Spacers!

[Fpbenz]

I just took ownership of a 2023 SR Model 3 with 19” sport wheels. Went straight to MPP and purchased the comfort coilovers, rear camber and toe arms to help with alignmeant. With that being said, I am only looking to lower it about 1”, maybe 1.2” or so. This car will be driven as a daily by my wife and I. Increasing a bit of it’s handling potential, keeping the comfort to at least stock and making the car appear a smidge sleeker will make us very happy.

I have been looking everywhere for the right spacer setup for these 19’s. It’s hard to get a grasp throughout the forum because some are running wider, non-OEM tires, some are on aero’s, others on performance wheels or aftermarket wheels . A common spacer setup I see is 15/20mm, but from what I’ve seen (never in person, just in pics) that might be a little too much poke for my taste. I almost want to say I’m searching for a stock look, but a stock look where Tesla tweaked the stance of the Model 3 to look closer to the stance of a stock Porsche 911 GTS lol.

Camber arms were purchased to try and minimize the potential of uneven tire wear. Another concern of mine with spacers.

Any 235/40/19, lowered with spacers want to chime in on this? Greatly appreciate any guidance.

Thanks

 

[Jeff@ShiftEV]

Hey, I recognize your user name from Instagram! You were commenting on the pic of my 18LR with the Gemini wheels.
For spacers, most people with stock wheels run a 15/20mm combo. This brings the wheel face close to flush without being too crazy. 20/25mm is doable, but more of an aggressive fitment. Keep in mind when you lower the car the high offset of the stock wheels become more apparent, so while a 15/20mm combo may sound like too much, it will look just right when lowered.

This is my car with Aero's and 20/25mm spacers for reference. The width and offset of the Aeros is the same as the 19's so the face of the wheel will be in the same spot.

 

[gearchruncher]

Camber arms were purchased to try and minimize the potential of uneven tire wear. Another concern of mine with spacers.

Spacers have zero impact on camber and spacers don't impact tire wear.
You want to increase handling potential while also decreasing camber to minimize tire wear? But only on the rear axle?

As an FYI, spacers can't really exist between 5mm and 15mm. 5mm can use stock lugs, but longer can't. But anything shorter than 15mm doesn't have space for the adapter lugs needed. If you want something between 5 and 15 you need wheels with the right offset,

 

[GreenHokie]

Any 235/40/19, lowered with spacers want to chime in on this? Greatly appreciate any guidance.

You are in luck. I have the exact same aftermarket suspension upgrades as you (MPP comfort coilovers, MPP rear camber & toe arms) and am also running on stock 19’s.
After a lot of research/reading, I settled on using 15mm spacers all around, primarily because I wanted to maintain a perfectly square/symmetrical set-up. 15mm on the rears provides a very flush look, IMO. I’ve been running these spacers for about 3 years and have never once thought the rears were not flush enough. So, never an urge to try 20mm spacers on the rear. The other practical benefit of using 15mm on the rear is my mudflaps still catch all the dirt splatter from the rear tires. So, my sides & rear bumper tends to stay a little cleaner. I almost feel having 20mm spacers on the rear would result in a little too much poke… at least for my taste. Of course, this is totally subjective since many on this forum run 20mm on the rear and are very happy with the result/look. To each his own.

Below is link to an older thread where I posted some additional information about and several photos of my set-up with these spacers. By the way, I set the ride height on my MPP coilovers at their recommended levels, which lowered my vehicle about 1.5” from stock. Absolutely love the look and resulting ride quality!

Thread '2021 Long Range Wheel Spacers - Size, Brand, AP Impacts?'
2021 Long Range Wheel Spacers - Size, Brand, AP Impacts?


And for good measure, here is a more recent photo of my set-up (with the coilovers and spacers installed, of course). Enjoy!!

 

[Fpbenz]

You are in luck. I have the exact same aftermarket suspension upgrades as you (MPP comfort coilovers, MPP rear camber & toe arms) and am also running on stock 19’s.
After a lot of research/reading, I settled on using 15mm spacers all around, primarily because I wanted to maintain a perfectly square/symmetrical set-up. 15mm on the rears provides a very flush look, IMO. I’ve been running these spacers for about 3 years and have never once thought the rears were not flush enough. So, never an urge to try 20mm spacers on the rear. The other practical benefit of using 15mm on the rear is my mudflaps still catch all the dirt splatter from the rear tires. So, my sides & rear bumper tends to stay a little cleaner. I almost feel having 20mm spacers on the rear would result in a little too much poke… at least for my taste. Of course, this is totally subjective since many on this forum run 20mm on the rear and are very happy with the result/look. To each his own.

Below is link to an older thread where I posted some additional information about and several photos of my set-up with these spacers. By the way, I set the ride height on my MPP coilovers at their recommended levels, which lowered my vehicle about 1.5” from stock. Absolutely love the look and resulting ride quality!

Thread '2021 Long Range Wheel Spacers - Size, Brand, AP Impacts?'
2021 Long Range Wheel Spacers - Size, Brand, AP Impacts?


And for good measure, here is a more recent photo of my set-up (with the coilovers and spacers installed, of course). Enjoy!!

View attachment 892987

How long did it take for the coilovers to fully settle? Installed mine, looks and rides great, except passenger side appears to have settled slightly lower than drivers side. Installed 3 days ago. Wondering if I should give it more time before correcting the adjustment. Thanks

 

[GreenHokie]

I’d say it was a couple of weeks before I felt everything settled down to a point where I could make fine adjustments to individual coil/damper heights, without worrying about any additional height changes due to the break-in/settling period.

So, I recommend you give it another week or so before you start trying to fine tune the heights.

 

[pdx_m3s]

I run 20/25mm on my 19s. Eibach springs.

 

[Backslider]

I run 20/25mm on my 19s. Eibach springs.

View attachment 896616

This is exactly the setup I have en route right now. I am considering keeping the same 19" sport wheels, in large part because there are no aftermarket options in this size with less than a +30mm offset.

Do you have any profile pictures? Looks phenomenal from this angle.

 

[M3_Performante]

I run 20/25mm on my 19s. Eibach springs.

View attachment 896616

gorgeous ....would love some honest feedback on the Eibach ride quality?

and more pics please

 

[evroro]

I am considering keeping the same 19" sport wheels, in large part because there are no aftermarket options in this size with less than a +30mm offset.

APEX has forged wheels in 18x9.5 and 19x9.5 with +29 offsets.

19x9.5

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www.apexraceparts.com

 

[evroro]

You are in luck. I have the exact same aftermarket suspension upgrades as you (MPP comfort coilovers, MPP rear camber & toe arms) and am also running on stock 19’s.
After a lot of research/reading, I settled on using 15mm spacers all around, primarily because I wanted to maintain a perfectly square/symmetrical set-up. 15mm on the rears provides a very flush look, IMO. I’ve been running these spacers for about 3 years and have never once thought the rears were not flush enough. So, never an urge to try 20mm spacers on the rear. The other practical benefit of using 15mm on the rear is my mudflaps still catch all the dirt splatter from the rear tires. So, my sides & rear bumper tends to stay a little cleaner. I almost feel having 20mm spacers on the rear would result in a little too much poke… at least for my taste. Of course, this is totally subjective since many on this forum run 20mm on the rear and are very happy with the result/look. To each his own.

Below is link to an older thread where I posted some additional information about and several photos of my set-up with these spacers. By the way, I set the ride height on my MPP coilovers at their recommended levels, which lowered my vehicle about 1.5” from stock. Absolutely love the look and resulting ride quality!

Thread '2021 Long Range Wheel Spacers - Size, Brand, AP Impacts?'
2021 Long Range Wheel Spacers - Size, Brand, AP Impacts?


And for good measure, here is a more recent photo of my set-up (with the coilovers and spacers installed, of course). Enjoy!!

View attachment 892987

Nice fitment! Are these MPP comforts at the recommended height or a little lower? What camber and toe do you have after alignment?

 

[GreenHokie]

Nice fitment! Are these MPP comforts at the recommended height or a little lower? What camber and toe do you have after alignment?

Thanks! Also having spacers (or wider tires) is a must to complete the look/stance.

Yes, MPP comforts at recommended heights. I did make very minor tweaks to a few of the individual heights after the settling period, to get a little more consistency between all four heights. Overall, I’m still pretty much at recommended heights… which effectively lowered my vehicle by about 1-1/2”… or just under a 2-finger gap.

I did have an alignment done a few weeks after lowering my vehicle (which was almost 3 years ago), but do not remember the final camber/toe numbers. One thing is for sure, I have too much negative camber on the fronts (inside edge of front tires have worn much more than outside edge).

I’m not completely certain, but think I’ll either need to add shims or perhaps even purchase/install adjustable control arms in order to bring my front camber to a more acceptable/neutral setting. Still trying to decide how to proceed to correct front camber, but having trouble finding an alignment specialist/shop I trust to evaluate and do the work properly.

I know my rears are good, because I also have MPP adjustable camber & adjustable toe arms, which allowed me to dial those in perfectly. Very even tire wear on the rears.

My vehicle still tracks very straight with zero vibration at all speeds, even those in excess of 120 mph! (… which is why I haven’t placed more urgency in correcting my front camber).
I’ve been too chicken to take/test my vehicle up to the stated max capable speed (162 mph)…

 

[Backslider]

APEX has forged wheels in 18x9.5 and 19x9.5 with +29 offsets.

19x9.5

<link href="https://fonts.googleapis.com/css?family=Montserrat+Alternates:400,700&display=swap" rel="stylesheet"> <link href="https://use.typekit.net/ssf8vlp.css" rel="stylesheet"> <style type="text/css"> @media (min-width: 768px) { .description {

www.apexraceparts.com

This is effectively a +30 offset haha. Thanks though!

 

[pdx_m3s]

gorgeous ....would love some honest feedback on the Eibach ride quality?

and more pics please

Ride quality is firmer and a bit bouncier. There is just no way around this using the stock dampers. Having said that, it wasn't a significant change from stock, and I got used to it quickly. A few more pics... Tires are 245/40, so the sidewalls are a bit more square, which I like. Overall I like the look. It's like an improved look/version from how it came from the factory. It doesn't stand out too much, which is nice (to me).

 

[Loco_Nomad]

is there an impact on efficiency after putting 20/25mm spacers?

 

[gearchruncher]

is there an impact on efficiency after putting 20/25mm spacers?

Yes.

 

[Loco_Nomad]

Yes.

thanks

 

[Patrick_TX]

Sounds like you guys know your stuff on spacers...I'm looking to make my grey RWD M3 look a little more aggressive on the stock 18" grey rims, but nothing that cost too much or increases wear and tear. Sounds like the 5mm offset front to back works, but trying to decide how much to push them out? 5mm front, 10, 15? (Emphasis on keeping the stock rims!)

[edit: after looking at some older posts and measuring my own wheels, I'll probably go with 5mm front and 10mm back. This will more closely approach the wife's Y - which is surprisingly wide at the back. Although mine is a low mileage daily commuter, I don't want to hit the long distance efficiency too much].

 

[TM3P_503]

Pdx M3s…. Nice Ride
I am in Wilsonville and have Model 3 Performance 2023

 

[Patrick_TX]

First timer here...did anyone who put 15mm spacers on the stock 18" rims have to cut their original studs down to make them fit behind the wheel? I just ordered a set from Bonoss.