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M3P - Who switched from a (true) sports car?
- Thread starter drew4392
- Start date
Drama to no drama.
The 3P was great for daily driving but I missed the driving engagement you get from a manual transmission as well as the exhaust note.I get a different kind of engagement, to be honest. You can feel the road better through the steering and suspension, hear the tires in corners, feel the AWD compensate, and hear the environment. I used to ride a motorcycle and you could hear the environment over the engine at low speeds-in the Tesla, that’s all through the drive. I agree that there is less conventional drama, but I find the 3P to have its own presence.
Exactly. This is something people really don't appreciate about how quietness of electric vehicles gives you a whole new set of sensations and noises to pay attention to, which are enhanced by the improved tactile feedback you get from swapping out a bunch of the bushings with MPP parts. Engine noise and vibration as somebody once said "it's a bug not a feature". Except maybe for Ferraris.
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It depends on the car. A Model S Plaid will dust just about anything on wheels other than a Rimac Nevera. A 3P is comparable to conventional sport sedans like the BMW M3 and Audi S4, and has build quality comparable to a Dodge Challenger Scat Pack/Hellcat, and will often outrun its close competitors. A 3P even can compete with a Porsche Taycan 4S, on everything but build quality. But the 3P won’t catch C8 Corvettes, the Hellcat Redeye, or other sub-3 second to 60 performance cars.
A 3P, like a 392 Challenger or BMW M3/Audi S4/Mercedes AMG63/Alfa Romeo Giulia QV, is about at the limit for usable performance on public streets, at a price most enthusiasts can pay. It’s got advanced torque vectoring AWD and somewhere over 500 hp at the wheels, and that’s pretty darn good. A fully specced out 3P with FSD, a color other than white, and premium white interior will ring up at $70,000 USD. That‘s not cheap, but it’s doable for an enthusiast who also wants a practical car. It comes in just below the BMW/Mercedes, and doesn’t have their build quality or the Alfa’s panache. But the 3P makes up for it with better technology, better stealth (you can’t really tell it apart from entry level unless you look close), and ubiquity-a million Mod. 3 cars are on the road, and the Mod. Y has about 40% parts commonality, so parts will be available for decades even if Tesla were to cease production this second.
A 3P isn‘t better generally than conventional equivalents. It’s different. It’s better in some ways and not as good in others. I certainly have no regrets. I like it better than any other car I’ve ever owned. Your mileage may vary.
A 3P, like a 392 Challenger or BMW M3/Audi S4/Mercedes AMG63/Alfa Romeo Giulia QV, is about at the limit for usable performance on public streets, at a price most enthusiasts can pay. It’s got advanced torque vectoring AWD and somewhere over 500 hp at the wheels, and that’s pretty darn good. A fully specced out 3P with FSD, a color other than white, and premium white interior will ring up at $70,000 USD. That‘s not cheap, but it’s doable for an enthusiast who also wants a practical car. It comes in just below the BMW/Mercedes, and doesn’t have their build quality or the Alfa’s panache. But the 3P makes up for it with better technology, better stealth (you can’t really tell it apart from entry level unless you look close), and ubiquity-a million Mod. 3 cars are on the road, and the Mod. Y has about 40% parts commonality, so parts will be available for decades even if Tesla were to cease production this second.
A 3P isn‘t better generally than conventional equivalents. It’s different. It’s better in some ways and not as good in others. I certainly have no regrets. I like it better than any other car I’ve ever owned. Your mileage may vary.
I would say the 2021 car does not handle better than our 2018 performance models in good part because the older cars got the Pilot Sport 4S Tire which I think is at least a little bit better. If you want to make the car handle your best option hands down is to get one of the MPP coilover kits. The sport coilover kit in particular if you're interested in getting the best possible handling. The ride is actually very good - probably better than stock overall because you lose pogoing over bumps, the floaty rear end, and the banging into the bump stops. Add their trailing, and traction arms, and lower control arm bushings, and you gain significant steering feedback and feel without any additional nvh.
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Thanks. I wish there was an OEM solution for this so I don't have to deal with 3rd parties and risk warranty and stuff like that.
I have not yet heard anywhere on any of the forums that anyone had a warranty claim denied because of an MPP coilover kit. 1 you could reach out to MPP ask them if they have ever heard of a single case. I bet the answer is no. Keep in mind that Tesla has to show that the aftermarket modification resulted in the failure of the component that you're seeking warranty service on. I just think that's mostly a theoretical possibility with a close to zero real penetrance. As for the whole OEM thing, you're replacing OEM shocks with items that are at a different level in terms of quality, performance, and quality control for that matter. I regard the two MPP coilover kits (Comfort adjustable kit on my wife's car and the sport kit on mine) as the best bang for the buck in aftermarket modifications bar none. They really transform the car. In my case the handling is in a different Universe while the ride is better. In the case of my wife's car, the handling is significantly better and the ride is in a different universe.
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Disagree, I find the steering to be numb and almost artificial compared to some other cars. I preferred the feel in my e90 over my M3P.
Is there any way to fix the steering? If the MPP coilovers can fix the handling, is there something to make the steering feel communicative like a sports car? I don't think I'm asking for too much. I just want a car that drives like a Porsche and accelerates like a Tesla....
Zcd1
Active Member
Just bring $200K and buy a Taycan Turbo S - walla - problem solved! ;-)Is there any way to fix the steering? If the MPP coilovers can fix the handling, is there something to make the steering feel communicative like a sports car? I don't think I'm asking for too much. I just want a car that drives like a Porsche and accelerates like a Tesla....
Yes the coilovers Plus the MPP front lower control arm bushing make the steering significantly more communicative. The front control arm bushing is really a great value.Is there any way to fix the steering? If the MPP coilovers can fix the handling, is there something to make the steering feel communicative like a sports car? I don't think I'm asking for too much. I just want a car that drives like a Porsche and accelerates like a Tesla....
$300 sounds much better to me. How good would you say it makes the M3P? Is it roughly on par with a BMW M3 in terms of handling and steering? I know there is no perfect comparison.
Significantly better. If you were to step out of my highly modified performance model 3 (traction, trailing, Toe arms coilovers lower control arm bushing, wider wheels and tires) into a current-generation BMW M3, you would feel that the car's handling had taken a sizable step backwards from my car. My car has higher limits, is more neutral, feels quicker to rotate, and certainly does not have the sensation of a large chunk of iron in the front end that the BMW M3 has. After all, the battery and drivetrain of the Model 3 give it a lower polar moment of inertia than a Porsche Cayman but it takes a properly modified version of the car for those advantages to become fully manifest. Guys who track the car feel that properly set up it will hang with just about anything in the corners. That includes Exotics.
Doesnt really seem like a fair comparison. My comparison to the e90 steering feel was stock vs stock. How does the feel change if we step out of your "highly modified" model 3 into a "highly modified" BMW? let's dial back the koolaid a bit.
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