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Winter driving advice, winter tire choices, etc.
- Thread starter Colgate2004
- Start date
NB Hip fan
Member
Not sure about what Tire Rack carries, but 2021 M3’s definitely use the Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) TPMS sensors. I searched highly and low but from what I could find, the only reliable place to buy them is direct from Tesla, although some retailers are offering them, but with a markup above the Tesla price.
For the cost of the wheels and eventual TPMS I'm better waiting for the 18in aero wheels to come back in stock.
navguy12
Active Member
This was the conclusion I came to back in the fall of 2018…once one “bottom lines” the whole package, the Tesla winter tire/wheel package was a great value and has been of excellent service for the past three winters…
Provided that that those are the tires that you want, which I did not.
Well that’s the catch. I don’t believe the sottozero 2’s are bad winter tires, they’re not blizzaks amd if I had my choice I’d go with Michelin ice-x’s.
Based on what I have read, the Pirelli's favour dry cold high-performance and efficiency over traction in snow and slush. All tires are a trade-off, and I understand that the Sottozeros very competently achieve the trade-off that they intend. But that is not the trade-off that I wanted.
navguy12
Active Member
I was pleasantly surprised when using the Sottozeros.
The first time I had to depend on them "in anger" in a slushy situation was whilst pulling out to pass an 18-wheeler on a slush rutted hwy 417 at speeds over 100 kph.
My firm grip on the steering wheel (in anticipation of plowing thru the rut as I switched lanes) was uncalled for.
Perhaps the TM3 is inherently stable enough to make these maneuvers, on slush, at speeds over 100 kph, a non-issue...
I've had Blizzaks, X-Ice, and Sottozero 3s on a number of cars over the years. While the Sottozeros don't have quite the ultimate grip on snow and ice that the Blizzaks or X-Ice have, they're surprisingly close. I also have experience with Continental DWS-06 which are very good for an all season tire. If I rated the tires for ice and snow with the stock Primacy MXM4s being a 1 and the Blizzaks being a 10. I'd rate the DWS-06 a 5, the Sottozero 3s 8.5, and the X-Ice 9.5. Also, Blizzaks tend to fall off quite a bit with wear; at half tread I'd rate them an 8. The X-Ice seem to hold up better.
The Sottozero 3s do have some significant advantages. They handle, stop, and go much better than Blizzaks or X-Ice in dry or wet weather. The steering response and wet weather stopping distances in particular are hugely better.
Basically, if you're driving on ice, snow, and slush more than half the time, I'd go for X-Ice or something similar. If you spend more than half the time in winter on dry or wet ground, Sottozero 3s or something comparable are the way to go.
Winter tire technology has really come along, so even though there are trade offs with any tire, it is likely that all of the top-end tires will be pretty good in a variety of conditions, even if one particular condition is not their absolute strength. I am sure that the Pirellis are fine.
If, however, you are looking for 'absolute strength' in deep snow and ice capability, all indications I have seen is the Nokian Hakkas are right up there among the best. That still was not my choice - I was looking for an all-round winter tire for the my area - pretty good on snow and ice, but still pretty good in dry cold performance and efficiency: I went with the Yokohama Winter V905 and have been happy with them.
If, however, you are looking for 'absolute strength' in deep snow and ice capability, all indications I have seen is the Nokian Hakkas are right up there among the best. That still was not my choice - I was looking for an all-round winter tire for the my area - pretty good on snow and ice, but still pretty good in dry cold performance and efficiency: I went with the Yokohama Winter V905 and have been happy with them.
I would add, to respond to a comment by navguy, that I have found the the Model 3 AWD driving experience in general to be just great in bad winter conditions. There are threads on this forum in which some people (e.g., Subaru owners*) doubt this, but my own experience last year was excellent. Put any good set of winter tires on the car and you will be fine. I expect that goes for the Model Y as well.
[ *and, yes, I am a former Subaru owner]
[ *and, yes, I am a former Subaru owner]
Because I ordered the SR+ I decided to go with the X-Ice. Being in Chicago where the temp stays butt f'ing cold for a solid 3 mos, ice and slush are common. I felt like better snow and ice traction should take precedence given the car is RWD. They're they same tires I had on my BMW and thought they were better than Blizzaks without taking the tread life hit when the roads are dry.
TulsaCoker
Member
Just purchased from Discount Tires a new set of 19" rims with Nokian Hakkipillita R3 with Tesla TMPS for less than the Tesla winter tire package that is out of stock. As much as I wanted the Tesla package with the Pirelli's the more research I did the more I liked the Nokias. Plus got black rims that I like better
Probably an easy question for you all.. Thanks in advance for any thoughts!
I just took delivery recently of a new Model 3 Performance, so it came with the Pirelli summer tires and the Uberturbines. I typically drive to and back from Chicago once a year for Christmas, spending about a week up there. Obviously it gets significantly colder there than FL winters but there generally isn't snow when I'm there. Do you all think I still need all seasons or winter tires for this kind of use case? If so, any recommendations? I assume the answer is most likely yes but figured it's worth checking on.
I am one of the few people as far as I can tell who actually likes the Uberturbines and I'd probably go for a staggered setup of 19/20" x 8.5" and 19"/20" x 10". I know I missed Labor Day sales, so I'd aim for Black Friday as it isn't super urgent in FL, but is it generally most cost effective to go for wheel + tire packages or to get them separately and then have them mounted?
I just took delivery recently of a new Model 3 Performance, so it came with the Pirelli summer tires and the Uberturbines. I typically drive to and back from Chicago once a year for Christmas, spending about a week up there. Obviously it gets significantly colder there than FL winters but there generally isn't snow when I'm there. Do you all think I still need all seasons or winter tires for this kind of use case? If so, any recommendations? I assume the answer is most likely yes but figured it's worth checking on.
I am one of the few people as far as I can tell who actually likes the Uberturbines and I'd probably go for a staggered setup of 19/20" x 8.5" and 19"/20" x 10". I know I missed Labor Day sales, so I'd aim for Black Friday as it isn't super urgent in FL, but is it generally most cost effective to go for wheel + tire packages or to get them separately and then have them mounted?
navguy12
Active Member
I’m not a subject matter expert but I do know that pure “summer” tires will turn rock hard at cold temperatures.
IIRC, when the temperature is consistently below 7°C, one should no longer use summer tires.
YMMV
Running the Model 3 Performance stock tires in temperatures below freezing, or on ice and snow, is a very bad idea. If you're lucky, you'll just have a lot of trouble getting around; if you're not lucky, you'll be looking for a new car after yours gets in a nasty accident. We won't even talk about really unlucky. If you want to stick with the stock wheels, and you're willing to trade off a bit of dry weather performance, I'd go up one size to 245/35R20 with something like a Vredstein Quatrac Pro or a Continental DWS-06 Plus. These tires will still be very susceptible to damage due to potholes due to the low profile, but at least they should have good traction in the dry and wet, and adequate traction in typical Chicago winter conditions.
If you want a more survivable tire in poor winter conditions where you may not be able to see hazards like bad potholes until too late, you should consider getting a set of 18" or 19" wheels and tires. For either one, I would also go up one size since there is a much greater selection of tires and the slightly taller sidewall will make the tire more durable, i.e. 245/45R18 or 245/40R19. Again, you'd want an all rounder like the Vredstein or Continental mentioned above. The advantage of doing this is that you could keep your Uberturbines and max performance summer tires on almost the entire year in Florida and enjoy the performance, and then just bolt on the all season tires and wheels for trips to the north.
PACEMD
Active Member
I've run the stock 18" Michelin wheels/tires on my Model 3 Stealth/Performance here in Montana for the last 3 winters. Does fine even at -25 Fahrenheit. Car does a great job in general in the snow. Course here in southeast Montana we get inches, not feet of snow. Too dry for that. So, good in the ice and shallow snow, not good I would imagine in anything deeper.
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