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Any way to request car to not have SUV ride height?

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Just ordered a new M3 and some I see on the road seem to have an excessive fenderwell gap from fender to top of tire. Not sure why there is variance. I'm wondering if they use different suspension components including the rubber bump stops and that affects ride height.

Is there a good way to contact Tesla to request they keep mine at a lower height? :)
 
Just ordered a new M3 and some I see on the road seem to have an excessive fenderwell gap from fender to top of tire. Not sure why there is variance. I'm wondering if they use different suspension components including the rubber bump stops and that affects ride height.

Is there a good way to contact Tesla to request they keep mine at a lower height? :)

Lots of aftermarket options available.
Aftermarket springs will sag a little over time so I assume that the OE springs will do the same. You might be seeing new/newer cars looking like 4x4s.
 
Just ordered a new M3 and some I see on the road seem to have an excessive fenderwell gap from fender to top of tire. Not sure why there is variance. I'm wondering if they use different suspension components including the rubber bump stops and that affects ride height.

Is there a good way to contact Tesla to request they keep mine at a lower height? :)
The Performance model is 1cm lower than all the other models.

In theory, all the other models are the same ride height. Not clear on what you are seeing — I have not seen what you describe and every day I see many Model 3s in the SF Bay Area — but asking Tesla for a certain ride height will not accomplish anything.

As others have noted, there are aftermarket parts that can be used to lower the ride height if that is what you want.
 
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wished sas was an option, but alternative is a little more cumbersome (aftermarket air suspension will take up your frunk space), look at pics by dnapopo, you can set it to get rid of any gaps, lol

tesla-model-3-on-xo-luxury-ciairo-rotary-forged-wheels-81-jpg.395997
 
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wished sas was an option, but alternative is a little more cumbersome (aftermarket air suspension will take up your frunk space), look at pics by dnapopo, you can set it to get rid of any gaps, lol

tesla-model-3-on-xo-luxury-ciairo-rotary-forged-wheels-81-jpg.395997
I have never understood the desire to have a car this low. The top of the tire being covered by the wheel well just looks wrong to me. It also serves no functional purpose. You can't drive the car that low and even if you're just parking it that way the undercarriage is going to get all scratched up. But I guess if you're really worried about small animals crawling up inside the underbelly of the car it makes sense...
 
I have never understood the desire to have a car this low. The top of the tire being covered by the wheel well just looks wrong to me. It also serves no functional purpose. You can't drive the car that low and even if you're just parking it that way the undercarriage is going to get all scratched up. But I guess if you're really worried about small animals crawling up inside the underbelly of the car it makes sense...


HAHA. I'm assuming you're kidding
 
HAHA. I'm assuming you're kidding
Nope. The Tesla already has the lowest center of gravity of any ICE car and you can def lower it a few more cm and get a barely noticeable improvement.

But if it's as low as this photo then your wheel well covering your tires makes it so you can't actually turn the car without hitting it. And lowering a car too much is a huge PIA when you're hitting every curb, speed bump or rock in the street and scraping up the body going up driveways. So again you can't drive it that way. Hence it has no-functional purpose.

Maybe I'm just jaded by all the posers I grew up with in the suburbs of SoCal whom put their car or truck on air bags so that it sat on the ground to look cool. All the while scraping up the underside of the car such that when they drove around you could see how the paint was worn off all around the edges of the body. It's a super classy look.

But if you like having a scraped up car thats super low to the ground go for it. It'll give it a real worn in look.
 
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Nope. The Tesla already has the lowest center of gravity of any ICE car and you can def lower it a few more cm and get a barely noticeable improvement.

But if it's as low as this photo then your wheel well covering your tires makes it so you can't actually turn the car without hitting it. And lowering a car too much is a huge PIA when you're hitting every curb, speed bump or rock in the street and scraping up the body going up driveways. So again you can't drive it that way. Hence it has no-functional purpose.

Maybe I'm just jaded by all the posers I grew up with in the suburbs of SoCal whom put their car or truck on air bags so that it sat on the ground to look cool. All the while scraping up the underside of the car such that when they drove around you could see how the paint was worn off all around the edges of the body. It's a super classy look.

But if you like having a scraped up car thats super low to the ground go for it. It'll give it a real worn in look.

It's not driven at that height. That's purely for "aesthetic" car show purposes, or for "looking cool" when parked.
 
Yep, that’s just for looks, no one drives that low.
It’s adjustable, you can choose whatever height for driving, just like the sas option on the model s, (although not integrated with the rest of software)
 
To each their own, but the ride height is just fine IMO. My last car (M3) was lower from the factory but I scraped it so often on driveways and bumps that I ended up replacing trim pieces under the front bumper.

Much happier with the P3D which is much faster and doesn’t have the same issue on driveways and parking lot entrances :)
 
On a tangent, when you guys say the Model 3 is already the lowest center to gravity then any ICE car, what exactly does that mean? I remember seeing a McLaren 720s and a Model 3 side by side (from a reddit post) and the McLaren looks like half the size of the Model 3 and I assume the seats are lower then the model 3.
 

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No. no instructions can be sent to Tesla.

I believe that the center of the wheel is designed to be located at the center of the wheel well, all representing concentric circles. If you can go down to a delivery center and see what's on the lot, that may help.

Some people just have to change out wheels and springs, and that may be what you are seeing.
 
Just ordered a new M3 and some I see on the road seem to have an excessive fenderwell gap from fender to top of tire. Not sure why there is variance. I'm wondering if they use different suspension components including the rubber bump stops and that affects ride height.

TM3P has performance springs that are lower.
If you ponied up for Performance, you will get them. If you didn't, you won't.

However, TM3 rides pretty low, and I barely clear a few driveway and parking garage entry ramps, so be careful about lowering for looks and then scraping the side-sills if you go too low.

NP. As long as it kind of looks like the final build pic I'm OK. Aftermarket adjustments can throw off alignment, ride quality, etc and didn't want to deal with that

You always need/want to re-align the car after changing suspension geometry.
It's part of the suspension swap cost.


wished sas was an option, but alternative is a little more cumbersome (aftermarket air suspension will take up your frunk space), look at pics by dnapopo, you can set it to get rid of any gaps, lol
I have never understood the desire to have a car this low. The top of the tire being covered by the wheel well just looks wrong to me. It also serves no functional purpose. You can't drive the car that low and even if you're just parking it that way the undercarriage is going to get all scratched up. But I guess if you're really worried about small animals crawling up inside the underbelly of the car it makes sense...

Yeah, that pic looks idiotic and dysfunctional, but there is a market out there for all sorts of looks for all sorts of folks.

Some people modify cars to go faster, but many more to make them look "better" and more "unique".
Obsessing about fender gaps is a give-away that the OP belongs to the latter category, and there are aftermarket products out there that will accommodate any "look" you want.

To answer the original question - NO, Tesla will not butcher its ride hide just for looks.

a
 
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