2.0 / 2.5 Roadster / Roadster Sport Tire Thread

[daniel]

I plan to drive my Roadster all winter here in Spokane, WA. I bought this car to be my daily driver, and summer is too short for it to be just a summer car. So, what tires should I put on it in winter?

Spokane gets snow, but not an awful lot of it. (We are on the dry side of the state.) I don't drive any car when there's a significant amount of snow on the road. I wait for the streets to be plowed. But there's still some covering of snow, and there can be ice, though I don't go out if the roads are seriously slippery. My only concern here is safety. I want the safest tires I can get. Our streets are dry for much of the winter, so studded tires are not a good choice, as WSDOT says that studded tires have a longer stopping distance on wet or dry pavement (as opposed to ice) and discourages their use, though they are legal.

Suggestions/recommendations?

 

[dj905]

For the winter (primarily for better traction in cold weather), I use the Hankook Icebear w300. I have found them to be excellent tires. Very stable on the highway, and they are moderately priced.

David

 

[S-2000 Roadster]

I plan to drive my Roadster all winter here in Spokane, WA. I bought this car to be my daily driver, and summer is too short for it to be just a summer car. So, what tires should I put on it in winter?

Spokane gets snow, but not an awful lot of it. (We are on the dry side of the state.) I don't drive any car when there's a significant amount of snow on the road. I wait for the streets to be plowed. But there's still some covering of snow, and there can be ice, though I don't go out if the roads are seriously slippery. My only concern here is safety. I want the safest tires I can get. Our streets are dry for much of the winter, so studded tires are not a good choice, as WSDOT says that studded tires have a longer stopping distance on wet or dry pavement (as opposed to ice) and discourages their use, though they are legal.

Suggestions/recommendations?

Have you considered the winter tires that Tesla Motors recommends and sells at the Tesla Store?

I've had great performance from Yokohama AVS (Intermediate through 2005 and ES100 since 2006) tires on my older vehicle, but that's more for our rainy freeways. The ES100 is a summer tire, and I assume the Intermediate was, too. I drive a 4WD when it snows.

 

[donauker]

I plan to drive my Roadster all winter here in Spokane, WA. I bought this car to be my daily driver, and summer is too short for it to be just a summer car. So, what tires should I put on it in winter?Spokane gets snow, but not an awful lot of it. (We are on the dry side of the state.) I don't drive any car when there's a significant amount of snow on the road. I wait for the streets to be plowed. But there's still some covering of snow, and there can be ice, though I don't go out if the roads are seriously slippery. My only concern here is safety. I want the safest tires I can get. Our streets are dry for much of the winter, so studded tires are not a good choice, as WSDOT says that studded tires have a longer stopping distance on wet or dry pavement (as opposed to ice) and discourages their use, though they are legal.Suggestions/recommendations?

I would highly recommend the Pirellis that Tesla supplies. I drove my Roadster every day this past winter with no problem whatsoever. I was in snow that brushed the bottom of the car, slush, ice and wet, even climbed out an uphill drive without a problem while a FWD Mini couldn't even hold position after losing grip.

 

[kgb]

UPDATE:

I am getting a very intermittent TPMS error. I sometimes go for days without it, but then I'll have it for a couple days. Problem is, I am too busy to go to Discount Tire and complain, because I am afraid I'll get there and the error will be gone. Is there an easy way to test/fix this, or will I have to bit the bullet and go back to Discount Tire?

TPMS UPDATE:
Here is a piece of information that should be brought to the owners' attention. It might be in the manual, but still, it should be bold and in 24 pt text. Apparently, if the wheels are away from the car for "too long" and the key is left in the ignition, the TPMS "will lose it's programing." My Ranger finally fixed this fault that I've had since I posted about it in March. He told me that when the key is in the ignition, the 12V system remains on. If left on "too long" (and I forgot to ask exactly how long that is), the car looks for its paired TPMS. If it doesn't find it, then it looses its pairing. Then you have new tires but a TPMS fault. The fix is to tell the tire guys to take the key out of the ignition before they jack it up. Or, if you are one of the people who is taking the loose wheel to the shop, then don't put the key in the ignition while the wheels are away. I hope this helps some other owners avoid my tragedy.

 

[Doug_G]

TPMS UPDATE:
Here is a piece of information that should be brought to the owners' attention. It might be in the manual, but still, it should be bold and in 24 pt text. Apparently, if the wheels are away from the car for "too long" and the key is left in the ignition, the TPMS "will lose it's programing." My Ranger finally fixed this fault that I've had since I posted about it in March. He told me that when the key is in the ignition, the 12V system remains on. If left on "too long" (and I forgot to ask exactly how long that is), the car looks for its paired TPMS. If it doesn't find it, then it looses its pairing. Then you have new tires but a TPMS fault. The fix is to tell the tire guys to take the key out of the ignition before they jack it up. Or, if you are one of the people who is taking the loose wheel to the shop, then don't put the key in the ignition while the wheels are away. I hope this helps some other owners avoid my tragedy.

So suppose you temporarily swap in rims, say, because you want to do autocross or something and want stickier tires for the day. You're saying that simply driving the car with different wheels will cause it to "forget" the sensor mapping? When you put the original rims back on it will not work?

 

[kgb]

That is a good question. And since Roger Reid never said anything about that, it makes me doubt my Ranger. But I am just sharing what I just learned earlier today. All I know is that after 6 months of clearing TPMS errors, it is finally fixed!

Maybe you have to do autocross with the other rims in the passenger seat :wink::biggrin::scared:

There are a couple autocross threads, I guess we could repost that question there.

 

[kgb]

I just got my 3rd set of rears, so I am updating the database. ... I got Continental ContiSportContact 3's. I tried to get the tires to spin with TC off and I tried to make the light come on with TC on, and I was unable, so they seem grippy enough. (ADDENDUM: When taking off from a stand still with TC off, the tires will make some sound up to 40mph)... My next rear tires will probably be a little grippier than these continentals. What's the point of having a "super" car unless you can have fun with it.

I've been driving on the Continentals for about a month. My initial impression was that I was not impressed, but after reading what I posted before, my disappointment did not shine through. For the first week, whenever I was heavy on the go pedal, the tires would squeal. If turning while accelerating, I would experience over-steer (note: I adjusted my suspension, it is not at the stock settings). Over the past few weeks, the tires have improved. It seems that the slipping of which I complained earlier has worn off. I now feel that the Continental ContiSportContact 3's make a adequate rear, and I might consider them again depending on how things go.

As for fronts, I found someone who says he can get me Toyo T1R's, but now that I don't "hate" the Continentals, I might consider matching all 4 tires.

 

[dsm363]

I spoke with someone at Tesla. They are aware that Yokohama has the new AD08s out in sizes that don't match the fronts but said that they know of no current plans for Yokohama to stop production of the AD07s at this point.

 

[Doug_G]

Riiiiight... That's why they don't list them on their web site. Because they're still making them but don't want to sell them.

 

[dsm363]

Riiiiight... That's why they don't list them on their web site. Because they're still making them but don't want to sell them.

Oh, sorry. The AD07s were on their website earlier this summer when I last looked. Yeah, I think they're probably phasing them out. I guess that would leave Lotus and Tesla Roadster drivers without an officially supported tire.

Even searching by car (Lotus Elise) on Yokohama turns up with no results now. I don't understand why Yokohama just doesn't produce the AD08s in the front tire size that would serve the existing Lotus and Roadster drivers. I guess the market must be too small for it to be worth their time.

 

[dsm363]

I called Yokohama. While they are no longer selling the AD07s as 'replacement tires', they are still producing them as OEM tires for Lotus and Tesla in the correct sizes. How long they'll do this is another question I guess.

 

[Doug_G]

Ah. Single source of supply... expect higher prices.

Well I have some AD07 fronts in the basement. I wonder how they'd play with AD08 rears? I know a guy with a Lotus Elise with that exact configuration, and he says they work fine for him.

 

[dsm363]

Ah. Single source of supply... expect higher prices.

Well I have some AD07 fronts in the basement. I wonder how they'd play with AD08 rears? I know a guy with a Lotus Elise with that exact configuration, and he says they work fine for him.

I've been wondering the same thing. The guy on the phone at Yokohama said the AD08s were not designed for the Lotus, whatever that means but I'd imagine they'd work fine. I may stock up on some AD07 fronts too.

 

[vfx]

Should those of us with 1.5's be concerned? Officially those Roadsters only work with 07s. Will they update 1.5 firmware to accept non stock tires or once the basement supplies run out, will the cars drive around with the TC light blinking on all the time?

 

[dsm363]

Should those of us with 1.5's be concerned? Officially those Roadsters only work with 07s. Will they update 1.5 firmware to accept non stock tires or once the basement supplies run out, will the cars drive around with the TC light blinking on all the time?

I called one of customer people at Tesla and they said they are monitoring the situation. I'm not sure what they'll do though but all of the Lotus Elise customers are in the same boat.

 

[vfx]

...all of the Lotus Elise customers are in the same boat.

Without regen.

 

[Dragon]

Hi guys! It's time to think about the winter tires. Can you give some impressions on the tires you had or will have? I only heard about the Pirelli so far (but there are more options too), Tesla is recommending them. I'll drive much in the winter and it's possible to get in some heavy snow storm, so I want something really reliable.

 

[Eberhard]

Hi guys! It's time to think about the winter tires. Can you give some impressions on the tires you had or will have? I only heard about the Pirelli so far (but there are more options too), Tesla is recommending them. I'll drive much in the winter and it's possible to get in some heavy snow storm, so I want something really reliable.

I used Pirelli last Winter. They did fine, even while driven in heavy snow storm 31Nov last year.

 

[Dragon]

I used Pirelli last Winter. They did fine, even while driven in heavy snow storm 31Nov last year.

Can you indicate exactly which Pirelli you used? I can't seem to find an adequate front/rear combination. On the Pirelli homepage they don't show the snowsport anymore.