Drove My Model 3 LR 150 Miles in a Blizzard: It Did GREAT

Thought I would share my thoughts on how well my Model 3 did driving in last weeks Nor'Easter. Ive always loved driving in the snowiest conditions and was waiting for the right time to try my new EV out. It's great to know, that if you HAVE to do it, that the vehicle can handle it.

Pros:
1 - When combined with Michelin X-Ice Snow Winter tires, I truly felt unstoppable. The amount of grip these tires have is unbelievable when combined with the Tesla AWD system. Cornering, you could feel a bit of the weight and it would sometimes understeer a little bit if you were going excessively fast, but other than that this is the best handling vehicle I've ever driven in the snow. Packed down snow on the highway felt as if it wasnt ever there. 0-60 times up a snowy onramp were still in the 10 second range. Crazy

2. I love being able to preheat cabin and being able to just floor it, if needed, when its still "cold." No more worrying about cold/thick oil temperatures.

3. Regen Braking seemed very strong and consistent, even when the snow got very slick. Only a small handful of times did it "stutter" when the conditions were really bad. This is more related to tires than the vehicle I feel. However, when the tires DID lose grip, the software knew to pull back the intensity of the regen to not create a unnecessary skid.

4. No supercharging issues in a blizzard to report

5. No heat pump issues, Inside was so warm, we had to take out winter coats off.

Cons:
1. Watts/Mile in these conditions, 15f and 50mph blowing snow, were excessively high. The highest I have ever seen. I believe I was averaging over 500-550+ at times. Total range on my LR would be around 150 miles. Not necessarily the fault of the car, but more reality with living with an EV. I would still say the vast majority of people still commute less than 150 miles per day, AND would be home anyway in these conditions.

2. The wipers... they just aren't great. When combined with my cheap windshield washer fluid, my wipers COMPLETELY froze to the lower cowl on the windshield. I believe there are a few reasons to this.
a. The wipers sit below the cowl and the windshield defroster does not blow warm air on that part of the windshield.
b. slushy frozen wiper fluid easily piled up and created a bad situation.

 

[Rice&Curry]

Thought I would share my thoughts on how well my Model 3 did driving in last weeks Nor'Easter. Ive always loved driving in the snowiest conditions and was waiting for the right time to try my new EV out. It's great to know, that if you HAVE to do it, that the vehicle can handle it.

Pros:
1 - When combined with Michelin X-Ice Snow Winter tires, I truly felt unstoppable. The amount of grip these tires have is unbelievable when combined with the Tesla AWD system. Cornering, you could feel a bit of the weight and it would sometimes understeer a little bit if you were going excessively fast, but other than that this is the best handling vehicle I've ever driven in the snow. Packed down snow on the highway felt as if it wasnt ever there. 0-60 times up a snowy onramp were still in the 10 second range. Crazy

2. I love being able to preheat cabin and being able to just floor it, if needed, when its still "cold." No more worrying about cold/thick oil temperatures.

3. Regen Braking seemed very strong and consistent, even when the snow got very slick. Only a small handful of times did it "stutter" when the conditions were really bad. This is more related to tires than the vehicle I feel. However, when the tires DID lose grip, the software knew to pull back the intensity of the regen to not create a unnecessary skid.

4. No supercharging issues in a blizzard to report

5. No heat pump issues, Inside was so warm, we had to take out winter coats off.



Cons:
1. Watts/Mile in these conditions, 15f and 50mph blowing snow, were excessively high. The highest I have ever seen. I believe I was averaging over 500-550+ at times. Total range on my LR would be around 150 miles. Not necessarily the fault of the car, but more reality with living with an EV. I would still say the vast majority of people still commute less than 150 miles per day, AND would be home anyway in these conditions.

2. The wipers... they just aren't great. When combined with my cheap windshield washer fluid, my wipers COMPLETELY froze to the lower cowl on the windshield. I believe there are a few reasons to this.
a. The wipers sit below the cowl and the windshield defroster does not blow warm air on that part of the windshield.
b. slushy frozen wiper fluid easily piled up and created a bad situation.

Thanks for the update and good that you had a good overall experience.
Question- Would it have helped, if you put the wiper in service mode and run the defroster to heat the area near the wiper rest area faster so that wiper would become more efficient once you "dis-engage the service mode" and start the wiper?

 

[Intervention]

Thanks for the update and good that you had a good overall experience.
Question- Would it have helped, if you put the wiper in service mode and run the defroster to heat the area near the wiper rest area faster so that wiper would become more efficient once you "dis-engage the service mode" and start the wiper?

I want to try fiddling with that next.

Does service mode keep the wipers 1/4 the way up the windshield? That would be perfect for melting them! Would honestly be a great software addition for "snow mode"

1. Automatic reduction of traction control
2. headlights on
3. wipers 1/4 up

 

[rjpjnk]

I have been impressed with my Model Y snow performance as well. Does the M3 have the Off Road option? I find it is great. Balances front and rear power and regeneration nicely for slippery conditions.

The wipers just plain suck

 

[Intervention]

I have been impressed with my Model Y snow performance as well. Does the M3 have the Off Road option? I find it is great. Balances front and rear power and regeneration nicely for slippery conditions.

The wipers just plain suck

I don't believe so.

I would like the stability control to ease off just a bit to allow for a bit more sliding. Honestly, a small, yet controlled, slide is often the easiest way to put the power down and go where you need to go.

 

[holmgang]

2. I love being able to preheat cabin and being able to just floor it, if needed, when its still "cold." No more worrying about cold/thick oil temperatures.

Batteries are also temperature-constrained. That's why there's limited regen when cold. There might be limited discharge capacity i.e. power output, too (never paid attention cuz im obviously not WOT in the snow).

 

[Rice&Curry]

I want to try fiddling with that next.

Does service mode keep the wipers 1/4 the way up the windshield? That would be perfect for melting them! Would honestly be a great software addition for "snow mode"

1. Automatic reduction of traction control
2. headlights on
3. wipers 1/4 up

as I understand if you leave the car overnight and it is snowing , they advise you to put the wiper in service mode. It prevents from the wiper getting stuck due to freezing (must be raising them a wee bit from the windshield) and also helps in draining the water from the windshield when you pre-heat the car in the morning using the heaters and defrosters.

 

[KenC]

Thought I would share my thoughts on how well my Model 3 did driving in last weeks Nor'Easter. Ive always loved driving in the snowiest conditions and was waiting for the right time to try my new EV out. It's great to know, that if you HAVE to do it, that the vehicle can handle it.

Pros:
1 - When combined with Michelin X-Ice Snow Winter tires, I truly felt unstoppable. The amount of grip these tires have is unbelievable when combined with the Tesla AWD system. Cornering, you could feel a bit of the weight and it would sometimes understeer a little bit if you were going excessively fast, but other than that this is the best handling vehicle I've ever driven in the snow. Packed down snow on the highway felt as if it wasnt ever there. 0-60 times up a snowy onramp were still in the 10 second range. Crazy

2. I love being able to preheat cabin and being able to just floor it, if needed, when its still "cold." No more worrying about cold/thick oil temperatures.

3. Regen Braking seemed very strong and consistent, even when the snow got very slick. Only a small handful of times did it "stutter" when the conditions were really bad. This is more related to tires than the vehicle I feel. However, when the tires DID lose grip, the software knew to pull back the intensity of the regen to not create a unnecessary skid.

4. No supercharging issues in a blizzard to report

5. No heat pump issues, Inside was so warm, we had to take out winter coats off.



Cons:
1. Watts/Mile in these conditions, 15f and 50mph blowing snow, were excessively high. The highest I have ever seen. I believe I was averaging over 500-550+ at times. Total range on my LR would be around 150 miles. Not necessarily the fault of the car, but more reality with living with an EV. I would still say the vast majority of people still commute less than 150 miles per day, AND would be home anyway in these conditions.

2. The wipers... they just aren't great. When combined with my cheap windshield washer fluid, my wipers COMPLETELY froze to the lower cowl on the windshield. I believe there are a few reasons to this.
a. The wipers sit below the cowl and the windshield defroster does not blow warm air on that part of the windshield.
b. slushy frozen wiper fluid easily piled up and created a bad situation.

Nice update. I tried to go powder skiing yesterday, but when I got out on the roads, the plow trucks were not keeping up with the snow, about 2" an hour. Given my high rate of energy usage, I realized I couldn't make it there and back, especially since there was no supercharger on my route, so I returned home. I'm actually going tomorrow, but unfortunately, there'll be no powder skiing.

I put my wipers in Service Mode yesterday when I returned home, but this morning, the wipers wouldn't move. Had to reboot to get them to work again.

 

[Teleezen]

This car is a tank

 

[The Squid]

I actually stumbled upon your video on YouTube prior to seeing this post. I enjoyed it. Also, I'll bet the Ariens in the garage had no problems in the snow LOL.

 

[Intervention]

I actually stumbled upon your video on YouTube prior to seeing this post. I enjoyed it. Also, I'll bet the Ariens in the garage had no problems in the snow LOL.

The ariens is a beast. I went for the 28" professional EFI. Love the EFI, this is my second year with the unit

 

[boulder.dude]

The ariens is a beast. I went for the 28" professional EFI. Love the EFI, this is my second year with the unit

Now I’m jealous of your snow!

 

[Intervention]

Now I’m jealous of your snow!

Looks like another 8-10" Friday.

Maybe make another video. Not sure

 

[boulder.dude]

Looks like another 8-10" Friday.

Maybe make another video. Not sure

Here I get excited when I can pull out my snowblower for 4”!

 

[Intervention]

Here I get excited when I can pull out my snowblower for 4”!

Another 8-10" on Friday. Might shoot both a Tesla and a Ariens video. Who knows

 

[BigNick]

Another 8-10" on Friday. Might shoot both a Tesla and a Ariens video. Who knows

We've basically had one blowable snow here this winter, about 5 inches or so. Deluxe 24" has been sitting in the garage unused for quite some time, haven't even used all the gas I filled it up with before storing it in Spring 2021. I should probably run it out and fill it with fresh.

Just sleet and crap here tomorrow.

 

[GtiMart]

Thanks for the writeup of your experience! Yes, those cars do fine in snow, regen auto-adjust and doesn't need to be put on low etc. I've been saying it all around but additional people telling their (mostly positive) story helps

Yep, range is affected by temperature (denser air to push through, using heating inside), winter tires have a higher rolling resistance, and pushing through water/snow/slush also augments consumption. ABRP has settings for that which show exactly by how much. It's very instructive to play around with those settings and see how they affect a planned trip.

 

[primerisk]

Thank you for the report on your severe winter driving. I have a 2021 MYP and it only took me one short drive on the original 21" tires to realize how truly horrible the street tire performance is in even the slightest of cold and wet weather. I went with the 255/45R19 Vredestein Wintrac Pro tires and aftermarket wheels. The cost of the wheel and tire package was only $300 more than getting winter tires mounted on the original 21" rims. I couldn't be happier with the performance, though I haven't exactly had a blizzard to run them through yet, the performance on icy and snow packed roads has been incredible.

 

[pnwadventures]

I feel self conscious reposting this vid every time this topic comes up, but just to underscore your experience with the AWD on snows, here is mine rallying through blizzard conditions on Nokian Hakkapeliitta R3 snow tires:

 

[GtiMart]

Ah, now that's proper snow! Get that a few times per year around here. I'm annoyed just looking at your video with the amount of people staying in the left lane... I guess it's got slightly less snow but still...