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Damaged Coilovers

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Agree 100%, but I'm not the one yelling "BUY ONCE, CRY ONCE" as if it is always possible to know what will be a good product and what will not, and generically, the buy once cry once refrain is against the idea that you shouldn't buy the cheapest thing (cry once) not that you shouldn't buy new designs.

When did this buyer purchase these coilovers, what else was on the market, and what was the price of these against other options? If the answer isn't "lots of other options, many more expensive" then "buy once cry once" doesn't apply.

You are correct that at the time there wasn't many options, I believe they were all roughly the same price, and we didn't have enough data to say what was good or bad. I suppose the title and content of the OP was a bit emotional. What I was trying to convey is that, now that we do know the answers to these questions, and considering there are a lot more options, people can now make an informed decision. I would say this is a fairly tight-knit community of probably less than 100 active members on this sub-forum. Newcomers will look to our experience to make decisions. Sharing those experiences is critical to the community. I think most of us can agree that the KW V3, Redwood varieties, MPP varieties, and MCS varieties are all fairly proven on this chassis and which one you choose is ultimately dependent on what you are looking for. I also think the Ohlin's R&T will probably be a good option, and someone has pretty good chances rolling the dice on that one despite it technically being unproven.

Because you have a lot of experience with Megan Racing products, or because they are not expensive enough? Is that just more complex products like coilovers or every single thing MR might ever sell?

I have purchased several Megan Racing products for other platforms. I do think that Coilovers are squarely in the not worth it category. Keep in mind that if people can't DIY these, they are probably paying near $1,000 for installation and an alignment. I would think they would be pretty unhappy having to pay that labor all over again in two years if the suspension prematurely wears out, which I am fairly confident would likely be the case for a set of MR Coilovers on the Model 3, especially in Northern climates such as the Coilovers in this post were.

However, if you're talking about something fairly simple and straight-forward such as control arms, that's not nearly as much of a concern. Labor costs are probably pretty minimal, changing them out is fairly painless. I can totally understand why you would do that.

Now, is it worth it - personally I would say no, not to save a hundred or two-hundred bucks, but that's just me based on my experience. I spent years trying to play that middle-ground of 'cheap but not complete crap' with modifying cars and when it was all said and done it caused me to spend more time and money that I had originally thought. Several times I ended up replacing a part that I thought would work out that didn't, either due to fitment issues, wear and tear, or changing needs. What I have found, in my personal experience, is that it is better to look at the long-term costs than at the up-front costs. E.g. if I decide to part-out and sell this car in three years to buy an electric Porsche Cayman, what are those control arms worth on the secondary market? If, say Redwood arms are $400 new and $300 used, but the MR arms are $200 new and $50 used, I would rather buy the Redwood ones. And of course, the warranty, customer support, materials (aluminum vs steel, for example), these all need to play a part in my final decision. I think it was you and I who were going back and forth regarding AutoX brake pads. My argument was, (and still is) that I would much rather put some RB XT-910's or 970's in there for $200 and save the stock Performance pads then to wear out the stock pads and be forced to pay $330 for a new set. Again, I'm looking at these things on a 3-year horizon, which I understand is not everyone's style or budget.

At the end of the day, this is a pretty crappy experience for the owner of these coilovers. Their options are few. They can pay to have the coilovers removed, send them in for a rebuild (hopefully covered by some warranty), and then pay to have them reinstalled. Or, they could pay to have these removed and just put the stock suspension back in. Or, they could ditch these and pay to have some other coilovers installed. No matter what though, it's a huge pain in the butt, and a pretty big expense. I believe it is important for the community to share when parts just simply don't work out. And I am not trying to say that we should never try new or cheap products, but we also need to understand that there is risk associated with that and there are going to be times where it ends up backfiring. For a lot of people, that's probably not a risk they want to take. Yet, to your point, we should probably be supportive of those willing to take that risk rather than dismissive.
 
Would be helpful if there was a thread where folks post pictures of their coilovers after a year, 2 years, 3 years?

I’m in the market for coilovers, and coming from the truck world (kings, fox, icon) I usually agree with OP’s notion of buy once cry once. However, I see so many offerings for the M3 in the $700-$1,200 range and can’t help but think they can’t be THAT materially different than the $1,600-$2,500 range. Said another way, how much upside are you looking at in coilover quality/performance for an additional $400-$1,300?
 
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Would be helpful if there was a thread where folks post pictures of their coilovers after a year, 2 years, 3 years?

I’m in the market for coilovers, and coming from the truck world (kings, fox, icon) I usually agree with OP’s notion of buy once cry once. However, I see so many offerings for the M3 in the $700-$1,200 range and can’t help but think they can’t be THAT materially different than the $1,600-$2,500 range. Said another way, how much upside are you looking at in coilover quality/performance for an additional $400-$1,300?
I just took apart my 2-year (and 2-winter) old Redwood coilovers. Nothing major, but there was some corrosion on springs (near both ends where coils can touch on compression) and for some reason also on the threaded end of the main shaft. All the adjusters/threaded body cleaned up nicely.
 
Would be helpful if there was a thread where folks post pictures of their coilovers after a year, 2 years, 3 years?
Not many coils are designed to withstand the elements. If you are using them in a winter climate you have to get the salt off, powerspray off, whatever. You can't leave it on there or it corrodes and looks like the op's. I don't think it is to do with specific parts, but common sense. I wrote above if you can't give the parts the attention they need then buy something that was designed to withstand the environment. Also you can use coilover covers which are typically used on dunes and bikes. A set of covers goes a long way to slowing the elements, grit, etc from degrading and corroding the coils.
 
What are thoughts on the corrosion seen on the tesla components (3rd pic) and also on the swift springs (which are a name brand)? This car seems like its in a super harsh environment tbf
The corrosion on the Tesla component in that picture is the toe adjustment point, so unfortunately it always corrodes because the coating is worn off with a wrench during an alignment. Besides that spot, the rest of the Tesla parts showed no corrosion or just a bit of surface corrosion. I was also surprised at the condition of the springs. But if you look at the sway bar end links, for example, the axles, or the other control arms, you will see there is no corrosion. So, I don't know why the springs are as bad as they were, but they were definitely worse than the stock stuff.

I realize you guys from Southern California think this is excessive, but I don't think you have an appreciation of how badly salt and brine corrodes a car. This isn't abnormal, this is what basically every car in New England driven in the winter looks like. Again, some preventative maintenance would have gone a long way, I don't disagree, but the stock springs and struts on other 3's up here don't look even close to this bad. I can snap some pics of my 2018 with 63k miles as a reference point, and just to be clear I have definitely not been cleaning the suspension.

Would be helpful if there was a thread where folks post pictures of their coilovers after a year, 2 years, 3 years?

I’m in the market for coilovers, and coming from the truck world (kings, fox, icon) I usually agree with OP’s notion of buy once cry once. However, I see so many offerings for the M3 in the $700-$1,200 range and can’t help but think they can’t be THAT materially different than the $1,600-$2,500 range. Said another way, how much upside are you looking at in coilover quality/performance for an additional $400-$1,300?

As I mentioned in previous posts, I personally do not believe that Coilovers is the right place to try and save a buck; especially if you are paying someone else to install them. Corrosion probably wouldn't be a big issue for you being in Florida, but expected life of the dampers in the $700-$1,200 range is short. What you are paying for is the quality of materials, coatings, seals, etc. My guess is that something in that price range is probably going to need a rebuild after 25k-35k miles. The KW's, Redwoods, MPP's, and (coming) Ohlin's should all be good for 100k miles. Unlike say, a camber arm, which can easily be swapped out for relatively low cost and time, changing out Coilovers and re-aligning the car is a lot more involved.
 
'You get what you pay for' often turns out to be true.
The problem is there are suppliers out there who import parts from Taiwan or China, add a huge markup to them and claim they are 'made in the US' when they are actually 'assembled in the US'.
Then it becomes difficult for the customer to know what they are getting and whether it's good value or not.
The same goes on here in the UK. All you can do is research as much as possible before buying and hope you get it right.

This is a photo someone posted a couple of days ago from a 2 year old Model 3.

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They were hoping the rotor could be replaced under warranty. The owner lives about 15 miles from the North Sea in Scotland, so it's obvious what the culprit is. Regardless of the quality of the parts, you need to carry out preventative maintenance if you live in that sort of climate.

Maybe the corrosion with those UP coilovers was to be expected (poorly powder coated forks aside). But the seals blowing I'd be suspicious about unless the car was being tracked on very regular basis.
 
Maybe the corrosion with those UP coilovers was to be expected (poorly powder coated forks aside). But the seals blowing I'd be suspicious about unless the car was being tracked on very regular basis.

I have no horse in this race - I’m boring and have a stock everything - but I’m gobsmacked at how awful those look.

I have a very hard time calling anything an “upgrade” when it degrades that much worse than stock parts.

Safe, unsafe, good, bad, other brands, whatever — if it looks like that, and the factory parts don’t, I’d be raging mad if I had spent my hard earned dollars on that.
 
Wow….what a real dig. You can see lots of oem components LITERALLY right next to the coils being rusted out as well. You gonna go shame Tesla? This car has been exposed to a ton of salt on and you say the coilovers need to outlast oem components? If you have an issue with the coils…talk to the manufacturer directly and get your replacements. Those coils are V1 which has been revised a few times already.

I understand another manufacturer sponsors you (you’re TRACKMYEV on YT) but is this a fair fight?

How about a Snapped coil or blown strut from another model 3 manufacturer?
F0EB0AC7-3777-4C69-8E0E-A5E51E51B39B.jpeg
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I have a very hard time calling anything an “upgrade” when it degrades that much worse than stock parts.

Safe, unsafe, good, bad, other brands, whatever — if it looks like that, and the factory parts don’t, I’d be raging mad if I had spent my hard earned dollars on that.

Just for comparison - Model 3 dual motor, A hair under 40k miles, lives in NJ, driven in winter salt/brine/snow/ice, what have you, only gets washed once every whenever.

Factory parts look nothing like that rusted mess. Certainly not flaking powder coat or rusting mount points.

This is what the factory parts look like. I’d expect similar or better from ANY 3rd party parts —- otherwise, it’s not much of an upgrade.

D8D7B54F-D3B7-4E0B-A87D-9B2971EDABC4.jpegA7802847-5501-46C0-8C84-F6061B24C7FC.jpegB56119A6-CFDE-460C-87E7-C7FF133D9591.jpeg
 

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Just for comparison - Model 3 dual motor, A hair under 40k miles, lives in NJ, driven in winter salt/brine/snow/ice, what have you, only gets washed once every whenever.

Factory parts look nothing like that rusted mess. Certainly not flaking powder coat or rusting mount points.

This is what the factory parts look like. I’d expect similar or better from ANY 3rd party parts —- otherwise, it’s not much of an upgrade.

View attachment 794241View attachment 794242View attachment 794243
Did you ceramic coat your underside? That’s cleaner than mine and I’m in Texas
 
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I was also surprised at the condition of the springs. But if you look at the sway bar end links, for example, the axles, or the other control arms, you will see there is no corrosion. So, I don't know why the springs are as bad as they were, but they were definitely worse than the stock stuff.

I realize you guys from Southern California think this is excessive, but I don't think you have an appreciation of how badly salt and brine corrodes a car. This isn't abnormal, this is what basically every car in New England driven in the winter looks like. Again, some preventative maintenance would have gone a long way, I don't disagree, but the stock springs and struts on other 3's up here don't look even close to this bad. I can snap some pics of my 2018 with 63k miles as a reference point, and just to be clear I have definitely not been cleaning the suspension.

Let's stick with the swift springs for a second, based on what you're saying (that this corrosion is abnormal) someone shouldn't purchase those despite them being one of the top brands for springs in aftermarket?
 
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To the Tesla community,

Unplugged Performance stands behind all their products for daily driven and track focused cars for the duration of the original owners purchase. We would warranty and support any client who has any manufacturing issues including rust that impacts function. If you have an Unplugged product that has an issue we have multiple staff members that can assist in trying to resolve. Finding out an issue in this manner does not help us resolve nor helps us produce better products.

We have been dedicated in our effort to support the community from the beginning. With over 1000 owners on our coils we know our coils are built to last or we will make it right. We would have wished the owner reached out to us first but we are still here to exceed all industry standards for warranty support.

In this specific case we are more than happy to exchange this Gen 1 set for our Gen 3 which is far superior than when we first produced the coils for the model 3.

-Ben Schaffer
 
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