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2022 m3p no longer dropped

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So looks like the 2022 no longer has lowered suspension, does anyone have any suggestion on how to lower it and why they stopped lowering it? Did they do it to improve range etc?
Evidence suggests lowering these vehicles improves range.

That said, impressions on this forum of M3P ride quality seem more negative than positive. So, between 1) such complaints, 2) simplified manufacturing, and 3) the fact that the differences weren’t significant anyways, Tesla probably just decided to ship them all with the same hardware.

I will admit, while I won’t be changing my order, the Performance variants are feeling a bit more like a ripoff these days.
 
Yeah was only like a 10cm drop anyway, simplified MFG and let folks do aftermarket if they want it is likely explaination
From what I understand the performance models still have different spring part numbers (likely different spring rates) so I fail to see how MFG is simplified. Tesla's never going to tell us why they removed the drop but they did and that's all we know.
 
The overly stretched Pirelli tire profile makes the wheel gap appear larger due to less vertical sidewall. It creates an optical illusion that the car is raised. Most people complained about this after the switch from PS4S tires on the 8.5" wheel to the PZeros on the 9" wheel.

If you compare actual height measurements to what people initially recorded for their older M3Ps, there's not much difference. I found numerous members measuring the front fender height back in 2018 and their measurements match my '22 M3P.
  • Front fender to center of wheel hub: 15.75"
  • Front fender to ground: 28.25"
Note: Measuring from the center of the wheel hub to the arch of the fender is the most accurate measurement of the suspension since it effectively eliminates the wheel/tire difference when comparing the spring heights. This was ~15.75” on my stock ‘22 M3P.

Of course, RSymons RSEV measurements shows variation of ~5mm between year/models (71.5 vs 72.0cm). Tire pressure, tread depth, tire brand/specifications, vehicle weight/distribution, floor levelness, etc. will all introduce some margin of variation. It would be better to measure from the center of the wheel hub to the fender arch to eliminate the tire differences at least. Using his measurement technique, my '22 M3P is ~71.8cm.

You can also compare ground clearance measurements as it’s likely a limiting factor with the battery in the floor. The ground clearance should be ~5.1-5.2” based on published specs. I did a quick measurement of a few spots on my ‘22 M3P and they were around 5.2” (+/-). I’m sure Tesla factors this in for safety and avoiding damage to the expensive battery pack.

I don’t personally care that the car isn’t lower as that wasn’t why I bought the performance. While I would like for there to be less wheel gap, the ground clearance is already pretty low at ~5.2" and I wouldn’t want to sacrifice much more. Otherwise we would have to worry about scraping/bottoming out more often. We already have plenty to worry about in order to prevent damaging the wheels and/or puncturing the tires. I’ve had two sidewall blowouts on the Pirellis within 3 months of owning the car. That's enough of a headache for me.

IMO, the M3P suspension isn’t special in terms of ride height, quality or performance. I’ll likely upgrade to Ohlins in the future for better performance and ride quality.

More on the tires & wheel gap:
The stretched Pirelli tire profile certainly makes the wheel gap appear larger due to less vertical sidewall. This gives an illusion that the car is raised. The 235 width tire is too narrow for the 9.0" rim. The rim looks like it's practically sitting on the ground. While the 235/35R20 tire is rated with a sidewall of 3.2" (unloaded), the actual rim is < 2" from the ground once the tire is installed on the car, loaded with the vehicle's weight, and the sidewall angle is accounted for due to stretched nature of the narrower tire on a wider wheel (235mm tire on 9.0" wheel). Since the outer edge of the tire has less vertical sidewall and the peak diameter of the tire sits further in the fender well, the tire sidewall appears smaller making the wheel gap appear larger. Less light makes its way deeper into the fender well which further exaggerates the optics of the wheel gap due to the dark shadows. I tried to capture this in these pictures.

Of course, the "optical illusion" of a larger fender gap doesn't (significantly) change the actual measurement from the body to the ground.

1648576798050.png


1648576807312.png
 
So looks like the 2022 no longer has lowered suspension, does anyone have any suggestion on how to lower it and why they stopped lowering it? Did they do it to improve range etc?
You can lower it with lowering springs from H&R, Eibach and other companies. You can also lower it with coilovers for even more handling gains and to improve the ride quality or firming it up further(with adjustable damping coilovers).

Not sure if Tesla stop lowering it. My 2021 M3P looked higher but may due to the tires being stretched a bit more on a slightly wider wheel.
 
So looks like the 2022 no longer has lowered suspension,
sorry bro disagree with you. i had a 3.2020 m3p fsd/pup and sold it to get a 2.2022 m3p same build and trim. after putting ps4s back on the car and using a tape measure, the height of the car was the same as my 3/2020. the reason the newer builds look "higher" is because the pzeros are stretched on the wheel and therefore make the tire to wheel well height look higher than it is. i posted photos of this weeks ago. ive heard the studio on the website does not list lowered suspensions blah blah blah...
 
The stretched Pirelli tire profile certainly makes the wheel gap appear larger due to less vertical sidewall. This gives an illusion that the car is raised. The 235 width tire is too narrow for the 9.0" rim. The rim looks like it's practically sitting on the ground. While the 235/35R20 tire is rated with a sidewall of 3.2" (unloaded), the actual rim is < 2" from the ground once the tire is installed on the car, loaded with the vehicle's weight, and the sidewall angle is accounted for due to stretched nature of the narrower tire on a wider wheel (235mm tire on 9.0" wheel). Since the outer edge of the tire has less vertical sidewall and the peak diameter of the tire sits further in the fender well, the tire sidewall appears smaller making the wheel gap appear larger. Less light makes its way deeper into the fender well which further exaggerates the optics of the wheel gap due to the dark shadows. I tried to capture this in these pictures.
Just for reference, the original 21" wheels for a Model S (with staggered setup) were 9.0" wide and came with 265/35R21 tires. Fronts were 8.5" wide and came with 245/35R21 tires. The 19" base and Slipstream wheels (square setup) were only 8.0" wide and came with 245/45R19 tires.

So it's definitely a stretch to put 235/35R20 tires on a 9-inch wide rim. 265/30R20 should be a nice, meaty fit, but you're going to lose range from additional rolling resistance.
 
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