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Newly tested Tesla-recommend winter tires

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cinergi

Active Member
Sep 17, 2010
2,176
42
MA
Just got this from my CA -- another set of winter tires that just passed the Tesla testing routine:

195/50/16 front and225/45/17 rear Hankook W300 Icebear winter tires

That's now in addition to (found in another thread here):

225/45/R17 94V Pirelli Sottozero 240 rear
195/50/R16 Pirelli Snowsport 210 front

I'm having difficulty finding either one in stock anywhere except the Hankook's at 1010tires.com. I've only used Tirerack.com before. Anyone have suggestions on where to find these or if they've got experience with 1010tires.com?
 
Apparently my Sottozero's are just about to ship. I purchased them with rims direct from Tesla.

I'll take some pics once they are here. I am starting to second guess winter driving my Roadster... The car just looks too good for our salty, slushy, dirty winter roads.
 
Re Snow Tires

I live in Toronto Ontario and just received my Tesla Roadster Sport on Oct. 26 and made some inquiries re snow tires. The Pirelli tires are unavailable. However I did purchase the Hankook W300 icebear winter tires and had them installed by a local dealer . They are readily available and I purchased them from 23 tires.com. The cost for the four tires was around $650.00. It is no real big deal in installing. Make sure the installer hand tightens the nuts . I also was able to adjust my suspension while the car was off the ground to a more cushy ride which is suitable for the snow tire.


Just got this from my CA -- another set of winter tires that just passed the Tesla testing routine:

195/50/16 front and225/45/17 rear Hankook W300 Icebear winter tires

That's now in addition to (found in another thread here):

225/45/R17 94V Pirelli Sottozero 240 rear
195/50/R16 Pirelli Snowsport 210 front

I'm having difficulty finding either one in stock anywhere except the Hankook's at 1010tires.com. I've only used Tirerack.com before. Anyone have suggestions on where to find these or if they've got experience with 1010tires.com?
 
I live in Toronto Ontario and just received my Tesla Roadster Sport on Oct. 26 and made some inquiries re snow tires. The Pirelli tires are unavailable. However I did purchase the Hankook W300 icebear winter tires and had them installed by a local dealer . They are readily available and I purchased them from 23 tires.com. The cost for the four tires was around $650.00. It is no real big deal in installing. Make sure the installer hand tightens the nuts . I also was able to adjust my suspension while the car was off the ground to a more cushy ride which is suitable for the snow tire.

Hand tight so as not to scratch the rims? Or another reason..... I had a flat repaired once and they did scratch the bolt holes pretty good.
 
I live in Toronto Ontario and just received my Tesla Roadster Sport on Oct. 26 and made some inquiries re snow tires. The Pirelli tires are unavailable. However I did purchase the Hankook W300 icebear winter tires and had them installed by a local dealer . They are readily available and I purchased them from 23 tires.com. The cost for the four tires was around $650.00. It is no real big deal in installing. Make sure the installer hand tightens the nuts . I also was able to adjust my suspension while the car was off the ground to a more cushy ride which is suitable for the snow tire.

Congratulations on the Roadster. I'd be curious how you find it driving around Toronto this winter. Are you downtown or out in the 'burbs?

I'm in Ottawa, which has somewhat worse winters. It's not uncommon for the street I live on to have unplowed snow deeper than the bottom of the Roadster. Currently I'm not planning on driving it through the winter, but I'd be curious about how it goes for you. Fortunately the weather has been holding here so far!
 
Congratulations on the Roadster. I'd be curious how you find it driving around Toronto this winter. Are you downtown or out in the 'burbs?

I'm in Ottawa, which has somewhat worse winters. It's not uncommon for the street I live on to have unplowed snow deeper than the bottom of the Roadster. Currently I'm not planning on driving it through the winter, but I'd be curious about how it goes for you. Fortunately the weather has been holding here so far!
Hello Doug: I work downtown and drive it to Yonge and Bloor every day . However the weather has held up and I think we are getting our first snow this weekend. I have snows and will try it this winter however I will not drive it when we receive over 6 inches of snow. Hans has photos of his car driving through snow storms last winter and also driving up to ski resorts Barrie Ontario
Regards mitch
 
Hello Doug: I work downtown and drive it to Yonge and Bloor every day . However the weather has held up and I think we are getting our first snow this weekend. I have snows and will try it this winter however I will not drive it when we receive over 6 inches of snow. Hans has photos of his car driving through snow storms last winter and also driving up to ski resorts Barrie Ontario
Regards mitch

Weather has been fantastic here, too, although things are now starting to go downhill.

Tonight I discovered that regen is turned off when the car sits outside a couple of hours below 0 degrees C. It came back after about five minutes of driving. I didn't notice the X-REGEN light, so it caught me a little off guard the first time. Not a big deal because I wasn't going fast, and your instinctive reaction in that situation is to hit the brake anyway. But it might be a good idea this time of year to keep an eye out for that light. Sure felt odd driving it without regen; the thing really rolls.

Also tonight the freezing rain started earlier than forecast. My attempt to gauge the traction resulted in a wiggle, so I took it easy going home. Of course I'm on summer tires, although the snows probably don't make that much difference on ice.

I'll be really interested to hear how you make out with the snows when the first big snowstorm hits.
 
I just spoke with the Toronto store...apparently the Yokohama winter tires are also ok to use...we didn't discuss a model but the Yokohama website ( http://yokohamatire.com ) only shows 1 winter tire...the W-drive.

The asymmetrical tread pattern for the Yokos is almost identical to the Hankooks...I don't know if there is a price difference between the two.
 
I just spoke with the Toronto store...apparently the Yokohama winter tires are also ok to use...we didn't discuss a model but the Yokohama website ( http://yokohamatire.com ) only shows 1 winter tire...the W-drive.

The asymmetrical tread pattern for the Yokos is almost identical to the Hankooks...I don't know if there is a price difference between the two.

A tid bit of information: I am having my Pirelli winter tires put on today - I did ask about the hankook tires - and was told they are a cheap copy of the Pirelli"s and that the Hankook's would wear very fast. I believe they said the Hankook are made in China - need we say more.......

Will update how my driving goes with the new set of tires - we have had a month's worth of snow in the last week here in Alberta.
 
I've had the tires on for about a week now. On dry pavement, they're much quieter than the standard (non-sport) summer tires the Roadster came with. It's easier to steer the car. They're a little softer, and don't have as much traction (of course) -- but it's not as bad as I had feared. I can often get full acceleration but I do ocassionally see TC kick in, especially around corners.
They seem to do fine in the snow -- it's hard to compare against other winter tires (I've only ever had them on my AWD STi) but I no longer worry about getting stuck in the snow (unless I ended up in something too deep for the car to clear).