining about. I have 19" wheels @ 49psi and air suspension on my PD and I don't find it harsh at all. Then again, I'm coming from a 2004 Audi S4, which had 18s, Z-rated tires, a sport suspension and aftermarket sway bar, so maybe it's all relative...
 
Love it. Wouldn't mind it a bit stiffer. Gotta wonder if people thinking it is too harsh that also come from a sports car background actually have a D with a faulty suspension. If thinking is too harsh, but are comparing it to a floaty feeling luxury sedan, then just different wants probably
 
Hate it. Overkill for street driving. It's setup for the track but I don't drive on the track...I can go around a smooth on or off ramp at the limits of traction yet the car doesn't lean even an inch. It should lean some for a street setup even if it's aggressive. This is far stiffer than the Z51 setup on my Corevette.

Did a grocery store run tonight at SOC 64. Peak KW this time was 373 KW. So it looks like a natural linear decline in peak output based on SOC.

So those earlier in this thread who were claiming this and all of us who were dismissing it until we had more proof were right all along.

Tesla has som 'splainin to do.

So you think that Tesla has oversold the HP in your 3.1 sec 0-60 performance sedan and that the suspension is too harsh. Why not cut your losses and move on to something you like instead of repeatedly posting here about how unhappy you are?
 
So you think that Tesla has oversold the HP in your 3.1 sec 0-60 performance sedan and that the suspension is too harsh. Why not cut your losses and move on to something you like instead of repeatedly posting here about how unhappy you are?

The suspension can be fixed. I'd be happy with the suspension in both P85D testers I drove. That is not what I have. There is either something wrong with it or the specs changed between the cars I test drove and the car I got.

So we shouldn't complain in this forum when something isn't right? Are you a fanboy Dennis?
 
The suspension can be fixed. I'd be happy with the suspension in both P85D testers I drove. That is not what I have. There is either something wrong with it or the specs changed between the cars I test drove and the car I got.

So we shouldn't complain in this forum when something isn't right? Are you a fanboy Dennis?

Of course you can complain. And no I'm not a fanboy. I responded the way I did because I had just read your nth identical complaint in the 691* HP thread and then this one. And there was the wine...
 
Of course you can complain. And no I'm not a fanboy. I responded the way I did because I had just read your nth identical complaint in the 691* HP thread and then this one. And there was the wine...

Just coincidence that I complained about two different things today :) The suspension can be fixed. I'm not so sure the power limitation can be though. Anyways, let's keep this thread on target. The other issue can be discussed in the other thread.

- - - Updated - - -

P85d rides similar to previous Lexus. No problems at all.. Maybe your tire pressure is too high. Maybe your baseline happiness level is too low.

Well, since multiple people are complaining in this thread, that comment could be directed at one or more. In my case, I lowered the pressure of my 19" tires to 45 from 50. It made no difference. There's clearly some variation in P85D suspension setup based on either intentional spec changes or supplier changes or something as some P85Ds have a nice street compliant feel and some are washboard stiff. I'm sure the cause and the solutions will come out eventually.
 
Oh great. Didn't see that thread before. Thanks!

An email alert from Tesla would have been nice; I guess their comms are not setup that well?! ;)


I agree.

And the communication even after the fact is not consistent.

My all-seasons came back, after being installed, inflated to 48 PSI. When I asked about it, the SC said the recommendation was "45 to 50." But the thread I referenced, or others on the topic, say the door stickers are now stating the minimum cold pressure is 50 PSI.


I lowered mine from 50 to 45. 50 is too close to the maximum inflation pressure of the tire. 51 psi is the max and it's not supposed to be exceeded even when hot.

Where are you getting that information?

Everything I have read indicates that the maximum pressure is always the maximum to inflate to when the tire is cold, and that it is understood that the pressure will be higher than that when the tire heats up.