Winter Tires for Model X (Dual Motor Performance)

[Parsonsbri]

Good afternoon,
I have been searching the threads and have not been able to find a definitive answer to my questions regarding winter tires for my MX Dual Motor Performance. I have the OEM 22" black onyx wheels with Pirelli Scorpion all season tires on it now.
As another poster stated, I am not fully convinced I need winter tires here in Northeast Ohio (west of Cleveland), but the prevailing opinion seems to be that is the way to go. Unless I can find a used set that fits, I am likely going to buy from Tire Rack and have the tires mounted ahead of time with the sensors, so all I have to do is swap them myself.

So, here are the questions:
- Should I go with 19's or 20's? I am seriously torn here. Seems like the ride might be more comfortable with the 19's and a taller sidewall, but not sure. I also really like the style better of the 20" rims that are available.

- Should I stick with staggered setup or same size all around?

- Finally, I am deciding between the Pirelli Scorpion Winter, or the Blizzak DM-V2

Andy feedback would be quite welcome.

 

[Solarman004]

Good afternoon,
I have been searching the threads and have not been able to find a definitive answer to my questions regarding winter tires for my MX Dual Motor Performance. I have the OEM 22" black onyx wheels with Pirelli Scorpion all season tires on it now.
As another poster stated, I am not fully convinced I need winter tires here in Northeast Ohio (west of Cleveland), but the prevailing opinion seems to be that is the way to go. Unless I can find a used set that fits, I am likely going to buy from Tire Rack and have the tires mounted ahead of time with the sensors, so all I have to do is swap them myself.

So, here are the questions:
- Should I go with 19's or 20's? I am seriously torn here. Seems like the ride might be more comfortable with the 19's and a taller sidewall, but not sure. I also really like the style better of the 20" rims that are available.

- Should I stick with staggered setup or same size all around?

- Finally, I am deciding between the Pirelli Scorpion Winter, or the Blizzak DM-V2

Andy feedback would be quite welcome.

View attachment 481668

I have 19" Blizzaks and the performance is excellent. I went symmetric so I could rotate the tires every winter for better wear, and have slightly better efficiency.
Even with the 19s, I'm seeing about a 5% reduction in effeciency, even after accounting for lower temps. The range reduction hasn't caused any problems.

 

[Daisame]

I would go with 18 or 19. Nineteens may be required to ensure coverage of the break calipers, but I don't know that for sure. In any case either would be better than the 22s for winter driving. Not so much for the added rubber, but simply don't need to spend extra money on wheels and tires for 22in rims that may only be on for 3-4 months out of the year. When caked with snow, not sure you would notice anyway.

Plus if you do slide into something, the extra sidewall may save the rim.

 

[mswlogo]

I wanted non staggered to allow rotating and a wider set of tire options.

I just got the Tesla 19” delivered by Tesla Mobile. Took 31 days. Little pricey but I don’t want any issues with Road side support or repairs using a third party wheel or tire. This will be the first time I use a Performance snow tire vs a traditional (Xice or R3). I have not mounted them yet. But They look great. The Pirelli snows looks highly rated on Tire Rack. I look forward to trying them.

I did see a few sets of 20” Staggered OEM rims on EBay that were reasonable prices. Maybe one set of 19” with snows. Always worth checking ebay and the forum here. I missed one season old 19” set near me by a week. I would have bought. Tesla’s price isn’t that outrageous.

 

[BenP]

It is generally recommend that the minimal wheel width to accommodate a 275/45R20 tire should be 9”. I think it would be better to drop down to a 265/45R20 tire or consider a 20 x 9.0 wheel to keep the setup square.

 

[Parsonsbri]

So, after a lot of research and consultation, I have determined that I may be completely overthinking this.

I decided to go with the staggered setup recommended by Tire Rack.
20" Pirelli Scorpion Winter with Helo 20" black rims. 265/45/R20 front, 275/45/20 rear.
Shipped with the tire sensors and mounted and balanced for less than half of Tesla OEM offering.

I have to say that I was surprised at the excellent customer service at Tire Rack. The consultant was very knowledgeable, so helpful.
I would highly recommend them. I will post some pictures when done this weekend if anyone cares.
Looking forward to doing this myself.

 

[mswlogo]

So, after a lot of research and consultation, I have determined that I may be completely overthinking this.

I decided to go with the staggered setup recommended by Tire Rack.
20" Pirelli Scorpion Winter with Helo 20" black rims. 265/45/R20 front, 275/45/20 rear.
Shipped with the tire sensors and mounted and balanced for less than half of Tesla OEM offering.

I have to say that I was surprised at the excellent customer service at Tire Rack. The consultant was very knowledgeable, so helpful.
I would highly recommend them. I will post some pictures when done this weekend if anyone cares.
Looking forward to doing this myself.

Please share your prices, I doubt you got the tire rack package for $1500.00

Tesla's 20" Staggered Package is $3000.00 (includes mounting on the car (SC or Mobile) if you so wish, I chose not to mount).
Tirerack's 20" Staggered is $2300.00 (same tires, does not include mounting, but usually not expensive and not an issue for DIY).

Tesla's 19" Square Package is $2800.00
Tireracks's 19" Square Package is $2100.00

You could choose Blizzaks which will save maybe $100.00 or so with Tirerack.

Tirerack's wheels will require a centering ring. Blah.
Tirerack's 20" Helo wheels (cheapest) are not the same offset as factory 38mm vs 35mm (OEM). They do offer a 35mm offset wheel but more $$.

Tirerack's 19" Helo wheels (cheapest) are not the same offset as factory 28mm vs 35mm (OEM).
​

Square is slightly narrower in the rear. Probably not enough to be of significance (in snow or efficiency, but a better direction to lean towards).
Square allows rotation to get a little more life out of the tires.
Square and/or 19" gives a few more options on tires and price of tires down the road and cheaper to start with.
19" slight bit more pothole protection.

I don't know of anything positive doing Staggered 20" other than personal preference on the looks.

 

[Parsonsbri]

Please share your prices, I doubt you got the tire rack package for $1500.00

Tesla's 20" Staggered Package is $3000.00 (includes mounting on the car (SC or Mobile) if you so wish, I chose not to mount).
Tirerack's 20" Staggered is $2300.00 (same tires, does not include mounting, but usually not expensive and not an issue for DIY).

Tesla's 19" Square Package is $2800.00
Tireracks's 19" Square Package is $2100.00

You could choose Blizzaks which will save maybe $100.00 or so with Tirerack.

Tirerack's wheels will require a centering ring. Blah.
Tirerack's 20" Helo wheels (cheapest) are not the same offset as factory 38mm vs 35mm (OEM). They do offer a 35mm offset wheel but more $$.

Tirerack's 19" Helo wheels (cheapest) are not the same offset as factory 28mm vs 35mm (OEM).
​

Square is slightly narrower in the rear. Probably not enough to be of significance (in snow or efficiency, but a better direction to lean towards).
Square allows rotation to get a little more life out of the tires.
Square and/or 19" gives a few more options on tires and price of tires down the road and cheaper to start with.
19" slight bit more pothole protection.

I don't know of anything positive doing Staggered 20" other than personal preference on the looks.

I should clarify, it was less than half of the config I wanted. $3k is for silver wheels. Bleh.
It's $5k with the carbon slipstream wheels from Tesla with the Conti tires. Not really a fan of Conti's.
Had those on my old Dodge Magnum and they simply did not wear well.

I chose the staggered setup as I could not find a reason that performance would be affected either way. So, why not go for better looks, even if I'm the only one who knows.

As for the other spec's, don't really care about the centering ring. 3mm offset is not a concern for me. Once they are mounted, who cares. Besides, I can keep looking for a used set of carbon slipstream or other OEM wheels for next year.

I plan on mounting them myself and actually am looking forward to it. I have the jack pad, the lug tweezers and the torque wrench, so why not use them.

A lot of the advice seems to focus on cost, which I find kind of interesting when we are talking about a $100k+ car.
Not really looking for the cheapest option, but I just thought the $5k from Tesla was unecessary right now.
I suppose that using my own rationale, I could have just bit the bullet, but ~$2.5k was better than $5k the way I was thinking yesterday.

Won't know if I made the right choice until I get on the road, but I really appreciate all the feedback.

 

[mswlogo]

I should clarify, it was less than half of the config I wanted. $3k is for silver wheels. Bleh.
It's $5k with the carbon slipstream wheels from Tesla with the Conti tires. Not really a fan of Conti's.
Had those on my old Dodge Magnum and they simply did not wear well.

I chose the staggered setup as I could not find a reason that performance would be affected either way. So, why not go for better looks, even if I'm the only one who knows.

As for the other spec's, don't really care about the centering ring. 3mm offset is not a concern for me. Once they are mounted, who cares. Besides, I can keep looking for a used set of carbon slipstream or other OEM wheels for next year.

I plan on mounting them myself and actually am looking forward to it. I have the jack pad, the lug tweezers and the torque wrench, so why not use them.

A lot of the advice seems to focus on cost, which I find kind of interesting when we are talking about a $100k+ car.
Not really looking for the cheapest option, but I just thought the $5k from Tesla was unecessary right now.
I suppose that using my own rationale, I could have just bit the bullet, but ~$2.5k was better than $5k the way I was thinking yesterday.

Won't know if I made the right choice until I get on the road, but I really appreciate all the feedback.

Fair enough. It was just a little misleading to folks to think tirerack is 50% the cost of Tesla.

Tesla way overprices the Carbon colored stuff which is a separate issue.

I personally don't care for either 20" wheel from Tesla (I have the Silver 20" with the car). I think the 19" OEM looks a little better despite it being a smaller rim. I don't care for carbon wheels (black) but I do like Silver or the Dark Silver (midnight silver range).

I doubt 3mm would be any issue too. I'm a little paranoid with Tesla Service or Warranty down the road. Let's say you run into a shudder problem or some suspension problem and they see 3rd party wheels with different offset and centering rings. They could decide to blame that, I know it would be B.S. but they could. Not saying they ever would but I've heard people rejected for other warranty claims when Tesla should not have. Also let's say you were in an accident (and a wheel broke) and it was a clear defect in suspension that caused it. They see 3rd party wheels and Bzzzt, they say you are on your own. I would not put it past Tesla to use any excuse to not pay up on something (no different for any other brand either). And honestly, I don't blame them. They have not tested the Vehicle with THAT wheel and why should they be liable when it could be a *sugar* wheel, they have no idea and it's not their job to prove that wheel is up to their standards or not. Or even if it was a design issue that the vehicle puts to much stress on a wheel and their wheel would have broke sooner than a 3rd party. So I figure why take a chance. I've been rejected for warranty on other brands for ridiculous stuff.

I've also read on the forums, if roadside loans you a wheel and fixes a flat it's all covered on OEM wheels/tires. It is not with 3rd party. I have no evidence of that, just sharing what I read here. And if true it isn't a huge deal. I'm not even sure they will loan you a wheel if they roadside see's 3rd party wheels. I'm being paranoid. But I just don't want to deal with the slightest chance of issue or even take the time to research it. And even if one roadside guy says no problem, another may not agree.

And I don't care what the legality of rejecting any service due to aftermarket wheels. I don't want to have to hire an attorney to get my repair or claim resolved.

I'm just sharing why I ruled out Tirerack, who I often buy tires from.

I don't care for Continental tires either.

And if you think I'm crazy here is that exact question asked on another name brand and the manufacturers response.

Will aftermarket wheels void warranty?

Why mess with it on a $100K vehicle?

 

[Daisame]

A lot of the advice seems to focus on cost, which I find kind of interesting when we are talking about a $100k+ car.

Hey... the reason some people can afford a $100K car is because they don't spend money on things that don't add value.

 

[alphainfinity]

We live in NW Montana where the winters can be challenging. We run these:

Nokian Hakkapeliitta 9 SUV - Winter tires / Nokian Tires

We have had them on the different Mercedes SUV's we have owned, and now on the Tesla. They are FANTASTIC tires. Best winter tires by far.

 

[Daisame]

We live in NW Montana where the winters can be challenging. We run these:

Nokian Hakkapeliitta 9 SUV - Winter tires / Nokian Tires

We have had them on the different Mercedes SUV's we have owned, and now on the Tesla. They are FANTASTIC tires. Best winter tires by far.

Cool. Thanks for sharing this!

 

[Daisame]

Those are not cheap tires though. How many seasons do you get out of a set? Presuming you have had them for a few years already.

 

[alphainfinity]

On our Mercedes we averaged 3 to 4 seasons. We ran them from December through April up here.

 

[mswlogo]

On our Mercedes we averaged 3 to 4 seasons. We ran them from December through April up here.

On my ICE cars (Jeeps GC's and VW's) we got one set of Nokian's for the life of owning the car. Two cars had over 200K (that's each) on them (on the car, a 3rd might have been winter). I had to replace the steel Rims on one of them. Nokian tires were still good when we sold the cars. When I traded my Jeep in for Model X I sold the Nokian snows for $400. I used the same set for 3 Jeep GC's since 2013 (about 100K miles, again 1/3 on snows so they had roughly 33K on them) and they looked and measure about 1/3 worn.

I wait until first storm and mount them myself and religiously rotate them. And I remove them when it looks like we're are clear of Winter.

You're not supposed to, but I ran one set for 12 years.

 

[alphainfinity]

We run the studded version on ours. The studs wear out faster....

 

[VikH]

We live in NW Montana where the winters can be challenging. We run these:

Nokian Hakkapeliitta 9 SUV - Winter tires / Nokian Tires

We have had them on the different Mercedes SUV's we have owned, and now on the Tesla. They are FANTASTIC tires. Best winter tires by far.

Although I don't run winter tires, the Nokian Hakkas are supposed to be the best.

 

[mswlogo]

Although I don't run winter tires, the Nokian Hakkas are supposed to be the best.

I've run Nokian's forever. But there is no "Best Tire".

I own property in central MA and central NH for reference. Often the winter is worse in MA (lots of Ice).

The Hakka 9's, are studded, I'd never run a studded tire unless I lived on snow all winter
I have run R2, R2 SUV, and R3. They are great.
But they are also a little Noisy, Less Efficient, Little Squirmy and not great Wet Braking.
But they are one of the "Best" non Studded and Studded in Snow/ICE tires.

I went for Michelin X-Ice 3 for Model 3 and Volt because they are noted to be ultra quiet, efficient and had 40K mile Tread Warranty.
They also have issues with wet braking.
But they are also squirmy. Very good on Ice and Snow but not quite as good as Nokian.

For Model X I went with Pirelli Scorpion Performance Snow tire 19" Square (Tesla Store)
Super Quiet, like unbelievably quiet, so far they are like driving in a snow cat in the snow.
They are supposed to be efficient but really hard to measure with Model X frequently heating the battery right now.
But I think they are as good as the summer (20" OEM Staggered) if not better on efficiency.
They are not squirmy at all and they are noted to be much better at wet braking (which is the most common surface next to dry in Winter).
How long they will last, time will tell. At this point I wish I bought them for the Volt too (I just put the X-Ice on the Volt this past week).
Also wish I could run them year round and now can't wait until my OEM tires wear out, not looking forward to putting them back on in the spring. First time ever that I prefer my winter tires over summer ones.

It really depends on your needs and your priorities as to what is "best". Same goes for summer tires.

 

[alphainfinity]

Studded tires are specifically designed to provide superior traction on frozen snow and ice:

Do you need studded winter tires?


I used to run non studded winter tires on my vehicle and studded on my wife’s vehicle. Our weather trends with lots of snow/thaws/freezing cycles favors studded tires.

 

[mswlogo]

Studded tires are specifically designed to provide superior traction on frozen snow and ice:

Do you need studded winter tires?


I used to run non studded winter tires on my vehicle and studded on my wife’s vehicle. Our weather trends with lots of snow/thaws/freezing cycles favors studded tires.

That link was pretty good, below is an exerpt copied from that link. How often are you on Dry vs Ice vs Snow vs Wet?
And how often are you driving fast on Ice vs the other surface conditions?

Are there disadvantages to studded winter tires?
Yes. Studs are really only advantageous in icy and hard-packed snow conditions. When winter roads are dry or wet, studs actually decrease traction potential. In these conditions the tire tread compound is the foundation of tire grip. To a small but noteworthy degree, studs interrupt the crucial interaction between the tire tread and the road surface, which can have a negative effect on stopping distances.

Studs are also known to produce additional road noise, including a ticking sound as the studs contact the pavement. And in snowy, slushy, or mixed conditions, the traction advantages of studs are minimal.