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Questions for Minnesota/Wisconsin Owners

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Hi Everyone,

My husband and I planning on our first Tesla purchase, and were hoping to get some information from owners in Minnesota or Wisconsin regarding the P85's performance in snow. I commute about 50-60 miles a day (primarily on 494 in the Twin Cities), and want to ensure we're getting the proper snow tires to deal with Minnesota winters. (We may get the 85D instead, though it appears that the key issue for snow driving will be the tires, but open to any commentary on that.)

In addition, we often make a trip from the Twin Cities to the Fox Cities, so any experience with chargers on that route would be helpful (it looks like we'd need to charge in Eau Claire or Mauston to make it to Appleton - curious if anyone has experienced a wait to use that charger. I'm familiar with Plugshare, but if there are non-plugshare charging stations in the Fox Cities (primarily Appleton), I'd love to get information on those.

Finally, and recommendations on specs for the varying road conditions in Minnesota? Any advice is greatly appreciated.

We're looking at the CPO 2013 P85 or P85+. First test drive was today, though we've been researching them on and off for the last two years. Our current primary vehicle is a 2013 Lexus RX350.

Thanks in advance!

Stephanie & Tyson
 
Hi Stephanie & Tyson. I live in Minneapolis and got my S85 last September. I bought Michelin X-Ice 3's, 19" wheels, and I was very pleased with the traction last winter. I will say last winter was on the tame side for snow and ice, but the car/tire combo handled what we did get easily. The traction control is really effective.

As for chargers not on Plugshare, check out campgrounds/RV parks. They usually have a 50 amp "hookup" that a Tesla cord can plug right into and get about 28 miles of range per hour of charge.

If there is a location in the Fox Cities that would be a good charging location, you could try to get it to be a Tesla Destination partner. If you find a business to be the site, you can suggest it to Tesla and if everything works out Tesla will set them up at little or no cost for two installed chargers, in most cases.

50-60 miles on 494....that must be fun.

Don't wait any longer, pull the trigger!
 
We drove a P85+ through MN winter and it was fine on snow tires. If you drive a lot in winter, I'd recommend spending a bit more on a D car with air suspension.
85D will give you the longest range and better traction than P85. Air suspension will help get around badly plowed roads.
Also, try different seats. I find the new performance seats to be more comfortable on long trips than the standard ones.

P.S. if you drive 50-60 miles a day on 494, you will absolutely love adaptive cruise control. This means you want the "autopilot" package.
 
2nded on the traction control being pretty amazing on this car. Growing up in Duluth I was a little worried about it being a RW drive car but I've had 0 issues over the two winters I've had mine. Winter tires or new/good tread all seasons are important on a car with wheels this wide though. I did my 1st winter on the pretty much new factory all seasons and picked up a set of Xice3's for this last winter. IMO the "D" is overkill purely from a winter driving standpoint assuming you have good tires, but there are plenty of other compelling reason to get a "D" besides just winter performance. I've also had no issues with the standard suspension in the snow.

See this thread for more insight: http://www.teslamotorsclub.com/showthread.php/12191-Winter-Driving-Experiences
and this one for the tire discussion: http://www.teslamotorsclub.com/showthread.php/11041-Winter-tire-recommendations
 
I highly recommend going on Facebook to the "Minnesota Tesla Club" page. We have a large group of active owners on there and we meet monthly!!

...where we talk about winter driving all the time, the cops in Roseville who are hatin' on Tesla's, or best car treatment to keep the road salt off. If you want to read one of my adventures driving in the winter, Click here. Since then, several dozen charging stations have showed up. I found one behind a comic book store once. As a last ditch, I picked up the snow cables (not quite snow chains) from the Tesla store for those tough situations when the roads are ice, but I've never owned snow tires; I either have some traction and handle it, or I'm sitting on wet ice. The traction control stabilization is fantastic in this car. If you're used to snow tires, you should still get them. I remember Blizzak being mentioned.

I can't think of a better community to join than EV owners in Minnesota. We hope to see you at the August meeting.