Winter tire recommendations

[Jietoh]

Best Winter Tire Package?

So I need some suggestions please. I originally ordered a 70 and tried to get my order changed to a 70D but I was told the following from my sales rep:

"I’m sorry, but your vehicle is on the assembly line, and cannot be modified."

"My sincerest apologies, but rest assured that rear wheel drive is very stable in this vehicle, as the 1400 lb battery pack and 300 lb motor above the drive axel make for a very steady car in all conditions.’m sorry, but your vehicle is on the assembly line, and cannot be modified."

Very disappointed that I could not make the change but my fault for not ordering it in the beginning.

So now I am on to plan B.

Getting a set of winter tires. This is what was suggested by my Tesla sales rep:
[FONT=&quot]http://shop.teslamotors.com/collect...rs/products/winter-wheel-and-tire-set-pirelli

Any thoughts or suggestions of what a good set of tires would be?

Thanks in advance!

[/FONT]

 

[dsm363]

This thread is a good start
Winter tire recommendations

Congrats on the car. With proper winter tires you'll still be fine

 

[Kandiru]

Rial Lugano OE Cap, Michelin X-Ice, and $20 Tesla gray or silver center caps from your friendly service department.

For price and quality it beats all else, unless you get the BBSs.

The Canadians here swear by X-Ices on this forum and who is better equipped to comment?

Furthermore, the Michelins have the X-Green low rolling resistance rating, should extend the range.

If you have red and white car these look gorgeous:

Who want my 19" OE wheels and all seasons? I am getting some Conti DWs for summer on same wheels.

 

[webbbcam]

Rial Lugano OE Cap, Michelin X-Ice, and $20 Tesla gray or silver center caps from your friendly service department.

For price and quality it beats all else, unless you get the BBSs.

The Canadians here swear by X-Ices on this forum and who is better equipped to comment?

Furthermore, the Michelins have the X-Green low rolling resistance rating, should extend the range.

If you have red and white car these look gorgeous:
View attachment 107707

Who want my 19" OE wheels and all seasons? I am getting some Conti DWs for summer on same wheels.

I purchased the exact same wheels, tires and inserts from tire rack. They delivered them promptly.
We have had a very snowy and icy winter so far and have been extremely pleased with the tires.

John

 

[StaceyS]

I think you'll be just fine with RWD and snow tires. In fact, I'd say 70 with snow tires would be better than a 70D with the factory Tesla tires.

I've got a similar setup, but I went with Dunlop Wintersport 3D snow tires. I've had them on previous cars and enjoyed their performance. So far, the Model S has been the best snow car we've ever owned. Ours is a P85.

 

[JeffS]

Rial Luganos here too. Michelin X Ice 3s. Very pleased. Wisconsin, S85 RWD.

 

[SmartElectric]

Canadian RWD owner here. We also swear by Nokian tires for heavier snow.

See my post:
Is the Model S made for Canadian winters? - Page 4

We've found the traction on our Tesla superior to our previous Mercedes AWD SUV which had "all seasons" (no seasons really) on it.

 

[vesder21]

i skipped out on tire rack's Rial Luganos because of some inconsistency (in the forums) on how they hold up after hitting pot holes. instead i ended up buying a set of OEM "19's, 4 TPMS sensors from the SC and the Michelin X-Ice XI3's from discount tire.

 

[dmd2005]

Another vote for Nokian R2's or even Michelin X-Ice 3's. I don't recommend the Pirelli Sottozeroes from Tesla for a rear drive winter setup...a bit sketchy on slushy or slick roads with our 90D with them. I have Bridgestone Blizzaks on my Toyota Tundra and they are good for first 45% of treadlife, but after the top layer of compound wears off traction falls off significantly...excellent traction for first couple of seasons though. Also, Hankook iPikes are garbage compared to the Nokians and Michelins from personal experience...I got rid of my iPikes after one season on a previous vehicle after slipping around a few times.

 

[theslimshadyist]

I purchased the exact same wheels, tires and inserts from tire rack. They delivered them promptly.
We have had a very snowy and icy winter so far and have been extremely pleased with the tires.

John

If you don't mind me asking, what did you pay for the package from Tire Rack? Very nice looking setup!

 

[JeffS]

If you don't mind me asking, what did you pay for the package from Tire Rack? Very nice looking setup!

$2,130 all in.

 

[Cottonwood]

Another vote for Nokian R2's or even Michelin X-Ice 3's. I don't recommend the Pirelli Sottozeroes from Tesla for a rear drive winter setup...a bit sketchy on slushy or slick roads with our 90D with them. I have Bridgestone Blizzaks on my Toyota Tundra and they are good for first 45% of treadlife, but after the top layer of compound wears off traction falls off significantly...excellent traction for first couple of seasons though. Also, Hankook iPikes are garbage compared to the Nokians and Michelins from personal experience...I got rid of my iPikes after one season on a previous vehicle after slipping around a few times.

I have had great results with the Nokian Hakka R2's as well. I use them on a 2WD P85 and an AWD P85D.

See my reports at Nokian Hakkapeliitta R2 Snow Tire Report - Page 6 and Nokian Hakkapeliitta R2 Snow Tire Report - Page 7 for some detailed analysis.

If you want to get Tesla 19" rims, they regularly come on the Tesla Parts for Sale page from people upgrading wheels.


My Pagosa driveway is a good test. The 2WD P85 does fine on Nokian snow tires when it is plowed. The AWD P85D does great, even with 6" of fresh, wet snow.

P85 (2WD) going up my Pagosa driveway with Nokian snow tires:

P85D (AWD) going up my Pagosa driveway with Nokian snow tires:

 

[EternalChampion]

I purchased the 21" winter wheel set with Pirelli Sottozero 3s from the mothership. I've never had winter tires on a vehicle before, but I can say they're the bomb despite some recently nasty conditions here.

 

[Chris]

That is good to know. One of my OEM Sottozeros 19" (Serie II) has a puncture which cannot be repaired. Tread is down to maybe 20% so I am probably looking at a whole new set of winter tires. As many here I don't think those tires are particularly good, however the Sottozero 3 is getting really good reviews at tirerack. Have they improved the tire? (Mid Atlantic region here).

 

[Andyw2100]

This is my second winter on the Pirelli Sottozero 2 tires that came as part of the Tesla winter wheel package. I decided part way into the first winter last year that when these tires needed replacing I'd go with the Nokian Hakkapeliitta R2s that everyone loves so much.

I'm wondering if anyone here has actually already switched from the Pirelli Sottozero 2s to the Hakkas on a dual motor Model S, and if so, just how significant did you find the improvement? Obviously I'm really hoping for a significant improvement over the kind of experience I'm having now with the Pirellis.

As an example, just a couple of days ago I had to go out and rescue my wife and the Model S from the bottom of our somewhat steep driveway. There were only a couple of inches of snow on the ground, but it was a wet and slippery snow, and there may have been a freezing rain component as well, so there was some degree of difficulty involved. Even so, I was pretty surprised at how poorly our AWD P85D, with snow tires performed. My wife had gotten the car stuck motionless near the bottom of the driveway. She had forgotten completely about slip start, and also had not wanted to back down the driveway in neutral, which was all just as well. I went out and had no trouble backing into the street and with slip start engaged relatively easily got up the first 2/3 of our driveway, though the back end did move sideways more than I would have liked it to. There is a 90 degree turn at the 2/3 point, followed by a part that is at least as steep as any other part. This can be an issue if you don't take the turn fast enough to maintain momentum, and I definitely did not do that, with the back end of the car as loose as it had been. (The driveway is also somewhat narrow, and lined with trees.) I was pretty surprised that I was unable to make it up the last 1/3, even after stopping and starting a few times, and even after allowing the car to roll back a bit to a flatter part of the driveway. Throughout this time, whenever I tried to do pretty much anything, the car was sliding a lot more than I was comfortable with, given the proximity of the trees. Eventually I decided to back the car down beyond where the turn was, as the driveway extends out a bit in that direction, for an extra parking spot. With that additional space, and starting out centered to allow room to slide to either side, I was able to make it the rest of the way up. But I really have to hope that in the same conditions, with Hakka R2s my wife would have driven up on her own, without any issue whatsoever.

So...can someone who has actually made the change from the Pirelli Sottozero 2s to the Hakka R2s reassure me that they will be as much better as I am hoping they will be?

Thanks!

 

[Chris]

@Andyw2100 I feel your pain. That's pretty much the experience I had with the Sottozero 2 which is why I am reluctant going with the 3s. Don't have first-hand experience but judging from the videos out there you'd probably been fine with the Hakka

 

[Andyw2100]

@Andyw2100 I feel your pain. That's pretty much the experience I had with the Sottozero 2 which is why I am reluctant going with the 3s. Don't have first-hand experience but judging from the videos out there you'd probably been fine with the Hakka

I'm definitely getting the Hakka's when the Sottozero 2's need replacing. I'm just hoping to hear from someone who has made the switch that the difference will be everything I'm hoping for.

Part of my concern is that there are some people who actually seem happy with the snow performance of the car with the Tesla winter wheel package and the Sottozero 2 tires. I can't tell to what extent those people and the people who are happy with the Hakka 2s are having different experiences. I'm pretty confident that they are, but the thing that would reassure me the most would be hearing it from someone who has actually experienced both sets of tires on the same car.

As an aside, why would you consider the Sottozero 3s when everyone raves about the Hakkas? I know people like the 3s better than the 2s, but even so, the Hakkas seem to be a known quantity. Is it a question of getting Tesla to install them, etc?

 

[Lyon]

I seem to recall a gentleman writing about his experience switching from the Tesla offered tire to the Hakka 2. This was really early on (2012-13?) and on a RWD car. The Hakkpellita 2 were dramatically better.

Also, I can tell you my dad had the Pirellis on his RWD for a season and is now on the Nokian WRG3 which has been much better. The WRG3 is not as hard core at the Hakkpellita R2. Get the Hakkpellita, I can't guarantee you'll be able to get up that driveway but you'll have a much better chance.

 

[Andyw2100]

I seem to recall a gentleman writing about his experience switching from the Tesla offered tire to the Hakka 2. This was really early on (2012-13?) and on a RWD car. The Hakkpellita 2 were dramatically better.

Also, I can tell you my dad had the Pirellis on his RWD for a season and is now on the Nokian WRG3 which has been much better. The WRG3 is not as hard core at the Hakkpellita R2. Get the Hakkpellita, I can't guarantee you'll be able to get up that driveway but you'll have a much better chance.

Thanks!

Hearing this makes me feel more confident about the fact that things will improve significantly when I make the switch.

 

[Lyon]

Thanks!

Hearing this makes me feel more confident about the fact that things will improve significantly when I make the switch.

No problem. I ran a quick search (I want to find that early comparison) and came across this thread. Read the top couple comments. You'll feel even better!