Suspension upgrade recommendation for 2021 MY LR AWD comfortable ride

[DayTrippin]

I would also factor in the roads you have to deal with and how much ground clearance you need. I am currently in Dallas and there are so many freaking dips in the road that if my car was dropped from stock LR ride height, I'd be plowing my nose into the pavement several times a day. I'll deal with the "unsightly" wheel gap to not have my nose scraping the ground all the time.

Not to mention higher ride typically gives you more wheel travel. Assuming it is dampened properly this can be a good thing too. If I was in Florida I could have gotten by with a lower car, hear it is a recipe for just tearing stuff up. I drive on crappy streets 99% of the time now, not smooth roads or a racetrack. I am glad I have the extra ground clearance. There was something I hit on the road last night that I tried to straddle at the last moment. If I was any lower it I am pretty it would have taken out more than just a mudflap.

 

[thesmokingman]

Not clear what the evidence is for that assertion of course the rear suspension is different from the front! But how lowering the car in that context would deteriorate the ride is unclear. Additionally it is not been reported by other at least as experienced groups like Mountain Pass. I'd ask them for their assessment of that idea before taking it as fact.

Scratching my head there too. The rear is divorced spring so it should matter less not more.

 

[tangible1]

I ended up calling @RedwoodMotors they said that the Y particular suspension is built different in the rear than the front, and thus slightly lowering the rear does impact ride quality. I went ahead and dropped off the car today to take back to stock height. I agree it looks better lower. When I get the 20" rims and see how it rides I might lower it back but am excited to see if there's a difference at stock height. I'm still a big fan of these. I'm just trying to see if I can get a lexus ride quality out of it, which just might be too much to ask.

The MY rear suspension is multilink, using a damper with separately located coil spring. The front is a double wishbone with coilovers.
It's pretty standard stuff, generally a good design approach. The weak link is the dampers IMHO. Springs are springs, but need to be matched with proper dampers.
The MY dampers are the same as used in the M3. Literally. Even same P/N. A Model 3 rides very well, but weighs 700lbs less than a MY. Hence the issue......
Springs hold up the chassis, while the dampers control the rock and roll, bounce and rebound. Sway bars are in the picture but not a big deal here.

20" wheels have no impact on vehicle ride height vs 19" wheels.
What's important is tire diameter.
The OEM tire spec is 255/45/19 if I recall, and the diameter is 28". The 20" OEM spec is the same diameter.
What's different is the sidewall height, and the 20" has less. That CAN impact ride quality, and effect tire reliability in potholes, pavement problems, etc.

You might instead consider a 275/55/19 tire, with 28.7" diameter, to get the ride height back.
That tire would also fill the wheel well better. And better protect the wheels from curb rash.
The additional .7" diameter gets just .35" more ride height over the centerline.

There would also likely be a very slight reduction in range.
The speedo and odo would be low by 1-2%. NBD, but bears mention.

 

[gadgetfreaky]

I would also factor in the roads you have to deal with and how much ground clearance you need. I am currently in Dallas and there are so many freaking dips in the road that if my car was dropped from stock LR ride height, I'd be plowing my nose into the pavement several times a day. I'll deal with the "unsightly" wheel gap to not have my nose scraping the ground all the time.

Not to mention higher ride typically gives you more wheel travel. Assuming it is dampened properly this can be a good thing too. If I was in Florida I could have gotten by with a lower car, hear it is a recipe for just tearing stuff up. I drive on crappy streets 99% of the time now, not smooth roads or a racetrack. I am glad I have the extra ground clearance. There was something I hit on the road last night that I tried to straddle at the last moment. If I was any lower it I am pretty it would have taken out more than just a mudflap.

I'm in LA, the roads are "terrible"! pot holes, unever roads, roots making peaks in concrete, speed bumps, dips etc. at slow speeds it makes for a rocky ride. at high speeds it was just jarring to hit these things.

 

[gadgetfreaky]

The MY rear suspension is multilink, using a damper with separately located coil spring. The front is a double wishbone with coilovers.
It's pretty standard stuff, generally a good design approach. The weak link is the dampers IMHO. Springs are springs, but need to be matched with proper dampers.
The MY dampers are the same as used in the M3. Literally. Even same P/N. A Model 3 rides very well, but weighs 700lbs less than a MY. Hence the issue......
Springs hold up the chassis, while the dampers control the rock and roll, bounce and rebound. Sway bars are in the picture but not a big deal here.

20" wheels have no impact on vehicle ride height vs 19" wheels.
What's important is tire diameter.
The OEM tire spec is 255/45/19 if I recall, and the diameter is 28". The 20" OEM spec is the same diameter.
What's different is the sidewall height, and the 20" has less. That CAN impact ride quality, and effect tire reliability in potholes, pavement problems, etc.

You might instead consider a 275/55/19 tire, with 28.7" diameter, to get the ride height back.
That tire would also fill the wheel well better. And better protect the wheels from curb rash.
The additional .7" diameter gets just .35" more ride height over the centerline.

There would also likely be a very slight reduction in range.
The speedo and odo would be low by 1-2%. NBD, but bears mention.

I raised it back today, I didn't write down what the before and after heights of it were but it was about 3 inches in the rear and 2 in the front ground clearance wise. Also only a short drive home but it did feel a bit softer (might be imagining things). I 'm about to buy new rims, and I am going for looks and comfort which I know is a hard thing. Interesting on 275/55/19 tire on 19" rims. I was thinking of 20" rims +35mm offset and was unsure of diameter of 8.5, 9 or 9.5. (still unsure of what the right size should be) . if I did 20" rims, what size tires and diamter rim would you suggest? I'lll as @RedwoodMotors to comment on this thread as well.

 

[thesmokingman]

Tire height is in ratios. 21=35 aspect, 20=40 aspect, 19=45 aspect. Try to keep it within range of stock. A 55 aspect on 19 will be 2 inches too large and it will probably hit the knuckle at that point. Use a tire size calculator and not just random...

 

[sleepydoc]

@miracj - did you ever upgrade your suspension and what's your verdict?

Edit: just saw your post on the other thread. Post back when you get the upgrade - I'd love to hear your impressions.

 

[ElectricAnt54]

I’m not the original thread poster (OP). I’ve been following this thread for a while. I used to think I might have to sell my 2022 MYP due to the ride quality & thought only coilovers and 19 inch tires could save my sanity. Yes I did test drive the MYP for a day but the car I drove didn’t seem to have as harsh a ride & as loud a cabin.
Well 3,500 miles later I find myself liking the ride although car still has 21 inch OEM wheels and OEM performance Y suspension. The roar of road noise entering the cabin doesn’t seem as intense anymore nor is the suspension as jarring over bumps. My only theory is the tires & OEM suspension broke in and mellowed a tad. Also, My trunk was deemed misaligned and corrected by Tesla which resulted in elimination of metal clanking sounds as I drove over bumps which I had thought was normal noise from a harsh suspension. The trunk had gaps on passenger side where it met up with car’s rear side panel and the liftgate rubber stoppers were not adjusted properly.
That being said, I’ll get 19 inch wheels for usage on long road trips since Inwant to ensure a softer ride for the family and don’t want to use up my 21 inch tires on family road trips since they are expensive as Fudge.
I might get coilovers at some point just so I can have a wide range of options available but it is no longer a dire need.

 

[dfwatt]

the OP regarding dual-height adjustable dampers is correct. you must make sure the installer knows what / how to do the adjustments / install.
the flip side is that you can use the Redwood setup to KEEP THE OEM RIDE HEIGHT (or even very slightly higher).
the MPP and UPP kits assume a 1/2" or more drop in ride height.
The MYLR stock height is 6.6 inches. Already not much leeway for real world bumps.
Dropping to 6.0 inches is the MPP / UPP default design assumption, and bump stops and damper characteristics are affected that's if changed.

There's some misinformation in this. MPPs current Comfort Adjustable Coilover for the Model Y states ride height can be 10 centimeters above stock to 40cm below stock ride height. Plus the bump stops are replaced in the MPP kit, as they were a frequent Intruder into the ride of the Model 3

 

[tangible1]

There's some misinformation in this. MPPs current Comfort Adjustable Coilover for the Model Y states ride height can be 10 centimeters above stock to 40cm below stock ride height. Plus the bump stops are replaced in the MPP kit, as they were a frequent Intruder into the ride of the Model 3

Based on recent revisions to the MPP products, thanks for the update

 

[MountainPass]

Based on recent revisions to the MPP products, thanks for the update

I am not sure about the revision part, but these have been designed to offer a maximum height exceeding the MYP and a lowered height of 40mm below that. They also have more suspension travel than stock dampers. We had a long talk about what MY owners would be expecting from the suspension so we had to make sure it wouldn't just be for the "slammed" crowd. This turned out to be really important because most of our MY Coilover customers are just trying to improve the stock suspension rather than lower their MY for aesthetics!

 

[tangible1]

I am not sure about the revision part, but these have been designed to offer a maximum height exceeding the MYP and a lowered height of 40mm below that. They also have more suspension travel than stock dampers. We had a long talk about what MY owners would be expecting from the suspension so we had to make sure it wouldn't just be for the "slammed" crowd. This turned out to be really important because most of our MY Coilover customers are just trying to improve the stock suspension rather than lower their MY for aesthetics!

so by 'exceeding MYP height', do you mean up to MYLR height?