Lifted Model Y Owners: Report!

[Atraf]

Some great information here. I just joined here on TMC and took delivery of my Model Y back in November. I have the LR with 20" induction wheels and I only lasted a week before considering some lift and bigger tires with more sidewall. I my other vehicles are a Toyota Tacoma and 1955 Willys Jeep Wagon so I am used to TALL 4x4's. It would be nice if my MY was able to handle at least basic dirt fire roads and deeper snow.

I am going to run the 18x8 Method 502's with Falken Wildpeak AT Trail 255/55r18 tires. I also am on the waitlist for the UP dirt and snow coil overs and adjustable camber arms. I know a couple folks on here have the UP coil over lift on their cars - anyone care to share their opinions?

I can't find Method 502 18" with 5x114.3 on their website: 502 | Rally | Matte Black
Where are you getting the wheels from?

Also about the tires, there are two Tesla Model 3 owners, one in Norway and one in Germany that are using this tires, as well as one lifted Porsche Macan in Colorado that have reported issues with tire balancing with the Wildpeak AT, no matter what they did it keeps "having a throw" at highway speeds.
Perhaps worthwhile consideirng another tire? ex Toyo Open Country AT III?

Open Country A/T III | The All-Terrain Tires for Trucks, SUVs and CUVs

The Open Country A/T III has exceptional wet and dry braking and handling, great off-road traction, a quiet ride, great in snow and 127 sizes.

www.toyotires.com

Either way, sounds like an awesome setup, please post progress impressions (and maybe pictures too?)

 

[gr8tdane24]

I can't find Method 502 18" with 5x114.3 on their website: 502 | Rally | Matte Black
Where are you getting the wheels from?

Also about the tires, there are two Tesla Model 3 owners, one in Norway and one in Germany that are using this tires, as well as one lifted Porsche Macan in Colorado that have reported issues with tire balancing with the Wildpeak AT, no matter what they did it keeps "having a throw" at highway speeds.
Perhaps worthwhile consideirng another tire? ex Toyo Open Country AT III?

Open Country A/T III | The All-Terrain Tires for Trucks, SUVs and CUVs

The Open Country A/T III has exceptional wet and dry braking and handling, great off-road traction, a quiet ride, great in snow and 127 sizes.

www.toyotires.com

Either way, sounds like an awesome setup, please post progress impressions (and maybe pictures too?)

I can't find Method 502 18" with 5x114.3 on their website: 502 | Rally | Matte Black
Where are you getting the wheels from?

Also about the tires, there are two Tesla Model 3 owners, one in Norway and one in Germany that are using this tires, as well as one lifted Porsche Macan in Colorado that have reported issues with tire balancing with the Wildpeak AT, no matter what they did it keeps "having a throw" at highway speeds.
Perhaps worthwhile consideirng another tire? ex Toyo Open Country AT III?

Open Country A/T III | The All-Terrain Tires for Trucks, SUVs and CUVs

The Open Country A/T III has exceptional wet and dry braking and handling, great off-road traction, a quiet ride, great in snow and 127 sizes.

www.toyotires.com

Either way, sounds like an awesome setup, please post progress impressions (and maybe pictures too?)

I bought my wheels from 4 Wheel Parts - 502 Rally. My tire guy had no problem balancing them and I am using hub centric rings for the wheels, so hopefully that keeps potential vibrations down. I did look at the Toyo Open Country and BF Goodrich Trail Terrain but I liked that the Falken Wildpeak AT Trail is V rated. I had an issue with one of the Tesla TPMS sensors leaking at the valve stem seal, but once I can verify that I fixed the leak, I will get these wheels installed and report back here.

 

[BobbyLeeChan]

I bought my wheels from 4 Wheel Parts - 502 Rally. My tire guy had no problem balancing them and I am using hub centric rings for the wheels, so hopefully that keeps potential vibrations down. I did look at the Toyo Open Country and BF Goodrich Trail Terrain but I liked that the Falken Wildpeak AT Trail is V rated. I had an issue with one of the Tesla TPMS sensors leaking at the valve stem seal, but once I can verify that I fixed the leak, I will get these wheels installed and report back here.

Hey @gr8tdane24 - any pics of your setup? I'm about to pull the trigger on some MR502s for my MYP!

 

[gr8tdane24]

Hey @gr8tdane24 - any pics of your setup? I'm about to pull the trigger on some MR502s for my MYP!

@BobbyLeeChan I just got the center caps back from the powdercoaters and haven’t had a chance to get the wheels on the car yet. Here’s a pic of them in their current state:

 

[BobbyLeeChan]

@gr8tdane24 that looks great! Good call on powder coating the center caps. Did hook you up with the lug nuts and the TPMS sensors or did you source those separately (via Method and Tesla)?

 

[MountainPass]

Can't wait to see those on the car!!

 

[gr8tdane24]

@gr8tdane24 that looks great! Good call on powder coating the center caps. Did hook you up with the lug nuts and the TPMS sensors or did you source those separately (via Method and Tesla)?

I bought a set of new TMPS sensors from my local SC and my tire shop installed them when they mounted the tires. The lug nuts are Method LK-W55014SEB ET which are required for these wheels - the lug nut holes are a standard 60 degree conical seat but have a larger hole diameter to accept Method's extended thread (ET) lug nuts. The quality of the lugs nuts are excellent - similar to those from Gorilla. I have seen people run other lug nuts with these wheels but I wouldn't advise it. I am also using Stancemagic 64.1mm to 67.1mm machined aluminum hubcentric rings to help minimize any vibrations.

I plan to put these on my MY this Friday and will post pics when I do.

 

[BobbyLeeChan]

@gr8tdane24 thanks for the detailed info! Good to know on the lugs!

 

[kevinkeenan]

Can’t wait to see those on the car.

 

[kevinkeenan]

She was a beast in the snow today. Went right up this uphill unplowed driveway without a second thought.

 

[gr8tdane24]

Just got the wheels mounted and did a test drive to the grocery store. Apologies in advance for the mediocre pictures - it was an uncharacteristically gloomy day in SoCal. Everything fits perfect and the tires are a MAJOR comfort upgrade from the OEM tires and 20” inductions. No noticeable additional body roll and only the faintest amount of additional noise, to my ears at least. I will need to do some more driving in the wet and snow before I make my final opinion but very satisfied so far.

Here’s a pic before I installed the center caps to show the hub centric ring. Minimal runout here!

Can’t wait to get the Unplugged dirt and snow coil overs installed - the ride quality will be like cloud 9 at that point.

 

[BobbyLeeChan]

Just got the wheels mounted and did a test drive to the grocery store. Apologies in advance for the mediocre pictures - it was an uncharacteristically gloomy day in SoCal. Everything fits perfect and the tires are a MAJOR comfort upgrade from the OEM tires and 20” inductions. No noticeable additional body roll and only the faintest amount of additional noise, to my ears at least. I will need to do some more driving in the wet and snow before I make my final opinion but very satisfied so far.

View attachment 753210

View attachment 753212

Here’s a pic before I installed the center caps to show the hub centric ring. Minimal runout here!

View attachment 753213

Can’t wait to get the Unplugged dirt and snow coil overs installed - the ride quality will be like cloud 9 at that point.

That looks fantastic! I should get mine in next week. Any idea on when your coilovers will be ready? UP is telling me late March for mine

 

[gr8tdane24]

That looks fantastic! I should get mine in next week. Any idea on when your coilovers will be ready? UP is telling me late March for mine

UP told me late February early March but who knows with all the supply chain disruptions going on.

 

[TheeUnderdog]

She was a beast in the snow today. Went right up this uphill unplowed driveway without a second thought.

So we've got the UP Dirt and Snow Coilovers installed with Apex 18" wheels and a pretty aggressive Toyo Open Country AT staggered setup. 265/65 rear, 255/55 front. Tiny rubbing at wheel lock in front. I've got a pinch weld in the front wheel wells that is barely catching. Since it's a structural weld, I have been hesitant to "modify" it. The larger tire DID NOT fit up front!!! 255/55/18 seems to be the absolute largest that will fit up front.

Wheel size set back on 21 UBERTINE in setup. FSD Beta enabled. That seems to be fine, no issues. I haven't checked actual vs displayed speed yet. Range seems affected marginally. We took a 1200 mile road trip over the holidays and averaged a 10% loss on efficiency. I thought we'd balance out better because of the lighter wheels, but those tires are probably the issue. We also carried a hitch mounted stowaway so it was hard to attribute range loss to the tires and suspension.

Partial cross post below here, but I'm looking for someone else with the UP dirt and snow coilovers.

So... LOTS of squeaks and pings from the front suspension at low turning speeds. More so on the left than the right but def an issue on both sides. The squeak is coming from the front coils. When changing elevation while turning (steep driveway) I've got an occasional, single, loud but low pitched "ping". Also the rear is generally noisier/clunkier on rough bumps, but much smoother "feeling" than the stock setup. I attribute most of the comfort at this point to those luxurious sidewalls.

BTW, I'm currently in an email thread with UP but no answers yet. Every few days I get another email with more probing questions. I went to a local alignment shop and they did an alignment, but the noises remain. Then we drove 1200 miles to see if it would settle in. Squeeks remain. Brought back to local shop to double check and grease the suspension, but they were unable to get rid of the noises. Also for some reason, when the suspension was installed, I started getting the rear wheel hub clicking noise. We greased the axle splines and that's mostly gone away. Not sure if the new suspension angles exacerbated something there or not.

So far I'm not that happy but I'll keep updating. Looks good, performs well, but sounds terrible. My assumption is that the squeek, pings, and clunks will be figured out. The wife is not amused.

We got about 3.5 inches lift on the back, but I'd like to adjust up more. The rear suspension requires disassembly to adjust height though so a bit of a pain. The front is a ton of elbow grease to adjust but just requires wheels off.

The dampening is adjustable by hand.

 

[gr8tdane24]

@TheeUnderdog thanks for that post. That was exactly the feedback on the UP coilovers that I was looking for. Makes me want to consider the MPP lift spacers again while keeping the stock suspension. Tough decision to make.

 

[DanDi58]

2.5” overall. MPP lift, adjustable camber arms. 245/60-18 tires that are 1.5” larger diameter than stock rubber, so an extra .75”.
View attachment 741952

This looks freaking awesome.

 

[BobbyLeeChan]

So we've got the UP Dirt and Snow Coilovers installed with Apex 18" wheels and a pretty aggressive Toyo Open Country AT staggered setup. 265/65 rear, 255/55 front. Tiny rubbing at wheel lock in front. I've got a pinch weld in the front wheel wells that is barely catching. Since it's a structural weld, I have been hesitant to "modify" it. The larger tire DID NOT fit up front!!! 255/55/18 seems to be the absolute largest that will fit up front.

Wheel size set back on 21 UBERTINE in setup. FSD Beta enabled. That seems to be fine, no issues. I haven't checked actual vs displayed speed yet. Range seems affected marginally. We took a 1200 mile road trip over the holidays and averaged a 10% loss on efficiency. I thought we'd balance out better because of the lighter wheels, but those tires are probably the issue. We also carried a hitch mounted stowaway so it was hard to attribute range loss to the tires and suspension.

Partial cross post below here, but I'm looking for someone else with the UP dirt and snow coilovers.

So... LOTS of squeaks and pings from the front suspension at low turning speeds. More so on the left than the right but def an issue on both sides. The squeak is coming from the front coils. When changing elevation while turning (steep driveway) I've got an occasional, single, loud but low pitched "ping". Also the rear is generally noisier/clunkier on rough bumps, but much smoother "feeling" than the stock setup. I attribute most of the comfort at this point to those luxurious sidewalls.

BTW, I'm currently in an email thread with UP but no answers yet. Every few days I get another email with more probing questions. I went to a local alignment shop and they did an alignment, but the noises remain. Then we drove 1200 miles to see if it would settle in. Squeeks remain. Brought back to local shop to double check and grease the suspension, but they were unable to get rid of the noises. Also for some reason, when the suspension was installed, I started getting the rear wheel hub clicking noise. We greased the axle splines and that's mostly gone away. Not sure if the new suspension angles exacerbated something there or not.

So far I'm not that happy but I'll keep updating. Looks good, performs well, but sounds terrible. My assumption is that the squeek, pings, and clunks will be figured out. The wife is not amused.

We got about 3.5 inches lift on the back, but I'd like to adjust up more. The rear suspension requires disassembly to adjust height though so a bit of a pain. The front is a ton of elbow grease to adjust but just requires wheels off.

The dampening is adjustable by hand.

Thanks for that info! I'm surprised by the rubs, do you have any pics to show where that's contacting and what weld it's contacting?

Bummer on the UP suspension, and even worse that they're not responsive. From their website, it looks like the springs directly mount to the perch, so maybe that's where the noise is coming from (vs having a rubber/polyurethane interface)?

@EchoDelta, I think you're running the UP dirt and snows now per this thread, have you noticed a similar issue?

Agree with @gr8tdane24, this makes me want to just go with MPP lift, but I do have the Performance, so I'm starting an inch lower than you guys.

It would be great if @MountainPass offered a Dirt and Snow option as well!

 

[TacoSteve]

Not lifted yet, But here's my setup so far.
Falken Wild peak A/T Trail 235/60/18
Momo Etna 18x8.5 wheels

Thanks to @P3D-R for helping me get this setup.

 

[nicpottier]

Ooh, nice! This is the first time I see 60 profiles without a lift! Didn't know it would fit. Looks pretty sweet with no fender gap.

 

[TacoSteve]

Ooh, nice! This is the first time I see 60 profiles without a lift! Didn't know it would fit. Looks pretty sweet with no fender gap.

I think I am getting away with it because of the narrow 235 width, makes that 60 aspect ratio slightly smaller in diameter. I have the lift kit to install but turns out I have no rub even without the lift.