MountainPass Performance Comfort Coilovers

[Exelion]

What causes a lot of confusion among people is probably the ambiguity of the terms.

Clockwise, or Firmer ride settings are towards the lower numbers (0, 1, etc). Counter-clockwise, or softer settings, are towards the higher numbers (12, 13, 14). The problem comes in when you look at the dials and they show Firm + and Soft -, because in normal people's math (everyone) when you ADD or +, the number is supposed to go higher, not lower! Personally, I'd have labeled the marks as H and S (Hard and Soft) rather than + and -.

Not to mention the word Higher points to the left rather than the right. It's a bit of a mess, really (the terms that is).

Also, I believe what people are talking about when they say reset, is to reset to 0, (zero) rather than resetting to 14. Let's say you're at what you think is 7. If you want to go to setting 5, you turn it all the way to zero, then turn it counter-clockwise five clicks rather than going counter-clockwise two (7 immediately to 5).

 

[Ynot408]

So after about 100+ miles I can say with certainty: the driving experience is completely transformed. As mentioned in my previous post, one of the first things I noticed was the absorption of road imperfections. While that is still a huge enjoyable improvement, I'm now enamored by the confidence in handling. I find myself pushing the Y more than I ever did on the MYP springs.

Currently it's set to the MPP recommended settings (which is 75% towards the soft end). This setting and the ride height (-1" from MYP height) is perfect for my driving style and family needs.

View attachment 637333 View attachment 637334

Very nice, I am in Ay Area also. Where did you have them installed?

 

[thesmokingman]

Anyone know what the UPP warranty is on these? MPP only offers 2yr warranty and i'm not dropping that kind of cash for only 2 yr warranty

Old post but if that's a concern for anyone else moving forward buy the coilovers direct from KW. The Variant and Comfort lines as well as some others all come with lifetime warranty. That's part of the whole point of the Inox.

 

[Ruffles]

Next weekend, I'm going to attend my first SCCA event. How would you guys set the suspension?

 

[thesmokingman]

Next weekend, I'm going to attend my first SCCA event. How would you guys set the suspension?

At a minimum I would raise your low speed bump closer to KW specs which is stiff from the factory just as a baseline. KW settings tend to be real stiff stock. MPP settings from a users post a few posts back is softer in comparison. There is a ton of range in the V3 adjustments. I'd also have a read of the KW V3 shock tuning guide which is based on the Penske manual. Obviously the settings won't transfer but it will give you a good understanding of the V3 and its tuning.

Also, I wouldn't worry about it too much as I'm sure there will be plenty of ppl there with experience with damper tuning. The KW's are very popular soo I'm sure you'll find many who can help.

Shock Tuning

Honda S2000 KW V3 Tuning Guide

robrobinette.com

KW: rebound/bump
clicks open (always close first)
f: 8/5
r: 9/3

 

[Ruffles]

Awesome. Thanks! Is there a way to confirm I have V3 shocks? I didn't know there were different versions when I ordered.

 

[thesmokingman]

Awesome. Thanks! Is there a way to confirm I have V3 shocks? I didn't know there were different versions when I ordered.

KW only makes V3 for the 3. MPP coils are rebranded KW's, thus you 99% are running V3. V3 are dual adjustable so if you refer to your MPP specs you'll see they are adjustable for low speed bump and rebound. The KW V1 and Comfort do not have separate adjustments, ie. only 1 way adjustable whereas V3 are 2-way.

 

[TGeek 8]

Sent you a PM.

Hey gundarx, did you have a recommendation on where to install the MPP in the Seattle area. I called Cantrell Motorsports and was told labor alone would be around 1700$ which sounded insane.

 

[gundarx]

Hey gundarx, did you have a recommendation on where to install the MPP in the Seattle area. I called Cantrell Motorsports and was told labor alone would be around 1700$ which sounded insane.

yes that appears to be the going rate around here.. keeping up in price with our housing market I guess @Ruffles did DIY route

 

[Ruffles]

I asked about this awhile back after I did my install but can several of you that have had your coilovers installed for awhile measure and see if you've had any settling? I thought my car looked a little lower than before so I measured and I've lost 1/2" on the back and 3/8" on the front.

 

[gundarx]

I asked about this awhile back after I did my install but can several of you that have had your coilovers installed for awhile measure and see if you've had any settling? I thought my car looked a little lower than before so I measured and I've lost 1/2" on the back and 3/8" on the front.

Yes there was settling, posted this awhile back where my alignment numbers (original post-install alignment (current measurements) vs. new alignment @ 1000 miles (before measurements)) drifted and you'd assume should be the same without settling in effect. MountainPass Performance Comfort Coilovers

The car is corner-balanced so the fender gaps are not identical on all sides so I don't bother measuring myself.

 

[thesmokingman]

Yes there was settling, posted this awhile back where my alignment numbers (original post-install alignment (current measurements) vs. new alignment @ 1000 miles (before measurements)) drifted and you'd assume should be the same without settling in effect. MountainPass Performance Comfort Coilovers

The car is corner-balanced so the fender gaps are not identical on all sides so I don't bother measuring myself.

That's the thing that's annoying about corner balancing. I have a subwoofer in the back left corner of one of my cars so that end droops when the height collars are all set the same. C'est la vie.

Also the seals on the coils will break in after some miles. When new coils are stiff, then they break in. And seasons will have an effect too, stiffer in winter and softer in summer. Some users will keep separate settings for summer/winter.

 

[cYnbios]

I asked about this awhile back after I did my install but can several of you that have had your coilovers installed for awhile measure and see if you've had any settling? I thought my car looked a little lower than before so I measured and I've lost 1/2" on the back and 3/8" on the front.

Mine settled pretty much the same as your, about 1/2" all around.

 

[tangible1]

Hey gundarx, did you have a recommendation on where to install the MPP in the Seattle area. I called Cantrell Motorsports and was told labor alone would be around 1700$ which sounded insane.

You might do some looking on YouTube about installing the coilovers yourself. Not a huge deal.
It's a day's worth of work in the garage if you have the tools.
Biggest issue is a jack, puck adapter, and proper jackstands for both sides; do the front suspension then rear.
Then take to a shop for final ride height, corner balance and alignment.

 

[Ruffles]

Mine settled pretty much the same as your, about 1/2" all around.

Good to know. I re-set my ride height yesterday and changed the settings to 2 clicks firmer than the MPP recommended starting settings in preparation for my SCCA event next weekend and everything went well. I'm now at 10 for front compression & rebound and in the rear I have 8 compression and 6 rebound. I expected it to be firmer than it is but I'm actually enjoying this setting. When changing the ride height, besides removing the wheels, I can adjust the front with just the collar wrench from MPP without disassembling anything but the rear is just easier to remove the two lower shock and knuckle bolts, lower the control arm, and remove the spring perch all together. Re-assembly is quick.

 

[Exelion]

I just installed the rear MPP comfort coilovers earlier today. I was planning to do the fronts but its just too hot, and a few more hours in a garage with just a huge fan isn’t bearable.

some notes:

-I did this in a DIY garage, which is a place where they provide the hydraulic lift, auto tools, and charge for the time. Been going here for about eight years and have changed quite a lot of cars suspensions here. If you want to know what the place is, its Urdreamgarage. Two locations in the Los Angeles area, one in Rosemead and the other is Fullerton. Cool that they even have the lift pucks for 3/Y!

-Teslas non-adjustable shock has a really thin rod. Doing a body weight test on it, I noticed it moves slowly in, and slowly back out. I would say the speed of the shock is comparable to MPP’s adjustable settings of 4 or 5 (a really low number) in both rebound and compression, which seem (not surprisingly) move at the same speed. This probably accounts for the harsh ride of the Y.

-MPP’s springs don’t look linear. The bottom coils look more compressed than the rest, and the thickness of the spring wire is thinner too. There’s also a plastic sleeve at the bottom, probably for dirt/noise protection. They look shorter than Tesla’s but that's because there's an adjustable spacer that makes it about the same overall length as the Tesla springs. I'm guessing the MPP springs are softer riding spring's than Tesla's due to the thinner wire, and the overall diameter is a tad smaller too.

-with Tesla's stock shocks in front and MPP’s in the rear (set at 10c/8r) the ride is very funny. It feels like driving a car with only two front wheels, like a Segway. I would feel hard bumps initially from the fronts, but then not again, as I would usually expect, because the damping is much better in the rear than the front. It's always a lot less of a bump in the back, sometimes its completely muted. This completely takes away the “is it really that much better?”. Yeah it sure is. Its not a retroactive comparison, like a before & after-this setup makes you want to be a rear passenger than a driver. I’ll be driving this setup around for a week until I can get back in there and do the fronts.

-Even with exact measurements on the hi-quality billet adjustable aluminum rear spacers (counted threads and used a caliper), one side is 16 1/2 and the other is 16 5/8. Measured hub to fender. A tiny tiny tiny bit difference. I think its the fact that springs/shocks can’t be all exactly perfect with each other. Tesla uses the term “within spec”. I’ll be adjusting both after a week ride hopefully they settle.

-I tried to adjust the rear height using the spanner (while it’s still on the car) but it's absolutely impossible. There’s just no way. The spring is just too tight against the spacer plus there’s no room to maneuver that wrench. Even with a tiny bit of a turn, the entire spring assembly turns. Like many have said before me, I’ll take them off, adjust, and put back.

-The job took two guys 1.5 hours each side, and that includes the adjustable camber arms. That's with power tools to remove the wheels, and the hydraulic lifter and the manual hi-rise jack.

-The manual hi-rise jack (my term for it) is useful in raising and lowering the lower arm to get the bolts out and in. Of course, the most important use for it is to raise the lower arm (applying pressure) and then tighten the bolts for the lower and camber arms. I don’t know what to do if I didn’t have that available.

-Some pics for you guys.

 

[MyEarHurts]

To follow up on the above post, for most doing this on their garage floor, two jacks is needed, good thing I purchased an emergency scissor jack because for the rear you need to use the jack to support the control arm in order to remove the tension to remove the lower shock bolt and the control arm bolt. There is a 59 min youtube video on a guy doing it do this model 3 which is very similar. It's a straight forward install, I would adjust the height that you need because like the person above said, for the rears, you cannot adjust it once the spring is installed, you would have to uninstall (which is what I did), adjust, then reinstall, it only took me 30 min each side but still annoying.

For those that want oem or max height which is what I did, for the rears, you have to unscrew the adapter (top and bottom, think of it as a large bolt for the top part and a large nut for the bottom part) unscrew the upper half until the lower half of the threads are off the lower part which concerns me because half of the threads are gone for support with the heavy weight of the car. If you can deal with your car being lowered, I would screw the adapter all the way in until the top half's bottom thread is level with the lower part so that way it you have more support of the threads in case the up and down would cause the threads to strip. It sounds confusing but once you see it you'll understand.

Imagine 40mm gap (max height) from the bottom of the top part to the top of the top part vs 30mm, so the more you unscrew the less threads you have.

The fronts are a pain but very doable, again a second jack helps with the sway bar links as there is tension.

Also DO NOT spray any lubricant or apply any because I did that to one of the springs and now it pops when turning because the spring turns, I resolved this by spraying brake cleaner. Also make sure the top nuts for the front are tight because I had popping noises. When you tighten the nut, the middle valve spins so you need a through hole type socket set or you can use a vise grip to hold your socket and an allen wrench in between the socket and turn the socket with the vise grip as it only needs to be 15 ft/lbs per the model 3 install video.

 

[Exelion]

For those that want oem or max height which is what I did, for the rears, you have to unscrew the adapter (top and bottom, think of it as a large bolt for the top part and a large nut for the bottom part) unscrew the upper half until the lower half of the threads are off the lower part which concerns me because half of the threads are gone for support with the heavy weight of the car. If you can deal with your car being lowered, I would screw the adapter all the way in until the top half's bottom thread is level with the lower part so that way it you have more support of the threads in case the up and down would cause the threads to strip. It sounds confusing but once you see it you'll understand.

Imagine 40mm gap (max height) from the bottom of the top part to the top of the top part vs 30mm, so the more you unscrew the less threads you have.

I added a picture of the rear spring spacer to see if it will help:

The yellow circled piece is the part that's supposedly rotatable, but it isn't while installed in the car. You can try turning that with the included tool, it will not turn. Way too much tension. The blue spring and this two-piece black spacer assembly have to be removed from the car, spun, then put back in. From what I understand, I think red is the direction we want to go if we want to lower that part of the car. Green is the direction we go if we want to raise it. Its backwards from the front, because in the front shocks, the adjuster sits beneath the spring (which means if dialed up, it pushes the spring and the car body upwards). In the rear, these spacers sit on top of the spring.

Do I have this correct?

 

[Ruffles]

You are correct. One thing to note is that you have to loosen the set screw the locks the position of the spring perch before you try to adjust it. However, even with loosing it, its still easier to remove the whole perch, make your adjustment, and put it back in. I've done mine several times and can make adjustments in about 20 min on each wheel.

 

[Sudsington]

Does anyone have any recommendations for a shop for installation in the Chicago area? Thanks!