How much snow can it handle ?

[Snow Drift]

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

12" high and 1mm thick haha. Yes, I agree, if the snow is above the bumper you are probably going to clear it first.

 

[GregD60]

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

If it's "ferry dust" type snow, like we often get here in Colorado, you can get through 12" high drifts as long as they're not too long. 8" of "ferry dust" is no problem all day long with decent winter tires on a Model 3. Here's a video of a Model Y going through some of the Colorado snow with some Michelin Cross Climate 2 tires; put some true winter tires on it, and it would be even better.

 

[JCD300G]

How many inches of snow have you driven your model 3 in?
I will find out tomorrow.

Just drove back from Louisville to Cincy in last week's terrible snow. Drive normally takes 1hr. 45min, this time it was 7 hours. My P3D was all over the road and I really don't mind driving in the snow. Accumulation was 4" plus of snow and a lot of ice. I was very disappointed expecting my model 3's AWD even with summer tires to have at least average traction.

There were some cars that couldn't make the journey at all and I noticed the rear-wheel-drive Mustangs really suffered. I got home and had Tesla put on 4 new snow tires and it made a HUGE difference. I was used to buying Toyota's that came with All-Weather Michelin's so I didn't consider the type of tire to be that critical at the time. The tires that came on the P3D could not clear any snow and just became snowballs. I guess that means that the car did pretty well with bad equipment.

Having said that, I also have had 2 flats in the last week, the first in 15 plus years. I just wasn't impressed with the service scheduling on the app. I was very glitchy, they didn't respond quickly if at all. The flats occurred at night in 15-degree weather and for some time the app just showed a black screen, even after restarting and rebooting the phone. I actually had two phones, one brand new 5G21U and it did the same. Today I was supposed to pick up my car and they estimated it would be ready by 10:30 or 11:00. At 12:00 I called because the app wouldn't let me message them. So I had to call Sales and ask them to transfer me. They said it would be tomorrow. Two flats and 4 days in the shop and can't get any communication.

 

[Docpro]

Yesterday I damaged my front wheel arch in 'wet snow' (Model S) at 33 degrees (Alabama). I'm hoping to find a replacement (which currently is difficult online). Blessings!

 

[Snow Drift]

Just drove back from Louisville to Cincy in last week's terrible snow. Drive normally takes 1hr. 45min, this time it was 7 hours. My P3D was all over the road and I really don't mind driving in the snow. Accumulation was 4" plus of snow and a lot of ice. I was very disappointed expecting my model 3's AWD even with summer tires to have at least average traction.

There were some cars that couldn't make the journey at all and I noticed the rear-wheel-drive Mustangs really suffered. I got home and had Tesla put on 4 new snow tires and it made a HUGE difference. I was used to buying Toyota's that came with All-Weather Michelin's so I didn't consider the type of tire to be that critical at the time. The tires that came on the P3D could not clear any snow and just became snowballs. I guess that means that the car did pretty well with bad equipment.

Having said that, I also have had 2 flats in the last week, the first in 15 plus years. I just wasn't impressed with the service scheduling on the app. I was very glitchy, they didn't respond quickly if at all. The flats occurred at night in 15-degree weather and for some time the app just showed a black screen, even after restarting and rebooting the phone. I actually had two phones, one brand new 5G21U and it did the same. Today I was supposed to pick up my car and they estimated it would be ready by 10:30 or 11:00. At 12:00 I called because the app wouldn't let me message them. So I had to call Sales and ask them to transfer me. They said it would be tomorrow. Two flats and 4 days in the shop and can't get any communication.

Summer tires should not be used under 40 degrees or on mud/snow. They are made with a hard compound which requires heat to soften for added grip in the summer. That same hard compound hardens further and turns into a rock in cold weather. Then the tread pattern is not designed with sipping or deep channels. The completely wrong tool for the job, even with AWD.

Winter tires are made of a softer compound which can get colder before hardening. On the flip side, winter tires in the summer melt easier and get greasy...bad for traction.

You will really enjoy the car now with snow tires.

 

[Snow Drift]

If it's "ferry dust" type snow, like we often get here in Colorado, you can get through 12" high drifts as long as they're not too long. 8" of "ferry dust" is no problem all day long with decent winter tires on a Model 3. Here's a video of a Model Y going through some of the Colorado snow with some Michelin Cross Climate 2 tires; put some true winter tires on it, and it would be even better.

I don't usually like TFL, and the guys still can't figure out that the left-stalk will single sweep the wipers, but they even said that the car was so good in the snow they would "let mom, your Grandma, drive this..." (5:53)

And as said, All-Weather are pretty lackluster, so Winter tires would be even better.

 

[coleAK]

If it's "ferry dust" type snow, like we often get here in Colorado, you can get through 12" high drifts as long as they're not too long. 8" of "ferry dust" is no problem all day long with decent winter tires on a Model 3. Here's a video of a Model Y going through some of the Colorado snow with some Michelin Cross Climate 2 tires; put some true winter tires on it, and it would be even better.

TFL... theatrics...

 

[N54TT]

Just drove back from Louisville to Cincy in last week's terrible snow. Drive normally takes 1hr. 45min, this time it was 7 hours. My P3D was all over the road and I really don't mind driving in the snow. Accumulation was 4" plus of snow and a lot of ice. I was very disappointed expecting my model 3's AWD even with summer tires to have at least average traction.

I second what @Snow Drift said. Summer tires should not be used when the temps drop ESPECIALLY if there’s any snow on the ground. I’ve been using summer tires and winters on all my cars for the past 20 yrs. Got caught once in a early season snow driving my wrx on summer tires....was only an inch of snow. Was the SCARIEST 5 mile drive I’ve ever had.....and I’m one who will throw the skis/board in the back and drive up through a blizzard to try hit some freshies on the slopes, drift in open parking lots etc.. With awd and summers, accelerating isn’t the problem....it’s trying to brake or turn.

 

[Trendy]

I had the 18" Aero Wheel & Winter Tire Package (w/ Sottozero 3 tires) installed the day before we got 12" of powder. The car did surprisingly well on unplowed roads.

.

 

[Tokodave]

I put on Nokian R3s and they've done fine. I'm the only Y in Butte Montana and, being a nordic skier, I'm driving snowpacked roads every day. We've got a mix of hardpacked snow, ice and unpacked snow on the streets in town and it's done fine on whatever the mix is.