In the northern hemisphere there are a few Tesla Model 3\u2019s and more recently model Y\u2019s as well that have had lift kits and all terrain tyres fitted. This could be the first one in Australia <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Why?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Why not, obviously LOL<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But seriously, there are many reasons people modify cars and installing lift kids is as old as the hills. This is a great (relatively) low cost way to get extra ground clearance should you need it.
In some areas people have snow a lot of the year and it isn\u2019t always cleared. Some people just have access issues with things like driveways and some people would love their car just a couple of inches higher for reasons such as back or hip problems but don\u2019t want to replace their car. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
My wife and I really love our Model 3 and it suits our needs perfectly, except for 1 little thing, the ride is a little harsh. Nowhere near as bad as a Model Y (even the post 23 models) but still it could do with improvement.
We\u2019ve owned this car for 3 years now and travelled 100,00kms and thought that it\u2019s time to tweak the ride comfort a bit. So project \u2018EB\u2019 was born early in 2024.
Our Model 3 is the Long Range which has 19\u201d wheels. Plenty of people have gone from 19\u201d down to 18\u201d wheels and this does 2 things, increases ride comfort because you can then get a higher profile tyre and also improves economy.
So that got me thinking, how high a profile could I actually fit in there?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It turns out that the maximum outside diameter of the tyre I can get in there is 27.5\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So I started thinking about lifting the car to give it more room for extra rubber, but it won\u2019t actually matter too much as the show stopper is a steering component up front. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
But I still wanted to lift the car for great access in\/out and found the perfect lift kit for our needs, and it\u2019s readily available from Mountain Pass Performance in Canada. I emailed a few questions back and forth and they were very helpful. So I ended up buying their lift kit along with the rear camber arms because the lift is so much that the rear wheel alignment can\u2019t be bought back in close enough with the OEM non-adjustable control arms. Check out the lift<\/strong> kit<\/strong><\/em><\/a> and the control arms<\/em><\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n After more YouTube searching, I found an unbelievably cool product that will help the EB Project. It\u2019s called S3XY Knob! (I kid you not). I saw that it unlocks \u2018Off Road Mode\u2019 which isn\u2019t available for the Model 3 and for those who know a bit about off road hardware, it\u2019s pretty much the same as a central diff lock, so a REALLY handy tool for when things get a bit slippery in mud, ice & snow. Ok, so the S3XY Knob is in, S3XY buttons are in, the lift get gets installed this Wednesday 2nd Oct 2024, then we\u2019re ready for new wheels and All Terrain tyres. End result I \u2018hope\u2019 to be by early November 2024 running 17\u201d wheels with an AT tyre such as BFGoodrich All Trail or Yokohama G058 etc. <\/p>\n\n\n\n What does EB mean? ELECTRIC BEAST!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here\u2019s the first vlog on YouTube of the progress so far. More to come this week. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2018So that arrived this week and I installed it and WOW, what a game changer. Every Tesla driver should have one of these, the benefits are too numerous to mention. Have a look for yourself here<\/em><\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I need to find a wheel and tyre shop that will actually spend time trying on wheels and seeing what fits because I want to go to 17\u2019 wheels. Why? Because it\u2019s been done before in the USA so it\u2019s not impossible, there\u2019s just 1 minor adjustment to be made at the rear brake calipers where the banjo bolt is. I need a wheel and tyre shop who doesn\u2019t just look at a computer and with a blank stare tell me \u2018the computer says no\u2019.
\u2018Plus, if I go down to a 17\u201d wheel there\u2019s a LOT more choice in AT tyres then if I just go to 18\u201d and it\u2019s a bit more comfortable as well.
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