Performance 21" wheels in snow

[jcstp]

pirelli has 21inch wintertyres
Pirelli Winter Tyres – Winter Sottozero - The Full Range of Pirelli Winter Tyres& Snow Tyres

 

[huntjo]

yeah thats what I figured. I guess the next trick will be me deciding what month its safe to switch in. For example, it just snowed today. Wasn't quite expecting it this early!

Wish those mofos would call me to schedule delivery!

 

[jkirkebo]

Just get am extra set of the 19" rims with the Nokian Hakka R studless winter tires on them. They are excellent winter tires, much better on snow/ice than any all-season tire.

The only real extra cost is the 19" rims, as running on winter tires a few months per year will make your 21" summer tires last longer.

 

[mknox]

I think you really either want to try and get by with 19" all season tires or you'll have to get non-studded winter tires. The 21" performance tires aren't really meant for cold weather even of the streets are clear.

I'll second that! I had a car back in the mid 90's with a performance suspension setup and "summer" tires. In summer, it was like the car was on rails, but come winter, the car was downright dangerous. I often couldn't even get traction on perfectly level (but snow covered) roads trying to accelerate from a stop. I put winter tires on a separate set of steel rims and the improvement was almost unbelievable. I'll never drive in winter without proper winter tires again.

 

[dsm363]

For lower snow-belt areas like Indiana, when should someone switch to winter tires? When it starts getting below 40 degrees F at night? Thanks.

 

[jkirkebo]

For lower snow-belt areas like Indiana, when should someone switch to winter tires? When it starts getting below 40 degrees F at night? Thanks.

Here in Norway I usually switch when it goes below freezing at night, when the sky is not clear. In other words, when I can expect ice on a few spots at 5am in the morning.

 

[jerry33]

For lower snow-belt areas like Indiana, when should someone switch to winter tires? When it starts getting below 40 degrees F at night? Thanks.

Maybe 45F with the 21" tires. They will really harden up when it gets cool.

 

[mknox]

For lower snow-belt areas like Indiana, when should someone switch to winter tires? When it starts getting below 40 degrees F at night? Thanks.

I live in Southern Ontario and switch my tires on Rememberance Day (US: Veteran's Day) November 11th.

 

[mlascano]

pirelli has 21inch wintertyres
Pirelli Winter Tyres – Winter Sottozero - The Full Range of Pirelli Winter Tyres& Snow Tyres

I don't think any of the 21" tires listed here are 245, don't think they would work with the OEM rims.

 

[William13]

I have not seen any all season or winter tires that would fit the 21 inch rims.

The summer performance tires are just that, for SUMMER. My brother reports that he needs to change Oct 15 as he notes slipping with summer tires at 45*F. The local race tracks close much earlier. Never drive on snow or in freezing weather on summer tires unless you want a new car or a trip to the hospital.

 

[ElSupreme]

I have not seen any all season or winter tires that would fit the 21 inch rims.

The summer performance tires are just that, for SUMMER. My brother reports that he needs to change Oct 15 as he notes slipping with summer tires at 45*F. The local race tracks close much earlier. Never drive on snow or in freezing weather on summer tires unless you want a new car or a trip to the hospital.

I live in Atlanta. I run summer tires year round. Granted if there is ice/snow on the roads I call up my boss, and us the summer tire fact, to tell him that I have to work from home. I hate going outside when it is cold and wet anyway.

And I used to live in Tampa, where summer tires are perfect 'Florida all season' tires.

 

[jcstp]

I don't think any of the 21" tires listed here are 245, don't think they would work with the OEM rims.

here some michelin 245 21" wintertyres

245/30R21 Michelin PILOT ALPIN PA4 Winter Tyres | Performance Alloys ® The Alloy Wheel Experts ™.

 

[jerry33]

here some michelin 245 21" wintertyres

245/30R21 Michelin PILOT ALPIN PA4 Winter Tyres | Performance Alloys ® The Alloy Wheel Experts ™.

Too bad they are too small for the Model S. Note that they are 30% and not 35% aspect ratio.

 

[Cottonwood]

So I'm getting the 21in performance tires, but I do live in Colorado. Most of the time the streets are clear even in winter, but there are definitely weeks when there is snow/ ice on the road to drive over. I don't really have a long commute and have always had all season tires in the past with my little Saturn. I am sure that driving the performance tires year round here will simply not be a good idea. However, I don't want studs, and am not sure theyre even allowed here in town. My question is this:
Do I really need to get a separate set of 19in rims to get all-year tires? or are they going to come up with a non-studded winter tire for us to get?

Having driven my Roadster in Colorado for over 3 years, you want to get some all season tires of whatever size, or you want to have a second car for snow/ice days. I have a Toyota FJ as my backup car (its also good for pulling the balloon trailer), and park the Roadster on snow/ice days with its performance tires. Now, there are many Roadster owners that change their tires twice a year and do fine, but I have chosen to just park my Roadster when the snow and ice come. If you plan on using your S all year, plan on putting all season tires or winter tires on in the winter in Colorado; I don't think 19" or 21" make much difference except in tire availability.

I will be putting the 19" Studded Nokian Tires on my S for the winter here in Pagosa. I have the 21" performance tires and wheels on now.

Good Luck!

 

[jerry33]

I don't think 19" or 21" make much difference except in tire availability.

The 45% aspect ratio 19" tires will allow the tread to conform to the uneven surfaces better than then 35% aspect ratio 21" tires. Also the tread width is slightly narrower on the 19" tires which will provide a bit more winter traction.

 

[Beavis]

Cottonwood, do you drive with the summer tires when it gets below 45 degrees and dry? Any problems with that?

 

[araxara]

here some michelin 245 21" wintertyres
245/30R21 Michelin PILOT ALPIN PA4 Winter Tyres | Performance Alloys ® The Alloy Wheel Experts ™.

Unfortunately, the Model S 21" tires are 245/35R21
They don't seem to have that size in the US:
Pilot Alpin PA4 | Michelin Tires

Also not available on the UK website:
http://www.michelin.co.uk/tyres/michelin-pilot-alpin-pa4

But it's close.

 

[Cottonwood]

Cottonwood, do you drive with the summer tires when it gets below 45 degrees and dry? Any problems with that?

I do drive on the performance tires when the temps are below 45˚ F, but only on dry roads. The traction is probably worse, but I don't ever push things when it is cold out. I know that the performance tires get pretty hard (glass state) when it is cold, but the traction is acceptable to me. Besides after a few miles of driving the tires do warm up above ambient temperatures.

I took the Roadster and its performance tires to the Tesla Ice Driving experience on Georgetown Lake a couple of years ago. The temps were just above freezing with wet/melting ice on the lake. Don't worry, the ice was still several feet thick; it was just surface melt. It was very humorous how little traction I had. The Roadsters with winter tires (no studs) did much better, but were slipping around some. The amazing thing was that with some care, I could drive (slowly) on wet ice with the performance tires. It did teach me that I would never want to drive in traffic with those tires in those conditions.

 

[Kipernicus]

Recent article in automobile mag

With summer tires mounted, don't bother trying to stop, because you probably won't. After 74 feet -- the stopping distance of the Charger on winter tires -- the Pirelli-equipped car has shed just 4 mph and will slide for another 258 feet before coming to rest. Scarier still, the overworked antilock braking system experiences critical brake fade well before the car stopps. The pedal drops to the floor and braking force plummets, turning the driver into a passenger as the car sails across the slick surface.