Would you drive a MS in a winter climate without snow tires?

[Klau2]

Why not get Uber/Lyft on snow days that you have to go out? I just find it so wasteful to get brand new wheels and tires for 2 months. I mean you might not even really need it if it doesn't snow that much. Another option is get a used set of 19s with tires, I seen them on facebook market for under 1k all the time. When you trade in your car, keep the 21in and sell those. pretty sure you will end up coming ahead if you do that. Unless Tesla requires you to trade in with the 21in, then just sell the 19s again. you probably will lose a little bit, but no point buying brand new wheels and tires for 2 months.

This is the exact reason I don't want 21in w/ performance tires. They wear faster, easier to bend, and the trouble of changing tires for winter just not worth it for me.

 

[Geek190]

Welcome to Utah!
The 21's you've got on it aren't arachnids are they?
I agree that putting regen in low and set it to chill should probably do just fine.
I've lived in Utah my whole life and never needed snow tires. We get plenty of snow, but it isn't cold enough here for it to stick around. It's often times melted off the road before the end of the day. Just drive slow and don't attempt parleys until the plows have made a run through it. The trick to driving in snow is to slow down early. Really early.

 

[Ostrichsak]

The definition of irony is someone driving a six figure car putting their safety in clear danger over a few hundred dollars.

Saying you're out $2k assumes you'll pull the wheels/tires off of the car and throw them in the dumpster. If you're being realistic in your consideration you'll realize that in reality you may be out 10-20% of that if you resell them here, on Craigslist, Facebook, or many other markets.

Better yet, buy a used set of Tesla 19's with all season or winter tires already installed on them and run them for a few months and then resell them when you're done. You could even sell the 21" wheels/tires now if storage is an issue as the trade value won't differ much to justify the efforts required when you could sell them now at a premium. This would be the lowest out-of-pocket option.

If you have the budget, you could go with something like a 19" Arachnid replica from Tsportline (PM me for a $50 discount code) and get both a better looking wheel (subjectively of course) and something better suited for all season driving. This is exactly what I did on the front range of Colorado and I couldn't be happier. I sold my 21" turbines w/tires and made a few hundred bucks. To be fair, my 21" wheels/tires were removed when brand new so you may not make money but you may only be out a couple of hundred to get a more efficient wheel with far better tires for your driving condition needs.

There's lots of options here but take it from someone who drove on 21" wheels with summer tires in this climate: you do NOT want to consider that an option.

 

[trm2]

Driving in even the slightest bit of snow with SUMMER ONLY tires is a bad, bad, bad, bad idea. We got caught with an unexpected snow one year before I got the snows put on my wife's Camaro, she called me to swap cars, she was not going to drive that car home - and I didn't blame her. It took about an hour to go the 10 miles home with a bunch of close calls.

 

[Tessaract]

No, absolutely not. When my car was new I drove it all of about a mile in snow on the factory tires. It was un drivable - I managed to limp it home in 30-40 minutes over that mile and didn't drive it again until new wheels with snow tires were delivered. It's a champ with snow tires and a joke without.

Snows you buy for the S will fit the X. Don't trade in the new wheels.

Performance summer tires are deadly in even a light dusting (as in less than ½ inch) of snow. I experienced this in the past in my home Ottawa, where my BMW with summer performance tires did a 180˚ rotation with absolutely minimal steering in a gentle curve. Fortunately nothing was damaged, but I would say: do not under any circumstance venture out with even a single snowflake in sight with summer performance tires. I always run snow tires in the winter here. In the neighbouring province of Quebec it's even illegal not run without snow tires in the winter. Here in the "frozen North" we speak from (sometimes bitter) experience...

 

[Prachatice]

Don't do it. A few years ago in my first MS I tried driving in Colorado during a storm and the car was awful. Summer tires and snow do not mix. Don't care how slow or careful you are. It just takes one car pulling in front of you and hitting the brakes and you're done. Bought snow tires for my 21" rims and I can't even tell you how much better the car was. It was an absolute tank in the snow. Drove it skiing all the time - it was awesome! Sold car next spring but unfortunately didn't keep snow tires that I could have used on my current MS with 21" wheels. Sold them for about $800 on Craiglist. So lost about $1200 but probably saved on the carnage that certainly would have ensued without them. I think the ideas of buying used MX wheels and snow tires is best. Plus, you can use them on your new ride. Win-win! Enjoy PC!!

 

[KalJoMoS]

In another tread...
MASTER THREAD: Winter driving advice, winter tire choices, etc.

 

[AMPd]

Saying you're out $2k assumes you'll pull the wheels/tires off of the car and throw them in the dumpster. If you're being realistic in your consideration you'll realize that in reality you may be out 10-20% of that if you resell them here, on Craigslist, Facebook, or many other markets.

Better yet, buy a used set of Tesla 19's with all season or winter tires already installed on them and run them for a few months and then resell them when you're done. You could even sell the 21" wheels/tires now if storage is an issue as the trade value won't differ much to justify the efforts required when you could sell them now at a premium. This would be the lowest out-of-pocket option
.

I was about to post just this same thing
OP just get some used winter tires and wheels and then resell them once you trade the car in
You’ll lose at most a few hundred bucks. If that.

I will also add that I was caught in a snow storm in the Sierra mountains a few years back with my model s running 21in wheels, summer tires, terrible idea to risk driving like that. But I did, my car felt like I was driving on hockey pucks, absolutely no traction or stability. No way will I do that again, I’d rather sleep in the car than drive it.

 

[Hugh Mannity]

Is there an all weather tire option with 21? That way you get “decent” winter traction and don’t need another set of wheels.

Oh and to answer your original question. No I would not drive the S without winter rated tires!

 

[IslandHydro]

I bought my 15 P85D last spring. First put a deposit on one in Chicago, intending to drive it back to WA state (across some mountain passes in March). It had 21's on it, and after some research on those wheels and the tire options available, I moved my reservation to a different car, with 19's. Everything I read about the 21's (other than the look) made me want the 19's instead. If I were you I'd do what some have suggested already, and buy some wheels that you can then use as winter wheels on your X and just hold on to them.

 

[amallah]

I live in Maryland, not even in our version of mountains. I would never drive any car without snow tires in an area that gets snow. There are countless times snow tires saved my ass.

But, here's an n=1 anecdote. One time, at my flat office parking lot, they didn't salt the lot and my 90D, even with winter tires, couldn't completely stop in time and slammed into a curb. I almost stopped in time, but not fast enough. When I was in the shop, lamenting thousands in repairs, the tech walked me over to another S with a nice crack in the frame. He said that the driver lost control on an icy road at 30mph on summer tires and slammed into a low brick base for a mailbox. The gash was maybe the size of a soda bottle, the rest of the car was totally untouched. He said that the car was being evaluated as a total loss (single piece aluminum frame ftl) and to be thankful I had winter tires.

I love the SF bay area, especially the amazing weather which never has to deal with icy driving conditions. You definitely do not want to learn to properly respect ice the hard way. Spend the 2k, you're saving money in the long run. You're extending the life of your summer tires, so there are some savings there you're not accounting for.

 

[badlydrawnboy]

Thanks, everyone, for your replies. You've given me a lot to consider! Follow-up comments/questions:

1) I didn't realize that you could get winter tires for the 21" wheels, so thanks for that recommendation. That said, the Pirelli Winter Sottozeo tires are >$500 each. Seems a lot to pay for tires but worth considering as an option.

2) I like the idea of buying a set of wheels and winter tires that I can use with the MS now, and then put on the MX when I pick it up in December. Just to confirm, if I order a set of 20" wheels that fit the MS, they will also fit the MX—but the tires will need to be different? Or can I use the same 20" wheels and tires on both?

3) I have staggered tires on the MS right now. With new 20" wheels, will the tires still need to be staggered, or can they be the same size? Are the tires staggered on the MX? (I don't think so, but want to confirm.)

Buying used 19" wheels with winter tires (if I can find that combo) for the MS, and then just selling them (or selling the 21" wheels) when I trade it in is another good option. Or, if I sell the MS to a private party, I can sell both sets of wheels with the car and that might increase the value a bit, especially here in Park City.

 

[d.c.palmer]

I thought the system was self calibrating with 50 or so miles of driving, is that wrong? The only thing that should change is the rolling circumference, but that changes every time you put new tires on with deeper tread, and normal tire replacement doesn’t require recalibration of the car systems. I’m still on original tires, please let me know if I have any of this wrong.

This is partly true. However, if one has a vehicle with staggered 21" wheels (i.e., rears have a larger diameter and width than the fronts) and one switches to a square configuration (i.e., front and rears are the same), then the car will end up pointing upwards at a slight angle. I was told by Tesla that this (small) difference is enough to require a recalibration - both rear suspension, and the auto-pilot camera. (Yes, I would have thought that the air suspension would sort things out - but apparently not.)

Why is this relevant to the discussion? Unfortunately, Pirelli no long sell the 265/35 winter tyre, so one would have to buy four 245/35 tyres (and ideally, four lots of the 245/35 alloys) - in other words, as "square" configuration.

 

[badlydrawnboy]

This is partly true. However, if one has a vehicle with staggered 21" wheels (i.e., rears have a larger diameter and width than the fronts) and one switches to a square configuration (i.e., front and rears are the same), then the auto-pilot camera will be pointing at a different angle, relative to the road (it'll be pointing up, into the air - slightly). I was told by Tesla that this (small) difference is enough to require a recalibration.

Thanks for this, as I would have had no idea. Guess I could just avoid using autopilot for the 2 months I have the MS before I get the MX.

In some ways, it seems like the easiest solution might be for me to get the 21" Pirelli Sottozero tires, even though that would be >$2k. Then I could sell the MS to a private party with both the summer and winter tires, or I could trade in the MS with the summer tires and sell the Pirellis since they'll only be ~2 months old.

 

[d.c.palmer]

In some ways, it seems like the easiest solution might be for me to get the 21" Pirelli Sottozero tires, even though that would be >$2k. Then I could sell the MS to a private party with both the summer and winter tires, or I could trade in the MS with the summer tires and sell the Pirellis since they'll only be ~2 months old.

Don't forget about the differences in rim sizes for the rear tyres - if your Summer tyres are "staggered", that is (and your Winter tyres are not). You'd need to factor in the cost of at least two more alloys to hold your winter rear tyres.

Alternatively, you could try your luck with Tesla's 19" winter wheel package, which would be cheaper - but again, you may - or may not - need to get the system recalibrated. Other owners might have more inside knowledge about whether, in reality, this really makes much difference.

 

[badlydrawnboy]

Don't forget about the differences in rim sizes for the rear tyres - if your Summer tyres are "staggered", that is (and your Winter tyres are not). You'd need to factor in the cost of at least two more alloys to hold your winter rear tyres.

Alternatively, you could try your luck with Tesla's 19" winter wheel package, which would be cheaper - but again, you may - or may not - need to get the system recalibrated. Other owners might have more inside knowledge about whether, in reality, this really makes much difference.

Sorry, just to make sure I understand your first comment... you're just reminding me to make sure I get different size Pirellis for the front/back wheels if I do end up going in that direction?

 

[badlydrawnboy]

Okay, I'm starting to look into buying a set of wheels/tires for the MS now that would also work for the MX once I get it. But is this even possible?

Originally I was assuming that I'd get 20" wheels/winter tires for the MS that I could put on the MX. But when I went to TireRack and entered the MX info, they suggested both 19" and 20" wheels as options. And they had some info suggesting that smaller wheels are actually better for winter driving.

So, I'm just wondering what the best option is here. Should I try to get 19" wheels/winter tires for the MS now that I can then use on the MX, even though Tesla only sells it with 20/22" wheel options now?

And are there even wheels and tires that would fit both vehicles? I'm not clear on that.

 

[AMPd]

This is partly true. However, if one has a vehicle with staggered 21" wheels (i.e., rears have a larger diameter and width than the fronts) and one switches to a square configuration (i.e., front and rears are the same), then the car will end up pointing upwards at a slight angle. I was told by Tesla that this (small) difference is enough to require a recalibration - both rear suspension, and the auto-pilot camera. (Yes, I would have thought that the air suspension would sort things out - but apparently not.)

Why is this relevant to the discussion? Unfortunately, Pirelli no long sell the 265/35 winter tyre, so one would have to buy four 245/35 tyres (and ideally, four lots of the 245/35 alloys) - in other words, as "square" configuration.

How can the rear tires have a larger diameter if the only difference is in the width of the tire?

 

[Chaserr]

Yes it's possible. Wheels for S and X are interchangeable.

 

[f205v]

How can the rear tires have a larger diameter if the only difference is in the width of the tire?

245/35 means that the side of the tire is 85.75mm (35% of 245mm)
265/35 means that the side of the tire is 92.75mm (35% of 265mm)

So, in the first instance you will have a rolling diameter of 21" + 85.75mm = 533.4+(85.75*2) = 704.9mm
In the second instance it would be 21" + 92.75mm = 533.4+(92.75*2) = 718.9mm