Model 3 Performance Winter Tires

[12yan]

The Sottos just aren't very good in the snow.

What are you basing this on? Reviews of the tire performance on snow and ice seem to be very positive (rated as excellent by Tire Rack). I'm sure that maximum winter tires will stop shorter, but normally people are looking for a tire that performs well in a mix of winter conditions (unless they're living in Alaska or somewhere similar)

 

[Funkmobile]

I have the Sottozero 3's in 245/35/R19 and they're very good (but not stellar) in the snow. If you plan on driving long distances in the snow I would go for a more snow focused winter tire.

 

[DrDabbles]

What are you basing this on? Reviews of the tire performance on snow and ice seem to be very positive (rated as excellent by Tire Rack). I'm sure that maximum winter tires will stop shorter, but normally people are looking for a tire that performs well in a mix of winter conditions (unless they're living in Alaska or somewhere similar)

Those ratings are for "performance winter/snow" category, which is already significantly less capable than a dedicated, non performance winter tire. I'm up in the northeast US, and I use winter tires on all my cars. I give up speed rating and some dry pavement grip so that I get superior traction in snow and ice conditions. It's basically an insurance policy, and I buy the tires for the worst condition I expect to be in.

 

[GregD60]

Those ratings are for "performance winter/snow" category, which is already significantly less capable than a dedicated, non performance winter tire. I'm up in the northeast US, and I use winter tires on all my cars. I give up speed rating and some dry pavement grip so that I get superior traction in snow and ice conditions. It's basically an insurance policy, and I buy the tires for the worst condition I expect to be in.

Performance winter/snow tires are still very good on snow and ice, they're just not as good as dedicated winter tires. Here's how I'd rate some of the tires I've driven, first in snow and ice on a scale of 1 to 10, then in parentheses in the dry, and in square brackets for the wet. Ranked by snow/ice from worst to best.

Michelin Pilot Cup, never drove in snow/ice - 0 (10) [4]
Michelin Pilot SS - 1 (9) [7]
Michelin Primacy MXM4 - 2 (8) [8]
Goodyear Assurance Fuel Max - 5 (5) [7]
Bridgestone LM32 - 8 (6) [didn't drive enough in the wet to judge]
Pirelli Sottozero 3 - 8.5 (7) [8]
Blizzak WS80 (new) - 10 (3) [4]

 

[DrDabbles]

Performance winter/snow tires are still very good on snow and ice, they're just not as good as dedicated winter tires. Here's how I'd rate some of the tires I've driven, first in snow and ice on a scale of 1 to 10, then in parentheses in the dry, and in square brackets for the wet. Ranked by snow/ice from worst to best.

Michelin Pilot Cup, never drove in snow/ice - 0 (10) [4]
Michelin Pilot SS - 1 (9) [7]
Michelin Primacy MXM4 - 2 (8) [8]
Goodyear Assurance Fuel Max - 5 (5) [7]
Bridgestone LM32 - 8 (6) [didn't drive enough in the wet to judge]
Pirelli Sottozero 3 - 8.5 (7) [8]
Blizzak WS80 (new) - 10 (3) [4]

Pretty much agreed, yep.

 

[SD39]

Tesla Model 3 in the Snow

 

[Orizu]

Tesla Model 3 in the Snow

Thanks for sharing this. I have driven my car in the snow a few more times since the first incident which prompted my original post. Haven’t had any recurring issues. I can only assume that my initial problems were because 1) the car had been in the garage for over a week or 2) the snow was a couple of inches deep and the road not ploughed or salted at all (it was outside my house)

Thanks again

 

[Pollux]

Ex-Boston driver. Another vote for Nokian Hakkapollittas (from Finland), first R2s and then R8s. Used them from winter 2013 through winter 2016 on a 2013 Model S P85+, then on my P100D from winter 2016 until now. I like driving in snow and these tires have been great for me in snow, ice and low temps (Boston-style low, not Antarctic-style low).

Now, living in the Washington, DC area, I continue to swap summer and winter (Hakka) tires for my S. But for my P3D, I've been convinced to rotate between summer performance tires and all-season (Michelin) the rest of the time. For my parent's Jan '18 RWD 3, I'm just sticking with the OEM all seasons.

It's hard for me to imagine optimizing for winter driving on clear roads with low temps. At some point, you'd think you'd want to be able to deal with snow and ice.

Alan

P.S. In Boston, on unplowed roads and in my driveway, I was dealing with up to maybe a foot of snow... sometimes to the point that I would raise the air suspension to Very High. Wow, that was all a ton of fun! I miss all that here in the DC area. :-( I added this comment in response to the observation from Orizu that his experience was maybe a challenge because of a couple inches of snow.