Twice now I’ve been travelling very fast on a bumpy fast sweeping bend and the car started fishtailing slightly when I lifted off the accelerator.i was shocked as I was expecting it to be glued to the road.luckily the car weaving around doesn’t get progressively worse until it’s uncontrollable. My old Subaru Impreza was amazing compared to this.
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Model 3 performance handling
- Thread starter Subevo
- Start date
ULEWZ
Member
Even though it is a performance 3, it still lacks in the suspension dept when being pushed. It also pogos at high speed, and gets upset when hitting a bump in the turns. I fixed mine by installing the MPP sport coilovers, but that is expensive.
Ant M3
Member
I think the difference is that the Evo was a focused rally bred car build for taking corners very very well at high speed. The Tesla stable is more about family focussed cars that happen to be lightening bloody fast in a straight line and whilst not too bad in a corner (certainly as good as my BMW MSport) it’s not in the same league for cornering as the Evo’s and Scoobys etc
LongRanger
Active Member
+400-600 kilos of extra weight added in compared to the Scooby/Evo’s of yesteryear won’t be helping either.
Would love to try the Polestar2 on the fancy Ohlins - big gap in Tesla’s thinking not to offer a proper trick suspension system with the Performance. Suspension design and quality of parts could have been thought about more.
The SR+ I drove for 48 hours before ordering was pretty good but even with less weight than the AWD/P it didn’t feel like enough money had been spent on the suspension, add in silly raw performance and 1850kg and it is easy to see why people will find it wanting.
If I had more usable B roads where I live/commute I would possibly have not ordered a Model 3 but the priority for me is not ultimate handling - just needed “good enough for 90% of the time” and it certainly does that. The joys of work and life winning out.
If you want to sort out the suspension properly you could always give KW or Ohlins a call and get them to build you a tailored set. Expect to pay £4-10k depending on what you want ! Or take a look at the competition, as it will get better and better over the next year or so.
Would love to try the Polestar2 on the fancy Ohlins - big gap in Tesla’s thinking not to offer a proper trick suspension system with the Performance. Suspension design and quality of parts could have been thought about more.
The SR+ I drove for 48 hours before ordering was pretty good but even with less weight than the AWD/P it didn’t feel like enough money had been spent on the suspension, add in silly raw performance and 1850kg and it is easy to see why people will find it wanting.
If I had more usable B roads where I live/commute I would possibly have not ordered a Model 3 but the priority for me is not ultimate handling - just needed “good enough for 90% of the time” and it certainly does that. The joys of work and life winning out.
If you want to sort out the suspension properly you could always give KW or Ohlins a call and get them to build you a tailored set. Expect to pay £4-10k depending on what you want ! Or take a look at the competition, as it will get better and better over the next year or so.
There are plenty of suspension options out there.
Suspension modifications have dramatically improved my P, at a cost of about £3k. To me, it was worth it.
Suspension modifications have dramatically improved my P, at a cost of about £3k. To me, it was worth it.
Good to hear.. where/how if u don’t mingled sharing? Also does it impact ur insurance or warranty?
You have to notify changes and then it's up to the relevant insurance company or manufacturer to decide. Anything that is specifically designed to help your car go around corners faster is liable to make them think twice ... despite the argument that the better suspension improves the car's primary safety ... because if you are uprating this aspect of the vehicle then you are clearly intending to use that increased level of performance... thereby increasing the risks high speed damage and accidents... and now with even more expensive parts to replace! Go for it if you can afford it!
I think we're talking about cornering at the limits of adhesion ... different vehicles break away with varied characteristics. In this instance the OP appeared to be finding a readiness for the back end to step out more than anticipated on deceleration in a corner. This is very common in front wheel drive cars (the "don't lift then" comment is actually a reasonable one depending on circumstances!). All wheel drive cars are more of a mixed bag depending on how the power is delivered to each wheel (and who knows what Tesla does in the traction control department). The natural characteristics of the car can only really be noted with all assistance off (I'm presuming Track Mode does this) and pushing through a number of different corners at, and beyond, the limits of tyre adhesion. Best to do this on a track chaps.
Of course, as we all know, the accepted fast driving "rule" is "slow in and fast out" so unless you've got it slightly wrong these instances should be few and far between ... lose the required amount of speed before the corner and drive through, only giving it the full beans as the corner straightens. A factor than could be coming into play is regenerative braking. One may not be intentionally braking thought the corner but if you do a full lift off (as we may do automatically with previous cars) you may be getting enough braking effect to destabilise the car. The accelerator pedal on the Tesla is a 2 way thing so lifting off as progressively as possible may be the answer.
Sure. I was looking to improve both the ride and the handling characteristics of the car, without wishing to focus specifically on either. To this end I fitted:
MPP Comfort Coilovers
MPP Front Lower Control Arm Bushes
MPP rear camber and toe arms
Eibach Anti Roll Bars
I did a short review of this set up on another recent thread, but it's worked for me and it's transformed my enjoyment of the car.
With regard to the insurance, it's increased my premium by £120 annually. Not an insignificant amount, and represents an increase of about 15% however this covers the value of the modifications too.
The Tesla warranty won't cover the aftermarket parts, but the rest of the warranty is unaffected.
Coming from a 330e I too find the handling a bit “weird”. So much so that I went back and re-read a lot of reviews about it. I haven’t experienced the fishtailing like the op (but haven’t needed to back off) but did look into if the model 3 had a degree of rear wheel steering as it’s almost as if it hunkers down and tucks in a bit more past a certain point in the corner and it feels like it comes from the rear. It does feel unsettling but as others people have said its a hell of a lot of weight being asked to go round a corner. There is definitely a weight shift mid corner that’s unsettling at first. No where near as composed as the bimmer but I expect if they were driven back to back then The Tesla would be going a whole lot faster.
In terms of the fishtailing, just checking but you had regen set to low or track mode on? Otherwise lifting off is more like giving the brakes a jab and does upset the car. I started the recent P- suspension thread, and this definitely helps, bit the conclusion is that really, especially if you are coming from something genuinely tuned for handling, both the normal and P suspension setups are quite wanting.
Personally I'm just waiting for the right time to apply to the finance dept (who is suffering motion sickness a bit, which will help my case)to do a similar switch to @U_S_D. Just have to decide if I do the adjustable arms too or not. And find a garage near Edinburgh I'd trust to do it right.
Personally I'm just waiting for the right time to apply to the finance dept (who is suffering motion sickness a bit, which will help my case)to do a similar switch to @U_S_D. Just have to decide if I do the adjustable arms too or not. And find a garage near Edinburgh I'd trust to do it right.
Thanks for your replies.
i had the regen set to standard and that may be the problem when lifting off mid corner ,maybe fishtailing was too strong a word. More like the car was very unsettled and could have possibly lost control if not maybe for the inbuilt stability control electronics.
After all the YouTube videos make it seem like the handling is unmatched.
i had the regen set to standard and that may be the problem when lifting off mid corner ,maybe fishtailing was too strong a word. More like the car was very unsettled and could have possibly lost control if not maybe for the inbuilt stability control electronics.
After all the YouTube videos make it seem like the handling is unmatched.
Turn it off and go for a blat. Totally different car for driving quick. Thanks to everyone that suggested it to me. Still not up to fast European standards, but much more acceptable.
I'm trying to train myself to leave it in full regen but not lift off unless actually wanting to brake as it does make quite a difference to the range you can have fun for.
Jonny Ringo
Member
Old Subaru’s under steered so lifting mid corner helped bring the back round progressively, but most cars like a balanced throttle pre mid corner ready for powering out. I collect my M3 tomorrow so will find out a bit more on the way home
about the weight transfer.
Jonny Ringo
Member
What's being described is a characteristic of the factory suspension. It's not a desirable characteristic, but probably 95% of Model 3 drivers won't experience it because they aren't pushing hard enough. The other 5% experiance it and describe it in various ways, but essentially it seems to me to be bump steer which happens at or close to maximum compression, particularly in fast sweeping bumpy corners. Think Church at Thruxton or the exit of Paddock at Brands Hatch.
It's not particularly dangerous as there's still plenty of grip and the stability control takes care of it, but it is unsettling and on the track it's just annoying.
The only solution is to upgrade the suspension. There is no adjustment with the factory setup. I've now got the Redwood Ohlins setup on mine and this bump steer issue has gone. I'm sure the result will probably be the same with MPP, KW, UP etc. too.
Regen, Track mode settings etc etc won't help. It's a damper/spring issue.
It's not particularly dangerous as there's still plenty of grip and the stability control takes care of it, but it is unsettling and on the track it's just annoying.
The only solution is to upgrade the suspension. There is no adjustment with the factory setup. I've now got the Redwood Ohlins setup on mine and this bump steer issue has gone. I'm sure the result will probably be the same with MPP, KW, UP etc. too.
Regen, Track mode settings etc etc won't help. It's a damper/spring issue.
Everything you said is spot on, but leaving regen on causes all the problems you would expect if you let a 5yo tap the brakes when they fancy as you go round the corner. At least on the AWD suspension and the 18's, weight rams forward, the outside front digs in and it's really not nice. Not unsafe, but doesn't feel controlled for the amount of power you have.
All hail after market setups!
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