Ride Quality: M3LR vs M3P

[cp3525]

Hi all, new to the forum.
Coming from a Chevy Bolt and trying to decide between a M3 Long Range and Performance (I know I’ll be waiting, that’s ok).

Acceleration and speed are nice to haves, but my main concern is the ride comfort. My gf and I plan on taking road trips in this car, and we each have some minor but uncomfortable back issues. We’ve tested the Long Range and it felt pretty comfortable, albeit maybe a bit floaty at times, and didn’t really feel the toad that badly. We’ve not been able to test the M3 Performance, and it doesn’t seem like we’ll be able to for quite some time in our area.

As we live in a city where the roads are generally pretty terrible, I was wondering if anybody had direct experience with both models and could shed some light on what the performance feels like compared to the Long Range.

Thanks!

 

[jjrandorin]

You wont want the performance because you wont want the 20 inch wheels, if your description is "pretty terrible roads, bad back". I dont think they are that different other than the tires, but you likely want a Long Range with the acceleration boost, and then possibly put the extra into an aftermarket (softer) suspension.

 

[thewishmaster]

The performance will ride harsher for sure. I just went from a performance to a long range and the LR on 19s rides noticeably smoother than the performance on 20s, even with higher tire pressures on the LR. The performance doesn’t ride that badly overall, but if you have concerns, the LR on 19” wheels will be a good enough balance of sportiness and comfort IMO.

 

[Vaillant]

You also could potentially buy the performance and do a wheel swap with someone for 19” wheels. They fit over the performance brakes. The 18” Aero wheels won’t, though.

And, regardless of which you choose, there are some aftermarket “comfort coilovers” made by MPP which are getting good reviews for improving the ride of the 3.

 

[whatsupsor]

I had a 2017 Bolt as my last vehicle and can vouch for the Performance being a much stiffer ride.

I ended up installing MPP Comfort Adjustable coilovers last Friday and am enjoying the ride significantly more.

If you have any back issues I would recommend going with the LR and sticking with the 18" aeros. If you need an extra speed bump purchase the upgrade to knock off another half second from your 0-60mph.

Good luck.

 

[Scarletfever]

Ride Comfort isn’t a strength of the 3. You’ll need to spend an extra 2-3k on aftermarket suspension + whatever the shop will charge to install it. Sure it feels ‘smooth’ at first because there is no engine, but if you are driving over bad roads you’ll feel it.

 

[drpheta]

Ride Comfort isn’t a strength of the 3. You’ll need to spend an extra 2-3k on aftermarket suspension + whatever the shop will charge to install it. Sure it feels ‘smooth’ at first because there is no engine, but if you are driving over bad roads you’ll feel it.

To the OP

The ride difference between the LR and P is mostly due to the tires and wheels. So base your decision on whether you need the speed or not. You can change wheels, but you can't get the M3P performance from the LR even with the Acceleration Boost. It gets close, but not fully there. 7k difference worth it one way or another? If a half second difference in 0-60 is important, then get the P. If big brakes are important, then get the P. Otherwise, you can easily change the wheels. You can also improve the comfort with coilovers for either model.

Also, Scarletfever did you go to RU?

 

[TLLMRRJ]

Get the LR and use the savings to upgrade the suspension as mentioned. Tesla uses really low quality shocks on the Model 3, so an aftermarket upgrade is the way to go if you appreciate a high quality ride.

 

[510storm]

Acceleration and speed are nice to haves, but my main concern is the ride comfort.

Get the LR. Then spend some money on these - MPP Model 3 Comfort Coilovers AWD/Performance | Mountain Pass Performance

Then lower tire PSI to ~39 or 40.

 

[cp3525]

Thank you all a ton for the input. It’s really helped to make my decision for the LR. Awesome and helpful community here!

 

[Chamara]

Hi All,

New to this forum, I just brought a LR, and as where i live in UK dont have the best roads the ride quality is pretty bad and shaky, My 10k (OLD BMW 335i) does far better job with 19inch alloys and the ride quality is excellent. Can you guys describe this why from 50k + car ? wow

 

[tm1v2]

Hi All,

New to this forum, I just brought a LR, and as where i live in UK dont have the best roads the ride quality is pretty bad and shaky, My 10k (OLD BMW 335i) does far better job with 19inch alloys and the ride quality is excellent. Can you guys describe this why from 50k + car ? wow

Did you not test drive first?

Are you comfortable with modifying your suspension? Since you already bought the car, maybe look into upgraded dampers/coilovers. I suspect most of the mediocre ride quality is from very cheap dampers. There are several aftermarket options that are said to be a nice upgrade in ride quality, like Redwood Motorsports Öhlins DFV in Grand Touring, and Mountain Pass Performance Adjustable Comfort.

Personally I ordered a set of Redwood Motorsports Öhlins DFV in Performance Sport. I'm largely seeking better handling, I actually don't mind the stock ride quality at all (no worse than past sporty cars I've owned) but I expect I'll find a setting where ride and handling both are much improved (based on how excellent Öhlins DFV were on another car I tested). My Redwood Öhlins haven't arrived yet though, I can't give any firsthand review of them yet.


Edit: Here in the USA lightly used cars are currently often valued as high or higher than new, due to backorders and decontented new cars due to parts shortages. I don't follow the UK car market, but if it's anything like here right now, this is probably the best time in history to swap a lightly used car for a brand new one, if you're really unhappy with the Model 3 ride quality and don't want to modify its suspension. (Why didn't you test drive first?? )

I'll mention again I believe most of the problem is the stock dampers, I suspect Tesla went really cheap with them. BMW tends to include good damping in its cars. If your 3-series was an E90, that was a really nice combination of ride & handling for a sporty daily driver, I agree a stock Model 3 doesn't really match up in that regard. (However a newer F30 3-series I tested was atrociously boring & numb....though very smooth. I haven't driven the newest G20 one.)

 

[TLLMRRJ]

Hi All,

New to this forum, I just brought a LR, and as where i live in UK dont have the best roads the ride quality is pretty bad and shaky, My 10k (OLD BMW 335i) does far better job with 19inch alloys and the ride quality is excellent. Can you guys describe this why from 50k + car ? wow

It's from using poor quality dampeners, and lack of ability of the chassis specialists at Tesla to tune the chassis. I've always said they should have raided the chassis engineers from Jaguar. That's what Jags does really well, and I am sure it wouldn't have been hard to lure them away from their sinking ship.

The basic suspension design of the M3/Y is very similar to the European luxury car setups, and the car is heavy like those luxury cars, so they should have been able to do better, but the M3 is their budget line.