Inexpensive Air Lift for adjustable coilovers

[Mash]

There is this kit made in Netherlands TANKLESS FRONT KIT – Stanceparts

With adjustable coilovers (like KW/MPP/Ohlins/UP) It lifts front axle 50mm (1 second with a tank, 4 seconds without a tank, but I plan to use small kevlar tank instead of a huge one in the kit). If it is deflated (low position) it has a hard connection and not impacting drive vs normal springs at all. Without a tank, it should be compact enough to fit under the frunk tray (didn't check yet). It has minimal weight impact as well and it's not really that expensive.

You can't really drive fast with raised front axle - it meant only for driveways or curbs.
It won't stay raised for a long time, so you can't use it to park above high curbs.

KW/MPP coilovers for M3P are 22mm shaft diameter and it fits with KW/MPP springs fine.
I didn't check yet all fitment requirements FITMENT – Stanceparts

Evo X community used it a few times with good feedback.
Ignore brand name that it's about stance, though.

What do you think about it?

 

[TLLMRRJ]

Looks cool. Very handy for low sports cars.

 

[Mash]

Checked the rest of the dimensions, at least with MPP upper control arms it must fit with 22mm shaft. I'm buying tankless version. Going to report how is it.

 

[Visionary]

Nice solution, let us know how it goes.

 

[TwoK4drSi]

Checked the rest of the dimensions, at least with MPP upper control arms it must fit with 22mm shaft. I'm buying tankless version. Going to report how is it.

Did you ever get this installed? Curious on it since I have a steep driveway

 

[Mash]

Did you ever get this installed? Curious on it since I have a steep driveway

No, it's still laying around, lol. I was thinking about making a DIY tank for it, but then I just fixed my driveway and not going to that only 1 other place where I was scraping mud flaps and problem solved. Except random car lifts are not low enough to put handles under the car.

 

[DFW_MVP]

Anyone get these installed yet?

 

[JasonChu]

Anyone get these installed yet?

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[DFW_MVP]

Thanks...looks like some extra parts are needed (top mounts, radial adapters)...will reach out to FireHuntah

 

[Henry82]

In for updates

 

[TwoK4drSi]

In for updates

Don’t do it. Just go straight air. Too many custom parts. You can dm @Firehuntah for more info.

 

[Firehuntah]

Exactly as @TwoK4drSi said, best to go with air suspension if you need to have the ability to lift the car. I was the first and still the only one (as far I'm aware) with a full set of air cups on a Tesla with MPP comfort coilovers, Model 3 in my case. You don't even want to know how long it took me to get the setup to work properly, the suspension is really complicated and not as straightforward as with cars you usually see running air cups. May have caused some hair to turn gray. Anyway.. I've been using it for almost 2 years now, and about 9 months after my last update to it which pretty much solved most of the issues I had before.

While I do really like the setup and it's still working great there are definitely some downsides to it. Most important one is noise. On bad roads you'll hear a lot of clunks. I'm honestly still not sure where from exactly. If I'd have to guess it could be either the spherical top mounts or the radial adapters. Both are unfortunately necessary to make this setup work so not much that can be done about it. The other downside is that when you're aired up the front is lifted higher than the rear. You can't choose the height, it's either full lift or no lift with air cups. During daytime less of an issue, but during nighttime this is very annoying for other people on the road as you're blinding them with your headlights pointing up.

Also keep in mind, you can't keep driving with the air cups engaged. Supposed to be used for passing obstacles only, then you have the air out again. This is also slightly annoying when you have a couple of obstacles one after another. You could keep the air cups engaged which I do, but this is bad for the seals which will reduce lifespan of the air cups. My seals are actually still good though. Even with a lot of salt and dirt that got into them there's still no leaks.

Of course there are also positives, which is why I wanted this setup to begin with. One is reliability since you're always driving on coilovers. If anything on the air setup fails you can still drive the same, just can't lift anymore. Unlike with air suspension where you could be stuck if anything fails. Other one is performance, again since you're driving on coilovers the handling and feel of the car is just better than air suspension. Also what should've been a positive would've been less cost than air suspension. But.. with all the work I've had with it, it ended up costing me more in the end.

If you're still interested though, you could check my how-to video. But be prepared to take in a lot of information. A lot of custom work is necessary to get this setup done, so it's definitely not for everyone.

 

[Mash]

Holy cow. I'm glad I didn't installed mine.

 

[Firehuntah]

Holy cow. I'm glad I didn't installed mine.

I'm not, could've saved me some trouble! But yeah, definitely quite a bit of a headache to try and install air cups on a Tesla. It's honestly not bad or anything but takes so much work and to not have it be perfect in the end is a bit of a let down. If it wasn't for the noise, I'd recommend this sort of setup to everyone. But since there's no way around the noise I just can't recommend it.

 

[Mash]

I'm not, could've saved me some trouble! But yeah, definitely quite a bit of a headache to try and install air cups on a Tesla. It's honestly not bad or anything but takes so much work and to not have it be perfect in the end is a bit of a let down. If it wasn't for the noise, I'd recommend this sort of setup to everyone. But since there's no way around the noise I just can't recommend it.

I feel you. Clunking would be killing me. But it's anyway so cool that despite complexities you managed to finish it and made detailed instructions for others. I tried to approach installation a few times but it was obvious I would need to make some new parts and I don't have a convenient access to CNC here.

I wouldn't have thought that so many parts would be needed...

Do you think that making custom sealed (full rubber sleeve) hydraulic cylinder that goes under the spring would have been easier already? It would not clunk, you can choose height, don't need a large tank, can use really small pumps and you can ride on it being raised.

 

[Firehuntah]

I feel you. Clunking would be killing me. But it's anyway so cool that despite complexities you managed to finish it and made detailed instructions for others. I tried to approach installation a few times but it was obvious I would need to make some new parts and I don't have a convenient access to CNC here.

I wouldn't have thought that so many parts would be needed...

Do you think that making custom sealed (full rubber sleeve) hydraulic cylinder that goes under the spring would have been easier already? It would not clunk, you can choose height, don't need a large tank, can use really small pumps and you can ride on it being raised.

Yep the clunking's killing me too haha. For some reason it appears to be worse when it's hot outside. But it's only on really bad roads and occasionaly on speed bumps. Other than that it's silent, no noise. So it's not like it's always making those clunk noises.

I definitely put a lot of effort into it since I really like the setup, was really determined to make it work. When I made the video I felt it was pretty decent, but still not perfect. It's just that in the months after that the noise increased a little bit, but it's been the same now for a few months. When I started with it I also didn't expect to need so many parts, but I kept having issues with the air cups getting sideloaded and air leaking because of that. On the rear Stanceparts themselves fixed it by making a larger piston and increasing the size of the seals. So they still get sideloaded a bit, but no longer leak air. As for the front it was only fixed after I switched to spherical top mounts so that the air cups can pivot freely, together and in line with the dampers. And that's basically when the noise issues also started. But this again introduced a new issue, the air cups just kept rotating on their own since the dampers also rotate slightly when steering the car. That's why I also needed to add the radial adapters. After that it seems all good now, besides the noise.

As for the custom sealed hydraulic cylinders, that's basically KW HLS kit that you're describing. Their HLS kit actually fits the MPP coilovers and would work great for the front I think. Though I'm not sure if spherical top mounts are necessary. Without them the HLS kit might get sideloaded. On the rear I'd need custom ones as the ones they have won't easily fit. But for sure they'll get sideloaded. And well.. with hydraulics that's not really great if it starts leaking because of the sideloading. So I don't really want to attempt that.

There is something else I'm working on though, I'll post about it soon. Will again be a setup that's not going to be for everyone but if it works out, it might be a great option. At least for most that keep the car on the streets or occasional track days. For someone like you who's on the track more often I'm not sure. Best to just keep the coilovers as is I think.

There was one other thing which I was trying to work on which is a custom front air cup that sits below the spring, but Stanceparts didn't really want to look into it since it'd probably become a Tesla only thing and not get sold much. Think that might have offered a good solution too, while being able to keep the OEM top mounts. But yeah.. that's not happening anymore.

 

[TwoK4drSi]

I feel you. Clunking would be killing me. But it's anyway so cool that despite complexities you managed to finish it and made detailed instructions for others. I tried to approach installation a few times but it was obvious I would need to make some new parts and I don't have a convenient access to CNC here.

I wouldn't have thought that so many parts would be needed...

Do you think that making custom sealed (full rubber sleeve) hydraulic cylinder that goes under the spring would have been easier already? It would not clunk, you can choose height, don't need a large tank, can use really small pumps and you can ride on it being raised.

The KW HLS is the next good option and it’s located at the bottom of the spring. Only downside is that they don’t make a dedicated kit for the 3 but I see an add on option

 

[Firehuntah]

The KW HLS is the next good option and it’s located at the bottom of the spring. Only downside is that they don’t make a dedicated kit for the 3 but I see an add on option

Actually, while it should be a good option in theory, it might be a big failure as well if it starts leaking because of the sideloads that will inevitably be put on the pistons. Oil leak is never fun, especially when it's under pressure, and even more so while driving with the HLS kit being near the wheels. I've been considering it myself but decided not to do it due to high risk of it going very wrong. Front might be fine but defintely would not try it on the rear.

 

[Mash]

Well, KW told me hls won't work for some reason on m3 coilovers (not enough space), but maybe they wrong.

As about side loading, it's all about designing for that, I guess. Dampers themselves are hydraulic cylinders with high momentary pressure. But they solve it with the use of long seals. Which we don't have much space for. I'm sure that KW knows how to do hydraulic cylinder that won't leak on a car...

 

[tm1v2]

On bad roads you'll hear a lot of clunks. I'm honestly still not sure where from exactly. If I'd have to guess it could be either the spherical top mounts or the radial adapters. Both are unfortunately necessary to make this setup work so not much that can be done about it.

pillowballs be pillowballin'

How loud are the clunks compared to tire impact noise? I have spherical top hats on my coilovers. I hear the pillowball clatter on bad roads but it's mostly drowned out by tire impact noise (which was loud on this car stock, and stayed that way with the coilovers). On smoother roads without tire impact noise I can't hear the pillowballs at all thankfully. It's about the NVH level I was expecting from new, good-condition pillowballs - which is to say a little bit, not zero, but not excessive.