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How much snow can it handle ?
- Thread starter SlimJim
- Start date
P100D with variable height suspension on 19” all-season Pirellis: We live in Mammoth Lakes CA, where the typical storm is measured in feet. Driving into the unplowed driveway from the lightly plowed street, the car rode up on the snow and high centered to where I had no more traction. I lowered the suspension and packed the snow under the car, raised suspension and backed up and took another run until I high centered again. Lather, rinse, repeat and I was in the garage a few minutes later.
Don't see how it's any worse or better than any other RWD car ever made with open diff. They all kinda suck on any inclines or when one rear wheel gets almost no traction.
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iustin
Member
I see a few contradictory oppinions here. I currently have a Subaru Crosstrek, and plan to move to Model Y LR AWD when they start selling them in Europe.
Will I have much worse snow driving? I mean, modulo lower ground clearange (6.6" vs. 8.6"), I don't know what to expect - is the MY computer doing bad things, e.g. the regen issues I see mentioned above?
Thanks in advance!
Will I have much worse snow driving? I mean, modulo lower ground clearange (6.6" vs. 8.6"), I don't know what to expect - is the MY computer doing bad things, e.g. the regen issues I see mentioned above?
Thanks in advance!
Snow Drift
[Off-Road Assist] Activated
<--- Crosstrek and Model Y
Buy winter tires, and you will enjoy the Model Y in the snow.
It depends a lot on your expectations and experience. Model 3s aren't inherently any worse than any other car especially in AWD form. In fact it's got a very quick reacting traction control system that brakes a spinning wheel within a rotation or two.
The issue is the eco-centric stock tires. They're just not good in the very cold and snowy weather. If you can afford a model 3 AWD there's zero reason why you wouldn't buy a set of wheels and snow tires, especially in places like Minnesota.
Some people would say the car sucks if they feel the tires slip at all, some live on hills or areas with more ice than others, some people are used to sliding around all over the place, and a car is "good" if it can get to the destination at the end.
with proper tires I believe I would have been able to drive it today. The snow has started melting but I still could not get it moving.
Deep Snow is so rare in this area that changing out the tires every winter is not something I would do.
This is the most snow I have seen in the last 15 years.
I have had fwd, rwd, awd most with with snow tires, all seasons and summer tires. AWD cars being Subaru wrx, g35x, Audi A4, Lexus nx (last two only having all season). The difference with the model 3 is the added weight but the bigger impact being the huge amount of torque the electric motors put out. it’s VERY easy to slip the tires with that much torque on tap and less traction. The traction control works great to keep you pointed straight. But there is some slippage before it kicks in. Some might not feel comfortable with that slippage. Model 3 awd is much more rear biased as well. Same as with g35x...which was very easy to kick the rear out and initiate some drifts.
I’m a huge advocate for winter tires, for any car. They improve not only acceleration but more importantly braking and turning.
This was about a year ago, and it was a recently clean yet-undriven driveway so I wasn't concerned with rocks or icebergs or anything, but I think it was like 14" of heavy wet snow. LR AWD, snow tires. Drove like a champ and needed a little momentum, but I don't think any of my other cars over the years could have done this.
Quick edit / note: the flat part of the snow behind the car is not the ground, but where the bottom of the car scraped the snow, it's another 4" or so deeper than what's behind the car. Tires are General Altimax Arctics
Quick edit / note: the flat part of the snow behind the car is not the ground, but where the bottom of the car scraped the snow, it's another 4" or so deeper than what's behind the car. Tires are General Altimax Arctics
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How much snow can it handle? These are the two primary factors in understanding how winter driving works.
* Tires
* High centering
Tesla vehicles, because of the wheel well limitations, are limited in terms of tires for winter. If you're running dedicated winter tires then +1 to you (the WA and Mammoth folks would get this) as you're "in" winter conditions for the season. But if you're visiting from CA (like millions do) or periodically experiencing snow, then you're probably thinking "all season" means just that - and everyone else understands it is really "three season" tires.
- Dedicated winter tires
- Mountain and snowflake rated
- Chains / traction devices
If you're not running the above in winter / snow conditions, you are demonstrating zero understanding of how winter driving works, so please stay off the road before you kill someone.
Tires help you go, help you stop and help you stay in control. The deeper the tire tread, the more "slushy" snow you can drive in which is a very big limiting factor when driving in snow. Siping helps when it's tight packed snow and when the county plows come around to clear your roads.
Any car, whether AWD, RWD or other will do just as well as any other car with good tires. Take it to a good parking lot and turn off the traction, along with 4WD (or have one of those automatic vehicles that do it for you) and see the difference. In most cases, there isn't any.
With crappy tires, you're talking <1" of snow or slush before things get dicey. Doesn't matter what kind of car you have.
* High centering
The next limiting factor is what we call "high centering" here. This is a large factor in low-clearance vehicles getting stuck. Has ZERO to do with the hanging bits like differentials or transfer cases. It's when you're slowly driving along and get stuck on a berm or pile of snow. A differential hanging at 6" is going to be safer to drive in than a vehicle with a large and flat bottom at 6" as you'll get stuck "somewhere". In addition piles of snow (especially those with county guys who won't lift their plow at the entrance of our driveways) such as snow berms are comprised of snow, ice and even rocks.
Those who actually use a snow thrower and have replaced a sheer pin understand that all snow isn't white and fluffy, especially after getting bermed in.
In this case, the Tesla is MORE at risk of getting stuck than any other vehicle which can blast through smacking the transfer case components into the snow pile to keep going.
Don't try to force it. It doesn't take much distributed weight to lift those tires off the ground to the point that they're not providing sufficient traction to get the vehicle going.
Look ...
I know you all love your Tesla's but we get to see the millions of potential CA drivers come up to Tahoe and get stuck anywhere from Placerville to the middle of South Lake Tahoe. Don't think the vehicle is going to be the end-all-be-all piece of kit which is going to keep you and your family safe. We're talking literally life-and-death situations here where people drive off the side of the road and down an embankment while blizzard conditions rage.
If you don't have experience driving in the snow, stay off the road. Or wait until the afternoon for someone else to pack down the snow (and the sun to help out). If you want experience in the snow, make sure you get the right tires and find a big and open parking lot to practice in first.
This winter is really "meh" up here. Some winter p0rn pictures
Compared to 2019 (Feb 4th pictures) with a 3' berm
Or 2017 where we got bermed in with 4' of snow on Jan 12th.
* Tires
* High centering
Tesla vehicles, because of the wheel well limitations, are limited in terms of tires for winter. If you're running dedicated winter tires then +1 to you (the WA and Mammoth folks would get this) as you're "in" winter conditions for the season. But if you're visiting from CA (like millions do) or periodically experiencing snow, then you're probably thinking "all season" means just that - and everyone else understands it is really "three season" tires.
- Dedicated winter tires
- Mountain and snowflake rated
- Chains / traction devices
If you're not running the above in winter / snow conditions, you are demonstrating zero understanding of how winter driving works, so please stay off the road before you kill someone.
Tires help you go, help you stop and help you stay in control. The deeper the tire tread, the more "slushy" snow you can drive in which is a very big limiting factor when driving in snow. Siping helps when it's tight packed snow and when the county plows come around to clear your roads.
Any car, whether AWD, RWD or other will do just as well as any other car with good tires. Take it to a good parking lot and turn off the traction, along with 4WD (or have one of those automatic vehicles that do it for you) and see the difference. In most cases, there isn't any.
With crappy tires, you're talking <1" of snow or slush before things get dicey. Doesn't matter what kind of car you have.
* High centering
The next limiting factor is what we call "high centering" here. This is a large factor in low-clearance vehicles getting stuck. Has ZERO to do with the hanging bits like differentials or transfer cases. It's when you're slowly driving along and get stuck on a berm or pile of snow. A differential hanging at 6" is going to be safer to drive in than a vehicle with a large and flat bottom at 6" as you'll get stuck "somewhere". In addition piles of snow (especially those with county guys who won't lift their plow at the entrance of our driveways) such as snow berms are comprised of snow, ice and even rocks.
Those who actually use a snow thrower and have replaced a sheer pin understand that all snow isn't white and fluffy, especially after getting bermed in.
In this case, the Tesla is MORE at risk of getting stuck than any other vehicle which can blast through smacking the transfer case components into the snow pile to keep going.
Don't try to force it. It doesn't take much distributed weight to lift those tires off the ground to the point that they're not providing sufficient traction to get the vehicle going.
Look ...
I know you all love your Tesla's but we get to see the millions of potential CA drivers come up to Tahoe and get stuck anywhere from Placerville to the middle of South Lake Tahoe. Don't think the vehicle is going to be the end-all-be-all piece of kit which is going to keep you and your family safe. We're talking literally life-and-death situations here where people drive off the side of the road and down an embankment while blizzard conditions rage.
If you don't have experience driving in the snow, stay off the road. Or wait until the afternoon for someone else to pack down the snow (and the sun to help out). If you want experience in the snow, make sure you get the right tires and find a big and open parking lot to practice in first.
This winter is really "meh" up here. Some winter p0rn pictures
Compared to 2019 (Feb 4th pictures) with a 3' berm
Or 2017 where we got bermed in with 4' of snow on Jan 12th.
lawmangr
Member
I would be interested in hearing more about your experience or seeing video of it. I have the same setup as you - M3 RWD with X-Ice and I have no problem at all. Sure, it doesn't handle a TON of snow as well as our AWD SUV, but I have yet to have a problem and we've had multiple snowfalls of 5+ inches already this year (including one of 10"). Our driveway has an incline to it and I was able to make it up the driveway and into the garage just fine without the driveway plowed. I'm trying to figure out why your experience is so much different than my own.
Snow Drift
[Off-Road Assist] Activated
Two things:
1) I have owned 6 Subarus with AWD in New York/Boston, we get lots of snow, probably less than you, but the added grip, shorter stopping distance and especially traction up hills, makes winter tires a great addition, even with AWD. Granted most of our winter is dry. Either way, All-Seasons are mediocre at everything they do. So, can you survive winter without them? Sure, most do. But, you will have more fun and actually a better experience with winter tires.
2) Teslas with all-seasons come with low-rolling-resistance tires for better efficiency. That means: More streamlined pattern (which is the opposite of blocky, extra sipping, winter tires) and a harder compound to keep the tires cooler (not great in cold weather where you want a soft compound). So, they won't be as good as winter tires in the snow/cold and actually worse than an old school all-season tire.
jrweiss98020
Tessa's Tesla
I took my AWD out for a spin yesterday, with 8,000 mi on the OEM tires, after the snow melted enough so it didn't have to plow much. I was impressed how well it handled. I took the "road less traveled" (deeper, packed snow between tire tracks), and it pressed right on up a hill and through deeper snow in the flat area above. After 40+ years of FWD (Saab) and front-biased AWD (VW Passat) cars, I definitely noticed the rear bias. Steering wasn't quite as precise, as the front drive lagged a bit.
Going back down hill, the tires proved to do well, stopping with minimal problem.
Going back down hill, the tires proved to do well, stopping with minimal problem.
This is my second Chicago winter with P3D+. Immediately after purchase, I replaced the OEM tires with Michelin all seasons on the stock 20" rims. I commute 50 miles each day (mix of expressway and side streets) and have yet to encounter anything it can't handle.
I find it pretty impressive that the same car with the same tires can daily commute in 0 degree snowy conditions, then run low 11's at the drag strip in 90 degree sunshine.
I find it pretty impressive that the same car with the same tires can daily commute in 0 degree snowy conditions, then run low 11's at the drag strip in 90 degree sunshine.
emiliorescigno
Member
I haven’t tried wading through more than about 6-7 inches of snow, but it handled that pretty easily, winter tires of course.
Also, this seems like a great place to share a picture of driving on a frozen lake.
Also, this seems like a great place to share a picture of driving on a frozen lake.
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The large flat underbelly is a huge disadvantage in the snow. All that surface area Makes it very easy to get high centered.
for the discussion of how much unplowed fresh snow it depends greatly on the density of the snow. For high moisture content spring “maritime” snow, 3” or do is the max where the car feels comfortable, in my experience more then that the small tires and Traction control leads to the car getting tossed around. For cold dry “ferry dust” could probably go up to 4-5”.
Here in AK We get 7 months or so of winter and all types of snow. If we have >2-3” of fresh I drive my LX. The main reason for that is salt is banned and plowing is optional so a high ground clearance is preferred for the few days after a storm.
Yeah, no way you can drive a car with 5.5” of ground clearance through 12” of snow.
My LX570 on 33’s aired down to 20-25 PSI with 11” of ground clearance can make it through 12” of fresh, my buddy’s 80 series on 35’s does it much better
Trust the guy from Alaska, he knows what he's talking about. There's no chance any model 3 even with snow tires can drive through 12" of fresh dense wet snow. Max a car could do for a short while is maybe 2" deeper than the ground clearance it has. Slow down a bit and you'll probably get stuck at that depth. I'm speaking from experience myself, having driven BMW M3 and Audi S4 for over a decade in northern Alberta.
Some people like to exaggerate. Forecast says "up to 12 inches of snow in 24 hours" but that doesn't mean straight up 12" of snow on the road. Earlier in the thread someone said "here's a video of my model 3 in 18" of snow" and u can see the front lip clearing right over untouched snow, or maybe 2" of soft powder touching the front lip.
It's like people who say "OMG I crashed at 75mph on the freeway" when they were going 75, then braked, then served, then have the actual impact at like 20mph.
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