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My Roadster in the snow

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cinergi

Active Member
Sep 17, 2010
2,176
42
MA
Mounted my camera to the rear window and drove around for 7 minutes in freshly-plowed snow. My first time in the snow. Hankook winter tires. The audio drowned out much more than I thought it would -- sorry about that! Hopefully you'll get an idea that, basically, the Roadster does fine in the snow.

 
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All the time while on the snow. Almost any time you see me accelerating in the video, I'm flooring it. And any time I'm on the snow, the TC is in full effect. The only way you know without looking at the dash is because you're not being thrown back in your seat. It's otherwise flawlessly smooth.
 
I live in Canada, and I'm also driving my Roadster in the snow. At first I was reluctant as my other car is an Audi quattro but I was quite surprised by the Roadster. As cinergi is mentioning traction control is on all the time on the snow. What's fun is that you can floor the car and the rest is handled automatically!

On a related subject, I had the visit of a Tesla technician yesterday and he mentioned Tesla is working on a seal for the doors so that snow does not accumulate. That's good news!
 
Thanks for posting this Ben!...I believe you've got the Hankook snows on...what do you think of them?

Interesting to see the "sideways" slide on the Subaru when coming to a complete stop...the Roadster looked pretty true on the ice.
 
I do have the Hankooks, yes. It's hard to compare since it's on a completely different car than the Subaru. That said, they seem to do quite well. I'm happy with them. They're quieter than the stock tires, and I can get full acceleration on dry pavement. They don't corner as well for sure, though (obviously ... but since only 35% of the weight is on the front tires, it's exacerbated).

The way I tend to drive the Subaru on slippery surfaces is controlled sliding. The Roadster is more about exact control.
 
It doesn't. It's a 6-speed manual transmission.

My previous car had a 6-speed manual transmission and traction control, but the Tesla's traction control is a good bit better (quicker reaction time and reacting just the right amount instead of too much, where my previous car took away more power and for longer than needed); I assume most/all of that is due to having better control of an electric motor than an ICE.
 
My previous car had a 6-speed manual transmission and traction control, but the Tesla's traction control is a good bit better (quicker reaction time and reacting just the right amount instead of too much, where my previous car took away more power and for longer than needed); I assume most/all of that is due to having better control of an electric motor than an ICE.

Wow -- didn't think MT & TC would go together well (due to lack of torque converter to prevent you from stalling). Winter tires for me are just about controlled slipping -- you don't have pavement-level traction and your tires may be spinning out of sync with the movement of the car, but you don't lose control under those circumstances. At least, that's how I drive with them :)
All my ICE vehicles that have had TC are definitely clumsy and slow to react. I'm also assuming it's due to the instant control the PEM has over the motor output that can't be achieved with an ICE.
 
Hey Cinergi,

Watching the video I saw a green light in the center of the speedometer that was blinking on and off. Was that the TC light going on and off?

-Shark2k

That would be the turn signal :smile:

The TC light is yellow and in the lower-center of the KW meter. It's generally blocked unless the steering wheel is in certain positions -- you might be able to notice it (I haven't watched it to see).
 
That would be the turn signal :smile:

The TC light is yellow and in the lower-center of the KW meter. It's generally blocked unless the steering wheel is in certain positions -- you might be able to notice it (I haven't watched it to see).

Ah, the one time I drove a Roadster (MPT's) I didn't even notice the blinker (if I used it at all, I was kind of excited). I should have realized that it was the TC though since it wasn't going on all the time. If you had shot in HD maybe I would have been able to tell better :tongue:.

-Shark2k
 
Since I have and probably never will drive a Roaster in the snow can one of you distill this down for me?

Here's what I gather.

"Another advantage of an electric car is seen in the Tesla Roadster. Since the electric motor speeds up and slows (with regen) almost instantaneously it's traction control is phenomenal in icy conditions. An internal combustion engine with lagging brakes, transmission with it's comparatively sloppy gears just can't compete on slippery surfaces."

Please feel free to rewrite the above.

Thank you


eric
 
Since I have and probably never will drive a Roaster in the snow can one of you distill this down for me?

Here's my pass. BTW, regen and brakes don't play a role here.

"Another advantage of an electric car is seen in the Tesla Roadster. A single-speed transmission combined with the instant response of an electric motor endows the Roadster with a traction control system that gives you the smoothest and safest control you can find. The Roadster effortlessly and seamlessly maintains control on snow and ice. The slower and less accurate response of the internal combustion engine and their transmissions just can't compete."

Curious -- what's this for?
 
Here's my pass. BTW, regen and brakes don't play a role here.

"Another advantage of an electric car is seen in the Tesla Roadster. A single-speed transmission combined with the instant response of an electric motor endows the Roadster with a traction control system that gives you the smoothest and safest control you can find. The Roadster effortlessly and seamlessly maintains control on snow and ice. The slower and less accurate response of the internal combustion engine and their transmissions just can't compete."

Curious -- what's this for?

Thanks Boston!

It's gotta be shorter! :)

It's just for telling people how great Teslas and EVs are. We have another heretofore little known advantage of electrics. I'm adding the final distillation to the repertoire. :)

Should it be compared to a 4 wheel or all wheel drive?