2018 Tesla Model 3 "Oreo" Build Thread

[ahkim]

Hello Tesla Owners, Friends, and Enthusiasts!

I'm putting together a journal of my Model 3, named "Oreo". I'm coming from an Audi S4 and put together a thread which was a lot of fun so I'm doing it again. See link for the Audi here: New S4 Owner – upcoming mods, lots of questions, and mini-review

My company designs medium to large scale solar energy projects so electric cars have always been something of interest to me.

On March 31, 2016, the morning of the Model 3 reveal, I got in line around 6 AM without having seen the car. I was around the 50th person in line. There were probably a few hundred people in line by the time they opened.

We picked up a Model X at the end of 2017 which bumped my reservation up so I was able to pick up my Model 3 on Feb 26, 2018 (nearly 2 years later!)

It's amazing what Tesla has done to the EV market and the Model 3 doesn't disappoint. After driving an S4 for 6 years, I can say the Model 3 is as fun to drive, probably even better. There's something about the low center of gravity keeping the car flat, combined with the instant torque of the electric motor, makes accelerating through turns so much fun.

First wash at home:

We also have an BMW i3 which has exceeded my expectations. The i3 is also very fun to drive and has a great seating position. The exterior design and cabin are unique but I like it. The main downside of the i3 is the electric range is 40-60 miles depending on weather.

I dropped off the car with Tint Pros / Platinum Auto Wraps and they were able to do all of the following listed below.

BEFORE:

I'll post more details later but here's a rundown of what I've done so far:

• 35% Suntek Ceramic Tint
• Suntek PPF on hood
• Xpel Ultimate on Bumper, fender, lights, and trunk lip
• Suntek Matte PPF on interior gloss black trim
• 3M Satin Black chrome delete
• Powder Coat Gloss Black Wheels
• Red Paint Calipers

Here's what I have planned:

• ON ORDER: Unplugged Performance Dual Rate Springs (moderate version)
• Dash Cam
• Escort 360 MAX Ci Radar Detector
• Car Seats
• Ceramic Coating (maybe)
• Summer Wheels and Tires
• Trailer Hitch for Bike Rack (Giant Full E+1)

More to come but wanted to get a start...

 

[PoitNarf]

The 19 inch wheels painted black look super nice. I’m also loving every single chrome delete photo I see. I wonder how difficult it is to do it yourself. Great job so far! Your Model 3 looks fantastic!

 

[Justmurr]

If only money was indeed no concern...

I’m not a white car guy but I must agree with all your other choices here, nicely played sir...looks nice!
My favorite option was painting the calipers.

 

[T34ME]

• Suntek PPF on hood
• Xpel Ultimate on Bumper, fender, lights, and trunk lip
• Suntek Matte PPF on interior gloss black trim

I find it interesting you used two different PPF films. Why is that? Do you find any difference in the two?

 

[lupend88]

Hello Tesla Owners, Friends, and Enthusiasts!

Your car looks fantastic! If you don’t mind me asking, how much has everything cost you at this point in time (minus the painting of the rims and the brake calipers? I only ask because your car right now is exactly how I want mine to look (except with the stock aero rims).

 

[Snow Drift]

How does the M3 compare to your S4? Outside of RWD vs Quattro.

 

[ecarfan]

Trailer Hitch for Bike Rack

Curious to know how that hitch is going to be mounted on the car. My understanding is that there is no factory hitch option for the 3. So what hitch are you buying? And how are you going to modify the rear bumper to mount it?

Your car certainly looks great!

 

[Shygar]

Looks great! When I saw Oreo in the title I was thinking it had to do with Android :-D

 

[kotykb]

When I get my 718 Porsche GT4 delivered in Minnesota, I plan on having the car clear bra'd there. Did you have experience with Platinum Auto previously and what do you think of their level of quality? Did you also smoke out the exterior lights too?

 

[RDaneel]

First of all, the car looks amazing. You made some very tasteful choices. Many who do as many mods as you have done select some cringe-worthy items! I'm not planning on a chrome delete or black wheels on my red Model 3, but I agree that on the white car they look badass.

Just a few questions, if you don't mind:

- Did you have Suntek Matte put on any trim other than the center console? If so, do you have pics? I'm assuming just the center (looks great!) but am curious.

- How much are you being charged to install the springs?

- I am strongly considering the same lowering springs. Would you mind reporting back after your install as to how well the alignment goes? I'm worried that taking 1.5" out of the ride height will mean that the stock adjustments for toe and camber will be insufficient to get a good alignment. I want to lower the car, but not if I also have to replace suspension components in order to get a good alignment. Mostly, I don't want to burn through tires just because I wanted the lower ride height. Thanks in advance for any feedback you can provide!

 

[ahkim]

Thank you everyone for the kind comments.

Let me know if I missed any questions.

I find it interesting you used two different PPF films. Why is that? Do you find any difference in the two?

The installer offered it as an option. His comment is the Xpel is just a hair thicker so it might offer slightly better protection. He also believes the Suntek is slightly more transparent which would have less chance of seeing orange peel on the white paint. He made the comment that you probably couldn't tell a difference visually so it was us being very picky. Probably can't go wrong either way. No difference in cost either.

Your car looks fantastic! If you don’t mind me asking, how much has everything cost you at this point in time (minus the painting of the rims and the brake calipers? I only ask because your car right now is exactly how I want mine to look (except with the stock aero rims).

The installer gave me a great deal so I'll provide an average price of the quotes I received when I started shopping around.

• Paint Protection Film (PPF) for full hood, full fender, bumper, lights = $1500
• Paint Calipers = $300 (sand, primer, paint the calipers, Tesla white decal, and clear coat)
• Powdercoat wheels = $600 (Includes dismount/mount)
• Chrome Delete = $500 (Tesla logos, mirrors, door handles, side camera, window trim)
• Interior PPF and Trunk PPF= not sure as it was included as part of the whole package
• Window Tint Suntek CIR CeramicIR = $300 (This includes a single piece of tint for the rear window so there is no seam)

How does the M3 compare to your S4? Outside of RWD vs Quattro.

Good question. Not sure if you're referring to performance specific or overall as a car. Let me know and I can elaborate. I'll tell you that I don't miss the S4 though.

Curious to know how that hitch is going to be mounted on the car. My understanding is that there is no factory hitch option for the 3. So what hitch are you buying? And how are you going to modify the rear bumper to mount it? Your car certainly looks great!

I contacted Torklift and they said that a hitch is in progress. I bought a hitch from them for my BMW i3 so I'm looking forward to what they'll have to offer. I'll consider cutting the bumper if necessary. The i3 required the bumper to be cut as well. See photo below.

When I get my 718 Porsche GT4 delivered in Minnesota, I plan on having the car clear bra'd there. Did you have experience with Platinum Auto previously and what do you think of their level of quality? Did you also smoke out the exterior lights too?

I HIGHLY recommend them. I worked with Triet and he was excellent. I did not have any prior experience prior but just saw good references on Facebook. I like that they were a one stop shop, had good prices, and excellent customer service. I haven't had time to closely inspect the work they did but it looks flawless so far. The tails are not smoked but the photos makes it look that way.

First of all, the car looks amazing. You made some very tasteful choices. Many who do as many mods as you have done select some cringe-worthy items! I'm not planning on a chrome delete or black wheels on my red Model 3, but I agree that on the white car they look badass.

Just a few questions, if you don't mind:

- Did you have Suntek Matte put on any trim other than the center console? If so, do you have pics? I'm assuming just the center (looks great!) but am curious.

- How much are you being charged to install the springs?

- I am strongly considering the same lowering springs. Would you mind reporting back after your install as to how well the alignment goes? I'm worried that taking 1.5" out of the ride height will mean that the stock adjustments for toe and camber will be insufficient to get a good alignment. I want to lower the car, but not if I also have to replace suspension components in order to get a good alignment. Mostly, I don't want to burn through tires just because I wanted the lower ride height. Thanks in advance for any feedback you can provide!

Suntek is only on the center console. Here are two photos but it's with my iphone so it isn't that great. I'll try to get some good photos in the coming days.

I don't have a price on the springs yet. I hope not to run into any issues with alignment but I'll report back once it's done!

Here's some random pics from today:

 

[Reciprocity]

That's tight. But I I want that with the white interior. Love the wheels, but I might go matte black. But that had me thinking gloss. Who am I kidding, I'll probably wuss out and get silver.

 

[gaswalla]

I really like your stormtrooper motif

 

[ahkim]

That's tight. But I I want that with the white interior. Love the wheels, but I might go matte black. But that had me thinking gloss. Who am I kidding, I'll probably wuss out and get silver.

Ha! Just do it! I probably would've done matte black except that's what my S4 has. I guess I wanted to try something new.

 

[ahkim]

I really like your stormtrooper motif

View attachment 287326

If I was more of a Star Wars nut, I'd try to figure out how to make the front of the car look like the face of a stormtrooper.

 

[ahkim]

I've been having frequent issues with my LTE not connecting when I start my car. A soft reboot does not fix the issue but leaving the car off for an hour resolves it. Tesla Service told me to wait for the update but that didn't help. So I made an appointment today with the SC and they mentioned that it's a known issue. They pushed another update to my car so it'll run tonight. Hoping this will resolve it.

Now some bad news, I found a cut in my touchscreen! I have no idea how it got there and it looks like something sharp caused it. The SC told me it's the first they've seen, not something to be proud of...

So I just went through my photos and I found a photo from the day after I picked up the car and I believe the scratch was there! The SC Manager was adamant that they wouldn't have missed a cut to the screen like this but now I'm not so sure. What should I do?

Lesson if you are picking up a new car: Inspect the screen carefully for scratches!

Photo below is from today.

$600 to replace the screen...ouch. Maybe wait for a used screen?

And some random night shots.

I'm playing around with the Garmin Speak Plus with Dashcam. I was planning on a Blackvue or Thinkware but I like how small this unit is. I'm not sure I need the Amazon Alexa integration though. The photo makes the dashcam look larger than it is.

 

[hereu]

It was there after the center console was done. Have you any pictures of the screen before the center console was done!

 

[gaswalla]

The irony of a bad scratch on the screen while installing protective film

 

[John Lamoureux]

Hello Tesla Owners, Friends, and Enthusiasts!

I'm putting together a journal of my Model 3, named "Oreo". I'm coming from an Audi S4 and put together a thread which was a lot of fun so I'm doing it again. See link for the Audi here: New S4 Owner – upcoming mods, lots of questions, and mini-review

My company designs medium to large scale solar energy projects so electric cars have always been something of interest to me.

On March 31, 2016, the morning of the Model 3 reveal, I got in line around 6 AM without having seen the car. I was around the 50th person in line. There were probably a few hundred people in line by the time they opened.

We picked up a Model X at the end of 2017 which bumped my reservation up so I was able to pick up my Model 3 on Feb 26, 2018 (nearly 2 years later!)

It's amazing what Tesla has done to the EV market and the Model 3 doesn't disappoint. After driving an S4 for 6 years, I can say the Model 3 is as fun to drive, probably even better. There's something about the low center of gravity keeping the car flat, combined with the instant torque of the electric motor, makes accelerating through turns so much fun.

First wash at home:

We also have an BMW i3 which has exceeded my expectations. The i3 is also very fun to drive and has a great seating position. The exterior design and cabin are unique but I like it. The main downside of the i3 is the electric range is 40-60 miles depending on weather.

I dropped off the car with Tint Pros / Platinum Auto Wraps and they were able to do all of the following listed below.

BEFORE:

I'll post more details later but here's a rundown of what I've done so far:

• 35% Suntek Ceramic Tint
• Suntek PPF on hood
• Xpel Ultimate on Bumper, fender, lights, and trunk lip
• Suntek Matte PPF on interior gloss black trim
• 3M Satin Black chrome delete
• Powder Coat Gloss Black Wheels
• Red Paint Calipers

Here's what I have planned:

• ON ORDER: Unplugged Performance Dual Rate Springs (moderate version)
• Dash Cam
• Escort 360 MAX Ci Radar Detector
• Car Seats
• Ceramic Coating (maybe)
• Summer Wheels and Tires
• Trailer Hitch for Bike Rack (Giant Full E+1)

More to come but wanted to get a start...

Love the look! I'm strongly considering the upgraded red interior (diamond stitching) from TSportsline...

 

[oripaamoni]

your B8 looked very similar to mine! Cant wait for my model 3!! I am keeping the B5 though