MPP compression rod and control arm bearings.

[chiapet15]

as someone with all these components....its upsetting to see so many say there is no noticeable NVH increase.

its noticeable, just not annoying or unexpected. There is certainly more NVH with the bearings.

I had the MPP front lower control arm bushings, compression rod inserts, and rear camber arms installed with the comfort coilovers at AutoRnD in Fremont, CA for my 2018 P3D. I also replaced the FUCA with new OE ones. I found that the bearings and solid bushings produced enough of a noise increase that I had them removed. I went back to new stock lower control arm bushings and rear camber arms from Redwood Motorsports which accept the OE rubber bushings (FPX - OEM Rubber Bushing Adjustable Rear Camber & Toe Control Arms). AutoRnD does a lot of these installations and they said I was the first person to ever complain about the NVH increase and go back to stock bushings.

I consider myself an audiophile, so I think my hearing is more sensitive than most, but my I also noticed that we were all repeating ourselves more frequently when talking with our kids in the backseat when driving on the highway. I would describe the sound signature as coming from the wheel bearings, since on completely smooth, new asphalt roads, the high pitched and metallic whirling sound would change in pitch and volume with speed. Overall, on normal asphalt roads (not newly paved) and especially concrete ones, it sounded like being in a plane but with a higher pitched metal sound. When going over the expansion joints on bridges, the thumps took on a metallic pinging/ringing sound at impact. The combination of the higher pitch and volume of the sound fatigued my ears (like i had listened to high volume music for an extended time) after about 20min of driving, so I had to have the solid bushings removed. NVH went down significantly after I went back to the stock rubber bushings. In the process, I also realized that most of the gain in steering responsiveness was from simply replacing the torn stock rubber lower control arm bushings. I realize the stock ones will just tear again in 30Kmi, but I just can’t deal with the sound signature that solid bearings produce in my car. I’m hoping someone makes replacement rubber lower control arm bushings.

Here’s what I initially had installed by AutoRnD:

 

[Occhis]

I had the MPP front lower control arm bushings, compression rod inserts, and rear camber arms installed with the comfort coilovers at AutoRnD in Fremont, CA for my 2018 P3D. I also replaced the FUCA with new OE ones. I found that the bearings and solid bushings produced enough of a noise increase that I had them removed. I went back to new stock lower control arm bushings and rear camber arms from Redwood Motorsports which accept the OE rubber bushings (FPX - OEM Rubber Bushing Adjustable Rear Camber & Toe Control Arms). AutoRnD does a lot of these installations and they said I was the first person to ever complain about the NVH increase and go back to stock bushings.

I consider myself an audiophile, so I think my hearing is more sensitive than most, but my I also noticed that we were all repeating ourselves more frequently when talking with our kids in the backseat when driving on the highway. I would describe the sound signature as coming from the wheel bearings, since on completely smooth, new asphalt roads, the high pitched and metallic whirling sound would change in pitch and volume with speed. Overall, on normal asphalt roads (not newly paved) and especially concrete ones, it sounded like being in a plane but with a higher pitched metal sound. When going over the expansion joints on bridges, the thumps took on a metallic pinging/ringing sound at impact. The combination of the higher pitch and volume of the sound fatigued my ears (like i had listened to high volume music for an extended time) after about 20min of driving, so I had to have the solid bushings removed. NVH went down significantly after I went back to the stock rubber bushings. In the process, I also realized that most of the gain in steering responsiveness was from simply replacing the torn stock rubber lower control arm bushings. I realize the stock ones will just tear again in 30Kmi, but I just can’t deal with the sound signature that solid bearings produce in my car. I’m hoping someone makes replacement rubber lower control arm bushings.

Here’s what I initially had installed by AutoRnD:
View attachment 875422

Where were you able to find new stock lower control arm bushings? Don’t see them listed in Tesla parts catalog as a separate part.

 

[chiapet15]

Where were you able to find new stock lower control arm bushings? Don’t see them listed in Tesla parts catalog as a separate part.

You’re right that they aren’t available for purchase separately. The only way to get new ones is to buy an entire new lower control arm ($175+tax per side). Fortunately in my situation, my brother traded the OE lower control arm bushings off his brand new P3D with my unwanted MPP lower control arm bearings

 

[gigg]

"it sounded like being in a plane but with a higher pitched metal sound."

This is the sound. I had a long drive today and after an hour on the interstate, i looked up noise canceling on Spotify and when the mix played a plane at altitude, i thought to my self "thats the sound"
Maybe i am sensitive to it and just didn't know it until i got this tone. And or maybe some cars are more sensitive to it.

Thank you all, for all the feed back. I am going to try removing the sleeves first. I could imagine the sound amplifying from the sleeves into the subframe. If that doesn't help, i will retry the OEM bushings.

I will let you know how it turns out.

PS Jesse as always has been great, with his time and offering help.

 

[Huskyfan]

I’m still on completely stock rear arms. Sitting at -1.7 rear camber and 0 toe.

Curious how much lower ur car is sitting than stock. My 2020 M3P is maybe 1/2 lower than stock in the rear, sitting at about negative one rear camber. No need for camber adjuster in rear at this point.

 

[Huskyfan]

Quick question. If somebody has your sport or Comfort adjustable coilover kit plus the lower front control arm bushing and they're not tracking the car do the inserts offer anything on the street that is discernible? I think I've heard somewhere that they reduce understeer? Any increase in nvh? Can they be installed without disassembling anything?

Let me just also add that we run both of our cars at the lowest possible tire PSI around town (~38 cold) that avoids the TPMS nannies and where squeezing the last bit of range out of the car is not so important and ride is more important. We bump it up a couple of pounds for road trips. What people don't seem to be aware of is that the pressures Tesla is recommending really reduce your contact patch such that the car not only rides more poorly but has quicker and more abrupt breakaway and lower limits in the corners. With the PS4S, I believe that the best overall grip is probably around 34 to 35 lb cold. They get pretty greasy above 40. But it's all trade-offs. If you want to squeeze the last bit of range out of your vehicle you probably want to run them at 40 on the highway anyway. I don't think there's much to be gained from going a lot higher than that and if you ever have to make a panic stop with tires in the high forties you'll regret that high pressure.

Are you not worried about pothole induced damage to your tires/wheels running them with such low air pressure? I have a 2020 M3P with 20” wheels and would never consider running below 40 psi. Shudder to imagine 34 psi.

 

[dfwatt]

Are you not worried about pothole induced damage to your tires/wheels running them with such low air pressure? I have a 2020 M3P with 20” wheels and would never consider running below 40 psi. Shudder to imagine 34 psi.

I'm in South Florida - we don't have many potholes. We also have VS forged wheels so we're not as concerned about the fragility of the brittle cast OEM wheel. 35 lb is actually a lot of pressure and where the tire performs probably best in cornering and braking. There's no hard evidence that 40 lb protects either the tire or the rim better than 35. I think you've absorbed a lot of memes. 25 lb is low pressure 35 is not except by Tesla standards.

 

[Mash]

I'm in South Florida - we don't have many potholes. We also have VS forged wheels so we're not as concerned about the fragility of the brittle cast OEM wheel. 35 lb is actually a lot of pressure and where the tire performs probably best in cornering and braking. There's no hard evidence that 40 lb protects either the tire or the rim better than 35. I think you've absorbed a lot of memes. 25 lb is low pressure 35 is not except by Tesla standards.

35 on 235 width for Model 3 weight is absolutely not enough by any standard. 35 is ok on 275.

 

[Bennny]

I’ve got 265/35/19 on the way, with Advan GTs. What pressure should I run?

 

[Mash]

I’ve got 265/35/19 on the way, with Advan GTs. What pressure should I run?

Tire Pressure Calculator

Easy to use tire pressure calculator. Use our tire pressure calculator to calculate the new tire pressure needed when changing tire sizes.

tiresize.com

 

[Huskyfan]

Can you get a video of the noise? The only thing I can think of is damage from being pressed in. I have these bearings on both of my 3's and haven't noticed any increased NVH. Any pics of the bearings installed

I just installed the compression rod inserts and the LCA spherical bearings. Did not like the price most machine shops quoted to press in/out the LCA bearings, so i bought a hydraulic press at harbor freight. MPPs instructions are quite specific and i did not trust a machine shop to do the work properly. Pressing in/out went fine, no issues. Now i have my own 12 ton hydraulic press, for less than the price of having a machine shop press them in and out.

Compression rod inserts were more challenging than i expected. Needed a good deal of coaxing to get pressed all the way in, even after applying a lubricant. Finally used a vise to push it in most of the way, followed by some tapping with a rubber mallet.

No increase in NVH, both subjectively and according to the frequency analyzer I used to measure sound volume and frequency before and after install. Absolutely identical. Can’t really discern a huge change in handling or steering characteristics at this point, but was not driving aggressively after the install. I’m sure it will be much improved, given the nature of the changes.

I can’t say enough positive about MPP. They make great stuff. I’ve got UPP coil overs and sway bars along with their front lip spoiler. Good stuff. But MPPs engineering is about as good as it gets. Reminds me of well made rifles or pistols compared to bargain basement stuff. MPP customer service is the standard for other companies. Jesse, their tech support guru, was very, very responsive with answering questions either via phone call or email. Never placed on hold, usually responded to an email within 2 hours. I’ll be buying more of their components in the future.

 

[Occhis]

I hear you on the shop charges. Local shop charged me $60 to press 2 LCA bearings out and in.

 

[MountainPass]

@Huskyfan thank you so much for sharing. Reading your feedback was a great way to start our Wednesday here! I hope you get a chance to drive the car hard and really get a feel for them before the winter weather ruins the fun

 

[jackmott]

I'm in South Florida - we don't have many potholes. We also have VS forged wheels so we're not as concerned about the fragility of the brittle cast OEM wheel. 35 lb is actually a lot of pressure and where the tire performs probably best in cornering and braking. There's no hard evidence that 40 lb protects either the tire or the rim better than 35. I think you've absorbed a lot of memes. 25 lb is low pressure 35 is not except by Tesla standards.

Should clarify that 35psi wouldn't be a low PSI normally, but Teslas ship with pretty narrow tires for how heavy they are. So if you are on stock tire sizes you might want to stay around 38psi or so.

 

[tm1v2]

Compression rod inserts were more challenging than i expected. Needed a good deal of coaxing to get pressed all the way in, even after applying a lubricant. Finally used a vise to push it in most of the way, followed by some tapping with a rubber mallet.

@Huskyfan I had an identical experience getting those inserts in. Gave me confidence they aren't going to get jostled out!

 

[dfwatt]

Should clarify that 35psi wouldn't be a low PSI normally, but Teslas ship with pretty narrow tires for how heavy they are. So if you are on stock tire sizes you might want to stay around 38psi or so.

Actually both vulnerability to impact damage and performance deteriorate as you take the Michelin Pilot Sport 4S much above 35 lb. The higher pressures are recommended for efficiency by Tesla not for performance and not for resistance to impact damage. The tire is actually more likely to be damaged in an impact as the pressure goes up into the 40+ PSI range.

Additionally I'm running 265/30s in the front which is the more vulnerable axle and even larger 275/30 in the rear so all of this really doesn't apply but even if I had the original Tesla spec Michelin Pilot sport 4S 33-35 lb is actually where the tire performs best. Not the best Range or efficiency however.

 

[gearchruncher]

Actually both vulnerability to impact damage and performance deteriorate as you take the Michelin Pilot Sport 4S much above 35 lb. The higher pressures are recommended for efficiency by Tesla not for performance and not for resistance to impact damage. The tire is actually more likely to be damaged in an impact as the pressure goes up into the 40+ PSI range.

This is all relative to how you use the tire though. If you track a MPS4S with stock alignment, and run low pressures, you can absolutely destroy the shoulder in just a few minutes.
I'd be interested to know @dfwatt 's data on higher pressures leading to more impact data and how he knows 35 is optimal.

 

[Collutio]

I just installed the compression rod inserts and the LCA spherical bearings. Did not like the price most machine shops quoted to press in/out the LCA bearings, so i bought a hydraulic press at harbor freight. MPPs instructions are quite specific and i did not trust a machine shop to do the work properly. Pressing in/out went fine, no issues. Now i have my own 12 ton hydraulic press, for less than the price of having a machine shop press them in and out.

Compression rod inserts were more challenging than i expected. Needed a good deal of coaxing to get pressed all the way in, even after applying a lubricant. Finally used a vise to push it in most of the way, followed by some tapping with a rubber mallet.

No increase in NVH, both subjectively and according to the frequency analyzer I used to measure sound volume and frequency before and after install. Absolutely identical. Can’t really discern a huge change in handling or steering characteristics at this point, but was not driving aggressively after the install. I’m sure it will be much improved, given the nature of the changes.

I can’t say enough positive about MPP. They make great stuff. I’ve got UPP coil overs and sway bars along with their front lip spoiler. Good stuff. But MPPs engineering is about as good as it gets. Reminds me of well made rifles or pistols compared to bargain basement stuff. MPP customer service is the standard for other companies. Jesse, their tech support guru, was very, very responsive with answering questions either via phone call or email. Never placed on hold, usually responded to an email within 2 hours. I’ll be buying more of their components in the future.

I ordered from both and reached the same conclusion, which is why there's a whole pile of blue stuff in my garage about to be installed.

 

[Collutio]

@Huskyfan I had an identical experience getting those inserts in. Gave me confidence they aren't going to get jostled out!

I have more confidence in them being secure than I had in not breaking my thumbs getting them in!

 

[canasion35]

What psi are y’all running on a 265/35/19 ps4s? That calculator is not very intuitive IMO.