Driving Your Tesla in the Snow

[ThePirate]

In really bad conditions, several posters recommend off-road assist. For example, Off road mode?

DrJF recommended that cold weather guide, and it did not mention that I belive (quoted below).

In CA, we live in warm weather but we drive to the snow, and there you have heinous steep icy roads and the like. It's very difficult to put on snow tires for just the few weekends, that's not really practical.

It's very counterintuitive to think that AWD is no good in snow! I haven't taken delivery yet, and I drive a mighty, classic, beautiful old front wheel drive Honda civic, which is really really really (really-I'm not kidding) good in snow and ice. So, hearing that I'm in a 6 ton car with about the same tire area makes me very concerned about icy slippery roads.

My plan here is to carry chains for the really really bad times, but until I slip and slide, on backcountry roads not plowed, I plan to
1) shift regen to minimum (is there a voice command for that?)
2) enable off-road assist. (" ")

OK, having listed these two, I absolutely cannot find anything about adjusting regen in the model Y manual. Erm...suggestions anyone?

I *definitely* wish there was a snow/ice driving mode.

I wonder what settings one is supposed to use for chains?

Thanks and peace and love and peas to all,

-TPC

The issue here is really down to only getting really bad condition a few times a year so not much practice and tyres are often summer ones. Traction is good, its stopping where the fun starts.,

There's a half decent guide here

Tesla cold weather and winter driving tips

Tesla cold weather and winter driving tips, including range, regen, preconditioning , tyre pressures and safety on autopilot

tesla-info.com

..but the main thing is turn down regen. You can control regen by keeping your foot on the go pedal but who really want's to try and find a neutral position while sliding down the road?

 

[Adopado]

OK, having listed these two, I absolutely cannot find anything about adjusting regen in the model Y manual. Erm...suggestions anyone?

Variable regen hasn’t been on the cars for quite a while so I’m afraid that’s no longer an option. In theory the car should automatically reduce regen if there is slipping on deceleration but I can’t vouch for that as my own 2019 model 3 does have the two regen levels.

 

[Lord Farquad]

 

[Adopado]

It's very counterintuitive to think that AWD is no good in snow!

Tyres (or tires). That's the big factor. AWD is a benefit but it isn't the same as 4x4 and even 4x4 won't stop you sliding off the road if you don't have the right tyres.

 

[Dangerous Fish]

Sorry, 99% off-topic. However, Dangerous Fish's signature is all about fruit.

"Model 3 P, MSM/Black with all the fruit.
Model 3 LR, MSM/Black with a little less fruit (but still very fruity).
Model Y LR, MSM/Black no fruit so far but there are plans afoot..."

Can someone translate that into US english for me? Is fruit interior accessories, exterior customization, FSD or ...??? I consider myself a very fruity boy (whether it's bananas, carambola, grapes or just apples, I love it). On the other hand, I'm still pre-delivery so I want to make sure I'm not missing anything.

Thanks, -TPC

MYLR whilte OOD 3/4/22, EDD (Estimated Delivery Date) is Dec. 2022
(approx. May 1) EDD: Jan-Apr 2023
6/6/22 - Mar-June 2023
7/29/22 - Jan 24 - Mar 21 2023
8/29/22 - Dec 2022!!!
9/14/22 - dec 14 2022 - Jan 16 2023
10/14/22 (approx)- Nov 14-Dec 16
10/24/22 - 10/26-11/28!!!
10/25/22 - hold.

Mainly aftermarket performance parts and paint protection (PPF). I don't go for bolt-on body kits and that sort of thing, but I've spent a bit of money in the Tesla shop on wheel cap kits, illuminated sill panels etc.

 

[Adopado]

Yes, that's a great video if you can bear Bjorn taking you through it in real time! The outcome, for anyone that's interested, is that Tesla introduced (without announcement) a "snow mode" for AWD. When the car senses slip in a way that indicates snow it switches from the normal AWD that favours the rear motor with a lesser contribution from the front to using the front and rear motor 50/50 or thereabouts. It stays in snow mode but if after a few minutes there's no slip it will switch back to normal. There is no driver control of this feature ... it switches in and out depending on the amount of slip detected. Bjorn felt that this was a great improvement over the previous implementation.

 

[WllXM]

Yes, that's a great video if you can bear Bjorn taking you through it in real time! The outcome, for anyone that's interested, is that Tesla introduced (without announcement) a "snow mode" for AWD. When the car senses slip in a way that indicates snow it switches from the normal AWD that favours the rear motor with a lesser contribution from the front to using the front and rear motor 50/50 or thereabouts. It stays in snow mode but if after a few minutes there's no slip it will switch back to normal. There is no driver control of this feature ... it switches in and out depending on the amount of slip detected. Bjorn felt that this was a great improvement over the previous implementation.

Would that be automatically triggered from normal mode or would you have to enable off-road assist first?

From the manual :

Under normal conditions, the traction control system should remain on. Turn it off only in circumstances where you deliberately want the wheels to spin, such as:

• Starting on a loose surface, such as gravel or snow.
• Driving in deep snow, sand or mud.
• Rocking out of a hole or deep rut.
• Driving off-road.

• Off-Road Assist is designed to provide overall improvements when driving off-road. In addition to allowing the wheels to spin, Off-Road Assist balances the torque between the front and rear motors to optimize traction. Off-Road Assist improves traction on rough and soft surfaces where one side of the vehicle may lose traction while the other side still has traction. When Off-Road Assist is on, the accelerator pedal provides more gradual torque, which is useful for crawling at low speeds (for example, over rocky surfaces). When enabled, OFF-ROAD displays on the touchscreen above the driving speed.

Let's say you're on a country road where there is a fine layer of snow/slush. Are you better off in off-road, allowing wheels to slip, or without... I'm not sure tbh...

 

[Adopado]

Would that be automatically triggered from normal mode or would you have to enable off-road assist first?

I'm sure Bjorn would have covered that issue if it required driving in anything other than normal mode to begin with. (He was driving a Model 3)

 

[Dangerous Fish]

Would that be automatically triggered from normal mode or would you have to enable off-road assist first?

From the manual :



Let's say you're on a country road where there is a fine layer of snow/slush. Are you better off in off-road, allowing wheels to slip, or without... I'm not sure tbh...

Is this only on the Model Y? I didn't even know it existed TBH. Anyway, if conditions are the same across the whole road surface, I'd suggect not using off-road assist. It's probably only useful if you encounter patchy snow/ice and can't get traction when trying to move from a stop or very low speed.

General advice - book yourself on a skid pan experience with your Tesla. You'll learn a lot about how it works and what's best to do/not do in winter.

 

[WllXM]

Is this only on the Model Y? I didn't even know it existed TBH. Anyway, if conditions are the same across the whole road surface, I'd suggect not using off-road assist. It's probably only useful if you encounter patchy snow/ice and can't get traction when trying to move from a stop or very low speed.

Yes Model Y has an Off=Road mode that isn't in the 3.
Different from Slip Start though, and you can combine both.

General advice - book yourself on a skid pan experience with your Tesla. You'll learn a lot about how it works and what's best to do/not do in winter.

Hope that's not gonna be my trip to the Alps later next month

 

[Dangerous Fish]

Yes Model Y has an Off=Road mode that isn't in the 3.
Different from Slip Start though, and you can combine both.


Hope that's not gonna be my trip to the Alps later next month

Yes, just checked in ours earlier and saw the option. Totally missed that. Must have a play when it gets a bit wintery.
Hope you're going to be packing winters/all seasons for the Alps.

 

[WllXM]

Yes, just checked in ours earlier and saw the option. Totally missed that. Must have a play when it gets a bit wintery.
Hope you're going to be packing winters/all seasons for the Alps.

Snow socks, couldn't justify £250 per tyre / £1k total for a single week. Hopefully the weather will be ok and that won't be needed so won't come to regret it...