Winter tire purchase/install report

[scissorfighter]

Nothing special here, just a ho-hum report that might be helpful to some considering winter tires. IMHO the stock 19" Continentals on the MYLR are terrrrrible in the snow; after our first minor storm of the season I had some very sketchy rides that left me terrified to drive the MY until the roads dried out again. Far worse than any other vehicle I've driven, perhaps compounded by the aggressive regeneration (speculation).

Anyhoo, I ordered some Vredestein Wintrac Pros from TireRack (Vredestein Link) and some Enkei Hornet wheels to go with (Enkei Hornet Wheels), along with Tesla TPMS. I placed the order on Nov. 12 and received it exactly one month later.

The mounted/balanced wheels arrived via UPS in just one day after shipment from TireRack. The month delay prior to shipping was due to the Tesla TPMS sensors being out of stock. Each tire was well protected in a cardboard sandwich and all arrived with no damage.

The stock Continental/Gemini wheels came off easy of course, but I had to go find a non-impact 13/16" deep socket in order to get the lug nuts on the Enkei Hornet wheels. My 13/16" impact socket wouldn't fit in the bolt holes on the Hornets because the socket walls were too thick. A standard socket fit fine with its thinner walls.

After applying a thin coat of anti-sieze compound to the back of the wheel mounting surface, I mounted up each and torqued to the required 129 lbf-ft. Below is a picture of the dirty finished product (sorry, no time for a wash today!)

When we get some more snow I'll post a follow-up report.

 

[schristo43]

21mm. My MAC impact fits perfectly...

 

[scissorfighter]

21mm. My MAC impact fits perfectly...

You can go 21mm yes, but the TireRack-supplied nuts that come with the Hornets are just a hair smaller than the Tesla stock nuts, so 13/16 is a better fit.

 

[Stach]

NIMHO the stock 19" Continentals on the MYLR are terrrrrible in the snow; after our first minor storm of the season I had some very sketchy rides that left me terrified to drive the MY until the roads dried out again. Far worse than any other vehicle I've driven
View attachment 617403

We had our first 5" snow yesterday and I completely agree with your assessment, the Continentals SUCK in snow! My RWD Model 3 had far better traction and control on the stock 18" Aero's, than my AWD Model Y on stock Gemini's.

 

[jf64k]

FYI, from the MY manual:

NOTE: Installing winter tires with aggressive compound and tread design may result in temporarily-reduced regenerative braking power. However, your vehicle is designed to continuously recalibrate itself, and after changing tires it will increasingly restore regenerative braking power after some moderate-torque straight-line accelerations. For most drivers this occurs after a short period of normal driving, but drivers who normally accelerate lightly may need to use slightly harder accelerations while the recalibration is in progress.

WARNING: In snowy or icy conditions Model Y may experience traction loss during regenerative braking.

 

[ganari]

FYI, from the MY manual:

NOTE: Installing winter tires with aggressive compound and tread design may result in temporarily-reduced regenerative braking power. However, your vehicle is designed to continuously recalibrate itself, and after changing tires it will increasingly restore regenerative braking power after some moderate-torque straight-line accelerations. For most drivers this occurs after a short period of normal driving, but drivers who normally accelerate lightly may need to use slightly harder accelerations while the recalibration is in progress.

WARNING: In snowy or icy conditions Model Y may experience traction loss during regenerative braking.

They need to allow us to control that regenerative braking!

 

[aahann]

After driving about ten miles in 20F ambient temperature and 70% charge on board, absolutely no regenerative braking - didn’t feel it and didn’t see even a hint of green on the indicator. No doubt a contributor to the loss of range generally just attributed to a cold battery.

 

[jdr93]

at 6 degrees F here in the wilds warmed the car for 15 minutes and took off to town. was surprised at how much regeneration occurred. though on a 60+ day i might use 1 mile of energy to go to town (pretty much a flat and downhill drive) today i used 5. lots of green. that included warming the car to 71 from 17 and one bar of driver seat warming. surprised? yes. pleased? yes.

 

[Super_Popular]

Any suggestions for wheel locks?

 

[jcanoe]

Any suggestions for wheel locks?

Generally wheel locks are not worth the trouble. If you can't locate the key socket when you need it you, not good. Then consider that everyone with a smart phone or a computer has access to videos like this one:

 

[MY-Y]

Tire store wanted to charge $100 to remove tire locks when we got a car with no key. I just hammered a socket on them like the video shows and had all four of them off in a couple of minutes. Tire locks are silly.

 

[Super_Popular]

I bought a set of Advance Wheel Locks, they were $125 shipped to me and were the highest recommended so we will see!

 

[lesol]

I’m trying to get winter tires for my model Y RP, in Ottawa and it’s hard to find any. Found the Michelin Alpin PA4 in a package with the ART Replica 214 for almost $3000. Any experience with these tires/rims?

 

[Freewheeler]

I have the Vredestein Quatracs on 19" +45 MW03's and I like them so far. The car is a bit more responsive, particularly the steering, than when the Ubers were on, and I get the range boost similar to 19" Geminis. Didn't go full winter as I don't think the Ubers/P Zeros will be going back on the car. They are really heavy!

 

[Mungo]

Apologize in advance for my ignorance: Looking to trade in my 3 for a Y this week, and I want to put on snow tires. Getting a second set of rims seems pretty expensive. Any harm in simply swapping the tires off the Gemini rims each spring and fall? Also, any thoughts on the Pirelli Winter Sottozeros?

 

[webbah]

I just installed the Vredestein Quatrac Pro's (new upgraded version from Quatrac 5) on 18's. Absolutely LOVE them! Super quiet and handle great in the rain and snow so far. Couldn't be happier!

 

[Mungo]

Did you buy a separate set of rims or do you swap them out?

 

[kadify]

Apologize in advance for my ignorance: Looking to trade in my 3 for a Y this week, and I want to put on snow tires. Getting a second set of rims seems pretty expensive. Any harm in simply swapping the tires off the Gemini rims each spring and fall? Also, any thoughts on the Pirelli Winter Sottozeros?

Should be ok. I went with a separate set of wheels since I had the 21" uberturbines but if you have 19s already then just swapping tires should work. You'll likely have to pay to swap them twice a year (once in spring/summer and again in fall/winter). I'm not sure if this is standard but most tire shops around me charge $50-$150 to swap tires whereas if you show up with 4 mounted tires that they just need to swap whole wheels onto the car, they will do that for free.

 

[scissorfighter]

Apologize in advance for my ignorance: Looking to trade in my 3 for a Y this week, and I want to put on snow tires. Getting a second set of rims seems pretty expensive. Any harm in simply swapping the tires off the Gemini rims each spring and fall? Also, any thoughts on the Pirelli Winter Sottozeros?

I would advise buying a dedicated set of rims. A new set from TireRack will set you back $1k. Advantages: don’t need to pay 150-300 per season to swap on/off, can do it yourself without the hassle of a garage appointment, rims less likely to be damaged (my local shops would often use low-quality weights when balancing and rims would be scratched/corroded over time,) and finally, those Enkei Hornets look great!

 

[Cmf2455]

Nothing special here, just a ho-hum report that might be helpful to some considering winter tires. IMHO the stock 19" Continentals on the MYLR are terrrrrible in the snow; after our first minor storm of the season I had some very sketchy rides that left me terrified to drive the MY until the roads dried out again. Far worse than any other vehicle I've driven, perhaps compounded by the aggressive regeneration (speculation).

Anyhoo, I ordered some Vredestein Wintrac Pros from TireRack (Vredestein Link) and some Enkei Hornet wheels to go with (Enkei Hornet Wheels), along with Tesla TPMS. I placed the order on Nov. 12 and received it exactly one month later.

The mounted/balanced wheels arrived via UPS in just one day after shipment from TireRack. The month delay prior to shipping was due to the Tesla TPMS sensors being out of stock. Each tire was well protected in a cardboard sandwich and all arrived with no damage.

The stock Continental/Gemini wheels came off easy of course, but I had to go find a non-impact 13/16" deep socket in order to get the lug nuts on the Enkei Hornet wheels. My 13/16" impact socket wouldn't fit in the bolt holes on the Hornets because the socket walls were too thick. A standard socket fit fine with its thinner walls.

After applying a thin coat of anti-sieze compound to the back of the wheel mounting surface, I mounted up each and torqued to the required 129 lbf-ft. Below is a picture of the dirty finished product (sorry, no time for a wash today!)

When we get some more snow I'll post a follow-up report.

View attachment 617403