P85D (pre/post April) ride performance

Yes it seems the sportier type of suspension is now gone. I drove a P85D and it felt very wobbly compared to my P85+. If you want a firmer ride I guess the way to go is coil suspension now, but it has to be lowered a bit.

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I wonder if the pre-april built P85D will be very sought-after, since the P85Ds now come with inferior/softer suspension. Why would anyone want to have a mighty P85D with soft suspension? Very much like the old P85 with air vs the P85+.
And why don´t Tesla include adjustable damping air suspension?

So Tesla can make another option and charge you $15k for a P85D+.

Niclas said:

Yes it seems the sportier type of suspension is now gone. I drove a P85D and it felt very wobbly compared to my P85+. If you want a firmer ride I guess the way to go is coil suspension now, but it has to be lowered a bit.

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I wonder if the pre-april built P85D will be very sought-after, since the P85Ds now come with inferior/softer suspension. Why would anyone want to have a mighty P85D with soft suspension? Very much like the old P85 with air vs the P85+.
And why don´t Tesla include adjustable damping air suspension?

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Is there an official source for this? I can't find anything on the forums referencing this suspension change either...

This doesn't match my understanding. Quite the reverse: the P85D suspension setup is a further improvement on top of the enhancements that the P85+ had.

They're definitely not about to go back to the same setup that's in the "standard" cars.

I have a May P85D and the suspension feels like earlier P85Ds I've driven, which is much stiffer than other models. It's also stiffer than many German sport sedans' suspensions and stiffer than my Cadillac CTS-V with MR dampers in "tour" mode. Where is this data coming from about a change for the P85D? Tesla confirmed my car has the sport suspension, and I thought there were known different part numbers?

This thread has some useful info: P85D Ride too Harsh? - Page 4

With a pretty definitive parts list posted by Dennis87:

P85D produced after april 30 do have the same air shocks, sway bar and air modules as the 70D and 85D.
Before april 30 that was different. The parts number is now the same on P85D as it always have been on 85D.

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The info about sport suspension in P85D has also been removed from the design studio.

I haven't seen anything indicating sway bars, or the springs themselves are the same, across D's. Where did you get that from? Odds are the larger rear motor had them tweak up the rear spring rates, too. FWIW, I think the shocks are oil/gas, but since those are the same part number, and sold as one in the SAS cars, the 85D and P85D have the same damping rate. Again, spring rate could still be different as the part # for the coil spring, that is still a part of the air suspension, is separate.

Anyone who cares to take a caliper to their sway bar(s) and report back, is welcome to. It would be nice to see this type of data keep piling up in Lola's original thread:
[lolachampcar] Performance Upgrade Efforts

I still think it is remarkable how Tesla achieved what I find to be decent vertical compliance, yet kept the coil P85D laterally stiff.

Air spring rate can be changed without changing the part itself. In the case of stiffening, you would reduce or delete an external chamber.

So,
1. Info regarding sport suspension specific to the P85D has been removed from design studio,
2. Subjective reports that the P85D suspension is much stiffer pre-april, and softer post-april,
3. Data from the model S parts catalogue indicate the suspension is same in P85D as in 70D and 85D,

...and you STILL think the suspension is different in P85D?

what evidence do you provide supporting that???

Built post April or ordered post April?

I ordered in feb, my order is fixed such as rear next gen seats, so I'm assuming that applies to suspension components on my air too??

Uk customer hence the very long wait.

Ps
l would be annoyed at receiving a wollowy car with such high performance. It needs stiffer suspension to maintain stability and handling to match the speed.

Fwiw, you can see the part number for the air springs from under the wheel well.

This is surprising. Perhaps a P85D+ is coming. Do all of us with Nov 2014-April 2015 P85Ds get a plus insignia at our next service?

Bizarre...

Concensus is the P85D suspension is too firm, but at the same time there are multiple people having issues with their air suspensions.

Niclas said:

So,
1. Info regarding sport suspension specific to the P85D has been removed from design studio,
2. Subjective reports that the P85D suspension is much stiffer pre-april, and softer post-april,
3. Data from the model S parts catalogue indicate the suspension is same in P85D as in 70D and 85D,


...and you STILL think the suspension is different in P85D?


what evidence do you provide supporting that???

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Niclas, You are extrapolating a lot from a single part number. Suspensions have many parts, and you are the one claiming they are all the same. You were kind enough to paste a reference for the air spring units. If you did the same for springs and sway bars, I'd begin to agree. As it stands, other changes like ball joints vs. bushings can also influence feedback.

Over time, I think more than a few of us have begun to see the Design Studio as "maybe, maybe not". I'd much rather see additional part numbers or actual measurements.

Can someone who feels comfortable, ask Jerome? I'm sure we'll be done with this question by today.

If anyone wants to trade my pre april(built in March with 3500 miles on it) suspension for the their post april suspension, let me know I like stiff. I've always gone for the performance packages with the stiffer suspension (Z51 on the corvette for instance) but my March P85D is over the top washboard / go cart stiff. Perfect for a smooth track. No so good on typical Calofornia roads. The P85+ loaner I had was perfect.

I can see them wanting more and more parts on all three types of the MS (70-85-p85) to be the same just for the cost reasons alone.

sorka said:

If anyone wants to trade my pre april(built in March with 3500 miles on it) suspension for the their post april suspension, let me know I like stiff. I've always gone for the performance packages with the stiffer suspension (Z51 on the corvette for instance) but my March P85D is over the top washboard / go cart stiff. Perfect for a smooth track. No so good on typical Calofornia roads. The P85+ loaner I had was perfect.

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Would be cool if some of us who have P85Ds that were delivered around the same time, have firm suspension, and *love* it were able to meet up with you and have us all see what the differences, if any, are in the feel. Whether it really only comes down to preference, or if there's differences in the first builds too (or a problem vs. a planned build difference).

Maybe at one of the Tesla events coming up, or a local club event? Seems like there is definitely a difference in the D's being made now. Thanks to my December "black hole" build, I missed the heated wheel and LTE, but sure am glad I got this suspension, from what I hear.