Model S Plaid Ride Quality

[Clintonm9]

I currently have a Plaid with 21" Arachnid Wheels. The ride quality seems pretty bad/bumpy. I am not sure if I need to bring it in for service or if this is a common complaint for the car. I had an Audi A8 before and my wife drives a Tahoe and the ride quality in my car makes it so that my wife doesn't want to take it anywhere. I tried the different drive modes but it doesn't make a big difference. Any feedback would be helpful.

Thanks!

 

[Tdriver]

There was other threads about this. Seems some cars are fine with the difference between Comfort and Sport and some are not. Its a firmware issue. Not sure what the status of the issue is at the moment.

 

[Wilber]

Like Tdriver said, there are a few long threads about this already. Maybe you have read one or two by now. My 22 MSLR suspension also feels rougher than any other car i have been in. And the settings on the screen dont seem to make any difference at all. Others in my situation have taken their cars in for service and the Tesla technican ran some tests and said the car is fine as is. IF i dont sell my MS, I will probably take it in to Tesla Service and see if i get lucky and they fix it! Sure seems like some kind of software bug, or simply a cable loose somewhere. Please let us know if you take yours in for service or if you find some kind of a solution.

 

[NeuroRad]

I'm always quite surprised when I see these threads. Granted, I've come from driving trucks and SUVs for years, but the ride on my plaid in auto/comfort is very nice. When you put it in sport it's like a night and day difference, almost like riding in a stiff wooden wagon.

 

[Tdriver]

I'm always quite surprised when I see these threads. Granted, I've come from driving trucks and SUVs for years, but the ride on my plaid in auto/comfort is very nice. When you put it in sport it's like a night and day difference, almost like riding in a stiff wooden wagon.

Yours is working properly, some are not with little difference between comfort and Sport.

 

[Sam1]

I currently have a Plaid with 21" Arachnid Wheels. The ride quality seems pretty bad/bumpy. I am not sure if I need to bring it in for service or if this is a common complaint for the car. I had an Audi A8 before and my wife drives a Tahoe and the ride quality in my car makes it so that my wife doesn't want to take it anywhere. I tried the different drive modes but it doesn't make a big difference. Any feedback would be helpful.

Thanks!

I love the way the 21" look, but the ride is too stiff for my liking so I use the 19" wheels most of the time.

 

[Darmie]

I love the way the 21" look, but the ride is too stiff for my liking so I use the 19" wheels most of the time.

There really is that much of a difference from 21 to 19? I'm thinking on picking up some 20in Signature wheels when I order the plaid.

 

[Sam1]

There really is that much of a difference from 21 to 19? I'm thinking on picking up some 20in Signature wheels when I order the plaid.

Massive difference in ride quality. I'd recommend picking up a set as extras.

 

[Tdriver]

Massive difference in ride quality. I'd recommend picking up a set as extras.

19" wheels certainly help but is not the answer here. If your car is stiff in comfort mode its not working right. Stay on service to correct it and don't let them say its normal.

 

[Clintonm9]

Thanks for the feedback. I can confirm that switching drive modes makes zero difference. I will try to get it services. Not sure if it makes a difference, but when I got mine, they said it was the first plaid in the Nashville area. Maybe something with the first batch?

 

[Clintonm9]

So what do you think of Tesla service comment?

 

[Sam1]

So what do you think of Tesla service comment?View attachment 877610

There's not a ton of difference between comfort and sport with the 21" as I mentioned before. You get a little more bounce in comfort, but not much. Mine is most noticeably better when the 19" wheels are installed.

Out of curiosity, have you tried to manually change the compression and rebound yourself to see if that helped any?

 

[GDawg614]

Comfort and sport are vastly different in my 2022 Plaid. I'm from the opposite end of the spectrum, however. Comfort is so plush it drives like a Buick and just seems sloppy to me around corners, on ramps, etc. I would literally sell the car if I hadn't found Sport which tightens up the suspension and makes it handle much better. My wife and 7 year old daughter are all totally fine to drive around in sport 100% of the time. Changing between the two modes makes a HUGE and INSTANT difference, so much so that I quickly switch to Comfort when I'm pulling in the driveway if returning from Starbucks and they didn't have the stoppers for the coffees ... otherwise they all spill in Sport as I hit the bottom of the driveway. Something is clearly wrong with your car if the suspension isn't changing between those two modes.