Hi,
If you have had the comfort coilovers for some time now can you comment on the ride quality change? I'm interested in a less bumpy ride on my Model 3. I don't want to lower the car. Just a smoother ride. Can you (or anyone) comment on how significant of an improvement you feel on the ride with the comfort coilovers? Thanks.
I've been meaning to post a longer review, but I can summarize it quickly.
First, you need at least 500 miles for everything to settle. It begins very stiff but softens up.
Overall, I wish the spring were stiffer and the dampers were softer. The springs are basically identical to OEM in terms of body roll, but there are less artifacts, less wobbles, and a cleaner ride. But they are not sporty or stiff at all. I wish they were, but its not a huge deal.
The new dampers will absorb a vast majority of small cracks in the road which they did not with OEM, however when you hit the larger cracks and bumps, you get the same bump-stop "GUNG!" you did before. Its just that now it occurs 5-20% of the time you hit a crack or bump instead of 90% of the time. Part of it is that the Tesla chassis has very little sound absorption, so you hear that cheap knocking suspension sound that other cars don't. Coilovers can't control that. The other part is that the dampers are valved very stiff with less travel than most OEM cars have, so they still reach the bump stops if the road is shitty enough. Nevertheless, you will get a better ride. No doubt about it. If you drive on "pretty good" roads, you will have a good ride and not think about it anymore. If you drive on bad roads like I often do, it will be ok for a lot of people, but not GREAT.
MPP explained to me they limited the damper travel for people who want to slam their cars - too much travel, and the wheels would hit the fenders. But if they could increase the travel and soften the dampers, it would be on par with a modern car of its class.I drive every day in my girlfriend's 2018 GTI, and although that car wobbles around a lot more than mine, the dampers on a bad road absorb way more. I guess it just translates the bumps into the chassis, which then absorbs the rest of the shock. So in her car, you get a little nauseous on a bad road, but you don't get the "GUNG GUNG" experience. Pick your poison.
So with the MPP Comforts, you get a chassis that is pretty damn smooth and clean, but dampers that still give you a fair amount of banging on the cracks and potholes. I still classify this as a suburb-friendly car and not a city-friendly car.
But would I go back to the OEM dampers? Hell no! Those were just unacceptable. This are .. mostly pretty much acceptable. And if you often drive on pretty good roads, you will find them very acceptable.
But if I were to test drive the car today for the very first time with the MPP Comforts, well to be honest, I would still rate the ride quality below the competitors - I might have to think about it, I might not notice right away, and I wouldn't freak out about it like I did with OEM.
MPP said they may consider a real "comfort" upgrade for people like us who don't want to lower their cars. They said they were shocked to see the bad roads in California and it wasn't something they thought about until recently. All they need to do is give it an extra inch of damper travel and slightly softer valving, and then tighten up the springs...and IMO it will feel totally awesome, like Audi-level ride.
