So I finally lowered my Tesla 3 AWD and as I expected, I wish I had done it sooner!
I installed the Mountain Pass Performance Comfort Adjustable Coilovers and so far they are awesome. The car looks WAY better, handles way better and the ride is whatever I want to make it. Because they are adjustable I can raise or lower the car and make it ride softer, the same, or more firm than original. I also bought their rear adjustable camber arms just in case I needed the extra adjustment. MPP says that you can get away without needing them, but I expected to at least try to lower it too far
I first installed the kit using the suggested height, compression and rebound adjustments and it turned out to be a perfect middle ground. The car was lowered an inch or so, felt much more responsive, handled better and felt slightly more firm in terms of comfort - hitting bumps, expansion joints, cracks, etc.
Of course, just a few days later, I decided to lower it some more and it feels even better in terms of handling. Ride comfort seems to be about the same. The lower ride is more of a risk in terms of scraping the front end, the underside or even bottoming it out, though.
The measurements I'm about to cite are all from the ground to the 4 different jacking points on the car, which are pretty much the lowest points on the car aside from mudflaps or underside plastic fairings.
Non-performance Tesla 3's start at about 140mm from the ground at these points with the 18" aero wheels. The initial suggested setup height from MPP will drop this to about 110mm, which was pretty accurate. But after a couple of days I decided to drop it another 20mm which put it close to 90mm off of the ground. Looks even better, IMO.
Before and after dropping it an additional 20mm I visited one of the biggest speed bumps I knew of as well as the steepest parking lot entrance. Both clear fine as long as I take it slow. Going too quick will cause the suspension to bounce and the bottom frame will contact the speed bump or the front end will scrape on the entranceway. Also, you may not be able to get the car onto some of the larger lifts at auto repair shops without using something to drive the rear tires of the car onto after the front has already made it up. It’s not a huge deal, but if your mechanic/shop are not friendly, they’ll immediately send you elsewhere… (I have a whole Firestone rant I will probably post soon.)
I chose the fully adjustable MPP coilovers because they are fully stainless steel which I think is more necessary here in Chicagoland. They sell a version that is only height adjustable and non-stainless for much less.
Installation is not that hard - I know it's all relative, but if you've ever done a complete brake job - pads and rotors, I would say you could tackle this project and install these yourself and save a bunch of money (~$500).
The only special tools you will need are the spring compressors, but these can be "borrowed" from auto parts stores like Autozone and Advance Auto. By "borrow", I mean you give them a $50 deposit that you will get back if you return them within 90 days, which is pretty sweet.
And then you may need some type of through-hole wrench or maybe open end to remove the top of the shock.
I created a pretty big DIY video (
) with more details on the install, if you’re interested. It’s broken down as follows:
0:00 - Intro, w/unboxing, then some discussion - why I chose this version of MPP coilover, rear camber arms and why you may need them.
9:30 - Camber & Toe talk
12:20 - Frunk removal
13:50 - Raise car
15:07 - Remove front Tesla coilovers
23:27 - Disassemble Tesla coilovers
29:21 - Assemble MPP front coilovers, set ride height
36:40 - Install MPP front coilovers
42:58 - Reinstall frunk
43:57 - Remove rear shocks & springs
46:35 - Disassemble rear Tesla shocks
47:18 - Assemble MPP springs & set ride height
47:55 - Install MPP rear springs
48:34 - Assemble MPP rear shocks
49:30 - Install rear shocks
50:38 - Remove Tesla rear camber arm
51:05 - Install MPP rear camber arm
51:59 - Reinstall rear spring cover
52:05 - Alignment needed – NOT by Firestone
54:13 - Before/After Pics
54:25 - Full Review Coming Soon
55:27 - Update your look inside and out
If you’re new at this, you may want to start with the rear install first – it is easier and will get you warmed up. Even after doing this once it would probably take me a full day as I like to be careful and double-check everything. Basically, I’m slow
I wouldn’t say anything was really difficult at all, just time consuming.
After I get the alignment done and play with the settings some more, I will complete and post a full drive review.
Also, a small bonus is that the kit is lighter than the stock components. This is most likely due to the smaller diameter of the springs. All of the coilovers combined weigh about 7.2 lbs less than stock according to my scale. I forgot to weigh the MPP camber arms before installing them, but I would estimate conservatively that the pair are a total of 3 lbs lighter. So ~10 lbs total saved.
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