I've never purchased winter tires before -- all of my vehicles have had all season. I've had my Model S for about 4 days now and I'm thinking seriously of purchasing winter tires, but I'm getting conflicting advice.
I live in southern PA (on the MD border, near the Hagerstown Supercharger). We have some serious snow from time to time, but it's usually dry in between. I drive the highway (I-81) frequently. I have a rather steep driveway that my AWD SUV sometimes couldn't make it up with more than a 1/2" of snow. Just for fun, here's a video of it sliding down the driveway on a thin sheet of ice: Sliding down the driveway - YouTube
I have 19" wheels and the guys at the Service Center told me how great they are in snow... but it might be nice to increase my odds of making it up the driveway.
I suppose my PRIMARY CONCERN is: What are the disadvantages of the winter tires? I'm not sure how much I'm giving up in louder/worse energy use/poor dynamics in dry conditions vs being able to make it up the driveway a couple of times over the winter. I've also been told that they shouldn't be used when the weather still gets over 45 degrees, which is still the case right now.
Of secondary importance is that we are considering a road trip in March to Denver -- about 1600 miles each way. This brings with it several questions. Perhaps winter tires will be an asset if we hit snowy conditions while in Colorado. On the other hand, perhaps the 1000 miles of dry highway (each way) would be a disadvantage for energy use / noise / wear on the tires?
Thanks for any advice!
I live in southern PA (on the MD border, near the Hagerstown Supercharger). We have some serious snow from time to time, but it's usually dry in between. I drive the highway (I-81) frequently. I have a rather steep driveway that my AWD SUV sometimes couldn't make it up with more than a 1/2" of snow. Just for fun, here's a video of it sliding down the driveway on a thin sheet of ice: Sliding down the driveway - YouTube
I have 19" wheels and the guys at the Service Center told me how great they are in snow... but it might be nice to increase my odds of making it up the driveway.
I suppose my PRIMARY CONCERN is: What are the disadvantages of the winter tires? I'm not sure how much I'm giving up in louder/worse energy use/poor dynamics in dry conditions vs being able to make it up the driveway a couple of times over the winter. I've also been told that they shouldn't be used when the weather still gets over 45 degrees, which is still the case right now.
Of secondary importance is that we are considering a road trip in March to Denver -- about 1600 miles each way. This brings with it several questions. Perhaps winter tires will be an asset if we hit snowy conditions while in Colorado. On the other hand, perhaps the 1000 miles of dry highway (each way) would be a disadvantage for energy use / noise / wear on the tires?
Thanks for any advice!