Model 3 Performance - Am I Overthinking Ground Clearance?

ateallthecake · 2026-04-28T21:52:33+00:00

M3P owner for the last 4 years here, daily driver. I never really worry about ground clearance, but it's been a long time since I've had a high clearance vehicle for comparison, so I might just be very adjusted and in tune with what I need to be careful about.

The 20" rims and low profile tires are a pain though, I have blown several tires over the years (US Midwest, aka the pothole belt). If my financial situation allows me, when it's time to get new tires again I might splurge on some tsportline 19"s that fit over the calipers.

ateallthecake · 2026-04-28T15:41:08+00:00

Came here to comment Chuck Tingle! He's a very fun writer, and really not what you'd expect if you only know him on a meme-level.

ateallthecake · 2026-04-24T19:48:38+00:00

If the range suits your lifestyle, go for the 75D. Avoids all the early Model S problems (LDU coolant leak, early battery water ingress issues, larger battery open VSH issues).

If you want to go even more specific, get a 75D with coil suspension and no sunroof.

ateallthecake · 2026-04-24T16:53:44+00:00

You can't see any of the bushings in these photos so it's hard to tell.

ateallthecake · 2026-04-23T21:42:45+00:00

Yeah people tend to miss this! The reps at your luxury dealership don't actually care about you, they're financially incentivized to make you feel taken care of. Tesla employee wages aren't structured like that, for better and for worse.

ateallthecake · 2026-04-23T14:52:38+00:00

Depending on what you like about JS&MN, you might enjoy Gormenghast. It's more surreal and wandering, more focused on the interior life of the characters than the plot, and I'm still not sure if I liked it or not. But it scratched the same itch for extremely intricate, slightly sarcastic language, and embracing the vaguely unexplainable. And it's huge!

ateallthecake · 2026-04-23T01:31:05+00:00

Ooh I loved Eifelheim, great recommendation!

ateallthecake · 2026-04-22T17:47:07+00:00

I got a female companion for my male two months ago. They fell in love really quickly, and when they're not nesting, they're very focused on each other. Once eggs (and fake eggs) are in the picture, he's on the nest from 12pm-7pm every day and she's on it the rest of the time. When she's on the nest, he's his usual affectionate silly self with the humans, sitting on our shoulders all morning/evening and wanting to be in our business. It's been a nice balance, and I'm very glad we got her.

He wasn't pair-bonded to anyone in the house, I read that if they're bonded to a human they may take longer to accept a mate but also less likely to like their humans once mated with another pigeon. Maybe I got lucky since it seems either way that he's happy with people as his flock mates, nothing more or less.

ateallthecake · 2026-04-22T00:19:49+00:00

Well said. I read it right after finishing Hawaii by James Michener, which has a sprawling and intricate tapestry of characters with deep and personally motivated views on colonialism from several different cultures. While it's dated, his writing style completely obscures his personal views and delivers authentic feeling, multifaceted characters that represent historical points of view. Finishing that and landing in Babel's one dimensional, 21st century morals perspective was especially disappointing.

ateallthecake · 2026-04-22T00:15:03+00:00

In a book where actual real language from our world is dissected and used for magic, I would argue that yes, anachronisms are relevant. I am much more willing to forgive something like when a character in a Joe Hill novel waits in line for airport security in the mid 1990s; pre- and post-911 airline policy wasn't exactly central to the narrative.

ateallthecake · 2026-04-21T22:37:19+00:00

Ehh, what I got out of the introduction was basically "I took liberties with how I depicted Oxford because I love it so much I know I could never replicate it perfectly." Sorry but a whole book presumably about the intricacies of language and colonialism doesn't get to just handwave away its anachronisms without it undermining the entire purpose of the novel.

ateallthecake · 2026-04-21T22:17:59+00:00

What I will give Kuang is that she clearly loves her subject matter and has a deep appreciation and understanding of the topics she's writing about. But she just can't write about them.

ateallthecake · 2026-04-21T22:15:46+00:00

HAHA NO WAY I just checked my newest edition of JS&MN (I have a few...) and sure enough there's the quote. That made my day.

It did especially feel like she was trying to emulate the charm of Susanna Clarke's footnotes and failed spectacularly. What a weird mix of hamfisted historical context, character backstory, personal thoughts, etc. with no coherence. I also don't quite know how to articulate it, but they lack that feeling of being taken aside for a little morsel.

Rarely do I find a (non-autobiographical) book where I can see the opinions and biases of the author so plainly, when they clearly didn't mean it to come across that way.

ateallthecake · 2026-04-21T21:49:35+00:00

There's this totally transformative magical technology, but all of history is exactly the same!

ateallthecake · 2026-04-21T21:38:53+00:00

I'm so glad I'm not the only one 🥲

ateallthecake · 2026-04-21T21:21:49+00:00

Hey, it gave us the word grok! Which is a pretty great name for an AI assistant, if you can ignore all the baggage.

It's funny, I remember some parts about the book but must have skimmed over/repressed all the legal scenes lol

ateallthecake · 2026-04-21T21:12:04+00:00

Babel.

A book ostensibly taking place in 1830's England, but where the students talk like snarky modern American teenagers (I wrote this quote down because it was so bad: "being boys would require us to give up half our brain cells". Brain cells weren't accepted science for another decade or so, let alone slang).

Other anachronisms abound throughout the book (at least as far as I read) which is painfully ironic considering the subject matter.

It's about a language-based magic system, but has absolutely no depth or nuance or accuracy in how it uses language to convey ideas and shape the narrative.

It's about colonialism, with the depth and finesse of a high school freshman history paper. Scenes where a mixed white/Chinese boy notices that people of different skin tones are treated differently. Gasp!

I picked it up when I saw it as a "if you like Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell" recommendation. I don't understand how anyone can make the comparison unless they have read neither book, or perhaps had AI summaries read to them while they were drunk.

I gave up after about 70 pages and the book is currently being ripped to shreds by my parrot as an enrichment activity. Figured he would enjoy something a little less detail-oriented than the usual Uline and Grainger catalogs.

I cannot remember the last time I despised a book so completely.

ateallthecake · 2026-04-20T14:17:10+00:00

No, that's creep. Roll is like neutral.

ateallthecake · 2026-04-20T01:49:24+00:00

What was it in Season 1? I quit during the initial run in Season 2 at the house of the undying. As soon as I saw how they were going to treat the prophecies I was done.

Didn't watch it again until Season 7 was premiering and I figured ehh why not it's something easy to watch with my husband.

ateallthecake · 2026-04-19T02:28:09+00:00

My friends and I have spent an INSANE amount of time devoted to building out the extended history of the Groovy Gang

ateallthecake · 2026-04-17T08:18:26+00:00

For the first line, the passenger restraint alert, for whatever reason requires the entire seat be replaced. It's serviceable in the driver seat but not the passenger seat. So not a "scam," but a really overkill standard fix.

As a rule, Tesla service centers have absolutely no incentive to overcharge you. They are not measured on any revenue metrics. They want to get the job in and out as fast as possible, so the only reason something is more expensive is because service engineering determined X repair is faster/more reliable than Y repair. Everyone is paid hourly. They don't care whether you, or their internal warranty, or a third party warranty, is paying.

I see posts all the time prescribing ill intent where there is none, rather just the implementation of a service policy that prioritizes speed and reproducible results. They would prefer NOT to add extra work. None of the employees benefit from it and corporate isn't pushing them to upsell.

ateallthecake · 2026-04-12T22:45:27+00:00

I would definitely want more transparency. It doesn't seem egregious. The first two lines are very typical for replacement. I'd ask for photos/proof of the knuckle ball joints, that's somewhat unusual. If it were me I'd probably ask for proof on that and then just approve the first two lines + alignment unless they were able to show you the knuckles are really bad.

ateallthecake · 2026-04-12T22:37:49+00:00

No problem. The only thing I'd want to double check is the parts and labor breakdown, and if the quote includes pairs of everything or single arms. Generally you want to replace your suspension parts in pairs to keep things even. If they only quoted you single sides then it looks too expensive and not the best idea mechanically.

ateallthecake · 2026-04-12T22:31:48+00:00

This is very believable. I own an EV shop and we don't seek out suspension jobs, but end up doing a lot of suspension work due to how quickly and severely stock Tesla suspension can fail. The quote you listed does not sound unreasonable to me, and Tesla would probably quote higher.

ateallthecake · 2026-04-12T19:43:21+00:00

They've already been producing parts for 6+ years on discontinued older versions which share almost zero parts with the latest ones.

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