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Specific to 2022 Model 3P (Ride Quality) - Best Lowering Springs for Street and Track?

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Hey all,

First time posting here and I did a quick search before as well. I've driven a 2019 M3 Performance for two years and recently got my new 2022 M3 Performance. I am actually very pleasantly surprised at the quality and feel upgrade of the suspension. I had the 18" Aero wheels before and the 20" Aeros now on the Pirellis, but the suspension itself seems to have had a big upgrade in comfort, noise, and otherwise just feels like it's better put together.

My ultimate goal would be to keep the feel in a straight line/daily driving, but to more or less eliminate most body roll, so it feels more like something you could Autocross or Track. Or at least not lean over so much at onramps etc.

I would really love to lower it 1.4" or so like a lot of the springs do, but now I'm wondering which spring may actually go backwards in terms of ride quality with the 2022 stock setup specifically.

I spoke with Unplugged Performance and their Super Performance springs are backordered. They couldn't give me a date for delivery. But I was thinking of going with those for daily driving with the dual rate and more firm setup. I also understand that adding sway bars are a big part of body roll.

So which springs do you all feel upgrades the quality of the new 2022's specifically, while helping to eliminate the body roll (at least firms up in the turns)? Thank you!
 
I was also pleasantly surprised at how smooth my stock 2022 M3P rode.

Most all lowering springs will have you riding on the secondary springs (bump stops), and will thus give you a worse ride than stock. I imagine all of them are stiffer than stock.

I ran H&R lowering coils on my otherwise stock M3P for about 1000ish miles, and even trimmed the front bump stops to help smooth the ride a hair (which didn’t help significantly). It wasn’t terrible, but I ended up going with MountainPassPerformance Comfort Adjustable Coilovers once I started racing as a compromise between daily comfort and track capability. Of note, MPP recommends stiffer coils as the primary means to control body roll (as opposed to stiffer anti-sway bars) and I believe the Comfort coils are actually softer.

Still, overall, it is now about as comfortable as stock but WORLDS better in body control. Pushing it hard through on-ramps and such I can easily do 5mph faster than I could before because of how well the suspension handles uneven pavement with pushing at 8 or 9/10s. I did add an UP rear anti-sway bar and it has helped reduce body roll a bit and provides a bit more neutral handling (slightly less understeer tendency).

In this video I am running my Comforts at full-stiff all around with the anti-sway bar at full stuff. Even on 200tw tires it stays pretty flat, with the most aggressive rocking coming when I got out of shape around turn 5ish. Next time I intend to dial in a bit more oversteer. Though, I have some scrapes on the outer corners of my front lip from the hard corners :p .




8957F0E7-2DA5-4745-AAFF-4FF594C03DF8.jpeg
 
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I feel that the only thing lowering springs are good for is looks. They tend to degrade actual performance on the track and add inconvenience on the street. The spring can only be so stiff because it has to work with the factory shock, so it tends to not be stiff enough for how low it is. They certainly won't eliminate body roll.

Swaybars will *drastically* reduce body roll, you will feel it, and it will feel good. However they can *also* degrade actual performance sometimes. But if you are just looking for an "on rails" feeling, you may like them anyway!

If you wanted to tweak the car to go faster the main things in approximate order of impact would be:

* Stickier tires (PS4S, and wider!)
* Adjustable negative camber (upper control arms) and a good alignment
* Coilovers
 
For 2021+ with improved damping using H&R or Eibach springs have net really good results. Ride quality remains really good(customer feedback). Adding bars along with with lowering springs may be too much for the dampers to handle so do one or the other. If budget allows, coilovers with damping adjustment is the way to go.
 
For 2021+ with improved damping using H&R or Eibach springs have net really good results. Ride quality remains really good(customer feedback). Adding bars along with with lowering springs may be too much for the dampers to handle so do one or the other. If budget allows, coilovers with damping adjustment is the way to go.
I dunno about 2021+ having improved damping...I think it's the opposite, especially from a performance perspective. I've driven three 2021 Model 3's, 2 M3P + 1 M3LR (including the M3P I bought), and all felt very underdampened in hard driving, even on the stock springs. I'm really doubtful that lower, stiffer springs would help handling at all on a 2021+.

Lowering springs might feel sportier and more responsive in gentle driving, but the 2021+ stock dampers can lose control of the car on its stock springs. 2021 M3P was bouncing out of control and crashing hard into bump stops just on my test drive. I don't see how lowering springs could possibly be an improvement in actual hard / fast driving that really stresses suspension control. I think a damper upgrade is a must on 2021+ Model 3, if you want to actually improve handling.
 
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I dunno about 2021+ having improved damping...I think it's the opposite, especially from a performance perspective. I've driven three 2021 Model 3's, 2 M3P + 1 M3LR (including the M3P I bought), and all felt very underdampened in hard driving, even on the stock springs. I'm really doubtful that lower, stiffer springs would help handling at all on a 2021+.

Lowering springs might feel sportier and more responsive in gentle driving, but the 2021+ stock dampers can lose control of the car on its stock springs. 2021 M3P was bouncing out of control and crashing hard into bump stops just on my test drive. I don't see how lowering springs could possibly be an improvement in actual hard / fast driving that really stresses suspension control. I think a damper upgrade is a must on 2021+ Model 3, if you want to actually improve handling.
What I meant by improved damping is the reduction of compression damping for a much better ride quality. Not rebound damping.

Tein makes replacement damper for those looking to stick with OEM springs.
Screen Shot 2022-09-09 at 8.59.31 AM.png
 
What I meant by improved damping is the reduction of compression damping for a much better ride quality. Not rebound damping.

Tein makes replacement damper for those looking to stick with OEM springs.View attachment 850680
Ah gotcha. Yeah I do agree ride quality is better on 2021+ cars than the early ones.

There was a weird bounciness to the stock ride on 2021+ that the stiffer-feeling old Model 3's don't have as much...but still overall smoother ride on 2021+ (in my experience). This is based on taking a very early RWD M3LR for a quick spin recently, as well as my memory of how my 2021 M3P rode before my suspension upgrades.
 
I have a 2022 M3P and I don't have time in older models for reference but there is something weird about the damping in this car that I have never encountered in past vehicles. It's just weird and inconsistent. Most of the time it feels somewhat soft, refined, and comfortable but there are odd moments where it feels almost BMW M firm and when it bounces it feels really unsettled. Feels to me like the shocks and springs aren't properly matched.
 
We own both an '18 and a '22 M3P and there's no difference in ride quality between them.

They ride and handle like performance sedans - firm and controlled.

The '22 is quieter and seems to be both more efficient AND have a longer range (bigger battery - duh), but overall they're exceedingly similar.

To the OP: I wouldn't mess with the suspension, but of course if you plan to autocross it and wanna win your class, you might want to. For daily driving, I don't see the benefit.
(Cue all those who've spent big bucks to change their suspensions. ;-)
 
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