Winter Tire for S Plaid?

[Klyde99]

Hi, just wondering what profile of tire to run in the winter from experienced tesla owner? Mostly looking for ride comfort and pref 19", or unless 18" are good for the heavy plaid?

1. Thinking about Square set up with 19" x 9" with 245/45R19 Nokian from Kal Tire, thoughts?

2. Originally i got the Aero 19" staggered, so do i have to keep closer to this profile for similar handling? (OEM specs are 19x9.5 front, 19x10.5 rear)

3. What other things do i need to get to be prepare for winter, heavy snow, ice on the road etc.

Many thanks!

 

[X.l.r.8]

If you like Nokian's and feel confident on them I would say go for them. My personal bias is continental extreme contacts and I have had fantastic results with the viking contact 7's this past year, easily as good as the Nokians if not better. The sottozero's were easily the worst winter tire I have ever had. I slid all the way down the 401 and back for 2 months, took them off and threw them. The original winter tires were Hankook and they were good while they lasted but for me the vikings are worth the premium and I have full confidence in them

 

[hydro]

Toyo Observe has been a fantastic discovery of mine. Had them on for the past 2 years and love them. Had Blizzaks, before which were also good but Observes are way better for all conditions. Cheers

 

[Klyde99]

If you like Nokian's and feel confident on them I would say go for them. My personal bias is continental extreme contacts and I have had fantastic results with the viking contact 7's this past year, easily as good as the Nokians if not better. The sottozero's were easily the worst winter tire I have ever had. I slid all the way down the 401 and back for 2 months, took them off and threw them. The original winter tires were Hankook and they were good while they lasted but for me the vikings are worth the premium and I have full confidence in them

Yea i heard good things about Viking 7 based on my visit in some local tyre stores and thanks for the insights of Pirelli's. At the end i think I am going to go with Michelin Pilot Alpin 5 after talking to a friend and watching couple of comparison videos on winter tyres, reading online etc. Conclusion is, Nokian has good grip but on non-showy day, dry road, it will produce quite some noise; judging on how ontario winters are (been in toronto for 10 yrs), it doesnt snow 24/7 even if there are back to back snow, most of the road will be wet due to salt than snow covered, hence Nokian isnt as ideal for wet road.

 

[Klyde99]

Toyo Observe has been a fantastic discovery of mine. Had them on for the past 2 years and love them. Had Blizzaks, before which were also good but Observes are way better for all conditions. Cheers

Thanks for the input, i will read onto them, cheers! Side question, hows S 85 from 2013 hold up after 250k km?

 

[xcyber]

I like Michelin X-Ice. Good grip and they last a long time. Some others may have better grip but wear out very fast.

Mind you, this is from my experience on ICE cars. Still waiting for MYLR delivery and researching like you!

 

[Klyde99]

I like Michelin X-Ice. Good grip and they last a long time. Some others may have better grip but wear out very fast.

Mind you, this is from my experience on ICE cars. Still waiting for MYLR delivery and researching like you!

best of luck on your Y delivery! I did read into X-ICE it definitely get the job done for majority of the cars without much issues, but for high performance + heavy car, I assume they are more demanding on tires, I am not too sure myself hence this thread seeking opinions.

 

[hydro]

I would not trade it! I enjoy propulsion cars.

 

[Bitjockey]

I bought a used set of 19" OEM rims from another owner and got Michelin X-Ices for them, same profile as the original tires. Very pleased with the X-Ices for the past 6 winters on my previous S. Explored other options for a square setup but never found anything that looked appropriate.

 

[Klyde99]

hows 285/40 at the rear? do u experience any slip on tighter turns? I was trying to find square set up as well, nothing seems to be working. I think i m just gonna go with Michelin PA 5 on OEM 19" staggered and see how it turns on this winter. I do however want to get a 20" for coming summer.

 

[Bitjockey]

hows 285/40 at the rear? do u experience any slip on tighter turns? I was trying to find square set up as well, nothing seems to be working. I think i m just gonna go with Michelin PA 5 on OEM 19" staggered and see how it turns on this winter. I do however want to get a 20" for coming summer.

I was concerned having such a wide tire for winter, thought skinnier was better. I drive a lot on rural roads that aren't plowed frequently. Absolutely no issues, very planted, even more so than my old S.

 

[stizzi]

I bought a used set of 19" OEM rims from another owner and got Michelin X-Ices for them, same profile as the original tires. Very pleased with the X-Ices for the past 6 winters on my previous S. Explored other options for a square setup but never found anything that looked appropriate.

Where did you find the 285/40 X-ices? I show they don’t exist

 

[Bitjockey]

Where did you find the 285/40 X-ices? I show they don’t exist

My bad, my winter tires are bagged up and not readily accessible at the moment. I checked my KalTire invoice from last September, they are Michelins but not X-Ices, they are Pilot Alpins PA4. Hope this helps.

 

[stizzi]

My bad, my winter tires are bagged up and not readily accessible at the moment. I checked my KalTire invoice from last September, they are Michelins but not X-Ices, they are Pilot Alpins PA4. Hope this helps.

Do you mind also posting the load rating? The ones I can find online are below the minimum recommended spec for the Model S.

 

[Klyde99]

Do you mind also posting the load rating? The ones I can find online are below the minimum recommended spec for the Model S.

His PA4 probably looks similar specs with mine, likely using 255 front instead of 245, I just got the PA5 (newer PA line) for this winter, getting them fitted by this mid oct.

 

[Proppilot]

best of luck on your Y delivery! I did read into X-ICE it definitely get the job done for majority of the cars without much issues, but for high performance + heavy car, I assume they are more demanding on tires, I am not too sure myself hence this thread seeking opinions.

I am running a square setup of X-ICE on Replika 241 rims on my MSLR and the performance last winter was excellent. You have to keep the car in CHILL mode as they have a softer side wall and will catch your attention if you tromp it while cornering while in INSANE mode

 

[rraj2k81]

Called a whole bunch of places to get winters for the 19s, and no one have the 285/40s in stock or unable to get it.
And the Nokian R5 EV is pretty much non existant across Ontario.

Finally, one shop was able to get me the Michelin Alpine PA4s.

 

[Bitjockey]

Finally, one shop was able to get me the Michelin Alpine PA4s

The load index for my PA4s is 100 (800kg) for the fronts, 103 (875kg) for rears. Looked for specs in Tesla documentation and couldn't find minimum load index requirements. I did drive all of last winter with these and had no issues.

 

[rraj2k81]

The load index for my PA4s is 100 (800kg) for the fronts, 103 (875kg) for rears. Looked for specs in Tesla documentation and couldn't find minimum load index requirements. I did drive all of last winter with these and had no issues.

Yeah, those are the specs I got too. The stock is 103/107.
So, with these tires the Max load would be 3350kg as opposed to the stock max load of 3700kg.
As you mentioned it should be fine.

 

[clayton006]

Yeah, those are the specs I got too. The stock is 103/107.
So, with these tires the Max load would be 3350kg as opposed to the stock max load of 3700kg.
As you mentioned it should be fine.

I had something similar to this on my Model S Plaid last year when I took delivery in December. Couldn’t find the winter PZeros anywhere in stock for my 19” wheels. I settled on some Winter Sotozero 3’s that matched the front but not the rear load rating. Checked the axel weight with tire rack and I had a good 600lb margin between the tire and what the axel was rated for. Discount tire wouldn’t mount them, but my own tire shop, and Tesla service did.