Need tip with snow driving

[EV-lutioin]

The Model X has excellent uphill traction, but it is a very heavy car and once it starts to slip on a curve it can be hard to stop. In general, a lighter car with narrow tires deals with these situations better. With a MX, take it slow and steady when turning on ice/snow.

 

[Magus]

My X without winter tires definitely performs worse than my S did with winter tires. Getting Nokian 8’s installed soon.

 

[Dax279]

My X without winter tires definitely performs worse than my S did with winter tires. Getting Nokian 8’s installed soon.

Do these now come on a non stud format? Or are you happy to go with winter tires with studs?

 

[jerry33]

Do these now come on a non stud format? Or are you happy to go with winter tires with studs?

Nokian R2 is non-studded.

 

[Dax279]

Nokian R2 is non-studded.

Yes having those on my S I know, I was asking on the 8’s that Magus is planning to install.

 

[Quick2Judge]

Don't have an X...don't know if there is anything particular about it over my S or even my Olds 88 I used to drive in Cleveland. Here are my 2¢:

1). Never brake while turning.
Brake before the turn, brake after the turn. If you brake during the turn in slick conditions (or in a go kart!) You will lose control. Maybe regenerative breaking did it?

2). Once sliding, steer in the direction you are sliding
Completely goes against instincts. But it will be much harder for the wheels to regain traction if they are pointed in the wrong direction.

Good luck and have fun.

 

[jerry33]

Yes having those on my S I know, I was asking on the 8’s that Magus is planning to install.

The 8s are designed to work with studs, they won't work as well as the R2 if studs aren't installed.

 

[Dax279]

The 8s are designed to work with studs, they won't work as well as the R2 if studs aren't installed.

I don’t think they are designed to work with studs, I think they are studded tires and am just asking if they now come without them?

How do you know that they won’t work as well if they don’t have studs? I have a set of Hakka fives I believe on one of my cars and I think 7’s on my wife’s truck and find that they work just as well as the R2s. If I recall these may have come in both a studded and non stud version.

 

[jerry33]

I don’t think they are designed to work with studs, I think they are studded tires and am just asking if they now come without them?

How do you know that they won’t work as well if they don’t have studs? I have a set of Hakka fives I believe on one of my cars and I think 7’s on my wife’s truck and find that they work just as well as the R2s. If I recall these may have come in both a studded and non stud version.

According to the Nokian site, R8s are studded--they may or may not have studs actually installed (that's typically done at the tire dealer, not the tire manufacturer). Tires that are designed to work with studs need to have enough solid areas to hold the studs in place. This limits the amount of sipes that they can have.

There are three things that make up effective winter tires: flexible belts that conform to the irregular road surfaces found during winter, tread compound that is flexible in the cold, and blocks and sipes. Sipes are what make traction on ice possible because they wipe away the film of water that makes the ice slippery. (The colder it is the less slippery the ice is.) Studs dig through the film of water to get traction on ice, but in every other winter condition they make traction worse because they hold the tread pattern off the road surface. They are also hard on pavement and are linked to increased rates of lung cancer.

 

[Dax279]

According to the Nokian site, R8s are studded--they may or may not have studs actually installed (that's typically done at the tire dealer, not the tire manufacturer). Tires that are designed to work with studs need to have enough solid areas to hold the studs in place. This limits the amount of sipes that they can have.

There are three things that make up effective winter tires: flexible belts that conform to the irregular road surfaces found during winter, tread compound that is flexible in the cold, and blocks and sipes. Sipes are what make traction on ice possible because they wipe away the film of water that makes the ice slippery. (The colder it is the less slippery the ice is.) Studs dig through the film of water to get traction on ice, but in every other winter condition they make traction worse because they hold the tread pattern off the road surface. They are also hard on pavement and are linked to increased rates of lung cancer.

I thought that the Nokian tires come from the factory with the studs installed as Nokian has a proprietary stud design. I also think the non Studded version of their winter tires have always scored very well in certain tests (in some cases better than the R series of winter tires), given that they have the properties that you describe built into the tire in addition to their proprietary stud design.

 

[EV-lutioin]

When I lived in Idaho and drove up and down mountain passes on snow/ice 7 months per year, we all used siped tires. Siping works as well as studs in most condtions without all the drawbacks of studs. No tearing up the roads, no loud stud chatter and you can leave the tires on year-round.

 

[Magus]

The 8’s I am getting don’t have studs. Our state has banned the use of studded tires. Am I going to be worse off with non studded 8’s?

 

[Gen3]

I believe the correct terminology for present-day is winter tires, not snow tires, which was actually a different type of tire that is no longer produced and was literally only good in snow and basically nothing else. Studs are possibly a bit superior for sheet ice, though one might argue that with modern day rubber compounds, studless tires may actually be quiet equivalent to studded tires on ice without the added noise and road wear of studded tires.

This winter I tested nokian r2 and Hakka 5 studded tires around my neighbourhood. They were different SUV's granted, but the studded tires were a lot better on ice than the R2. On snow they were similar.

The R2's were a lot better than my all seasons though, and much nicer on dry pavement than the studded tires.

 

[Gen3]

My X without winter tires definitely performs worse than my S did with winter tires. Getting Nokian 8’s installed soon.

Any reason to get 8 over the new Hakka 9?

 

[jerry33]

The 8’s I am getting don’t have studs. Our state has banned the use of studded tires. Am I going to be worse off with non studded 8’s?

No. That was true years ago, but not so today. There's really no excuse for studded tires these days.

 

[jerry33]

Any reason to get 8 over the new Hakka 9?

Price is the only reason I can think of.

 

[Dax279]

The 8’s I am getting don’t have studs. Our state has banned the use of studded tires. Am I going to be worse off with non studded 8’s?

Look at a thread here called “what is your plan for winter tires” at about post 100 or so someone talks about the Hakka 7’s without studs. I also think there are some good reviews on the net that compares the stud performace of Nokian’s tires against the stud less one and I think you will find they are nearly as good as the R2’s. can you not get the R2’s? That might ease your mind if the reviews don’t help.

 

[GOPJEW]

The Model X has excellent uphill traction, but it is a very heavy car and once it starts to slip on a curve it can be hard to stop. In general, a lighter car with narrow tires deals with these situations better. With a MX, take it slow and steady when turning on ice/snow.

I’ve had fun with my X last 24 hours in Erie in the middle of this blizzard (60” in 36 hours).

As with any vehicle, in snow take it easy. I also have a Jeep Wrangler with a 3” lift and 35” tires - much better than the X in this stuff, but the X was VERY capable on the stock tires - could only imagine how great it would be with winter tires - but where I live winter tires are overkill - we don’t get enough snow to justify them.

Please note the OP was in a unique situation so winter tires may not be the answer, but slower, more deliberate driving and as you pointed out, heavier vehicle gets more momentum going and has less of a chance to recover quickly.

For the last 36 hours I have been taking it slow and deliberately, a few slips here and there but because of speed and caution I was able to recover without drama.

For OP - take it slow...and make sure your tires are properly inflated...

 

[mongo]

Sometimes, if you are trying to get over a bump/ curb/ up a driveway, you need more momentum than caution.
Other tip, a bag of cheap kitty litter in the trunk is great for traction when spread under the wheels.

 

[Magus]

Look at a thread here called “what is your plan for winter tires” at about post 100 or so someone talks about the Hakka 7’s without studs. I also think there are some good reviews on the net that compares the stud performace of Nokian’s tires against the stud less one and I think you will find they are nearly as good as the R2’s. can you not get the R2’s? That might ease your mind if the reviews don’t help.

Good point. The 8’s were simply the quickest and relatively cheapest my local tire shop could get in.