Plaid w/25k miles already torn compression and tension arm bushings

[Sam1]

Under high speed braking that the front end was getting a little shaky and did an inspection. Noticed that the tension arm bushings on both sides were torn, so I ordered the MPP sphericals to do a replacement. When they were swapping the arms today, seen that one of the compression arm bushings was torn, and the other was starting to get stressed/about to start tearing as well.

If you drive your car hard and it's a little wanky when you're doing heavy braking or coming into a corner hard, I would highly recommend to pop the wheel off and look at your tension arm bushings.

And the only current solution:

 

[DerbyDave]

Was this on the MS Plaid? That is horrible.

 

[Sam1]

Was this on the MS Plaid? That is horrible.

Yes, plaid.

The tears were bad enough that I didn't even want to do a warranty replacement, they need to be upgraded.

 

[LowlyOilBurner]

What year Plaid?

 

[Sam1]

What year Plaid?

'21, but the part numbers are the same for all years when I was ordering a set of arms, so they'll all have the same issue.

<edit> they are different than the pre-refresh model S/X though.

 

[James Cole]

Thanks for the heads up, how do the new ones feel? any increase in NVH?

 

[Sam1]

Thanks for the heads up, how do the new ones feel? any increase in NVH?

zero change in NVH, I think MPP's site says something about none will be expected because the plane that the bearings are on, doesn't really cause it.

as for handling, it's a massive change. even when I went into a corner too hot intentionally, it was easy to hold a line throughout. If you dive into a corner hard with the OEM setup, you get that terrible boat handling feedback. That's mostly gone now; probably 75% less.

 

[MFrunkerOG]

Yep! zero boat handling now all these came out

 

[MountainPass]

Thank you so much for sharing! These bearings were our favorite upgrade during the development of the MPP.R Plaid since they really improve the driving experience and the connection between the driver and the road. The vague steering inputs combined with the slower steering rack made for an underwhelming experience when we benchmarked the stock car!

I am still surprised to see how worn those bushings were with only 25k miles. I wonder if we will be seeing a lot more of that soon.

 

[Sam1]

I am still surprised to see how worn those bushings were with only 25k miles. I wonder if we will be seeing a lot more of that soon.

I think a lot of people probably already have the issue, but they don't drive hard consistently enough to recognize a pattern.

 

[Tiger]

Yes, plaid.

The tears were bad enough that I didn't even want to do a warranty replacement, they need to be upgraded.

Please report this to the NHTSA, it calls (begs?) for a recall.

 

[Beandoc]

Please report this to the NHTSA, it calls (begs?) for a recall.

That’s actually great advice!

 

[bhzmark]

Please report this to the NHTSA, it calls (begs?) for a recall.

Yeah!! this one anecdote, from one car, from someone who obviously drives their car much harder than others, means there should be a recall of all the cars!!!!

 

[Sam1]

Yeah!! this one anecdote, from one car, from someone who obviously drives their car much harder than others, means there should be a recall of all the cars!!!!

^ I'm going through a set of tires every 90 days. so yeah, this is exactly why I'm not reporting anything.

 

[Tiger]

^ I'm going through a set of tires every 90 days. so yeah, this is exactly why I'm not reporting anything.

If you drive it on streets (and you haven't been caught) it should last. If you track it then maybe not.

 

[MFrunkerOG]

^ I'm going through a set of tires every 90 days. so yeah, this is exactly why I'm not reporting anything.

Wait! Why’re you going thru a set every 90 days?

 

[Sam1]

Wait! Why’re you going thru a set every 90 days?

Because 1000hp and 5000 pounds on 220tw tires is why .

 

[brooklyn]

Because 1000hp and 5000 pounds on 220tw tires is why .

That seems excessive despite those numbers.

 

[Sam1]

That seems excessive despite those numbers.

Tearing 3 of 4 arm bushings on the front end also seem excessive, doesn't it?

 

[brooklyn]

Yes. I am increasingly concerned about the longevity of Tesla suspension components, and that's after having dropped over $1k on my new car just to try and mitigate potential known issues.