The only thing I want is a smoother ride

[webbah]

I thought that too. RWD Model 3 with 18" Aero's is still 45 psi. AWD 18" is 42 psi. I don't think it ever changed. I think folks might have got confused when AWD was introduced with 18" wheels at 42 lbs. And yeah Elon mentioned dropping them to 42 early on, but I don't think they changed any door tags.

I'm not saying 38 psi is too low or unsafe, I have no idea, I just wanted folks to know you are changing the load capacity of the tires when you lower the pressure.

I always try to stick with what the door tag says.

I got rid of my Model 3 partly due to its harsh ride. I love how Model X rides. No longer paranoid when approaching a speed bump

Fair point and good for people to be aware. The tires themselves matter as well. One of my friends is running 18’s with the Sottozero 3’s and his car is noisier than mine. He was astonished. I’m running Michelin Pilot Alpin PA4’s and find them to be excellent both for handling in winter and noise if setup properly. I’ve done some dB testing and was able to reduce from an average of 70-72 dB at 120km/h to 66-68 dB’s. This doesn’t sound like a lot, but it is very noticeable at highway speeds. Only thing I’ve done is add Bassenor door seals, RPM top window seal and adjust the tire pressures. As mentioned previously I also changed to coilovers (Unplugged Performance) and on the comfort dampening it’s quite a nice ride even with 20’s. On the track I drop down to 18’s though.

 

[edstewbob]

I ordered the suspension kit from Redwood Motorsports that includes Öhlins DFV Dampers and new springs that is scheduled to be delivered in January. I am want a smoother ride too and this product is supposed to provide that along with raising or lowering the car. In fact I emailed them and they are offering an even smoother ride that is called the Grand Touring option so I asked them to change my order to use that one. There is a thread here discussing their products at Model 3 Öhlins DFV Coilovers - Engineered by Redwood Motorsports ™

 

[mswlogo]

Fair point and good for people to be aware. The tires themselves matter as well. One of my friends is running 18’s with the Sottozero 3’s and his car is noisier than mine. He was astonished. I’m running Michelin Pilot Alpin PA4’s and find them to be excellent both for handling in winter and noise if setup properly. I’ve done some dB testing and was able to reduce from an average of 70-72 dB at 120km/h to 66-68 dB’s. This doesn’t sound like a lot, but it is very noticeable at highway speeds. Only thing I’ve done is add Bassenor door seals, RPM top window seal and adjust the tire pressures. As mentioned previously I also changed to coilovers (Unplugged Performance) and on the comfort dampening it’s quite a nice ride even with 20’s. On the track I drop down to 18’s though.

I’m surprised the Sottozero 3’s would be worse but perhaps your coil overs are the real difference. You need to swap tires with your buddy in the interest of science

I ran X-Ice on Model 3 and I bought them specifically for their low noise and they were slightly quieter than the Primacy’s. I have Pirelli Scorpion Winter (also Pirelli Performance Snow tire) on my X and I absolutely love them. Wish I could run them year round.

So you can adjust your coil overs electronically? Or in the garage? Or at installation time?

 

[webbah]

I’m surprised the Sottozero 3’s would be worse but perhaps your coil overs are the real difference. You need to swap tires with your buddy in the interest of science

I ran X-Ice on Model 3 and I bought them specifically for their low noise and they were slightly quieter than the Primacy’s. I have Pirelli Scorpion Winter (also Pirelli Performance Snow tire) on my X and I absolutely love them. Wish I could run them year round.

So you can adjust your coil overs electronically? Or in the garage? Or at installation time?

You need to adjust them manually. The fronts are easy as you have knobs in the frunk. For the rears you need to slightly jack up the car in each corner to access the knob at the top of the coilover.

I should point out that the biggest change was simply adjusting tire pressure. With the same setup decreasing tire pressure from 42 to 38 reduced dB’s from 70-72 to 66-68 at highway speeds.

 

[webbah]

I ordered the suspension kit from Redwood Motorsports that includes Öhlins DFV Dampers and new springs that is scheduled to be delivered in January. I am want a smoother ride too and this product is supposed to provide that along with raising or lowering the car. In fact I emailed them and they are offering an even smoother ride that is called the Grand Touring option so I asked them to change my order to use that one. There is a thread here discussing their products at Model 3 Öhlins DFV Coilovers - Engineered by Redwood Motorsports ™

The Unplugged’s are based on Ohlins as well. In Switzerland we need to be sure we can get all modifications “homologated” or the authorities can give you a really hard time and fines. Only Unplugged and KW’s are homologated here for the moment.