I'm risking it with the Sottozero 3 235/45R18 94V tires. But, I would probably suggest people go with the Sottozero 245/45R18 tires instead. They have a enough load rating and would give the car a tiny bit more ground clearance.
I'd recommend the DE version, as the tread width is the same as the 235 and they're lighter!
The 245/45R18 option in the Sottozero 3s is what I decided to go with. Here's my experience with them so far with a couple of comparisons.
The day after we picked up our Model 3, we had one of those snow storms where it was warm enough to melt the snow on the road and then refreeze it followed by a bit more snow on top. The next morning there were dry sections and icy sections covered with a thin layer of snow. Our '03 BMW 330i RWD on Pirelli Sottozero 3s was able to get around okay, with substantial care on the icy/snowy parts. Our Wrangler with nearly worn out
Goodyear Duratracs was about the same in 4WD. When I took the Tesla out, I got very sideways a couple of times at around 10MPH and struggled to make it up the hill to our home. I tried one more time about a week later when we got a bit more snow with less ice, and it wasn't quite as bad, but it was still miserable to try and drive.
I considered a lot of different options. If you want a full on snow tire, I'd probably go with the
Michelin X-ice XI3; they're very close to the Blizzak WS-80s in the snow and ice, and they're quieter, handle better, and last longer.
If you want a performance winter tire, like I did, the options are very limited in the stock size with the Pirelli Sottozero II probably the best choice, but they don't seem to be rated as well as the 3s. I question how necessary the XL rating is for the Model 3, but a lower load rated tire is obviously not ideal. If you don't mind going up or down a size to either 245/45-18 or 225/45-18, there are a few more options that I personally think are better.
I ended up going with the Sottozero 3s, since I was pretty happy with them on my 330i. They give up a little to Blizzaks or Xice
tires in the snow and ice, but they're a lot better in the wet and dry, and feel far more sporty. I went with 245/45-18 since they would be less stretched on the rims and they'd give a few mm more clearance in the snow, and maybe a little more grip around the corners, but they also hurt the acceleration a little bit due to a higher effective gear ratio, and my guess is that they might reduce the range a bit due to additional drag. There are actually 3 different Sottozero 3s in 245/45-18. One is a run flat, one was originally made for Jaguars, and one was originally made for Mercedes. I went with the Mercedes version because it was a few pounds lighter and the tread is slightly skinnier than the Jaguar, which brings it a little closer in size to stock. I'm not a fan of run flats, although some might prefer it for the Model 3 since it doesn't have a spare.
I don't see the Sottozero 3s on
Tirerack, but they're still showing on Discount Tire for $202 each. They're item number 30043 for the Mercedes version. I was a bit tempted by them in a 225/45-18 size since I figured the slightly smaller size would be a teeny bit better in the snow, and the acceleration and range would probably be a little bit better, but I was concerned about the susceptibility of 225s stretched out on 8.5" rims to road damage, and an extra 9mm of ground clearance with the 245s is not a bad thing either in winter.
So far, I've only had one day of driving the Model 3 in snow with the new
tires, but it was transformed, and is now better than either my 330i on snows, or my Wrangler on new Duratracs. when the white stuff falls. Compared to the Primacy MXMs in the dry and wet, they're very close with a small edge to the MXMs on ultimate grip, stability, and steering response, but the Sottozero 3s might actually be a little quieter and I'd say they ride slightly better. The differences in all regards are surprisingly small; I thought they would be more distinct.
