Last year Tesla updated the suspension of the Model Y built in North America, calling the new setup ‘Comfort Suspension.’ Tesla China has now confirmed that Comfort Suspension has also been added to the production lines at Giga Shanghai, while also providing some new details about the upgraded feature.
According to a post on the automaker’s official Weibo account in China all Model Ys built at Giga Shanghai since January 1 feature the upgraded suspension. We already knew this to be the case since Model Ys being delivered in Australia this month have already been confirmed to have Comfort Suspension, but until now we didn’t have a definitive date for when the change took place at the factory.
Until now we also didn’t know much about what makes Comfort Suspension different than the original suspension setup. We first learned about the new suspension from CEO Elon Musk who explained in October last year it had “improved comfort, without affecting handling.” In an email sent later to employees it was further explained that it “provides improved ride comfort and reduced road harshness while maintaining the steering and handling precision characteristic of Tesla vehicles.”
Tesla China has provided some more concrete information on Comfort Suspension, saying the top support stiffness of the shock absorber is 50% better than before, thereby reducing how much you feel bumps in the road and allowing for a more stable ride at high speeds.
In addition the spring stiffness is reduced by 2N/mm-5N/mm, which again reduces the impact of bumps and makes the ride more comfortable. The vibration frequency has also been improved to stay further away 4-5Hz, a range at which the human body is prone to resonate at, Tesla explained in the post.
There has been no information released if Tesla will offer a retrofit to upgrade to Comfort Suspension for existing Model Y owners.
You can read the full translated post from Tesla China below.