Now I'll start by saying I can't STAND when people post a "build thread" when all they are doing are installing wheels and a lowering kit. I can assure you all this will be a real build thread! We will share our development, ups, downs, lessons learned, data collected and prototype parts being developed - right here.
And what better way to start this thread than with our delivery date! We are located in Toronto, Canada, and I am over the moon to announce that we will be getting in on the first batch of Canadian cars, picking up our Pearl White Model 3 on May 30th. Interestingly this car has the exact same spec as the car we rented for 10 days to do development work on in California!
As most of you know we've already developed coilovers and rear suspension arms, and have more parts currently being produced. Now having a car in-house will make development and testing much faster, not to mention all of the great content we'll be able to produce with this groundbreaking car!
Just about as soon as we get the car the plan is to attend GridLife, a grassroots motorsport festival, taking place June 7-10th, at Gingerman Raceway where we hope to have both our M3 and Blue Lightning.
So in preparation of that I've ordered a set of Advan RZII's in 19x9 +35 and 19x10 +35. These wheels come with a 13mm hole bore only, so we'll need to drill them to 15mm to allow the OEM Tesla 14mm studs to pass through. Be careful when shopping for wheels - make sure they will work with M14 studs!
These wheels are for track use. Coming from a background of tuning Japanese vehicles, we wanted to pay homage to classic wheel designs, and there aren't many better wheels these Advan's to do that with!
EDIT: Changed the order to RGIII's 19x9 +25 and 19x10 +35... sure hope we can fit these fronts! New picture below of a White M3 with the RGIII's photoshopped on there.
Our current plan before Grid Life is as follows:
Corner weigh the car as delivered, untouched.
Install Motec M1 ECU and connect to CAN bus
Baseline efficiency test: 18" Wheels with Aerocaps vs without vs Advan wheels and sports tires. We expect a significant loss of range with the Advan's and sport tires - more on that later.
Install prototype brake-upgrade kit, prototype pads and racing brake fluid
Install our coilovers
Install our suspension arms
Install Advan wheels, with custom hub-centering rings.
The above should get us to a point where the car can comfortably complete multiple laps on the track without performance fade, while at the same time retaining 100% of its road manners. We can't stress enough about how important comfort is to us.
This car MUST be as comfortable as an OEM BMW M3/M4 in all aspects. No matter how that limits our performance on track. So please don't read into what we're doing as it being only for track-oriented driving or racing. All of the development we do is to improve the performance while retaining the driving enjoyment.
That is far more difficult than just making a fast car around a racetrack, but the Model 3 has so much potential I just can't wait until the lap times start speaking for themselves.
And what better way to start this thread than with our delivery date! We are located in Toronto, Canada, and I am over the moon to announce that we will be getting in on the first batch of Canadian cars, picking up our Pearl White Model 3 on May 30th. Interestingly this car has the exact same spec as the car we rented for 10 days to do development work on in California!
As most of you know we've already developed coilovers and rear suspension arms, and have more parts currently being produced. Now having a car in-house will make development and testing much faster, not to mention all of the great content we'll be able to produce with this groundbreaking car!
Just about as soon as we get the car the plan is to attend GridLife, a grassroots motorsport festival, taking place June 7-10th, at Gingerman Raceway where we hope to have both our M3 and Blue Lightning.
So in preparation of that I've ordered a set of Advan RZII's in 19x9 +35 and 19x10 +35. These wheels come with a 13mm hole bore only, so we'll need to drill them to 15mm to allow the OEM Tesla 14mm studs to pass through. Be careful when shopping for wheels - make sure they will work with M14 studs!
These wheels are for track use. Coming from a background of tuning Japanese vehicles, we wanted to pay homage to classic wheel designs, and there aren't many better wheels these Advan's to do that with!
EDIT: Changed the order to RGIII's 19x9 +25 and 19x10 +35... sure hope we can fit these fronts! New picture below of a White M3 with the RGIII's photoshopped on there.
Our current plan before Grid Life is as follows:
Corner weigh the car as delivered, untouched.
Install Motec M1 ECU and connect to CAN bus
Baseline efficiency test: 18" Wheels with Aerocaps vs without vs Advan wheels and sports tires. We expect a significant loss of range with the Advan's and sport tires - more on that later.
Install prototype brake-upgrade kit, prototype pads and racing brake fluid
Install our coilovers
Install our suspension arms
Install Advan wheels, with custom hub-centering rings.
The above should get us to a point where the car can comfortably complete multiple laps on the track without performance fade, while at the same time retaining 100% of its road manners. We can't stress enough about how important comfort is to us.
This car MUST be as comfortable as an OEM BMW M3/M4 in all aspects. No matter how that limits our performance on track. So please don't read into what we're doing as it being only for track-oriented driving or racing. All of the development we do is to improve the performance while retaining the driving enjoyment.
That is far more difficult than just making a fast car around a racetrack, but the Model 3 has so much potential I just can't wait until the lap times start speaking for themselves.
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