pdx_m3s
Active Member
The front is not normal. Generally the front is lower than the rear with Eibach springs, giving it a raked look. My SR+ included. Something isn't right.
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Lowering the Model 3
- Thread starter Cricket88
- Start date
@Hayden I imagine if you got springs meant for a dual motor car, that might be the result. Check for part numbers on your springs. Verify whether they're actually meant for the SR+.
If they're indeed for dual motor, figure out whether the mistake was yours (ordered wrong part) or the vendor/seller's (fulfilled wrong part or falsely advertised), or maybe even Eibach's (e.g. dual motor springs in box labeled for RWD cars).
Young Phenom
Member
I can confirm this works and is a much easier way to go about uncompressing the spring. You're compressing it via the jack and letting the car withstand the force and you slowly release it.
I did lowering springs back in the day and I did one the old way and thought to myself why am I going through all these steps to decompress the spring. So I tried it on the other side and it worked much easier.
I still used spring compressors to install the new springs because I still removed the spring / shock but it was way easier due to them being shorter.
M3P_BC
Member
Hey guys, so I just lowered my 3P with H&R lowering springs but came across a thread saying that the OEM struts aren’t made to handle lowering springs. My car definitely feels more bouncy than stock, which I’m okay with but I don’t want to destroy my stock struts. I don’t track my car nor am I planning to… so my question is: am I ok to continue driving on my current setup of stock struts on H&R springs, or should I switch to coil overs sometime in the near future?
For sure coilovers are the way to go. It's hard to know whether your bounciness is caused by increasing recruitment of the bump stops which are in a sense super hard springs with very short travel. But the number of people who started out with lowering springs and then due to any number of problems including noise but also ride and/or handling issues had to eventually transition to coilover sets particularly the 3 mountain pass options (not counting their track coilover kit because you're not going to need that) is a big number. The big problem with the stock suspension is the OEM shocks. Yes the ride height is a bit too high but the shocks are the bigger issue. A high percentage of folks who went to just lowering springs to save a fair chunk of money end up taking them out and putting in a proper coilover set. Both the MountainPass Comfort adjustable and the Sport adjustable kits literally transform the dynamics of the car. Additionally you can actually adjust the ride height in all of their kits including the non-adjustable comfort kit (the shocks are not adjustable but the right height is).
In the suspension, specific shocks are picked to dampen the isolation from the specific springs, selected for a specific vehicle application.
If you increase the stiffness of springs, or shorten their length (aka drop the car), you would want to re-evaluate your selection of shocks.
I have not taken apart the 3P suspension (mine is a daily driver, and already scrapes a few driveways around where I live), but have done that with most of my other cars.
The most likely answer is that your suspension is bouncing off the shocks' rubber bump stops. Those are round rubber pucks installed around the shock piston that soften the impact when it runs out of travel. In other words, you are no longer using the shocks as designed. You have exhausted their amplitude of travel, and are hitting the bump stops that limit the range of travel.
You could remove the bump stops or shorten them to regain shock's dampening ability. But depending on how much you dropped the car, you may just increase the chance of shocks piston slamming into the shock housing, and self-destructing.
It's up to you.
Only you can tell how tolerable (or not) the bouncy ride is. I would not worry about destroying shocks too much (they are a throw away item), unless you plan to re-install the OEM springs in the future (when selling the car).
There is nothing "for sure" in life, let alone in suspension upgrades.
Everything comes at a price, and represents a compromise of some sort.
Let's get the terminology straight first.
Coilover means simply that the shock is mounted by threading it inside the spring. That's all there is to it.
That is actually not the best configuration, but is the most compact and low cost solution that has been adopted by the auto-industry. OEM front suspension setup on Model 3 is a coilover. Rear is multi-link. Forcing the rear into coilover configuration is not necessarily and improvement!
Aftermarket coil-overs simply means that someone has assembled (presumably) well matched pair of springs + shocks that go well together. Consequently, you will be paying more for more components, and someone else's R&D in pairing them.
One can achieve an equal, or even better, outcome by pairing the right set of springs and shocks on your own. You just need to know what you are doing. Or buy the pairs that someone else has put together for you.
Coilover, or otherwise.
That is a common and misleading selling point advertised by some aftermarket coilover vendors.
While some shock housings have threaded nuts that would allow you to change the ride height, that is not something that you are likely to do in real life. For one thing, changing ride height on one corner effects weight distribution and handling on other corners. So you really need to be doing that over a set of 4 scales under each wheel. Very few car guys own those, never mind a typical Tesla owner.
Secondly. changing ride height effects suspension geometry, so you would need to re-align the car after each meaningful height change. OEM suspension does not allow camber adjustment, so now you need to buy additional suspension pieces to actually achieve the desired alignment settings. Again doable, but gets progressively more expensive, and alignment is not a DYI activity in your garage.
I've BTDT, and paying $200+ for proper alignment after fooling around with ride height gets old, fast.
So set your ride height, align the car, and forget about touching it again.
Changing dampener settings, OTOH, is relatively easily and fun. Especially if you have DA (dual adjustable) shocks - one adjustment knob for rebound, and another for compression.
HTH,
a
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M3P_BC
Member
I am planning on re-installing the OEM springs in the future when I sell the car, but if I can get away with just using my H&Rs long-term, then I'd rather just save $400 for the install and sell the car as is.
For just daily driving, is it worth spending $2k+ on a coilover system with adjustable rear camber arms? I'd do it if it was highly recommended vs. I can get away with keeping my current setup. It's only slightly more bouncy than stock, but not terrible. I came from a '13 WRX and the stock suspension on that was horrid. Literally felt every bump on the road.
Adjustable rear camber arms are one of the last things this platform needs.
Only you can define if it's worth it. Why do you want to change the stock suspension? Looks, or actual performance?
M3P_BC
Member
Pure aesthetics. I already lowered it on springs, and the ride quality isn't bad. I just don't want to blow the stock shocks for when I sell the car in the few years or have the ride quality deteriorate.
@M3P_BC I wouldn't worry about blowing the stock shocks early from your lowering springs. Could they contribute to accelerated damper wear? Sure, yeah, seems plausible if you're banging them against the bump stops more often. But I'd be shocked (pun intended
) if your lowering springs made such a difference in damper wear that you actually cared.Plus the stock damping is so bad that who gives a f*** if they're working right. Even when they're working right, it's still poorly dampened!
Plus you can get lightly used stock dampers for super cheap from all the folks here who replace them and don't care to store them. I've seen sets get posted in the for sale section, and I bet there's more folks who would be fine parting with them for cheap, but just haven't bothered to list them.
Personally I wouldn't want the worse ride or worse bumpy-road handling of stock Model 3 dampers + lowering springs, but that's just me, if you're okay with it then by all means stick with that setup, no need to stress about early damper wear (I think).
Firehuntah
Member
I'd say adjustable rear camber arms are much more important to have than you think. When lowering a Model 3 (especially with 35-40mm or more) it causes the rear camber to become quite excessive. Which results in loss of traction and higher tire wear. With the adjustable rear camber arms you can correct this, making the stance look better when comparing with the front. But the car will also handle better and you'll have better tire wear. These arms are well worth the money, at least on my own 3 anyway. It's always a good idea to get them together with coilovers when you plan to lower the car quite a bit. If it's only going to be a subtle drop though, then it won't be as necessary.
Installed T-sportline springs 4 years and 40k miles ago and have not noticed any problems.
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Long time lurker, first time poster. I have lowered my 2021 M3 LR and with the guidance of Eddie at Getyourwheels looking for a flush fit for a new set of wheels/tires. Upon his guidance, we went with a Forgester CF10 19x8.5 +25mm offset with 245/40R19 Continental ExtremeContact Sport summer tires. I lowered the car last week and have been driving on the factory 18" wheels. The car is due to be aligned this Thursday after which I will swap over to the new set of wheels/tires. I didn't want to swap the the new wheels & tires until I had an alignment done due to a bad alignment from the factory as the insides of my original tires are essentially bald. Plus, I knew lowering the car would could also throw off the alignment.
I installed the one side of the new wheels and tires on yesterday just for a test fit and while the back is fine, the front looks really tight to me. Eddie assures me that I will have no rubbing but I am not so confident. The last thing I want is to hit a bump and have the tire get up into the fender bending it.
Does someone with more experience with a lowered M3 think that I will be ok with a 8.5" wide wheel with a +25mm offset and a 245 section width tire or am I asking for trouble with the tires rubbing/hitting the insides of the fenders?
Thanks in advance.
I installed the one side of the new wheels and tires on yesterday just for a test fit and while the back is fine, the front looks really tight to me. Eddie assures me that I will have no rubbing but I am not so confident. The last thing I want is to hit a bump and have the tire get up into the fender bending it.
Does someone with more experience with a lowered M3 think that I will be ok with a 8.5" wide wheel with a +25mm offset and a 245 section width tire or am I asking for trouble with the tires rubbing/hitting the insides of the fenders?
Thanks in advance.
canasion35
Active Member
You’re going to be fine - many on the forum running that exact setup and no running issues.
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