Model 3 Winter Tires

[RLEE]

Oh, another great data point... in case anyone is thinking about the 'all weather' tires.
CC2; Kinergy; Quatrac Pro are all pretty good and I think all have been discussed multiple times on these forums.

Michelin CrossClimate 2 Test, Reviews & Ratings - Is It Good All Season Tire? | AllTyreTests.com

Michelin CrossClimate 2 is a Premium Touring All Season Tire with directional tread pattern, designed for Passenger cars and SUV. The tire replaced the Michelin CrossClimate+. Key performance Michelin Crossclimate 2 Tests 2022 Tyre Reviews (225/45 R17) In 2022 experts of the magazine Tyre...

alltyretests.com

 

[rpiotro]

Oh, another great data point... in case anyone is thinking about the 'all weather' tires.
CC2; Kinergy; Quatrac Pro are all pretty good and I think all have been discussed multiple times on these forums.

Michelin CrossClimate 2 Test, Reviews & Ratings - Is It Good All Season Tire? | AllTyreTests.com

Michelin CrossClimate 2 is a Premium Touring All Season Tire with directional tread pattern, designed for Passenger cars and SUV. The tire replaced the Michelin CrossClimate+. Key performance Michelin Crossclimate 2 Tests 2022 Tyre Reviews (225/45 R17) In 2022 experts of the magazine Tyre...

alltyretests.com

I've found their oval contact patch intriguing. Always lookin for technology advancements. I asked my tire guy about them. He has them on his wife's Camry. He said they were very quiet. So far. 4K miles on them.

 

[TulsaCoker]

Saw a review on You Tube that had the best information.... its title was "You're probably overthinking Winter tires"

 

[pnwadventures]

Saw a review on You Tube that had the best information.... its title was "You're probably overthinking Winter tires"

In general, I actually agree with this. Once you get a bona fide snowflake-on-the-mountain winter/snow tire, traction comparisons become a bit like splitting hairs. Cost, longevity, and speed rating are still big factors though.

 

[afadeev]

OK, for those of you that bought Hakkapeliitta R3's, from where did you order them?

Part of the challenge is that, in the US, Nokian is refusing to do business with major tire distributors (no TireRack, no DiscountTire, etc), and only sell through mom'n'pop shops. And the nearest one of those is 30+ miles away from, and doesn't carry any Nokian tires in stock. The other ones don't even have a web site.

The only two places I found that quote prices for Hakkapeliitta R3's are simpletire.com and Amazon.
Those list 245/45R18 R3's at either $999.96 and $1,011.22 per set. While not quite exorbitant, that's still a 30-40% premium over Michelin X-Ice, and Bridgestone Blizzak WS90's.

Has anyone found a more competitively priced source of Hakka R3's?

a

 

[TulsaCoker]

Got ours from Discount Tires.... not sure why their site is not showing Nokians for you... they carry all the studdled and non-studded line up.

 

[BigNick]

I bought my last set of Nokians (Hakkapeliitta R2 235/50R18XL, for a Chevy Impala) from tires-easy.com in 2016 (before my first Tesla.)
They still have Nokians available.

235-45-18 Nokian Passenger - Snow/Winter Tires | Tires-easy.com

See our tire deals for 235-45-18 Tires, Nokian Tires, Passenger - Snow/Winter Tires. 45 days return policy and fast shipping.

www.tires-easy.com

 

[afadeev]

Got ours from Discount Tires.... not sure why their site is not showing Nokians for you... they carry all the studdled and non-studded line up.

Thanks for the lead, unfortunately, the nearest DT location to me is 238 miles away. DT doesn't have any stores in New England.

I bought my last set of Nokians (Hakkapeliitta R2 235/50R18XL, for a Chevy Impala) from tires-easy.com in 2016 (before my first Tesla.)
They still have Nokians available.

235-45-18 Nokian Passenger - Snow/Winter Tires | Tires-easy.com

See our tire deals for 235-45-18 Tires, Nokian Tires, Passenger - Snow/Winter Tires. 45 days return policy and fast shipping.

www.tires-easy.com

Thanks, this site does carry both 235mm and 245mm wide R3's.

Price is nearly identical to that from SimpleTire.com, so it looks like Nokia is requiring that its retailers enforce minimal OEM pricing.

https://simpletire.com/brands/nokian-tires/hakkapeliitta-r3#curationPos=none&curationSeq=none&curationSource=none&gclid=Cj0KCQjwv5uKBhD6ARIsAGv9a-yzPosqA6mR_TpgvyZ5q-k9dgGwZ-ILjeitL9uqGWoxSDZLUp4Yh-AaAnUOEALw_wcB&itemId=208228&mpn=T430749&pageSource=PDP&productPos=none&tireSize=245-45r18&userRegion=2&userZip=07974&utm_campaign=G_Search_NB_TireModel&utm_content=Brand-Nokian%3EHeadTerm-Hakkapeliitta%20R3&utm_creative=361951185599&utm_medium=cpc&utm_source=google&utm_term=hakkapeliitta%20r3%20tires

 

[android04]

Thanks for the lead, unfortunately, the nearest DT location to me is 238 miles away. DT doesn't have any stores in New England.


Thanks, this site does carry both 235mm and 245mm wide R3's.

Price is nearly identical to that from SimpleTire.com, so it looks like Nokia is requiring that its retailers enforce minimal OEM pricing.

https://simpletire.com/brands/nokian-tires/hakkapeliitta-r3#curationPos=none&curationSeq=none&curationSource=none&gclid=Cj0KCQjwv5uKBhD6ARIsAGv9a-yzPosqA6mR_TpgvyZ5q-k9dgGwZ-ILjeitL9uqGWoxSDZLUp4Yh-AaAnUOEALw_wcB&itemId=208228&mpn=T430749&pageSource=PDP&productPos=none&tireSize=245-45r18&userRegion=2&userZip=07974&utm_campaign=G_Search_NB_TireModel&utm_content=Brand-Nokian%3EHeadTerm-Hakkapeliitta%20R3&utm_creative=361951185599&utm_medium=cpc&utm_source=google&utm_term=hakkapeliitta%20r3%20tires

Don't get them directly from a Discount Tire location, just buy them online and have them shipped to your house. Then you can get them installed at whatever tire place you want. I've ordered at least 10 sets of tires from Discount Tire Direct in the past decade.

 

[RAZL]

OK, for those of you that bought Hakkapeliitta R3's, from where did you order them?

Part of the challenge is that, in the US, Nokian is refusing to do business with major tire distributors (no TireRack, no DiscountTire, etc), and only sell through mom'n'pop shops. And the nearest one of those is 30+ miles away from, and doesn't carry any Nokian tires in stock. The other ones don't even have a web site.

The only two places I found that quote prices for Hakkapeliitta R3's are simpletire.com and Amazon.
Those list 245/45R18 R3's at either $999.96 and $1,011.22 per set. While not quite exorbitant, that's still a 30-40% premium over Michelin X-Ice, and Bridgestone Blizzak WS90's.

Has anyone found a more competitively priced source of Hakka R3's?

a

Pepboys... you might need to come across to pa to find them. They will price match.

 

[Trendy]

I've run three sets of the Michelin X-ice 3 and have great luck with them. I live in Utah and drive to the ski resorts at least once every week all winter and have lots of snow and ice experience. Last year I got the Pirelli Sottozero 3 with the Tesla winter package and they were surprisingly good. They are just slightly less good in snow and ice but amazing on cold dry roads. It feels like a real performance tire vs the mushy feeling of the X-ice tires. Despite all the negative press I've been impressed. I will note that they don't last nearly as long as the Michelin tires. Just pointing out that the Tesla winter package isn't a bad option...when available.

 

[afadeev]

I've run three sets of the Michelin X-ice 3 and have great luck with them. I live in Utah and drive to the ski resorts at least once every week all winter and have lots of snow and ice experience.

My current set of winter tiers is Micheline X-ice 3. I loved everything about them, except longevity - they are down to 3-4/32nds after 2 winters (reduced to worthless all-seasons traction level now). Then again, I can barely make my summer PS4S's last 2 seasons, so this may very well be as good as it gets for me.

The best thing about X-ice 3's was that they handled really well on cold dry pavement, which is the road surface the car drives on 95% of the time in the winter. There was minimal tread squirm and give during lateral loads (turns), and they were exceptionally stable and predictable at high speeds. They were not as good as Blizzak WS80s (I have on another car) over fresh snow or ice, but Model 3 is riding way too low to the ground, so I avoid driving it over unplowed roads and don't take it on skiing trips.

Unfortunately, X-ice 3's have been discontinued and replaced with X-Ice Snow's. So I'm back on the market exploring the alternatives, including Hakka R3's.
This is the closest thing I found to X-Ice Snow vs. Hakka R3's review: https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/testDisplay.jsp?ttid=258

Last year I got the Pirelli Sottozero 3 with the Tesla winter package and they were surprisingly good. They are just slightly less good in snow and ice but amazing on cold dry roads. It feels like a real performance tire vs the mushy feeling of the X-ice tires. Despite all the negative press I've been impressed. I will note that they don't last nearly as long as the Michelin tires. Just pointing out that the Tesla winter package isn't a bad option...when available.

Here is info on Sottozero's vs. alternatives in Performance Winter / Snow category. They leave room for improvement:

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/surveyresults/surveydisplay.jsp?clearSize=true&type=W&VT=C

Pepboys... you might need to come across to pa to find them. They will price match.

Thanks, but Pepboys (like most other tire chains) do not list Nokian brand in their online tire selection menu.

Don't get them directly from a Discount Tire location, just buy them online and have them shipped to your house. Then you can get them installed at whatever tire place you want. I've ordered at least 10 sets of tires from

Yep, that's the road I take with all my tire purchases.
TireRack even ships tires directly to your local independent installers, and even maintains a list of recommended independent shops by zip code (great service). Alas, they don't carry Nokian brand.

Long story short, I had mail-ordered a set of Hakka R3's for Model 3, and X-Ice Snow's for another car.
I will for myself how they compare later this winter, and maybe even share the impressions, if anyone cars.

a

 

[RAZL]

My current set of winter tiers is Micheline X-ice 3. I loved everything about them, except longevity - they are down to 3-4/32nds after 2 winters (reduced to worthless all-seasons traction level now). Then again, I can barely make my summer PS4S's last 2 seasons, so this may very well be as good as it gets for me.

The best thing about X-ice 3's was that they handled really well on cold dry pavement, which is the road surface the car drives on 95% of the time in the winter. There was minimal tread squirm and give during lateral loads (turns), and they were exceptionally stable and predictable at high speeds. They were not as good as Blizzak WS80s (I have on another car) over fresh snow or ice, but Model 3 is riding way too low to the ground, so I avoid driving it over unplowed roads and don't take it on skiing trips.

Unfortunately, X-ice 3's have been discontinued and replaced with X-Ice Snow's. So I'm back on the market exploring the alternatives, including Hakka R3's.
This is the closest thing I found to X-Ice Snow vs. Hakka R3's review: https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/testDisplay.jsp?ttid=258



Here is info on Sottozero's vs. alternatives in Performance Winter / Snow category. They leave room for improvement:

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/surveyresults/surveydisplay.jsp?clearSize=true&type=W&VT=C

Thanks, but Pepboys (like most other tire chains) do not list Nokian brand in their online tire selection menu.



Yep, that's the road I take with all my tire purchases.
TireRack even ships tires directly to your local independent installers, and even maintains a list of recommended independent shops by zip code (great service). Alas, they don't carry Nokian brand.

Long story short, I had mail-ordered a set of Hakka R3's for Model 3, and X-Ice Snow's for another car.
I will for myself how they compare later this winter, and maybe even share the impressions, if anyone cars.

a

Yes but Pepboys has them. Just call. I'm not suggesting it without info... I bought it from them.

 

[GregD60]

My current set of winter tiers is Micheline X-ice 3. I loved everything about them, except longevity - they are down to 3-4/32nds after 2 winters (reduced to worthless all-seasons traction level now). Then again, I can barely make my summer PS4S's last 2 seasons, so this may very well be as good as it gets for me.

The best thing about X-ice 3's was that they handled really well on cold dry pavement, which is the road surface the car drives on 95% of the time in the winter. There was minimal tread squirm and give during lateral loads (turns), and they were exceptionally stable and predictable at high speeds. They were not as good as Blizzak WS80s (I have on another car) over fresh snow or ice, but Model 3 is riding way too low to the ground, so I avoid driving it over unplowed roads and don't take it on skiing trips.

Unfortunately, X-ice 3's have been discontinued and replaced with X-Ice Snow's. So I'm back on the market exploring the alternatives, including Hakka R3's.
This is the closest thing I found to X-Ice Snow vs. Hakka R3's review: https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/testDisplay.jsp?ttid=258



Here is info on Sottozero's vs. alternatives in Performance Winter / Snow category. They leave room for improvement:

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/surveyresults/surveydisplay.jsp?clearSize=true&type=W&VT=C

Thanks, but Pepboys (like most other tire chains) do not list Nokian brand in their online tire selection menu.



Yep, that's the road I take with all my tire purchases.
TireRack even ships tires directly to your local independent installers, and even maintains a list of recommended independent shops by zip code (great service). Alas, they don't carry Nokian brand.

Long story short, I had mail-ordered a set of Hakka R3's for Model 3, and X-Ice Snow's for another car.
I will for myself how they compare later this winter, and maybe even share the impressions, if anyone cars.

a

I've run three sets of the Michelin X-ice 3 and have great luck with them. I live in Utah and drive to the ski resorts at least once every week all winter and have lots of snow and ice experience. Last year I got the Pirelli Sottozero 3 with the Tesla winter package and they were surprisingly good. They are just slightly less good in snow and ice but amazing on cold dry roads. It feels like a real performance tire vs the mushy feeling of the X-ice tires. Despite all the negative press I've been impressed. I will note that they don't last nearly as long as the Michelin tires. Just pointing out that the Tesla winter package isn't a bad option...when available.

I've also used Blizzaks, X-Ice, and Sottozero 3 tires over the years, and my experience matches Trendy's precisely, but I will add that Sottozero 3s are outstanding in the wet also. I find the difference in snow and ice performance between the Sottozero 3 and Blizzak or X-Ice tires to be relatively small compared to the difference in the wet and dry. If you're really spending half or more of your time on ice or snow in the winter, than go with a full on snow tire like Blizzaks or X-Ice3; otherwise, I think a Sottozero 3 is a safer and more enjoyable alternative.

In my experience, X-Ice tires last significantly longer than either Blizzaks or Sottozero 3, maybe as much as twice as long.

As for room for improvement, every tire has room for improvement, but the reality is that the difference between all the performance winter/snow tires on the Tirerack survey is pretty minimal; some other categories have a lot more variation. Vredestein Wintrac Pro tires have been getting a lot of good reviews; they don't show on the Tirerack survey because, "This tire hasn't received enough consumer feedback to be rated."

 

[Trendy]

I've also used Blizzaks, X-Ice, and Sottozero 3 tires over the years, and my experience matches Trendy's precisely, but I will add that Sottozero 3s are outstanding in the wet also. I find the difference in snow and ice performance between the Sottozero 3 and Blizzak or X-Ice tires to be relatively small compared to the difference in the wet and dry. If you're really spending half or more of your time on ice or snow in the winter, than go with a full on snow tire like Blizzaks or X-Ice3; otherwise, I think a Sottozero 3 is a safer and more enjoyable alternative.

In my experience, X-Ice tires last significantly longer than either Blizzaks or Sottozero 3, maybe as much as twice as long.

As for room for improvement, every tire has room for improvement, but the reality is that the difference between all the performance winter/snow tires on the Tirerack survey is pretty minimal; some other categories have a lot more variation. Vredestein Wintrac Pro tires have been getting a lot of good reviews; they don't show on the Tirerack survey because, "This tire hasn't received enough consumer feedback to be rated."

I agree with everything you said. I should have mentioned that the Sottozero 3 tires do indeed perform very well in the wet as well as cold dry roads.

 

[Jetex Jim]

Yes the pre refresh version will work.

A Tesla is a car, any tire shop can work on it. Tires will not void your warranty.

My local village garage refused to do the summer/winter tyre swop for me. He didn't want to touch a Tesla. Maybe someone told him a special tool was needed to lift the car up.

 

[pnwadventures]

My local village garage refused to do the summer/winter tyre swop for me. He didn't want to touch a Tesla. Maybe someone told him a special tool was needed to lift the car up.

Maybe he himself was a special tool…

I’ve encountered a few automotive tradesmen who would rather sacrifice putting bread on the table than yield their anti-EV agenda.

Adaptation is the key to survival, but not everyone is willing or able to do it.

 

[ODWms]

I can’t speak on the winter experience, being in Florida. But I’ve had the 20 inch summer PS4s on my PD3+ since new (3 years, 47,000 miles), and there’s no doubt at this point I’ll get more than 50k out of them, easily. I’ve read on this forum about how low a tread life the performance tires get. Safe to say that has not been my experience.

 

[afadeev]

I can’t speak on the winter experience, being in Florida.

Cool. Did you notice the name of this thread?

But I’ve had the 20 inch summer PS4s on my PD3+ since new (3 years, 47,000 miles), and there’s no doubt at this point I’ll get more than 50k out of them, easily. I’ve read on this forum about how low a tread life the performance tires get. Safe to say that has not been my experience.

Do report back (in another thread) once you put more than 20K miles on your tires.
Michelin itself only dares to warranty PS4S tires to 30K miles:

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Michelin&tireModel=Pilot+Sport+4S

 

[cbviews]

Can anyone give me some personal insight on using their Hakka 10's vs 9's? Im debating between the two and I'm not sure which one to get. I don't like the idea of noisy tires (I think the 10's are louder compared to the 9's) but I need traction over anything else.


Backstory: I bought a home in Crested Butte that has an incredibly steep driveway. It's been nicknamed the driveway of death. I moved into the home in March '21 and it had a dirt driveway at the time. It had been an Airbnb, so I was able to read reviews of people staying there complaining that they had slid on the driveway (both in SUV's/Trucks/new tires/old tires). So I knew I had to fix it. Upon moving in, I couldn't purchase a snowblower as they were sold out everywhere. So I literally had to scrap the entire driveway with a shovel, just to get out safely. Despite this, my Model 3 still slid down the driveway twice. Luckily, it's on a cul-de-sac so it's not like I am sliding into traffic or parked cars. But still. It's nerve wracking.

Once summer hit, I began work on regrading the driveway and having a heated snowmelt pad installed at the top 23 feet, with the remaining driveway below covered in asphalt. Work just completed and we had snow this past week. It was maybe 1/4"- 1/2" and I felt it was OK to drive down it. I successfully drove out and back to drop my daughter off at a meeting. But when I came back and left to take my son to school, my Model 3 slid all the way off the driveway. It logged itself into the side embankment and thankfully did not hit any trees. It took an hour for the tow truck to successfully extract it and I'm very lucky it didn't have any damage to the car or battery from the rocks on the embankment. To say I am a little disappointed after spending 50k to fix this driveway and I'm still sliding is an understatement. And it's not even winter yet.

I live in an area of Crested Butte that is known to get more snow than in town. It has it's own microclimate from what people told me. I haven't lived here long enough to see crazy weather as last winter was considerably lighter compared to other years. But I know that's coming, one year, or another. That said, there are a wide range of temperatures here that do cause icy conditions from the melting/freezing. However, I have found that the fresh snow seems to be the worst on my current tires. It seems to be like fine silk. I've been told that the snow here has little water content due to the dryness and elevation. But that first snow, seems to be like silk and it creates a slick track of my driveway. If the temperatures drop over night and create hard, crunchy snow, then I can drive just fine. But if we are in the 20's or 30's, it seems to create this fine silky snow.

I currently have Michelin Cross Climate 2's on my Model 3 and I love them. But I need to put studded tires on.

I'm debating between the Hakka 10 or the 9's.

Can anyone help me analyze which one is better for my situation? Living in this type of climate is very new for me and analyzing which tire to put on is kinda out of my normal range of expertise. Please be gentle- first post!