[Rcnesneg]

Has anyone out there installed a lift kit on a Model 3 that you are pleased with? I see a number of different ones available, some are 'spring-over' and others just spacers.
I've not yet purchased a Model 3 and was actually looking at Model Y's - where I live (out in the sticks) I need the ground clearance of the Y but from pic's I've seen on line, a Model 3 with a lift kit which typically adds 1.75 in would work.

Thoughts and comments would be most welcome.
Thanks
Jan

Mountain pass performance sells the original 1.75" kit. All the others are just copies of it.

You can also get Dirt-snow-mud coilovers from Unplugged performance but they are relatively unproven and $5k including suspension arms, and their other products have historically had issues. In the near future we should see a lot more information on them and have a better idea of how they stack up.

You can also get air suspension (UAS or Airride) and that can go up about 2" also.

 

[Rcnesneg]

Update - I received my spare! I test fit it on the front corner and it looks good! I can barely fit a finger between the knuckle and the tire on the top, and there's plenty of room on the side. I have good confidence I will be able to safely mount the other 4 and run this size. This size is .5" larger in diameter than stock, or a lift of 0.25".

Falken Wildpeak AT Trail 225/50R18 on Sparco Terra 18x8+35

 

[Black Moon]

The Boost 50 now also features an offroad mode:

OFF ROAD MODE
This feature allows the motors to split the torque
(50/50) giving better traction for winter driving. This
function is only available for Tesla with two motors
(AWD) when driving in manual mode.
To activate it you must be in PARK and turn on the
option in the Ingenext web application
Disable the option in the Ingenext web application
Restart the car by going to the Safety and Security
menu and clicking on the POWER OFF button.
Wait 5 seconds and press the brake pedal to restart
the car.
To deactivate the off-road mode you must :
Disable the option in the Ingenext web application
Restart the car by going to the Safety and Security
menu and clicking on the POWER OFF button.
Wait 5 seconds and press the brake pedal to restart
the car.
The off road mode cannot be activated at the same
time as the drift mode.

... and a RWD mode:

RWD MODE
This function makes the car two-wheel drive (100% power
to the rear motor). This function is only available for Tesla
with two motors (AWD).
To activate it you must be in PARK and turn on the option
in the Ingenext web application.
To deactivate it you must be in PARK and turn off the
option in the Ingenext web application.
*The RWD mode can be activated at the same time
as the drift mode.

I don't see the advantage, though! Is there somebody able to enlighten me? I mean the car is equipped with a traction control system. Why bother fiddling with the power distribution for offroading? Even with TC disabled (if I'm able to fit my oversized MTs for example), I don't see the advantage of an altered power distribution...

 

[Black Moon]

Falken Wildpeak AT Trail 225/50R18 on Sparco Terra 18x8+35

What's the advantage of having the wheels sit 1 cm more to the inside than stock? Reduced forces on the bearings?

 

[Rcnesneg]

What's the advantage of having the wheels sit 1 cm more to the inside than stock? Reduced forces on the bearings?

Stock is +40. So I moved the wheels out 5mm.

 

[Black Moon]

Oh, yes, I was totally confused.

 

[Atraf]

Has anyone out there installed a lift kit on a Model 3 that you are pleased with? I see a number of different ones available, some are 'spring-over' and others just spacers.
I've not yet purchased a Model 3 and was actually looking at Model Y's - where I live (out in the sticks) I need the ground clearance of the Y but from pic's I've seen on line, a Model 3 with a lift kit which typically adds 1.75 in would work.

Thoughts and comments would be most welcome.
Thanks
Jan

Like @Rcnesneg have said, MPP's 1.75" vertical spacer lift kit (link) is the original (as are some other after market suspension parts that are available in different color by few brands).
Beyond that you can also add MPP's Comfort Adjustable Coilovers (link) these can be set to +1" above OEM height without issue (they can be set for even higher but as you start to get near their upper limit the ride quality will suffer, +1" is the recommendation from MPP).

The "snow and dirt" squeaky coilovers are not for the model 3, they are not compatible with the model 3 and you will not be able to install them if you try, as confrimed by Unplugged Performance themselves - this is also why they don't show up on their website under Model 3 and instead only show under Model Y

Beyond those two things you can get slightly taller tires, on both 18" aero and 19" sport OEM wheels you can go 245 width instead of 235 width which will buy you like ... 4 sheets of paper's worth of lift, or you can get 255/45R18 on 18x9.0 et+30 (FastWheels FC04) (that's still all season), or copy the same setup as @Rcnesneg and actually get all terrain tires (Falken Wildpeak AT Trail 225/50R18 on Sparco Terra 18x8+35)

However if you need ground clerance, Model Y truly is your best bet, by default it seats 1.1" higher than Model 3, you can put same lift kit and coilovers (in their Model Y varient) from MPP but then you can put 255/55R18 all terrain tires, tons of people have done that (ex these posts)

Update - I received my spare! I test fit it on the front corner and it looks good! I can barely fit a finger between the knuckle and the tire on the top, and there's plenty of room on the side. I have good confidence I will be able to safely mount the other 4 and run this size. This size is .5" larger in diameter than stock, or a lift of 0.25".

Falken Wildpeak AT Trail 225/50R18 on Sparco Terra 18x8+35

View attachment 46804
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Thank you!
Falken Wildpeak AT Trail 225/50R18 on Sparco Terra 18x8+35 looks fantastic! can't wait to see all four mounted up! great job! glad it fits

 

[Black Moon]

I don't see the advantage, though! Is there somebody able to enlighten me? I mean the car is equipped with a traction control system. Why bother fiddling with the power distribution for offroading? Even with TC disabled (if I'm able to fit my oversized MTs for example), I don't see the advantage of an altered power distribution...

I just read that the original Offroad Mode from Tesla is doing nearly the same. So what's the advantage of a 50/50 power distribution instead of the stock 30/70 (or whatever it is)?

 

[Black Moon]

Beyond those two things you can get slightly taller tires, on both 18" aero and 19" sport OEM wheels you can go 245 width instead of 235 width which will buy you like ... 4 sheets of paper's worth of lift, or you can get 255/45R18 on 18x9.0 et+30 (FastWheels FC04) (that's still all season), or copy the same setup as @Rcnesneg and actually get all terrain tires (Falken Wildpeak AT Trail 225/50R18 on Sparco Terra 18x8+35)

Or copy my setup (235/70R17 on 7.5+15) to gain 1.8" of clearance. (not sure, if possible without a suspension lift)

 

[Black Moon]

Follow-up on the bull bar: There's still no update on the webpage! It even still states that the bullbar will be available "late 2022"! :/ It seems to me that they only set up this page to evaluate the market demand (preorders).

 

[Black Moon]

I had my new 265/70 MT tire mounted on the rim yesterday. Damn, do they look ! Unfortunately I missed the chance of taking a photo at the shop. (They are now inside my trailer inside my separate garage.) Here's an eBay pic of the tire. Mounted on a narrow 8" rim, so it's nearly impossible to damage the rim by driving...

I'm going to (try to) mount the wheel as soon as the weather allows for it. (Currently it's still winter with minus degrees here. Usually spring –around 10 °C day temperature– starts in April.) As always, I'll at most remove or cut plastic to make the wheels fit. It will be a super tight fit!

 

[Black Moon]

I just read that the original Offroad Mode from Tesla is doing nearly the same. So what's the advantage of a 50/50 power distribution instead of the stock 30/70 (or whatever it is)?

I guess it's about side slip on very slippery surfaces. With the stock 70 % the rear will start to slip a bit earlier than with 50. I had this scenario a few weeks ago on a very tilted muddy forest track. The car is driving nearly sideways as the rear wheels are slipping much more than the front.

 

[Rcnesneg]

Tires and lift are on! These ATs fit perfectly on my 2021 LR! Falken Wildpeak AT Trail 225/50R18 on Sparco Terra 18x8+35 with MPP +1.75 kit. Only thing to be aware of is I'm within 3 lbs of 110% of the rear axle rating for the rear tires. So it's OK, but there isn't much wiggle room on the tires, and definitely don't run them at lower pressures on the highways or go over the rear axle rating (obviously).
Not enough data yet on range, so far it's been more efficient this week but that doesn't mean anything.

 

[Black Moon]

Only thing to be aware of is I'm within 3 lbs of 110% of the rear axle rating for the rear tires. So it's OK, but there isn't much wiggle room on the tires, and definitely don't run them at lower pressures on the highways or go over the rear axle rating (obviously).

Are you referring to the load index of your new tires? What pressure do you run now?

 

[Rcnesneg]

Are you referring to the load index of your new tires? What pressure do you run now?

Correct. My tires are rated to carry 109.97% of my rear axle rating. General guidance is that they need to carry 110% of the axle rating. So while I meet the ratings, it is a "caution" condition because it's 1.3kg or 3lbs lower than 110% of the rating. So some shops may not sell these to you if you have a 2021 if their computer flags it, but you might be ok with a 2018 if they have a lower axle rating.

 

[Black Moon]

You have to be aware that the load index refers to the speed index (what do you need 240 km/h for?) -30 km/h and a pressure of 2.5 bar. Increasing the pressure by .1 increases the load index by 1 and decreasing the top speed by 10 increases it by 3 %. (this applies only for speed index V!) So if you are following Tesla's old recommendation of 2.9 bar and/or drive less than 210, you have much more buffer than you thought...

 

[Black Moon]

Btw I drove through a large ford some days ago, that I found on Google Maps. The fast flowing water (0 °C) was around one feet deep (much deeper than expected; it was dark, so I wasn't able to estimate beforehand, although I tried by using the headlights). To my surprise the car was "peeing" for several kilometers afterwards, mainly in curves. I guess water gets trapped between the underbody panels and the structures they cover. No other observations. I intended to post the Teslacam videos, but ... in my adrenaline rush I completely forgot to save it! D'oh! But better to film it again at daylight anyway.

Yesterday I visited the ford again by feet (it's about 3 miles from my home) and understood the reason for the unexpected depth: They created a kind of catchment lake in the ford by installing a weir directly downstream – either to slow the water in the ford (with little effect) or to scare of drivers from crossing it (with not much more effect). I have no clue actually, although hydrology was part of my Master studies... Maybe the weir shall protect the ecosystem beneath it from flood waves caused by large displacement crossings!?

 

[Black Moon]

Deleted

 

[Black Moon]

Bull bar — one month later — still nothing new — looks like a nonstarter to me.

Well, saves money and time. I have more than enough projects for this year...

 

[Atraf]

Tonight I finally ..

maybe better to delete this one post, I imagine this is something that the OEM could easily patch away if they realize …