Winter Tires and Rims - Canadian Availability

[beeeerock]

by the way, what do people think of the OEM all-seasons that come with the car as summer tires? I believe the car comes with Michelin Primacy XMX4, if not mistaken.

I have no complaints with them. Seem to be a good compromise between wear/stickiness/noise.

back to @beeeerock's comments... actually I'm not a big fan of all-season tires myself, though I am intrigued a bit my these relatively recent all-weather tires like the WRG3 (a friend raves about his Hankook Optimo 4S tires, though I know those aren't applicable in these sizes). I'm used to separate sets of performance summers and winters on my old car and changing them myself. So I know the tradeoff of performance vs convenience. maybe I'm getting old and lazy and figuring maybe I can live with all-weathers - and also not having to buy a new heavier-duty jack required for this heavy car to continue my own wheel changes.

I think it will depend largely on your driving style. I know that my foot is heavier now than it was when I could hear the ICE straining and guzzling fuel. A sedate start from a light often surprises me when I look back and see how far back the other traffic is. I think that the WRG3 is also a compromise, like all seasons, but with summer conditions rather than winter. I've always considered an all-season to be a three season tire, that *might* also be legal in the winter. With that in mind, I suspect the WRG3 would be fine for a typical minivan or SUV, but I have to question whether it would perform as you'd like on a Model S... unless you plan to drive it gently. My opinion, for what it's worth... (likely not too much!)

I can confirm this after putting on R2's last week. Drove 120 km on the 401 highway the other night and averaged 175 Wh/km, about the lowest I've seen so far, easily on par with the OEM summer tires.

I'm seeing similar numbers to my OEM Primacy's, with some allowance for colder temperatures. In other words, I'm not seeing an obvious energy hit from the R2's which kinda surprises me... even though they're designed for low rolling resistance. I'm happy with them so far and look forward to confirming they're as good in the snow as my older Nokians were.

 

[f-stop]

[...] I think it will depend largely on your driving style. I know that my foot is heavier now than it was when I could hear the ICE straining and guzzling fuel. A sedate start from a light often surprises me when I look back and see how far back the other traffic is. I think that the WRG3 is also a compromise, like all seasons, but with summer conditions rather than winter. I've always considered an all-season to be a three season tire, that *might* also be legal in the winter. With that in mind, I suspect the WRG3 would be fine for a typical minivan or SUV, but I have to question whether it would perform as you'd like on a Model S... unless you plan to drive it gently. My opinion, for what it's worth... (likely not too much!) [...]

thanks for the additional feedback. with my current/soon-to-be-former car, I'd say I'm more likely to accelerate hard off the line, or toss it into corners than "drive it gently". With performance winter tires and quattro I actually love to drive in snow . Now, having only driven a 70D for a few hours during 2 test drives on dry roads and still waiting for mine to be produced, I don't know if it's even reasonable to think I should be driving a 1050lb heavier and much bigger car the same way I'm used to - though the Model S does seem to handle nicely for such a heavy car. I guess we'll see...

I forgot to mention my wife has an SUV. Normally my Audi would be our go-to vehicle when winter roads get slick - the all-season Contis on the SUV aren't so good in snow and slush. But we just decided to put a new set of WRG3-SUVs on the SUV for all-year use. (The WRG3-SUV tire has a different tread pattern than the WRG3, so not directly comparable). Maybe what I'll do now is hold off on the winter tire decision for the new 70D - stick with the stock all-season MXM4s for the time being and drive the SUV if really necessary this winter, until I decide... saves me buying a 2nd new set of tires within a month! Meanwhile, keeping an eye out for more MS owner's experiences with either WRG3 vs R2/X-ICE/etc...

an aside: I just noticed that the R2s are only $7 more per tire than the WRG3s (at Kal-Tire). However there's currently a $70/set mail-in rebate on the R2s (no rebate on the WRG3).
So ignoring the cost of an extra set of rims, the R2 are slightly cheaper than the WRG3

 

[green1]

by the way, what do people think of the OEM all-seasons that come with the car as summer tires? I believe the car comes with Michelin Primacy XMX4, if not mistaken.

Because "all-season" tires are useless in real winter conditions.

In Vancouver, in the city, I probably wouldn't bother with anything more than all-seasons, but if you plan to head for the mountains, driving on all seasons is a very unsafe decision. Get winter tires, they can save your life.

 

[beeeerock]

though the Model S does seem to handle nicely for such a heavy car. I guess we'll see...

You know, the S does handle very well - heavy or not. The low center of gravity really helps. I made one test passenger almost toss his cookies on a windy secondary highway (old Merritt highway if you know it). You can really punch it out of the turns. Which makes the quality of the tires that much more important!

I forgot to mention my wife has an SUV. Normally my Audi would be our go-to vehicle when winter roads get slick - the all-season Contis on the SUV aren't so good in snow and slush. But we just decided to put a new set of WRG3-SUVs on the SUV for all-year use. (The WRG3-SUV tire has a different tread pattern than the WRG3, so not directly comparable). Maybe what I'll do now is hold off on the winter tire decision for the new 70D - stick with the stock all-season MXM4s for the time being and drive the SUV if really necessary this winter, until I decide... saves me buying a 2nd new set of tires within a month! Meanwhile, keeping an eye out for more MS owner's experiences with either WRG3 vs R2/X-ICE/etc...

That's probably a good plan. Not to mention, allows you to keep the Tesla out of harm's way... ;-)

an aside: I just noticed that the R2s are only $7 more per tire than the WRG3s (at Kal-Tire). However there's currently a $70/set mail-in rebate on the R2s (no rebate on the WRG3).
So ignoring the cost of an extra set of rims, the R2 are slightly cheaper than the WRG3

Hmmm.... I didn't get anything on the rebate when I bought my tires from Kal Tire a couple of weeks ago... I'll have to look into that. Thanks for the reminder!

 

[f-stop]

You know, the S does handle very well - heavy or not. The low center of gravity really helps. I made one test passenger almost toss his cookies on a windy secondary highway (old Merritt highway if you know it). You can really punch it out of the turns. Which makes the quality of the tires that much more important!

agreed. and yes even during my short test drives I did get the impression the low CG made a big difference. I made sure to punch it on a couple short curves, during the first test drive I think I scared the Tesla advisor.

Hmmm.... I didn't get anything on the rebate when I bought my tires from Kal Tire a couple of weeks ago... I'll have to look into that. Thanks for the reminder!

you can find the rebate info and form at a link on the top of the Kal Tire website. The rebate is good for certain tires including the Hakka R2s purchased between Oct 1 - Dec 31, 2015 via mail-in form. Note there's also an offer for a ski pass or hotel discount at Silver Star when you buy qualifying tires

 

[mknox]

You know, the S does handle very well - heavy or not. The low center of gravity really helps.

Except when it's slippery. RWD or AWD, you're just not going to be able to bend the laws of physics. An object with more mass is going to resist a change in direction more than an object of lower mass. This became very apparent during my first winter with the car. Overall, it's pretty good, but you can really sense the weight when your traction starts to get reduced.

 

[beeeerock]

Except when it's slippery. RWD or AWD, you're just not going to be able to bend the laws of physics. An object with more mass is going to resist a change in direction more than an object of lower mass. This became very apparent during my first winter with the car. Overall, it's pretty good, but you can really sense the weight when your traction starts to get reduced.

Yeah, that's pretty much a given. And confirms the need for good tires. I was really talking about a joy ride on a warm summer day!

I was looking at the sand bags in my garage that were used in my Benz. With AWD and the weight of the car (fairly evenly distributed too, I'd expect) I'm going to assume there is really nothing to be gained by putting them in the front or the back... just more weight to suck energy.

 

[green1]

I was looking at the sand bags in my garage that were used in my Benz. With AWD and the weight of the car (fairly evenly distributed too, I'd expect) I'm going to assume there is really nothing to be gained by putting them in the front or the back... just more weight to suck energy.

Sandbags are actually not a really good idea with any vehicle, sure they give you more traction to get going in the first place, but that just gives you a false sense of security because they also increase your stopping distance and turning radius in slippery conditions. It's generally better to learn how slippery it is when you press the accelerator pedal, so that you don't have to later discover the same thing when you try to hit the brakes.

 

[inottawa]

Except when it's slippery. RWD or AWD, you're just not going to be able to bend the laws of physics.

I only bought the car because it bends the laws of physics

 

[jdw]

Just installed my winter tires ( Michelin X-ICE Xi3) and was pleasantly surprised at how quiet they were - much quieter than the XMX4 all seasons. Slightly softer ride, which is more expected - now all I need is some colder weather ...

 

[S'toon]

So, got my winter tires put on this morning. When it came time to pull out the car though, they said they couldn't turn the key (I don't have a Tesla so it's actually a key).

I took a look at the keys, and the key fob wasn't actually there. I said "Oh, it must have fallen off somewhere." That's when the adventure started. We tore apart the car figuratively speaking, looking for the key. It just wasn't anywhere. The one guy said he put it on the passenger's seat. The other guy said he put in the summer tires from the passenger's door.

Finally, about 1/2 an hour I noticed that the tail lights flashed on whenever the passenger door was closed. I said to myself "That's strange." I looked more closely at the door and door frame. Lo and behold, there was the key. Embedded in a crack in the upholstery of the door. Strangest thing.

 

[dmd2005]

I ordered a set of 21" Grey Turbines and Pirelli Sottozeroes and put Alloygator rim protectors on. After the tread wears out on the Pirellis, will switch the tires to Pilot sport AS and replace the stock 19" Michelin Primacy tires with XIce3 or R2. All my other ICE vehicles used Blizzaks which are great, but are pretty soft amd wore out fast. The other option was to get a set of 20" HRE 303M satin black wheels with Pilot Sports, but the exchange rate is horrible and would have cost close to $10k.

Our family's second Model S just confirmed order and delivery in Dec/Jan will keep the 19" stock wheels and Michelin tires for the winter. If the weather gets dicey I always have my Toyota Tundra with Blizzaks to get around in and the wife can take the MS with the Pirellis Sottozeroes.

 

[f-stop]

Have you looked at tirerack.com? I ordered from a tuner shop in Richmond who have a wholesale account with tire rack. I just went to tire rack's website and picked what I wanted, they got them shipped to their warehouse in Blaine, WA, they import them, and resell them to you at a better price than buying directly from tire rack.

which Richmond tuner shop is that?

also I'm wondering what other local shops in the Lower Mainland have good selection of wheels to fit Model S?
I've bought tires and wheels for previous cars from 1010tires (Volco) here, but that was a number of years ago - would appreciate any pointers to other good local shops if anyone knows of any. thx

 

[dmd2005]

I have nothing but good things to say about Discount Tire in Bellingham. They have great prices and meet or beat anyones advertised price. Have bought 3 sets of wheels and 4 sets of tires from them and they give free lifetime repairs and rotations...luckily I have a friend who lives in Bellingham and allows me to store my wheels/tires in his garage. They repaired a flat with a patch instead of a plug in the past and I've gotten at least a dozen free rotations performed there. If you have friends who live just across the line it is well worth it. They have a great tire and wheel selection and can get most brands.

 

[dmd2005]

Just put on the winter tires (Pirelli Sottozero winter tires) and wheels after installing black Alloygators on the rims. Took about 2.5 hours total to install and swap everything. Gotta bring the stock 19" wheels and Michelins to have Nokian Hakka R2's or WRG3's swapped so that I have a set of all-weathers or winters for the other S90D that will be joining the family hopefully by mid-December. The first pic was at the Service Center in Sept this year at pickup.

- - - Updated - - -

Just noticed I should have lowered the suspension to take the pics as I had it on jack mode still.

Alloygators


Lowered pics





Also noticed the tint at 50% is a little light...maybe thinking of 35% tint for the red MS.

 

[Battman]

Sweet looking winter package. Where did you get your CF spoiler?

 

[dmd2005]

Got it on amazon.com for $290usd. Shipped from China to my receiver in Sumas, WA to save on duty. The weave in the CF is good and consistent. Uses 3M tape to apply onto trunk. 1/3 the price than buying from Tesla...couldn't configure it without a Performance model anyways.

 

[beeeerock]

Just put on the winter tires (Pirelli Sottozero winter tires) and wheels after installing black Alloygators on the rims. Took about 2.5 hours total to install and swap everything. Gotta bring the stock 19" wheels and Michelins to have Nokian Hakka R2's or WRG3's swapped so that I have a set of all-weathers or winters for the other S90D that will be joining the family hopefully by mid-December. The first pic was at the Service Center in Sept this year at pickup.

Wow! Your garage looks absolutely bizarre... Maybe it's just the camera angle, but it almost appears that you can walk ALL the way around your car! :tongue:

 

[f-stop]

Just put on the winter tires (Pirelli Sottozero winter tires) and wheels after installing black Alloygators on the rims. Took about 2.5 hours total to install and swap everything. Gotta bring the stock 19" wheels and Michelins to have Nokian Hakka R2's or WRG3's swapped so that I have a set of all-weathers or winters for the other S90D that will be joining the family hopefully by mid-December. The first pic was at the Service Center in Sept this year at pickup.

nice photos (nice colour choice, too!). Did you install the Alloygators yourself, or have a shop do it - and if so who sells/installs them locally?
ps thanks for the earlier pointer to Discount Tire

 

[mknox]

Wow! Your garage looks absolutely bizarre... Maybe it's just the camera angle, but it almost appears that you can walk ALL the way around your car! :tongue:

If my garage was not so cluttered with junk, I could too. My house, built in 1963 has a much deeper garage than newer construction seems to have. I think when cars started getting smaller, home builders cheaped out and started making garages smaller too. I knew someone back in the '80s who had an older pre-downsizing Ford Thunderbird. This was a mid-size car in it's day, and it wouldn't fit in their brand new home's garage!