MPP Comfort Coilover reviews?

[dfwatt]

I got my MPP Adj Comfort Coilovers (waiting to be installed) and am now debating if I want a few other related parts: 1) rear upper control arms, 2) rear toe arms, 3) Solid Front Lower Control Arm Bearings.

I will not track the car and don't do much spirited driving anymore , but still very much like to feel the good handling from a daily driver. I will lower the car with the default recommended settings. Any recommendations on if some of the above parts are no-brainer to have or good but necessary?

From a handling standpoint especially from a steering feedback and linearity standpoint, the front lower control arm bushing is the best bang for your buck out there probably even better than the coilovers if you can believe that. The stock steering has a kind of rubbery feel, and replacing the lower control arm bushing means that not only do you not get toe or camber change in hard cornering you also get a much clearer impression of how much work your tire patches are doing. I think it takes the steering from good to great. As I said for the money it's the best bang for your buck out there in the handling game. Even my wife who is for sure no Car Junkie agrees that the car handles and steers better with the front lower control arm bushing replaced. She insists that everything I do to my car I duplicate on hers at this point. Who would have predicted that?

As for the other stuff, there is no stock camber adjustment at the rear so when you lower the car you'll pick up some negative camber. That's probably okay because if set to the default ride height the MPP coilover kit probably puts the car at about 1.5 to 1.8 negative camber on the rear. That's fine for Street.

As for what you refer to as the "rear upper control arms" I'm not sure what you're talking about but I assume you're talking about the traction and trailing arms? The impact of those is more subtle. I experience them as tightening up the backend significantly. But if you don't track the car they're probably the least critical item.

The coilover kit plus the lower front suspension bushing are for sure going to synergize in terms of your day-to-day driving and handling. Please do report back with pictures and impressions but I think you'll love it

 

[cuttingiii]

I don't think sways are necessary at this point. Unless you plan on auto-x or tracking your Model 3 and feel like there is either too much sway or need to dial in more or less understeer/oversteer. The car handles pretty flat already and I'm on 12/10 settings which probably skews more towards comfort. I would do the coil overs first and then make a decision about the sway bars after that.

At my next tire rotation I might drop the car another 5mm all around and set the dampers to 10/8 and see how I like the stiffer ride.

I appreciate the response. Thank you

 

[yxm3]

From a handling standpoint especially from a steering feedback and linearity standpoint, the front lower control arm bushing is the best bang for your buck out there probably even better than the coilovers if you can believe that. The stock steering has a kind of rubbery feel, and replacing the lower control arm bushing means that not only do you not get toe or camber change in hard cornering you also get a much clearer impression of how much work your tire patches are doing. I think it takes the steering from good to great. As I said for the money it's the best bang for your buck out there in the handling game. Even my wife who is for sure no Car Junkie agrees that the car handles and steers better with the front lower control arm bushing replaced. She insists that everything I do to my car I duplicate on hers at this point. Who would have predicted that?

As for the other stuff, there is no stock camber adjustment at the rear so when you lower the car you'll pick up some negative camber. That's probably okay because if set to the default ride height the MPP coilover kit probably puts the car at about 1.5 to 1.8 negative camber on the rear. That's fine for Street.

As for what you refer to as the "rear upper control arms" I'm not sure what you're talking about but I assume you're talking about the traction and trailing arms? The impact of those is more subtle. I experience them as tightening up the backend significantly. But if you don't track the car they're probably the least critical item.

The coilover kit plus the lower front suspension bushing are for sure going to synergize in terms of your day-to-day driving and handling. Please do report back with pictures and impressions but I think you'll love it

Thanks for the thorough response. You have convinced me on the front lower control arm bushing. Will order them and report back the experience. The only problem now is to find a good local installer (CT) .

 

[enigmata]

I don't think sways are necessary at this point. Unless you plan on auto-x or tracking your Model 3 and feel like there is either too much sway or need to dial in more or less understeer/oversteer. The car handles pretty flat already and I'm on 12/10 settings which probably skews more towards comfort. I would do the coil overs first and then make a decision about the sway bars after that.

At my next tire rotation I might drop the car another 5mm all around and set the dampers to 10/8 and see how I like the stiffer ride.

Haha, you might go back pretty soon. 10/8 was a noticeably stiffer ride for daily than 12/10 for me

I can feel there’s more front sway (I have UP front and rear bars) with 12/10 as compared to 12/8 which I have it set to currently

 

[whatsupsor]

Haha, you might go back pretty soon. 10/8 was a noticeably stiffer ride for daily than 12/10 for me

I can feel there’s more front sway (I have UP front and rear bars) with 12/10 as compared to 12/8 which I have it set to currently

Hm thanks for that. I might just keep it at 12/10 then haha. Save me the trouble of readjusting it after the wife starts complaining while in the back seat.

 

[MountainPass]

Thanks for the thorough response. You have convinced me on the front lower control arm bushing. Will order them and report back the experience. The only problem now is to find a good local installer (CT) .

I recognize your city, your order shipped today! Thanks so much and thank you @dfwatt for your input

 

[whatsupsor]

I recognize your city, your order shipped today! Thanks so much and thank you @dfwatt for your input

Looking at the instructions - doesn't look like it's a DIY project if you don't have access to a press huh?

 

[tm1v2]

From a handling standpoint especially from a steering feedback and linearity standpoint, the front lower control arm bushing is the best bang for your buck out there probably even better than the coilovers if you can believe that. The stock steering has a kind of rubbery feel, and replacing the lower control arm bushing means that not only do you not get toe or camber change in hard cornering you also get a much clearer impression of how much work your tire patches are doing. I think it takes the steering from good to great. As I said for the money it's the best bang for your buck out there in the handling game. Even my wife who is for sure no Car Junkie agrees that the car handles and steers better with the front lower control arm bushing replaced. She insists that everything I do to my car I duplicate on hers at this point. Who would have predicted that?

I want to say thank you for this!

 

[yxm3]

I recognize your city, your order shipped today! Thanks so much and thank you @dfwatt for your input

Thanks for the quick shipment! I look forward to getting it installed. I did order the press too, @whatsupsor, in case I need to DIY. But I may not be able to find time soon, as together with the coilovers it would take awhile. Any recommended installers near New Haven area (can travel a bit). I called a few shops but none of them liked to touch Tesla suspensions....

 

[whatsupsor]

Thanks for the quick shipment! I look forward to get it installed. I did order the press too, @whatsupsor, in case I need to DIY. But I may not be able to find time soon, as together with the coilovers it would take awhile. Any recommended installers near New Haven area (can travel a bit). I called a few shops but none of them like to touch Tesla suspensions....

Good luck on the install. It took me 10 hours to install the coilovers myself. But I was having issues w/ my jack and the jackstand. By the end my thigh was spasming and cramping up!! LOL getting old sucks!!

 

[dfwatt]

Good luck on the install. It took me 10 hours to install the coilovers myself. But I was having issues w/ my jack and the jackstand. By the end my thigh was spasming and cramping up!! LOL getting old sucks!!

Yes it does! I thought about wrenching the coilovers myself, but wisely had our Ace mechanic Ian take care of it. It would have killed me to get under the car for that many hours with a bad back. I did do all the other stuff except for the front lower control arm bushings which I also had him do. But the trailing arms traction arms camber arms and toe arms and brake cylinder bracket support were pretty easy. I've learned that as joints deteriorate I try not to bite off more than I can chew!

 

[whatsupsor]

Yes it does! I thought about wrenching the coilovers myself, but wisely had our Ace mechanic Ian take care of it. It would have killed me to get under the car for that many hours with a bad back. I did do all the other stuff except for the front lower control arm bushings which I also had him do. But the trailing arms traction arms camber arms and toe arms and brake cylinder bracket support were pretty easy. I've learned that as joints deteriorate I try not to bite off more than I can chew!

Very true. I'm never attempting that again. But small little stuff I'll try and tackle myself. The brake cylinder bracket and front lower control arm bushings have piqued my interest. Brake Bracket looks like a quick and easy job. Might need to find someone todo the bushings tho...maybe after all the craziness of the holiday season!

 

[yxm3]

Very true. I'm never attempting that again. But small little stuff I'll try and tackle myself. The brake cylinder bracket and front lower control arm bushings have piqued my interest. Brake Bracket looks like a quick and easy job. Might need to find someone todo the bushings tho...maybe after all the craziness of the holiday season!

Does not sound very much confidence inspiring for DIY @dfwatt @whatsupsor

 

[whatsupsor]

Does not sound very much confidence inspiring for DIY @dfwatt @whatsupsor

If you have a buddy who can help it would make things a lot easier.

I got one of those Safejacks which works great. The only problem is that my hydraulic jack has those wide handles on the side. So when I lift up the car and position the safejacks, the legs of the safejack hit the handles of the jack. It was a huge pain of trial and error, lifting and dropping to get the perfect angle where I could lower the jack onto the safejack and pull the jack away for later use.

Set aside all of the sockets and tools you'll need and write down all of the torque specs for all the bolts beforehand. One of the members on this forum had an awesome install video that I followed along that helps a lot. I was basically hitting play and pause following exactly what he was doing. Mark if you're reading this thank you so much.

I'm an idiot I don't know how to insert a youtube video. Do a search for Tesla Mark. The title of the video is

Lower Your Tesla Model 3 - Mountain Pass Performance Coilover Install​

I found a super thick mat at Home Depot you can use to cushion your knees that will help SOOO much. I just found it the other day and I wish I had it w/ me when I did my install.

I was going REALLY slow because I didn't want to rush anything. Good luck.

 

[yxm3]

If you have a buddy who can help it would make things a lot easier.

I got one of those Safejacks which works great. The only problem is that my hydraulic jack has those wide handles on the side. So when I lift up the car and position the safejacks, the legs of the safejack hit the handles of the jack. It was a huge pain of trial and error, lifting and dropping to get the perfect angle where I could lower the jack onto the safejack and pull the jack away for later use.

Set aside all of the sockets and tools you'll need and write down all of the torque specs for all the bolts beforehand. One of the members on this forum had an awesome install video that I followed along that helps a lot. I was basically hitting play and pause following exactly what he was doing. Mark if you're reading this thank you so much.

I'm an idiot I don't know how to insert a youtube video. Do a search for Tesla Mark. The title of the video is

Lower Your Tesla Model 3 - Mountain Pass Performance Coilover Install​

I found a super thick mat at Home Depot you can use to cushion your knees that will help SOOO much. I just found it the other day and I wish I had it w/ me when I did my install.

I was going REALLY slow because I didn't want to rush anything. Good luck.

Thanks so much for sharing your experience and the info. I will try to get it carefully planned!

 

[T3SLAROD]

@MountainPass any Black Friday discounts this year?

 

[rpan25]

Is there a presumed number of times / mileage interval that you need to redo your alignment after installing the MPP (or any, really) coilovers? Two different shops in my area are suggesting two different frequencies with one saying to return after a week or 100 miles for final alignment and the other saying to do alignment after 4000 miles and every 4k miles thereafter.

I see most references to realignment on this thread to be 1 week later, so I'm right to assume that a realignment 1 week later is sufficient?

 

[whatsupsor]

Is there a presumed number of times / mileage interval that you need to redo your alignment after installing the MPP (or any, really) coilovers? Two different shops in my area are suggesting two different frequencies with one saying to return after a week or 100 miles for final alignment and the other saying to do alignment after 4000 miles and every 4k miles thereafter.

I see most references to realignment on this thread to be 1 week later, so I'm right to assume that a realignment 1 week later is sufficient?

Here's a quote from Jesse with MPP in response to one of my emails asking a similar question:

" An alignment can be done a few days after installation, just try not to go on any road trips just in case the alignment is really far out. We don't want to kill your tires! It isn't a bad idea to let the suspension settle in for a few days, it is just that usually, people don't have time to go back for an alignment after the install and they get it done in one shot."

I had mine done 4-5 days after I installed my coilovers just because I didn't have time and needed to wait until my day off to get it done. I probably put 100-150 miles during that time.

Good luck.

 

[whatsupsor]

@MountainPass any Black Friday discounts this year?

Check out their blog on their website.

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[MaskedRacerX]

I've got a '21 M3P, I'm looking for a some improvement in ride quality, a little better composure/predictability, and a proper lower ride height (vs. just springs). I've had a lot of performance cars, done all sorts of springs/shocks (struts), complete coilovers, some spec racing components, etc., used to track around the southeast, but this is purely a street car (I might show up at a local A/X, but that's a low priority). I've had plenty of cars with notable track/handling improvements that compromised the street (which was 95% of the car's use).

I'm thinking comfort non-adjustables would be just fine, I appreciate being able to really dial things in with the adjustable, but I would never use that - assuming the fixed rates for the non-adjustables are very "street friendly".

We also live 2 blocks from the ocean (NE Florida), car is garaged most of the time (work from home), but as folks know who live near the coast, there's a good bit of salt just in the air (things outside tend to dissolve )

I mention that because I also know the adjustable models use a stainless steel body, so I suppose they'd be more resilient, but not sure if that's even a concern.

FWIW, I think I'm going to swap to some 255/35 on the OEM 20" wheels, I've got some 5mm spacers sitting here, but I might go a little wider in back, maybe a 10mm with the extended shank lugs.