If you follow InsideEVs, you likely aware of our friend Brian Jenkins (i1Tesla) and his unique Tesla video content. He took delivery of a Tesla Model Y back in March and has since been providing plenty of interesting coverage.
Recently, we shared his off-road-ready Overlanding Model Y setup with you. Now, he talks more specifically about lifting the crossover, as well as how the modification impacts range and acceleration.
Every time we report on the Model Y and make any mention of it being an SUV, people jump right up to tell us it's not an SUV. We agree, and we've been working to address that by calling it a crossover or even a hatchback version of the Model 3. However, many of today's claimed "SUVs" are much like the Model Y, and arguably not true SUVs.
If we look to the past for an early definition, there are only a handful of true SUVs on the market today. However, the industry is forever evolving and uses the SUV the term as a marketing effort, so almost any raised car with a hatch and extra cargo space seems to be identified as an SUV. With all that said, you can make modifications to any car to make it fit your priorities.
Jenkins did just that with his Model Y by raising it 4 inches to accommodate bigger, more capable tires. There's also a Model 3 off-road package from a company out of Europe that offers similar modifications. We've linked both of those stories below.
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As expected, when you modify a car, its specs are going to change. The goal is typically to get better specs, at least related to what you're trying to do. Most mods will work to improve the performance of a car, such as making it quicker, faster, more capable, etc. However, while you may impact some specs positively, others may be impacted negatively.
Jenkins takes a look at how his Model Y accelerates with the new lift in place. He also runs an efficiency test to see how much range it has after the mod (however he's clear that a recent update gave him a bit more range). Check out the video for all the details. Then, as always, leave us a comment below.
Source: i1Tesla (YouTube)