Aftermarket Suspension with OEM Height and Softer Ride

[buddhra]

After much reading, I'm still not convinced on which aftermarket suspension option will best meet my desired results of OEM height (or slightly less) and a smoother ride on my RWD Model 3. I don't care about the track. I'm looking for luxury grand touring car here or as close as I can get.

Here are my options and the pros and cons as I understand them:

1) Unplugged Performance Coilovers - Coilover Suspension Kit For Tesla Model 3 by Unplugged Performance

Pros: Independent height and spring preload adjustment

Rebound damping adjustment​

Cons: No compression damping adjustment

$2295 + installation
​

2) Mountain Pass Performance Sports Coilovers - MPP Model 3 Sports Coilovers RWD

Pros: Compression damping adjustment

Rebound damping adjustment​

Cons: Height and spring preload adjustment are not independent (more height=stiffer springs)

$2350 + installation
​

3) Mountain Pass Performance Comfort Coilovers - MPP Model 3 Comfort Coilovers RWD

Pros: $1620 + installation
Cons: Height and spring preload adjustment are not independent (more height=stiffer springs)

No compression adjustment
No rebound adjustment
Stated goal is "lower your Model 3 without reducing the ride comfort", not added comfort​

I'm leaning towards the Unplugged Performance Coilovers because they're the only option with independent height adjustment and I'm not interested in lowering my car. I've also ridden in a P3D with this setup and I was impressed, but people really talk up the MPP options as well, which I don't understand really when they don't have independent height and preload adjustment, so I wonder if I'm missing something.

So with my goals in mind, does anyone have anything to add? Has anyone with similar goals to mine found their perfect solution?

 

[Glamisduner]

The UP ones are single rate?
The MPP ones look to be dual rate, it might just be two springs and not true dual rate... They do not list a crossover ring, so I'm guessing it's two springs, that combined will make a single spring rate.

The sport shocks are both rebound and compression adjustable. I don't want any lower either, but the comfort shocks do not appear to be compression adjustable (Probably a high speed dampening adjustment). Are they rebuild-able? Kind of pricey for non-rebuild able shocks, internal reservoir shocks, but that's from the perspective of buying offroad shocks in the past..

• Both MPP's are height adjustbale. Height adjustable from 10mm below factory ride height down to 60mm below factory.

I would lean towards the MPP due to the rebound adjustment. But without trying them both I have no idea which will suit your needs better.

I like that the UP shocks are rebuild though. When they rebuild the shock, perhaps they could make valving adjustments. If your not into adjusting your rebound this might be the ticket for you. I don't think these small shocks would have a ton of benefit of being dual rate, as long as the valving is done properly, too bad they are not compression adjustable...

Two springs or multi rate springs are not always true dual rate, at least not unless the first softer portion of the coil is completely collapsed first.
The Truth about Dual Rate Springs

Also:
UP vs MPP Coilover

 

[buddhra]

Thanks for the thoughtful response.

• Both MPP's are height adjustbale. Height adjustable from 10mm below factory ride height down to 60mm below factory.

I know the MPPs are height adjustable, but it looks like to adjust the height, you have to change the preload on the springs. Which means higher preload on the springs for a higher ride height. The whole body on the UPs are threaded, so you adjust the height independently from the springs. Or am I seeing that wrong?

UP vs MPP Coilover

Yeah I read through this thread as well, but there's nobody with my goals in there. Lots of discussion about the track, lots of love for MPP, and no mention of the height adjustment downside of the MPP (unless I'm wrong about that con).

 

[Glamisduner]

Thanks for the thoughtful response.


I know the MPPs are height adjustable, but it looks like to adjust the height, you have to change the preload on the springs. Which means higher preload on the springs for a higher ride height. The whole body on the UPs are threaded, so you adjust the height independently from the springs. Or am I seeing that wrong?



Yeah I read through this thread as well, but there's nobody with my goals in there. Lots of discussion about the track, lots of love for MPP, and no mention of the height adjustment downside of the MPP (unless I'm wrong about that con).

I see you dilemma, I think a good question would be, with the compression fully adjusted to get maximum height, do the MPP delivery a better ride than stock? If so which MPP.

I'm interested in what you find out, I too would like to keep the stock height but have a better ride.

I can only speculate that the MPP Sport with pre-load adjusted to ride as high as stock, with rebound and compression fully soft (or close to) would accomplish this. The more preload the softer the spring is in relation to how much the shock moves right?

Does the UP shock deliver a better ride than stock when set to stock ride height? It looks very nice too.

Maybe this will help?
Coilovers & What You've Gotten Wrong

Sounds like adjusting preload to be near max height shouldn't make the suspension too stiff. I wonder if you would really even need an alignment dropping only 10cm?

 

[buddhra]

Maybe this will help?
Coilovers & What You've Gotten Wrong

Helpful! Looks like as long as you have linear springs, adjusting the ride height using the springs is not a big deal. It doesn't actually make them stiffer.

However, in MPPs installation video: MPP Coilover Installation Instructions, they discuss their recommended settings for ride height and they specifically say that while you have a wide range of height adjustment, adjusting it to the limits will affect performance and since I'm looking to keep it at the -10mm limit, that's not a good thing. Their page is also helpful in that it gives you all their recommended adjustments and shows that those settings will leave you at 110mm of ground clearance. I just measured my car at a little more than 130mm in the front and a little less than 130mm in the rear, so that would be almost an inch of drop.

Knowing what I know now, I think the MPP setup with its compression and rebound adjustments is the better setup if you want to drop your ride height by ~1", but if you want factory ground clearance more than adjustable compression, the UP setup is better.

So my question now is, what about the MPP setup with maybe 1/2" drop? Would that be enough to keep it in its happy range, but give the additional benefit of rebound and compression damping? Maybe MPP can shed some light?

 

[Glamisduner]

Helpful! Looks like as long as you have linear springs, adjusting the ride height using the springs is not a big deal. It doesn't actually make them stiffer.

However, in MPPs installation video: MPP Coilover Installation Instructions, they discuss their recommended settings for ride height and they specifically say that while you have a wide range of height adjustment, adjusting it to the limits will affect performance and since I'm looking to keep it at the -10mm limit, that's not a good thing. Their page is also helpful in that it gives you all their recommended adjustments and shows that those settings will leave you at 110mm of ground clearance. I just measured my car at a little more than 130mm in the front and a little less than 130mm in the rear, so that would be almost an inch of drop.

Knowing what I know now, I think the MPP setup with its compression and rebound adjustments is the better setup if you want to drop your ride height by ~1", but if you want factory ground clearance more than adjustable compression, the UP setup is better.

So my question now is, what about the MPP setup with maybe 1/2" drop? Would that be enough to keep it in its happy range, but give the additional benefit of rebound and compression damping? Maybe MPP can shed some light?

I still wonder what it would do maxed making it taller, might be worth calling them to ask.

 

[Magnets!]

What is the build date of your car? If you have the earlier suspension you might be happy to have it changed out by Tesla for the current suspension...seems to be quite a bit more comfortable from what I hear.

 

[kbecks13]

The whole body on the UPs are threaded, so you adjust the height independently from the springs.

Can confirm this is true.

but the comfort shocks do not appear to be compression adjustable (Probably a high speed dampening adjustment).

I don't think they are adjustable at all (besides ride height), but they are already tuned to be comfortable so you shouldn't really need much adjustment for that. Though the question is will they still be comfortable at a stock ride height and i bet the answer is probably yes, but call to confirm.

So my question now is, what about the MPP setup with maybe 1/2" drop? Would that be enough to keep it in its happy range, but give the additional benefit of rebound and compression damping?

Yes, but that means getting the MPP Sport which is tuned a little more aggressively than the Comfort. I'd say the UP is in the middle of the two. I personally have a more aggressive 2-way UP coilover because i thought the regular one was too soft, so you'd probably like their regular one.

Also keep in mind that you really don't need 2-way adjustment for daily driving (compression and rebound). Many, many coilovers offer just rebound adjustment (1-way) and it's plenty for non-track use IMO.

 

[Glamisduner]

Can confirm this is true.



I don't think they are adjustable at all (besides ride height), but they are already tuned to be comfortable so you shouldn't really need much adjustment for that. Though the question is will they still be comfortable at a stock ride height and i bet the answer is probably yes, but call to confirm.



Yes, but that means getting the MPP Sport which is tuned a little more aggressively than the Comfort. I'd say the UP is in the middle of the two. I personally have a more aggressive 2-way UP coilover because i thought the regular one was too soft, so you'd probably like their regular one.

Also keep in mind that you really don't need 2-way adjustment for daily driving (compression and rebound). Many, many coilovers offer just rebound adjustment (1-way) and it's plenty for non-track use IMO.

Since when is it about things being necessary . Interesting that rebound is preferred over compression?

 

[kbecks13]

Since when is it about things being necessary

Very true

But rebound adjustment can be done by popping your hood and is easy. Compression is a bit trickier and may require a jack to get access (though its easier at stock ride height). It's like 80-90% the same for daily use.

 

[Glamisduner]

Very true

But rebound adjustment can be done by popping your hood and is easy. Compression is a bit trickier and may require a jack to get access (though its easier at stock ride height). It's like 80-90% the same for daily use.

Well that's a damn shame, good excuse to remove and clean your wheels I suppose.

 

[MountainPass]

We have customers who combined our lift kit with the Comfort Coilovers so the coilovers can operate in their acceptable range without sacrificing ride height (in fact you can run the car almost an inch higher than stock if you want to).

Pretty much every person running the Comforts swears they ride much better than stock. We don't want to over-promise so we are conservative on our product page.

 

[buddhra]

our lift kit with the Comfort Coilovers

So is this what you recommend to meet my goals?

Pretty much every person running the Comforts swears they ride much better than stock. We don't want to over-promise so we are conservative on our product page.

I understand not wanting to over-promise, but I'm also hesitant to spend a non-refundable $1600+ based on people swearing.

If you have data to back up your claims of what does and doesn't work, that's what I need to convince me.

 

[MountainPass]

So is this what you recommend to meet my goals?



I understand not wanting to over-promise, but I'm also hesitant to spend a non-refundable $1600+ based on people swearing.

If you have data to back up your claims of what does and doesn't work, that's what I need to convince me.

In that case, I would recommend you ask around for a ride in someone's car equipped with our suspension so you can decide without investing any money.

 

[buddhra]

What is the build date of your car? If you have the earlier suspension you might be happy to have it changed out by Tesla for the current suspension...seems to be quite a bit more comfortable from what I hear.

I'm March 2018, so I do have the softer suspension.

 

[buddhra]

In that case, I would recommend you ask around for a ride in someone's car equipped with our suspension so you can decide without investing any money.

I haven't found anyone closer than 3 hours from me and I really need two people, someone with the comfort coilovers and someone with the adjustable coilovers who is willing to adjust them soft, so that's not very likely anyway. It just makes it very difficult to shop for these when all the published data is track-oriented, everyone has a different opinion, and it's difficult to demo.

The answer may be that nobody sells a product right now to meet my goals and that's fine if that's the case, I'm just not getting a clear answer.

Would you say that the comfort coilovers will give a softer ride than the adjustable coilovers will, even if they're adjusted to the soft settings?

 

[MountainPass]

I haven't found anyone closer than 3 hours from me and I really need two people, someone with the comfort coilovers and someone with the adjustable coilovers who is willing to adjust them soft, so that's not very likely anyway. It just makes it very difficult to shop for these when all the published data is track-oriented, everyone has a different opinion, and it's difficult to demo.

The answer may be that nobody sells a product right now to meet my goals and that's fine if that's the case, I'm just not getting a clear answer.

Would you say that the comfort coilovers will give a softer ride than the adjustable coilovers will, even if they're adjusted to the soft settings?

If you are comparing between our Comforts and our Sports coilovers, absolutely. The Sports coilovers are roughly 20% firmer than the Comforts even on the softest setting.

 

[Glamisduner]

If you are comparing between our Comforts and our Sports coilovers, absolutely. The Sports coilovers are roughly 20% firmer than the Comforts even on the softest setting.

Is either option rebuildable? how will maxing out the ride height of either set affect it's performance?

 

[mcbarnet007]

I have the UPP coilover installed and set to lowered height than stock. It can be adjusted to stock ride height easily. When set to the lowest rebound setting, the ride is much better than my stock suspension. It is closer to Mercedes than BMW. It soaks up bumps and dips much better than stock and gives you a ride closer to the Model S air suspension (I've owned P85D before P3D). The shocks are also rebuildable.

 

[buddhra]

BC Racing is interested in developing something for us. Is anyone in the Orlando area interested in this?