Welcome to Tesla Motors Club
Discuss Tesla's Model S, Model 3, Model X, Model Y, Cybertruck, Roadster and More.
Register

P85 in the rain

This site may earn commission on affiliate links.
Do any P85 owners feel like the car slides around a lot in the rain? I can normally accelerate (nothing wild) and the traction control comes on immediately. I turned the traction control off and it got much worse just as I had assumed. However with the trac control off the front abs constantly works which makes a horrible noise. The car has brand new conti silent tires, so I know tread depth is not a factor. I just wanted others opinions on the matter. Thanks!
 
Respectfully, I think your right foot is a tad too heavy.

Any powerful RWD car will slide around in the rain if punched hard enough, particularly if you turn the traction control off. The Model S is very powerful, and its instant torque plays into that as well.

Just because the car is the pinnacle of the cutting edge, it can't break the laws of physics. Treat that power and torque with respect, particularly when conditions are not ideal. Do not have the expectation that you can drive the same in the rain as in the dry.

If you are in a line of traffic at a stop light behind several cars, and you accelerate at the same rate as the Honda Civic in front of you and the traction control lights up, there's something wrong. But if you're on your own accelerating "normally" in the rain and the traction control lights up, my first guess is that you're pushing too hard. (In my opinion, "normal" acceleration is what a typical $30k car can do without being in a rush, say 0-60 in about 8-10 seconds. Anything faster than that is above normal. Not saying bad, just trying to set a reference to compare by.)

We have a P85, and its been on snow tires since November. The car is powerful enough to break those tires lose on dry pavement before the traction control kicks in. Its even easier in the rain, and obviously the snow. I have not floored the car since November, and I'm looking forward to the spring when I can put my 21" summer tires back on.

Additionally, if you're used to accelerating fast enough in the dry to trigger the traction control in the wet, you're going to chew through tires really quickly!
 
I just put on Continental ExtremeContact DWS 06's and now my P85 doesn't break traction on the rears nearly as easily as on the OEM Michelin MXM4's. But sliding around in the rain... that's just how hard you press the go pedal.
 
Yup, it has all the features of a RWD car. The more recent firmware patches make the car more prone to 'heavy foot' ... you should treat that with respect because the car isn't holding back much.

I prefer the new behavior, I find it fun.

On other hand, I wouldn't recommend it for everybody. It takes just a little getting used to.
 
Rear end squirreliness on wet roads was a real issue for my old P85. I definitely have a heavy foot and the instant on torque made things very interesting. The two cars I had before the P85 were AWD Audis, so I had to re-learn how to drive a RWD car in these conditions. When the P85D came out, it quickly replaced the P85 and I haven't had any wet weather issues since. Bottom line is that if you drive hard, the RWD Tesla can be a handful on wet roads.