Winter performance

[Tyler Harris]

Anyone have testimonies on model 3 winter performance with winter tire setup? Looking to buy one but have a driveway im concerned about - over 1/2 mile long with bad hills in Wisconsin that can be glare ice at times. Would have to have similar traction to a 4wd pickup with good winter tires on it. Let me know if you have any helpful experience!

Thanks

 

[rpiotro]

You’ve used both ? Who makes them?

Nokian. The Finns have a little knowledge about driving in the snow.

 

[rpiotro]

I have quite a bit of experience with winter driving. The M3 is the best snow car I've ever had.
Stick with 18" wheels and 235 width, my choice is Michelin Crossclimate so I don't need to change for summer- as good as the studded Nokians etc I had for years on various Audi quattros.

I just got rid of those awful MXM4s. They are good at nothing except range and maybe noise. But I'm not so sure about that noise metric on some road surfaces either.

Just put a set of CrossClimate 2s on my M3 SR+. Truly magical! Better in every respect traction wise on all surfaces in all conditions. A tad bit noisier and I'm sure there is some range penalty. Too soon to tell as I don't have a lot of miles on them yet but my initial impression is maybe a 5% hit.

I had a set of Hakaas on my last car, A Q50 Hybrid AWD. Mounted on OEM wheels for winter driving. Sorry, my experience is that they are without equal. But the CrossClimates are good enough to preclude a summer/winter switchover for me. I'm in SE Wisconsin and we can get a lot of snow occasionally but the road crews are pretty quick to clean up. So...

 

[rpiotro]

Imagine this - the roads are covered with several inches of snow,(no not a foot of snow or anything crazy where clearance would be an issue) would you be more comfortable getting in a 4wd pickup and drive to work or your M3? Assume good all terrain tires

I would take my RWD Tesla with good winter tires over a 4WD truck with All-Terrain tires any day of the seek. All-Terrain is just for that purpose. They are just OK and marginally better in snow than highway/all season tires.

And in my opinion AWD alone is not that big of a deal. If it was you wouldn't see all of those pickups and SUVs in the ditch during bad weather. AWD will not really help you turn or stop better. It will only accelerate better. Otherwise, at best a little better stability depending on the vehicle.

 

[Tyler Harris]

I would take my RWD Tesla with good winter tires over a 4WD truck with All-Terrain tires any day of the seek. All-Terrain is just for that purpose. They are just OK and marginally better in snow than highway/all season tires.

And in my opinion AWD alone is not that big of a deal. If it was you wouldn't see all of those pickups and SUVs in the ditch during bad weather. AWD will not really help you turn or stop better. It will only accelerate better. Otherwise, at best a little better stability depending on the vehicle.

assume identical tires on both to take the tire variable out. Im questioning the vehicle not the tire or clearance

 

[Tyler Harris]

assume identical tires on both to take the tire variable out. Im questioning the vehicle not the tire or clearance

Also, I know i used the example of going to work, but back to my original post - my actual concern comes down to traction on snow and ice covered hills in my driveway, im not worried much at all about highway braking/turning/going in ditch

 

[SageBrush]

Imagine this - the roads are covered with several inches of snow,(no not a foot of snow or anything crazy where clearance would be an issue) would you be more comfortable getting in a 4wd pickup and drive to work or your M3? Assume good all terrain tires

Tesla, hands down.
My experience is the mountains of Colorado, older Tesla Model 3 RWD with winter tyres. AWD would give better climbing traction. When people get in trouble with Tesla, the story is always a poor winter tyres choice.

Trucks are for clearance

 

[The Other Dan]

Also, let's be real. You're talking about a car decision based on the weather during what, 1-2mos out of the year? Get the Tesla, and if its really that big an issue, buy a cheap 4wd truck.

For the record, I have my M3P and also an older Jeep Grand Cherokee that's paid off. That's my preferred known snow/ice vehicle, cause I have no issues with that getting totaled. The tesla is on blizzaks because we get random black ice often enough, and for when we get unexpected snow like last week.

 

[Tyler Harris]

Also, let's be real. You're talking about a car decision based on the weather during what, 1-2mos out of the year? Get the Tesla, and if its really that big an issue, buy a cheap 4wd truck.

For the record, I have my M3P and also an older Jeep Grand Cherokee that's paid off. That's my preferred known snow/ice vehicle, cause I have no issues with that getting totaled. The tesla is on blizzaks because we get random black ice often enough, and for when we get unexpected snow like last week.

Not sure where you live but winter is 5 months long here. So definitely long enough that it affects the decision of buying a vehicle. If i were to buy a tesla and park it all winter then i would be stupid to not wait an additional month or more until the salt is off the roads.

That means 50k for something i would use for at most 6 months out of the year? If i spend that much money on a vehicle then its all im driving for the next 15 years.

I get it i could drive it during the winter and also have another vehicle for snowstorms but based off the feedback im getting that would be pointless. If a awd m3 has better traction than a pickup it wouldnt really be beneficial to have a pickup. I always have my driveway cleared before going anywhere anyway and if theres so much snow on the highways that clearance is an issue than im not interested in going anywhere anyway lol

 

[vogz]

Not sure where you live but winter is 5 months long here. So definitely long enough that it affects the decision of buying a vehicle. If i were to buy a tesla and park it all winter then i would be stupid to not wait an additional month or more until the salt is off the roads.

That means 50k for something i would use for at most 6 months out of the year? If i spend that much money on a vehicle then its all im driving for the next 15 years.

I get it i could drive it during the winter and also have another vehicle for snowstorms but based off the feedback im getting that would be pointless. If a awd m3 has better traction than a pickup it wouldnt really be beneficial to have a pickup. I always have my driveway cleared before going anywhere anyway and if theres so much snow on the highways that clearance is an issue than im not interested in going anywhere anyway lol

You're on the right track. No need for a second vehicle. I have a lowered Model 3 Performance and run 18 inch TSportline wheels with Vredestein Wintrac Pros in the winter and it's absolutely fantastic in the snow in the Chicago area.

 

[KenC]

PDX is Portland, Oregon.

I live in Maine, and am always going to ski resorts in snow storms; and I run Vredestein QuatracPros, and they're great. Not quite as good as a dedicated snow tire, but very good combo. I live down a 1/4mile dirt road and it's all uphill to get out, so there are times when it's all black ice. The Tesla is fine on black ice with the appropriate tires.

 

[Lindenwood]

Honestly even on all-season highway tires, my M3P has been almost boring in the snow. Unless I hit solid black ice, I pretty much have to put it in Drift Mode to get my heart rate up.

The limit is definitely ground clearance, followed by tires.

 

[rpiotro]

assume identical tires on both to take the tire variable out. Im questioning the vehicle not the tire or clearance

You were the one that specifically stated All Terrain tires. I don't believe Nokian makes their Hakaas in a truck size.

PDX is Portland, Oregon.

I live in Maine, and am always going to ski resorts in snow storms; and I run Vredestein QuatracPros, and they're great. Not quite as good as a dedicated snow tire, but very good combo. I live down a 1/4mile dirt road and it's all uphill to get out, so there are times when it's all black ice. The Tesla is fine on black ice with the appropriate tires.

Those Vredesteins were on my short list. I went with the CrossClimate 2s after a recommendation by two separate tire professionals.

How are they for road noise? Rolling resistance?

 

[heavyD]

Your best and only choice should the the M3 LR AWD with two motors. Also I would not suggest the Performance model as the suspension is also lowered. I have had mine for 15 months now and totally impressed with Winter resiliency.

As an owner of a Performance model I wish the suspension was lowered. Ride height is the same as the long range.

 

[Soul Surfer]

As an owner of a Performance model I wish the suspension was lowered. Ride height is the same as the long range.

OH! I obviously didn't know that. Thanks for sharing. I guess my constant fear has been to damage the battery pack with a lower ride height.

 

[804son]

It's all about the tires, choose the best tires for your particular winter conditions. The worst the winter conditions the more aggressive winter tires you need. If you see consistent black ice, then I would recommend studded tires. Tesla has a fantastic traction control system, I've found it quite response to keep the vehicle pointed in the right direction. I'm in Colorado and we certainly have our good share of winter conditions and snow. I run a Pirelli Winter Zero's they're all right for our conditions, good balance of dry performance and acceptable snow performance. My wife has the MYP and she's running the Continental Viking's, those have much better snow performance than mine.

 

[KenC]

You were the one that specifically stated All Terrain tires. I don't believe Nokian makes their Hakaas in a truck size.

Those Vredesteins were on my short list. I went with the CrossClimate 2s after a recommendation by two separate tire professionals.

How are they for road noise? Rolling resistance?

Road noise is approx the same was OEM. This is my second set of Vredesteins, the first was the Quatrac 5, those were 5-10% better on efficiency than OEM; while the QuatracPro is approx. the same efficiency as OEM. In a couple/few more years, I may try the CrossClimate 3.

 

[vogz]

OH! I obviously didn't know that. Thanks for sharing. I guess my constant fear has been to damage the battery pack with a lower ride height.

I've had lowered ride hight by over an inch for almost 3 years now. Goes over speed bumps without a problem. I've never scraped the battery on anything. The only risky thing would be pavement that comes to a really aggressive peak somewhere. I don't think you'd encounter it on most normal roads. Likely only in a hilly/mountainous area.

 

[gearchruncher]

As an owner of a Performance model I wish the suspension was lowered. Ride height is the same as the long range.

OH! I obviously didn't know that. Thanks for sharing. I guess my constant fear has been to damage the battery pack with a lower ride height.

You're both right. When the M3P first came out, it was lower than the other cars. This was removed in early 2022, so any car bought in the last ~14 months is not lowered:

Tesla updates Model 3 Performance feature list to remove "lowered suspension" [Update]

Tesla is continuously making changes to their vehicles, introducing new parts and features throughout the year. The approach is different than that of legacy automakers which only makes changes with model year refreshes. Tesla also […]

driveteslacanada.ca

 

[GregD60]

Anyone have testimonies on model 3 winter performance with winter tire setup? Looking to buy one but have a driveway im concerned about - over 1/2 mile long with bad hills in Wisconsin that can be glare ice at times. Would have to have similar traction to a 4wd pickup with good winter tires on it. Let me know if you have any helpful experience!

Thanks

Here's my story. About 4 years ago, we had the worst bout of ice in the 16 years that we've lived in Colorado. It was warm and sunny in the morning, over 50 degrees, but then got much colder and started snowing. The snow melted, but as the temperature continued to get colder, it refroze into solid ice covering all the roads in the area. Since I live in a hilly area, this was not good. I was driving my 5 month old Model 3 LR AWD with fairly fresh Sottozero 3s on it. I was going to pick up my son from school since they had decided to close early due to the snow and rapidly worsening driving conditions.

I turned onto the road out of our development, which is one lane in each direction to see cars off the side of the road or stuck unable to move in the middle of the road both up and down the hill. Down the hill the road was completely blocked on both sides in multiple places, so I decided to try up the hill. To get around the cars sitting sideways or unable to move in the middle of the road, I had to weave my way between them on both sides of the road and the shoulder. The Tesla did fine. The only close call was one truck that was slowly sliding down the hill in my direction with his brakes locked. He wasn't doing more than 2 or 3 MPH, but he couldn't stop until he got to a more level spot. I had to back down the hill about 30 feet to avoid him.

Many of the roads in the area were blocked due to cars stuck all over them. I had to take a rather roundabout route to the school, so it was about 7 miles rather than the usual 4. All along the way there were cars and trucks scattered all over the road and off the sides of the road. I saw at least 200 cars stuck on and off the road in the 30 to 40 minutes it took me to drive 7 miles. The only other scary moment was when one car was sliding sideways down a hill in my direction in slow motion; fortunately, there was a side road I could turn on to before that car got to me.

When I got to the school, I ended up picking up my son, and a few of his friends whose parents weren't able to make it to the school. We couldn't go back up to the hilly areas, since all the roads in that direction were closed by then, so we stayed on the flatter areas and went to Chick-fil-A for a little lunch. After a couple hours of plowing and sanding and clearing vehicles out of the way, the police started opening up the roads again, and we were able to make it home.

The Model 3 worked very well with the Sottozero 3s, and those aren't as good in the snow as either X-Ice or Blizzaks, both of which I've had on other cars. I think the only thing that will stop an AWD Model 3 on good snow tires is when the snow gets deep enough that you just can't plow any deeper snow. From experience, I'd say that occurs when the snow is an inch or two higher than the front spoiler.

 

[ICE5891]

I live in Finland. Have a AWD Long Range with Nokian tires for the winter. It does better then most cars here, the traction control is really good at keeping the car pointed to correct direction on highway. I have seen truck accident in front of me where the model 3 was completely stable.

On heavy snow roads the limitation is ground clearance. I go trough the national park roads with lots of snow and some hills and see the Volvos and Audis having to take some momentum to go trough then while I can go easily at very low speed or even stop on the middle of the hill and continue with no problem. But if the snow is deep enough it could be a problem, I haven't tried that yet.