Football [complaint about model 3 suspension]

[Appleman]

Love the M3 LR but good grief, you are thrown about like a football (soccer to you yanks) on uneven roads (here in the UK). Fantastic on our motorways though.

 

[Dallas J]

What are you comparing it too? The wife and I both thing our M3P is excessively soft compared to the 2014 S4 it replaced.

 

[d3lerium]

Here in Australia we have rubbish roads, mind you not as bad as most throughout Scotland. But I find my 21' M3 LR is good, soft in most situations even hitting speed humps. My previous car was the VW Passat Alltrack and it's pretty comparable on road driving.

 

[Dallas J]

Its just makes me wonder if people are use to the terrible ride control of american cars/suvs that are way under damped and wallowy but feel "soft" compared to more like a european car that is more direct feel of a bump that is hit and dealt with quicker. Basically higher natural frequency and damping ratios.

I feel if nothing else, the tesla need quite a bit more rebound to control roll rates but that sorta goes for most cars I've owned other than my S4 maybe. That car was great on the street and sporty driving. Though they're all sad on track stock.

 

[tm1v2]

Appleman I totally get what you're saying. The M3P is no better. On twisty, uneven back roads it's very bouncy with weight shifting and moving all over. It also crashes into the rear bump stops too easily. Kind of a sloppy mess to be honest.

I've ordered Öhlins DFV coilovers for my M3P (dampers + matching springs) and I haven't even picked up the car yet. I've never gone that far in modifying a car's suspension before, but I think it'll be worthwhile for this car. The dual motor powertrain and quick steering ratio really call for a suspension to match.

 

[drpheta]

Appleman I totally get what you're saying. The M3P is no better. On twisty, uneven back roads it's very bouncy with weight shifting and moving all over. It also crashes into the rear bump stops too easily. Kind of a sloppy mess to be honest.

I've ordered Öhlins DFV coilovers for my M3P (dampers + matching springs) and I haven't even picked up the car yet. I've never gone that far in modifying a car's suspension before, but I think it'll be worthwhile for this car. The dual motor powertrain and quick steering ratio really call for a suspension to match.

You will be very glad you did.

The stock dampers are not good.

 

[SabrToothSqrl]

Sold my Model 3 for a X, suspension was a lot of it. Very smooth ride in the X now

 

[tm1v2]

I have an S with the air suspension. Yup much smoother. S and X are big cruiser cars though compared to a 3...just a different kind of car.

 

[tm1v2]

I have an S with the air suspension. Yup much smoother. S and X are big cruiser cars though compared to a 3...just a different kind of car.

Also I'm expecting the Öhlins will ride smoother than the overly-busy stock 3 suspension, in addition to handling better.

Personally I wouldn't want air suspension on a 3. I want to make mine into a worthy corner-carver. I do like the air suspension for the S though!

 

[Appleman]

Appleman I totally get what you're saying. The M3P is no better. On twisty, uneven back roads it's very bouncy with weight shifting and moving all over. It also crashes into the rear bump stops too easily. Kind of a sloppy mess to be honest.

I've ordered Öhlins DFV coilovers for my M3P (dampers + matching springs) and I haven't even picked up the car yet. I've never gone that far in modifying a car's suspension before, but I think it'll be worthwhile for this car. The dual motor powertrain and quick steering ratio really call for a suspension to match.

Hi, how did you get on with the dampers? Is it a smoother ride?

 

[tm1v2]

Hi, how did you get on with the dampers? Is it a smoother ride?

@Appleman I'm still waiting for them, Öhlins USA is super backlogged from supply chain delays, COVID outbreaks, reduced staffing protocols, etc. And now we're into the time of year where they focus on filling professional race team orders in time for upcoming racing seasons. Redwood says they have the other parts ready, just waiting on the dampers from Öhlins.

Here's first impressions from someone who recently installed the GT kit (Öhlins got a batch of GT dampers out to Redwood right before they had to switch their full focus on racing team orders): https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/posts/6317092

I'll note I went for the Performance Sport kit, which is Redwood's middle stiffness between GT and Race/HPDE kits. If you're mainly looking for smoothness/comfort then definitely go for the GT, which Redwood says is very focused on comfort, though by all accounts even the GT kit improves handling too...just it's tuned with comfort as the top priority.

Redwood says Performance Sport kit is tuned with a focus on handling and comfort (both), it's still street focused/friendly but tuned for those who love tearing up twisty roads and that sort of driving. Redwood says even the Performance Sport will ride better than stock (depending on how you set the adjusters - probably not at full firm!), but it has more handling focus than GT, at some expense of smoothness/softness.

I didn't ask them about the Race/HPDE kit as I'm not doing HPDEs these days, but I would guess those are quite stiff, focused mainly on handling on well-maintained pavement - like a racetrack.

 

[tm1v2]

@Appleman Btw I have experienced Öhlins DFV dampers on another EV, and I thought they were fantastic. On that car they were tuned+adjusted to be very firm and responsive, yet they also rode really well, much smoother / less busy ride and much more stable+controlled+responsive handling than the M3P, all at the same time (without fiddling back-and-forth with the adjusters).

Don't get me wrong, the ride wasn't magic carpet smooth, rather it was firm-smooth...not sure how else to describe it. It was super well controlled, like nothing could upset it or make it bouncy. It made the Model 3 feel sloppy in comparison.

Of course that experience with a different car doesn't really tell me anything about Redwood Öhlins on a Model 3, but I know the potential for very good things is there. Even my wife, who's not into "performance driving" like me, agreed the Öhlins-equipped car had much better suspension tuning than the Model 3. That's why she approved putting the same kind of dampers on our M3P.