Ride Quality M3LR

[Dangerous Fish]

At the rear on each wheel I’ve found these on each damper. Should they be there is the question? They are about three inches long and compress slightly under pressure from my fingers?

Yes, that's all normal. They are the bumpstops. On the Model 3 the dampers have very little travel before they ride on the bumpstops, which then act to increase the effective spring rate. It's this design which is responsible for some of the harshness and instability when the car is loaded up in a bend or over large undulations and bumps.

The only way around it is to fit aftermarket coilovers with better damping and more travel.
I still think you need to give it more time. Springs and bumpstops will become a little more compliant the more they're used.

 

[bungle_78]

Yes, that's all normal. They are the bumpstops. On the Model 3 the dampers have very little travel before they ride on the bumpstops, which then act to increase the effective spring rate. It's this design which is responsible for some of the harshness and instability when the car is loaded up in a bend or over large undulations and bumps.

The only way around it is to fit aftermarket coilovers with better damping and more travel.
I still think you need to give it more time. Springs and bumpstops will become a little more compliant the more they're used.

Thanks. I think I am going to have to leave it and see how it improves.

 

[SR-Plus]

Does anyone know if the suspension on the LR is different to the SR+?
The LR is something like 200kg heavier so I wonder if there isn’t a difference then if the SR+ is softer riding due to less weight?

 

[Dangerous Fish]

Does anyone know if the suspension on the LR is different to the SR+?
The LR is something like 200kg heavier so I wonder if there isn’t a difference then if the SR+ is softer riding due to less weight?

Yes it is, if you mean spring rates. The dampers may be valved differently too and of course the brackets for the front coilovers are different due to the lack of front motor on the SR

 

[LongRanger]

For me the LR is less twitchy and rides overall more stably than the SR+, but that could be nonsense as I have never done back to back in close timeframe.

 

[MountainPass]

Your experience parallels many others who didn't expect quite a "sporty" ride when they ordered the car! This is likely the reason that our Comfort coilover lines are the most popular, and they do in fact ship from Germany so shipping and VAT is not an issue (at least for now!).

 

[tbrm]

Your experience parallels many others who didn't expect quite a "sporty" ride when they ordered the car! This is likely the reason that our Comfort coilover lines are the most popular, and they do in fact ship from Germany so shipping and VAT is not an issue (at least for now!).

My sentiments almost exactly. I find the road noise with stock tyres and the stiffness of the suspension to be uncomfortable compared to my nissan leaf for example. Being what is effectively touted as an executive sedan (3 Sr+, LR), this was unexpected but it is far more pronounced for rear seat passengers. I would imagine replacing the stock suspension with your offering would invalidate the warranty. What other options are there?

 

[jamherber]

A week in and I find our SR+ very soft and underdamped for the weight of the car. Leads to a very comfortable yet badly controlled characteristics when pushed.

Compared to our ICE cars, it’s squirrelly when pushed and uninspiring for the given performance.

 

[PipPip]

I find the ride comfort on our LR pretty good. It replaced an Audi A6 Allroad with air suspension and its definitely not as comfortable as that was. But I don’t think it’s too far off though and it’s certainly massively better than the Mini Cooper S with run flats that we used to have. That felt like it had wooden wheels. Now our 2nd car is a Zoe ZE50 and I find the ride in that a bit more skittish than the M3 LR. Overall I think the M3 LR comfort is good.

 

[hcdavis3]

My previous car, M3 LR RWD had 19 inch wheels and the ride was a bit rough. My current car has 18 inch Aero wheels and the ride is much softer.

 

[Exy1]

Never ceases to amaze me the breadth of perception for essentially the same experience.

How is your ride quality shaping up Bungle?

 

[OneTinyFish]

I can add my experience here M3LR 18" aero;

* Potholed lanes/roads: Fine. Just go slowly.
* Broken/poorly maintained roads: You can definitely feel the vibrations of bad road repairs, manhole covers, etc.
* Ride height: Average
* Under acceleration at high speeds (80mph+) you can feel the front moving somewhat, especially into a headwind.

It's absolutely fine. It's firmer than other family cars I've had. Softer than my Mazda RX-8 was.

 

[OneTinyFish]

My sentiments almost exactly. I find the road noise with stock tyres and the stiffness of the suspension to be uncomfortable compared to my nissan leaf for example. Being what is effectively touted as an executive sedan (3 Sr+, LR), this was unexpected but it is far more pronounced for rear seat passengers. I would imagine replacing the stock suspension with your offering would invalidate the warranty. What other options are there?

Right - it's definitely noisier inside than in a Nissan Leaf.

I don't think that's a problem, though?