Extreme Winter Poll: Which tires are you using this winter?

[Kevin Michaluk]

New-ish Tesla owner about to experience my first winter driving the P85D. I live in Winnipeg, Manitoba (aka Winterpeg). We have a long winter here and can get quite a lot of snow. The roads never truly get cleaned once winter hits. It gets COLD here too - the temperature will easily drop and stay in the -25C to -40C range for December through February.

After doing research here on on TMC, I finally picked out my winter wheels/tires and took delivery of them yesterday. What's super awesome is they were bought and paid for with credits from the Tesla Referral Program!!

So this week I'll be taking off my 21" grey turbines and putting on 19" wheels. I opted for the Nokian Hakkapeliitta R2's, which by most accounts seem awesome. Picture attached.

TAKE THE MODEL S WINTER TIRE POLL: For those who experience "real" winters (with a lot of snow/ice cold temps), just wondering which wheels and tires you went with. Did you go 19" or 21"? The Nokians, Michelins X-Ice and Pirellis Sottozero seemed like the obvious choices for the tire selections. Be sure to vote, and sound of with your reasoning below (and experience with them if you've already racked up lots of miles). Hopefully the results of this poll / thread will help other owners like me come to a decision more quickly.

Re: Studded tires/chains - Because studded tires (and chains) are illegal in many places (including where I live), I didn't put it as an option on the poll. If you're using studded or chains vote for other (and drop a note in the thread with the model of tire you're using). Thx!

 

[danni]

I'm in Sweden, and the winters can be pretty harsh (or sometimes pretty mild - it varies a lot). I've almost always gone with studded winter tires for that extra safety margin and predictable behavior when coming across a large patch of ice. It seems especially important where I live by the coast, where the temperature can often shift around the freezing point, causing the snow to melt and then re-freeze as pure ice. However, studded winter tires have the obvious disadvantage of being extremely loud - something that's all the more obvious in a quiet electric car. This year I was very seriously considering getting Nokian Hakka R2s since they seem pretty great on both snow and ice despite lacking studs, but eventually my wife put in her veto against that. So we ended up buying the same winter tires that we've had for our last two cars - Nokian Hakka 8 studded. They're fantastic tires though. It would just be nice to have a quiet winter for once.


I'll be putting the winter tires on the original 19" rims that the car was delivered on, and I've ordered a set of T Sportline TSTs to use with my summer tires.

 

[Kevin Michaluk]

Cool, Danni. Honestly, I didn't think about studded as I created the poll since they're illegal to use where I live. Totally can see studded as being the best choice for where you live.

I'm in Sweden, and the winters can be pretty harsh (or sometimes pretty mild - it varies a lot). I've almost always gone with studded winter tires for that extra safety margin and predictable behavior when coming across a large patch of ice. It seems especially important where I live by the coast, where the temperature can often shift around the freezing point, causing the snow to melt and then re-freeze as pure ice. However, studded winter tires have the obvious disadvantage of being extremely loud - something that's all the more obvious in a quiet electric car. This year I was very seriously considering getting Nokian Hakka R2s since they seem pretty great on both snow and ice despite lacking studs, but eventually my wife put in her veto against that. So we ended up buying the same winter tires that we've had for our last two cars - Nokian Hakka 8 studded. They're fantastic tires though. It would just be nice to have a quiet winter for once.

 

[jerry33]

Cool, Danni. Honestly, I didn't think about studded as I created the poll since they're illegal to use where I live. Totally can see studded as being the best choice for where you live.

Twenty years ago, that was the case. Now, not so much. Generally, studs do more harm than good.

 

[danni]

Twenty years ago, that was the case. Now, not so much. Generally, studs do more harm than good.

They are still far superior when it comes to braking or cornering on ice, especially smooth ice (which you'll find quite often around here because of the climate). But the studless tires have come a long way, especially in conjunction with modern ESP systems, and the reasons to choose studded tires are becoming smaller and smaller. Even more so when you consider the negative impact of studded tires on air quality.

As I said, I was willing to give studless a go this time (despite bad previous experiences), but my wife said she simply would not gamble on that with the kids in the car, air quality be damned. And you have to obey the wife

 

[1208]

What about chains round the tire in extreme scenario?

 

[Kevin Michaluk]

Depending where you live, chains are definitely an option when it's BAD conditions. For me, also illegal - can't use chains or studded tires. I guess I should have re-phrased the poll maybe as Everyday Extreme Winter non-stud/non-chain Tire of Choice? :wink:

What about chains round the tire in extreme scenario?

 

[danni]

What about chains round the tire in extreme scenario?

Chains or similar solutions are good for temporary problems - when you get stuck or when you have to climb a particularly steep snowy slope. They're obviously useless for everyday driving in harsh winter conditions.

Here in Sweden, winter tires are required by law, but a lot of people still keep chains (or something similar) in the car, or at least bring them along when taking the car on a skiing holiday up north.

 

[HVM]

Twenty years ago, that was the case. Now, not so much. Generally, studs do more harm than good.

 

[JOEV1]

Living in Austria and a fair amount up the mountain side, (approx 15% road inclination) most of my ICE I had before where AWD. Now as a proud owner of a S85D I was shopping around for winter tires. Momentarly, there is a waiting list for the 19" Pirelli Sotto. So I grabed a set of rims and started looking for Tires.
Checking the various makes I opted for the DUNLOP WINTER SPORT 3D. Soon after I fitted those on my Vehicle I noticed how QUIET they were.
The stated noise figure in the specs is 68 db. And truely they are a lot smoother and quieter within the car than the origional summer set which are delivered with the car.
Now, I am waiting for the snow. Needless to mention that I will report on them as soon as I get my TESLA - AWD driving experience in winter.

 

[travwill]

As for the "other" option. Will be using Bridgestone Blizzak LM-32s on the 19" wheels.

 

[Cottonwood]

I used the Nokian Hakka 7's for 2 years on my P85. I sold them and this winter will run Hakka R2's. The studded tires are amazingly annoying in an EV. I called the Hakka 7's, my Rice Krispie Tires, Snap, Crackle, Pop.

I made this decision after great experiences running the Hakka R2's on my P85D last winter, and this objective test: Nokian Hakkapeliitta R2 Snow Tire Report - Comparing with Hakka 7's. On dust covered ice, the studded Hakka 7's had no significant advantage over the Hakka R2's. On wet, slippery ice, the studs may have a slight advantage, but that is not worth it to me.

One reason for the Hakka R2's to do so well is that they have their "Cryo Crystals" imbedded in the rubber that act as micro-studs. See Nokian Cryo Crystal Concept / Nokian Tires

 

[ERP]

Blizzak LM-32 245/45/19

I've been using Blizzaks for years in Colorado as my winter tires on all my cars. I love them. I would never use studded tires unless I was ice racing. The roads are clear and dry more than they are snow covered in the winter, even in the mountains.

 

[jerry33]

View attachment 99754

What's missing from this graph is how much longer studded tires take to stop in any other condition. As I said, the disadvantages have outweighed the advantages for several years.

 

[HVM]

Yeah, on pure snow, braking distance with the studded winter tires from 50 kph to 0 is one meter longer that with non-studded. (28 m vs. 27 m). On wet asphalt studded are better.

Real disadvantages are damage to pavement and road dust health hazard...

 

[COrental]

Blizzaks on 19" commute on I70 Frisco, CO to Denver once a week.

 

[Lyon]

Nokian WR G3. I don't deal with constant snow (or I'd go with the Hakka R2s) but we do have some frost, ice and occasional snow. Rain pretty much all the time.

 

[Steve W]

Whatever winter tires you eventually choose if you're going to have them installed at the Tesla Service centre make sure you book far enough in advance. I called the Toronto Service Centre today Nov 2/15 to book an appointment to have my winter tires installed (19" purchased with my Model S and stored with them). I was told the first date available was Dec 12! Really!? - you have to wait a month to have tires installed that are already on rims. It supposedly takes 1.5 hours to install and reset sensors. This is the first bad service experience I've had with Tesla. But also, this is the first service appointment I've ever booked since purchasing my Model S last March 2015 so their record with me so far isn't good. This is too bad given the purchase/delivery experience was so uniformly positive. Seems like they may have a ways to go with service if this is any indication.

 

[SmartElectric]

Whatever winter tires you eventually choose if you're going to have them installed at the Tesla Service centre make sure you book far enough in advance. I called the Toronto Service Centre today Nov 2/15 to book an appointment to have my winter tires installed (19" purchased with my Model S and stored with them). I was told the first date available was Dec 12!

Purchased our CPO Tesla 85 mid summer and specifically asked the Tesla service center about this same subject and was given fair warning on how busy they get this time of year. You could have too...just sayin'.

So, I went to Kal Tire and had my R2's installed on OEM rims last Friday, one hour, in/out. Very happy with the service.

 

[mknox]

Purchased our CPO Tesla 85 mid summer and specifically asked the Tesla service center about this same subject and was given fair warning on how busy they get this time of year. You could have too...just sayin'.

So, I went to Kal Tire and had my R2's installed on OEM rims last Friday, one hour, in/out. Very happy with the service.

I really struggle with this fascination some seem to have about having Tesla do all the wheel and tire work on their cars. I have never used dealers in the past for my tire servicing needs (except when covered by some sort of road hazard that came with the car). I purchased and installed my winter tires at Kal Tire, bought my replacement summer tires from Kal Tire, and recently had a flat repaired by Kal Tire. (Sounds like a plug for Kal Tire) Also very happy with the price and service. This is not meant to be a slam against Tesla service... all I'm saying is that you have options, folks.