Snow Tires vs All Weather - Any Thoughts?

[gad1976]

I've lived in the midwest my entire life and never put snow tired on any of my vehicles. 3 Corolla's, Suburban, Tahoe, Chevy Sonic, and a Prius. I drive high mileage 3,000+ a month. I've always used all weather tires all year long.

I see lots of suggestions for snow tires on a Tesla in the winter. Are Tesla's enough different from other cars that make snow tires essential? Or is it simply a preference? If I put snow tires on my MYLR this winter it'll be the first set of snow tires I've ever owned in 35+ years of driving.

What am I missing? Thanks for your thoughts.

 

[rogersmj]

I too live in the midwest (but south of you — Indiana) and I have done snow tires for the last couple cars. Are they necessary? No, not with decent all seasons. But I only did them because I wanted performance summer tires in the summer, which turn into hockey pucks below 40F. If you don’t have a burning desire for those, your all-seasons are going to be fine. That’s what 98%+ of people do.

 

[SlvrDragon50]

You can survive with all weather tires in the midwest. Winter tires do make a very big difference, but if you have the space to store and money to buy a second set of tires, winter tires are fantastic.

 

[boones]

I've lived in the midwest my entire life and never put snow tired on any of my vehicles. 3 Corolla's, Suburban, Tahoe, Chevy Sonic, and a Prius. I drive high mileage 3,000+ a month. I've always used all weather tires all year long.

I see lots of suggestions for snow tires on a Tesla in the winter. Are Tesla's enough different from other cars that make snow tires essential? Or is it simply a preference? If I put snow tires on my MYLR this winter it'll be the first set of snow tires I've ever owned in 35+ years of driving.

What am I missing? Thanks for your thoughts.

all weather tires<>all season tires. All weather tires have only been available in the US for 5 years or so. All-weather tires are essentially a category between all-seasons and dedicated winter tires.

 

[jsight]

There's nothing particularly special about a Tesla in this regard. If you did well with all-weather tires before, you'll likely do at least as well with the Tesla. Maybe even a little better, since the traction control is excellent.

 

[gad1976]

all weather tires<>all season tires. All weather tires have only been available in the US for 5 years or so. All-weather tires are essentially a category between all-seasons and dedicated winter tires.

Thanks. Just learned something. Guess I didn’t know there was a difference between all weather and all season. I’ve never run winter tires or summer tires. I guess usually all season tires. Although my most recent set on my suburban are all weather.

 

[boones]

There's nothing particularly special about a Tesla in this regard. If you did well with all-weather tires before, you'll likely do at least as well with the Tesla. Maybe even a little better, since the traction control is excellent.

I've read that the strong regenerative braking causes it to skid/slide more easily than an ice vehicle. I don't know if that's true and I don't have any personal experience with that yet. FWIW, I have already purchased winter tires for my Y that arrives next week. True winter tires are much better at braking on ice vs all season tires.

 

[jsight]

I've read that the strong regenerative braking causes it to skid/slide more easily than an ice vehicle. I don't know if that's true and I don't have any personal experience with that yet. FWIW, I have already purchased winter tires for my Y that arrives next week. True winter tires are much better at braking on ice vs all season tires.

I guess that is true, but there's nothing there that can't be modulated with your right foot. I'd be shocked if it was harder than a Prius.

 

[gad1976]

I don't have space I want to dedicate to a second set of tires. I plan to give my current stock tires a try this winter. If it feels like it's gonna be a safety issues I'll purchase a second set. Thanks for the input.

 

[tashtibet]

my first EV was 2013 Nissan Leaf and I drove it all kinds of weather with the worst rated all season tires. I found EVs traction control is awesome in the winter. Next EV was RWD M3-with Michelin Cross Climate it was great. I don't like Winter tires-then I've to switch, store & waste money, time & space-except for some place with regulation to have winter tires. All Weather tire is the answer-Michelin Cross Climate!

 

[boones]

my first EV was 2013 Nissan Leaf and I drove it all kinds of weather with the worst rated all season tires. I found EVs traction control is awesome in the winter. Next EV was RWD M3-with Michelin Cross Climate it was great. I don't like Winter tires-then I've to switch, store & waste money, time & space-except for some place with regulation to have winter tires. All Weather tire is the answer-Michelin Cross Climate!

I've run them and they are a good compromise for front range with only occasional use at high elevations in the winter. They are not as good handling wise as a performance oriented all-season in the dry/wet/heat. All depends what you want out of a tire, they are all compromises.

 

[SlvrDragon50]

I don't have space I want to dedicate to a second set of tires. I plan to give my current stock tires a try this winter. If it feels like it's gonna be a safety issues I'll purchase a second set. Thanks for the input.

If you only run 1 set of tires then get the all weather tires. There are all weathers that have winter rating, obviously won't be as good as winter tires, but they work well enough in the midwest without tons of elevation changes.

 

[JohnB007]

I've used Michelin Cross Climate 2 on the previous car (BMW X3) for 3 years and now on my MY. I used to use Michelin X-Ice tires before. And I do feel the difference but not enough to sacrifice room + strength (getting older!) to keep another 4 sets of tires.

I don't plan to go back to winter tires again for the rest of my life.

I would imagine your climate is similar to ours? May be a little worse here?

 

[greatauror28]

I'm going to be on the other side of the fence here and suggest a proper winter tire set for the Y.

Our Model Y is a pretty hefty vehicle almost approaching 2.5T and braking is one of the most crucial part of winter driving. Sure, it can accelerate but will it break early enough for you given the longer stopping distances all-season/all-weather tires bring plus the weight of the Tesla.

Where I live we get 6 months of snow so I guess I'm qualified to chime on this. I've had my Y for only winter but it's been the best vehicle I've driven in snow with winter tires so far.

 

[JohnB007]

I'm going to be on the other side of the fence here and suggest a proper winter tire set for the Y.

Our Model Y is a pretty hefty vehicle almost approaching 2.5T and braking is one of the most crucial part of winter driving. Sure, it can accelerate but will it break early enough for you given the longer stopping distances all-season/all-weather tires bring plus the weight of the Tesla.

Where I live we get 6 months of snow so I guess I'm qualified to chime on this. I've had my Y for only winter but it's been the best vehicle I've driven in snow with winter tires so far.

I would definitely recommend winter tires in AB. I used to live in Montreal, and I would not use all weather tires there either (although some of my friends do).

But in places like where I live, snow doesn't accumulate much. I had time to compare X-Ice vs Cross Climate on the same car for over 3 years, on the same car. Stopping distance is a bit worse but a lot better than an all season tire when there is light snow.

I think it all depends on where you live.

 

[Notch Peak]

Unique perspective here since we just had a record amount of snow here in Utah and I ski 3 days a week (100 miles round trip). First year with the MYP and in November I switched over from the stock all season Michelins to the Tsportsline Overland package (18" rims and Falken WildPeak Tires) and drove about 8,000 miles on them. In previous seasons I used to take my 4 Runner with BFG KO2s skiing.

Impressions: First people freak out in a good way when they see All Terrain tires on a Tesla. No one had seen that combo before. The others locals initially thought I was an idiot for even trying to get a Tesla up there on Powder days. Traction in deep snow was incredible as well as snow packed highways, canyon roads, and parking lots. Never went sideways and climbed up some very steep inclines in fresh snow. Model Y traction control is better than any car that I've owned. Better traction overall it seemed than the KO2s but they aren't nearly as burly either.

Side notes: ride much smoother with a larger sidewall 18" vs 21" and nearly impossible to curb your rims. Hit pot holes at full speed without issues.

2nd Side note: I bought X-Ice for our FWD Mazda 3 and the traction was stellar all winter. It wouldn't even slide sideways when I pulled the ebrake and tried to drift. That made me sad.

 

[gad1976]

Circling back to this post with my own experience. I still don't own Winter tires, but...

TIRES

Here's my opinion after some ice/snow driving. Snow tires are probably safer and likely a good idea. We have 1-2 inches of snow/ice on the roads in central Wisconsin right now due to our recent storm. I'm doing fine with my factory tires, but the extra weight of the vehicle does seem to make it slide more. The traction control and antilock breaks work well, but I think stopping would be much better with winter tires. Also, with the massive torque the Teslas have, it would be easy to lose traction on ice when accelerating. If you are mildly careful its not really an issue.

That said, I don't have the money or storage space for a second set of tires, but if I could I think I would get winter tires. Minus ice, I don't know that I'd really care.

 

[RatsFPV]

I've lived in the midwest my entire life and never put snow tired on any of my vehicles. 3 Corolla's, Suburban, Tahoe, Chevy Sonic, and a Prius. I drive high mileage 3,000+ a month. I've always used all weather tires all year long.

I see lots of suggestions for snow tires on a Tesla in the winter. Are Tesla's enough different from other cars that make snow tires essential? Or is it simply a preference? If I put snow tires on my MYLR this winter it'll be the first set of snow tires I've ever owned in 35+ years of driving.

What am I missing? Thanks for your thoughts.

I am with you. I have driven many cars in the snow for the last 40 years. I have never used snow tires. I always get a god set of all-season and use them all year round. I think it comes down to understanding how to drive in the snow either way. I have met people that use snow tires and still can't drive in the snow. Bottom line...I don't think that you are missing anything!

 

[SlvrDragon50]

yea I am still not sure if I wanna replace my PSAS4 with CC2 or go dedicated winter and summer tires. I think the last storm here in WI is kind of a freak thing, but it was pretty terrible for a couple days even after the snow stopped.