Winter Tires?

[daghb]

What is your firmware daghb?
[...]
The other swede has firmware 4.1.28.33 in an Roadster Sport 2.0 (2010).

I also have 4.1.28.33

BTW, I had an incredible trip today - 110 km drive through mountain hills with 2-3 cm of powder snow on the road. In some turns I could feel it was a bit slippery (ice beneath the powder), but the TC is simply great when accelerating on the long stretches. Also, I did a few 180 degree turns (the road is quite steep) - but generally I think the Roadster behaves better on snow than my Ford Mondeo (2005). I guess the tires will have to take a bit of blame here - the Ford uses spike tires, and the Roadster has winter tires without spikes. I've generally driven a lot more without spikes the last 20 winters of my driving career and fancy both the more quiet way of driving, together with a bit more defensive driving when wet ice takes over. But for all other conditions I favor the spike-less tires.

So, being "high" in a Tesla Roadster with good music on through an old fashioned winter storm is great for my soul :biggrin:

 

[f0x]

I also have 4.1.28.33
.....

I had misunderstood! He had some warnings, but can use the custom rims and Michelin tyres.

Nice trip!

 

[daghb]

I had misunderstood! He had some warnings, but can use the custom rims and Michelin tyres.

Nice trip!

Good! BTW, I just started commuting some of the working days in my Roadster. That's 185 km (115 miles) each way and with charging in between. Not much use for winter tires this far as temperature goes, though - 5-7C (41-45F) with wet roads, no ice.

 

[daghb]

BTW, I got an email from Tesla about a week ago telling me to update the firmware when I change back to summer tires. Don't know why, though.

Alex@Tesla writes: "Due to the innovative nature of your Roadster the firmware will require an update when you change back to Summer Tyres. We would ask you to contact your Tesla Service manager prior to doing this so that we can assist you. "

 

[Neb]

Alex@Tesla writes: "Due to the innovative nature of your Roadster the firmware will require an update when you change back to Summer Tyres. We would ask you to contact your Tesla Service manager prior to doing this so that we can assist you. "

They're telling me it's because the TC algorithm "learns" the new tire characteristics and then is "confused" by the original ones. I suspect what really happens is that the additional (better) traction provided by the stock tires is no longer taken advantage of once the TC algorithm has shifted to a more degraded level of performance when handling the winter tires.

Ben

 

[daghb]

Ben, that could easily be true. Even when driving on dry roads, acceleration isn't even in the same league as it was before changing to winter tires. Well, the concept of living in countries where the sun is visible from zero to 5 hours a day means you have to sacrifice... I guess it's a good thing I don't have to drive the Roadster in Spitsbergen

 

[f0x]

I changed wheels and tires on my 2010 Roadster. I bought Nokian Hakkapelitta R (195/55R16 front and 225/45R17 rear) which is slightly outside the Tesla recommended winter tires. After the change the Roadster would only run at about 30 km/h (20 miles/h) with TC reducing power. I disabled TC and drove for 20 km (12 miles), after that I was able to enable TC and the Roadster behaved normal again. To be sure that everything worked fine, I drove on a icy road and tested that TC worked both with acceleration and regen. The firmware had automatically learned the new tires. My sales rep tels me that this can only be done once.

I have read (in the owners forum) that later versions of the firmware have a button "learn new tires", that can be used when you change tires. I guess I need this firmware before we get summer in Sweden :wink:

There is one problem with the front tires. When the steering is turned 5 - 10 degrees the outer edge of the tires are touching the mudguards :frown:

 

[user497]

What are people doing in 2010/2011?

Hi all, I know this thread is a little old but I figured it was appropriate. I am looking to get snow tires on my 2.0 and I also want to get a new set of wheels for the snow tires. My current plan is to put the snow tires on my existing aluminum wheels and buy a set of 2.0 Sport black wheels to put my summer tires on (not the new 2.5 black wheels). Does that sound like a reasonable approach? Tesla is quoting me around $2k for the 4 new weeks which seems a little steep but how does that sound to this community?

Thanks,
Josh

 

[stenkb]

In Canada - It cost me $1200 for four new pirelli snowsports installed on my current set of rims. They are much cheaper in the US for the same tires.

Kevin

 

[user497]

I was quoted around $800 for the 4 snow tires which seems to be pretty reasonable. These are the snow tires Tesla recommends (although I don't know the manufacturer).

Kevin, I see you decided to keep the same wheels. Is it a hassle to change the tire twice a year? How much are you paying each time? I figured in the long run the new wheels you end up being cheaper and less hassle (not to mention giving the car a different look) than using one set of wheels. But I've never used snow tires before so this is just what I've gathered from friends and other postings.

 

[tdevince]

2K is what I paid for the winter tires and wheels. The biggest part of the price is the wheels. When you swap wheels, you'll need Tesla's TPMS tool to tell your car it has new transmitters in the tires. The tool uses a Tesla proprietary modification to communicate with the car. Tesla is allowing me to borrow their tool for the cost of shipping. However, I will also buy a tool of my own from Tesla so I don't have to borrow their tool twice a year when I swap wheels from summer to winter and back again.

 

[tennis_trs]

... Is it a hassle to change the tire twice a year? ...

Probably add another time or two per year to replace the rear tires if you drive a reasonable number of miles a year.

 

[stenkb]

It only costs me about $50 to have a set of tires changed out on my rims - so pretty cheap really.

The sad part for me is that 2 weeks after getting my snow tires on - I got sideswiped - and bet I won't be driving it again until Spring now when repairs complete.