Comparison of Model 3 Performance w/ Two Versions of MPP Coilovers

[modernist]

The camber on my wife's car was initially really good after dropping car about an inch and a half but then over time possibly because of Road impacts camber started to go out of spec (a little too negative on one side) so we ended up getting the rear camber arms for her car as well.

Okay... I'll pick up the camber arms as well. I'm planning to get 19s wheel in lieu of 20s. I live in the San Francisco with bumpy city roads.

Thanks a bunch! Looking forward to delivery in May!

 

[Bigsakius]

So picked up the car on Sat, put about 50 miles on her, I can say the handling is not bad oem, at least for the way I drive. I may need to put more miles on her to verify. The ride is a bit harsher but not terrible, (I have been driving a Raptor for 2 years which ate up bumps). I have a feeling the comfort might be good enough if dialed a little more stiff with the lower control arm bushing. My guess it will feel very buttoned down for the streets. Is my thinking correct?

 

[dfwatt]

So picked up the car on Sat, put about 50 miles on her, I can say the handling is not bad oem, at least for the way I drive. I may need to put more miles on her to verify. The ride is a bit harsher but not terrible, (I have been driving a Raptor for 2 years which ate up bumps). I have a feeling the comfort might be good enough if dialed a little more stiff with the lower control arm bushing. My guess it will feel very buttoned down for the streets. Is my thinking correct?

Just to clarify. The Mountain Pass front lower control arm bushing has no effect on the ride that we've been able to determine and no one else who's used mpp's version of that bushing has complained about any change in harshness. It simply removes a rubbery vagueness from the steering. The much better shocks particularly the much better rebound dampening means that the ride is better controlled and perhaps a touch firmer if you get the Sports coilover kits. It's actually a bit softer but again better controlled if you get the Comfort adjustable kit. But either a kit can be set to be pretty compliant or quite firm as the shocks have a very large range of adjustment.

 

[Bigsakius]

Basically, if I ask you what your last car was and you tell me a Porsche 911, I am going to recommend the Sports kit

Lol my last car was a Raptor which was butter smooth. But I did have a TypeR and when in Comfort mode they rode well but in R mode they seemed a bit stiff. I think I am leaning in the sports direction. I guess worst case we can switch springs to comfort like the hybrid version if its too stiff. In any case this car is a hoot to drive!

 

[MountainPass]

Lol my last car was a Raptor which was butter smooth. But I did have a TypeR and when in Comfort mode they rode well but in R mode they seemed a bit stiff. I think I am leaning in the sports direction. I guess worst case we can switch springs to comfort like the hybrid version if its too stiff. In any case this car is a hoot to drive!

We can always get you the Comfort springs if you need to switch back! The Raptor has more suspension travel than all 4 corners of the Model 3 put together

 

[tone228]

Lol my last car was a Raptor which was butter smooth. But I did have a TypeR and when in Comfort mode they rode well but in R mode they seemed a bit stiff. I think I am leaning in the sports direction. I guess worst case we can switch springs to comfort like the hybrid version if its too stiff. In any case this car is a hoot to drive!

What year was your Raptor? I have a 2020 with the live valve suspension and I wouldn’t describe the ride as butter smooth. Maybe it’s the roads here in NYC, but the Model 3 performance I test drove road way better than my Raptor.

 

[Bigsakius]

What year was your Raptor? I have a 2020 with the live valve suspension and I wouldn’t describe the ride as butter smooth. Maybe it’s the roads here in NYC, but the Model 3 performance I test drove road way better than my Raptor.

I had a 20, but mine had eibach springs and different leafs. The roads in NC are not that bad. Also I would say the 3 is not terrible either. Now my wifes srt jeep with 22’s is terrible its like driving a stage coach wagon.

 

[CreoUCLA]

Now my wifes srt jeep with 22’s is terrible its like driving a stage coach wagon.

I have a 2021 Toyota Tacoma (with aftermarket Bilstein 6112/5160 suspension) and it drives like a bus around town... Having come from German sports sedans, it took a bit of getting used to. The Tacoma is great off pavement, though, and that's why my plan was to have the truck for truck stuff + M3P for commuting/spirited driving.

Now I'm leaning back towards getting the MPP sports adjustable coilovers after driving on more canyon roads with the stock suspension... I keep waffling back and forth between sports vs. comfort.

 

[Bigsakius]

I have a 2021 Toyota Tacoma (with aftermarket Bilstein 6112/5160 suspension) and it drives like a bus around town... Having come from German sports sedans, it took a bit of getting used to. The Tacoma is great off pavement, though, and that's why my plan was to have the truck for truck stuff + M3P for commuting/spirited driving.

Now I'm leaning back towards getting the MPP sports adjustable coilovers after driving on more canyon roads with the stock suspension... I keep waffling back and forth between sports vs. comfort.

Lol same here. But I think I am zeroed in on the sports now.

 

[Moto Miwa]

"Some context is useful – I've had the MPP Sports Coilover kit for over a year and love it, but it is pretty firm the way it's set up, (10/8 compression rebound, and with 265/30 and 275/30 tires), and my wife wanted the best possible ride - she's been asking me to "pimp out" her car to the same degree that I have modified my own! Who would've thought she would have given a bleep! Well it turns out my wife is in fact a Tesla Tweaking Junkie! She started out extremely skeptical, didn't want me to spend "that kind of money" on anything she was gonna be driving, and has always regarded cars as a necessary evil to get from point A to point B. After one week of driving the Performance Model 3, she was changing her tune: "it's the bomb!" Anything that I did to my car she basically wants at least consideration to having on her car. Who's to argue? After all, happy wife, happy life, as we all know. "

Bravo @MountainPass for having two such great kits. His and Hers Tesla Tuning?

Most amazing wife's reaction and indulgence towards mods on her car... I am so jealous!!! LOL

 

[dfwatt]

Most amazing wife's reaction and indulgence towards mods on her car... I am so jealous!!! LOL

It's a great example of the triumph of experience over Doctrine. We know most women regard male car tuning as d--- waving and bound to bring no benefit. My wife allowed her own experience to be the guide.

 

[mkrone]

How about coming from a 2018 Audi S4 (B9) lowered on KW HAS springs? I owned a 2016 BMW M3 (F80) lowered on Swift Spec-R springs before the S4, and I found that car to be a tad bit too stiff for daily driving. The Audi ride quality (even lowered), was perfect for me.

I'm leaning towards the Comfort Adjustable coilovers as the M3P is more a daily driver/commuter with some fun canyon driving here and there (no track days).

Bringing this back from the dead again because I'm in a similar boat as you (LA-based, late 21 m3p, coming from a b8 A4 avant with s-line suspension which i loved) and saw you went for the sports. I don't track my car and am mostly just commuting around Los Angeles but I enjoy the occasional canyon carve and I miss the responsiveness of my old s-line suspension, even just for ripping around town. Do your sports feel more like your old S4 or your old M3, and are you glad you went with the sports over the comforts? I would rate my m3p stock setup as slightly comfier but much sloppier than my old audi, even with 115k on the original s-line struts. Car looks great btw

 

[CreoUCLA]

Bringing this back from the dead again because I'm in a similar boat as you (LA-based, late 21 m3p, coming from a b8 A4 avant with s-line suspension which i loved) and saw you went for the sports. I don't track my car and am mostly just commuting around Los Angeles but I enjoy the occasional canyon carve and I miss the responsiveness of my old s-line suspension, even just for ripping around town. Do your sports feel more like your old S4 or your old M3, and are you glad you went with the sports over the comforts? I would rate my m3p stock setup as slightly comfier but much sloppier than my old audi, even with 115k on the original s-line struts. Car looks great btw

Thanks, and at my ride height and rebound/compression settings, the M3P feels more like the S4 on KW HAS springs vs. the M3 on springs. You can't go wrong with either option, but if you were coming from the stock S-Line suspension, I think you'll be good with the Comforts.

 

[MountainPass]

Thanks, and at my ride height and rebound/compression settings, the M3P feels more like the S4 on KW HAS springs vs. the M3 on springs. You can't go wrong with either option, but if you were coming from the stock S-Line suspension, I think you'll be good with the Comforts.

Thank you for your feedback and helping this fellow out!

 

[mkrone]

Thanks, and at my ride height and rebound/compression settings, the M3P feels more like the S4 on KW HAS springs vs. the M3 on springs. You can't go wrong with either option, but if you were coming from the stock S-Line suspension, I think you'll be good with the Comforts.

Thanks Mike,

Just curious, what are your M3P sports coilovers set to?

 

[CreoUCLA]

Thanks Mike,

Just curious, what are your M3P sports coilovers set to?

Clicks from full stiff (for both front and rear);

Compression = 12
Rebound = 10

This is sporty yet still pretty comfortable for me daily driving in L.A., but I'm very used to driving lowered cars... My wife does occasionally find it a little bouncy on rougher roads, and the solution is just not to lower the car as much as I did.

Here's a side shot comparison of the M3P vs. S4 (with the S4 being a little bit lower);

 

[mkrone]

Clicks from full stiff (for both front and rear);

Compression = 12
Rebound = 10

This is sporty yet still pretty comfortable for me daily driving in L.A., but I'm very used to driving lowered cars... My wife does occasionally find it a little bouncy on rougher roads, and the solution is just not to lower the car as much as I did.

Here's a side shot comparison of the M3P vs. S4 (with the S4 being a little bit lower);

Looking great. Yeah I'm only planning on lowering 15-20mm from stock and will be on 19x9.5s with 275/35s. Hmmm.. decisions decisions. I'm sure I'd be happy with either. I just took a little rip around Mulholland drive and it got me excited for the upgrades

 

[dfwatt]

Thank you for your feedback and helping this fellow out!

Have you guys gotten a hold of the new performance model to see if your coilover kits will work? Additionally there's obviously some kind of servo adjustment to shock valving on the stock system. Is there some way you guys could incorporate a similar deal so that your shocks could be adjusted from Cars operating system? That way you could switch between some kind of soft Street oriented Cruise mobile setting on the system and then a track setting? That would be the bomb

 

[Mash]

Have you guys gotten a hold of the new performance model to see if your coilover kits will work? Additionally there's obviously some kind of servo adjustment to shock valving on the stock system. Is there some way you guys could incorporate a similar deal so that your shocks could be adjusted from Cars operating system? That way you could switch between some kind of soft Street oriented Cruise mobile setting on the system and then a track setting? That would be the bomb

R&D costs of that would never make a return, unfortunately.