Chicago owners, your opinions please

Phoenixhawk101 said:

My company is relocating me to Chicago, IL in the next few months and this move is an excellent excuse to push the wife to let me buy the Tesla. However not being from the area and not really having survived a winter yet I wanted people's opinion on AWD or not. Those of you who have RWD, have you found the car to be heavy enough to not be effected by the ice and snow? I am coming from Philadelphia so I am not stranger to black ice and snow. So the draw of AWD is appealing, however I was looking into a Tesla long before the 'D' line came out and the reviews and opinions seemed pretty high.

While led I can afford the 70D, a used 85 or 2013 P85 would certainly be welcome for a similar price point if I don't really need the AWD. Thoughts?

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Happy to message with you more. My immediate thoughts are:

1. Lots of MS in Chicago and burbs lately.
2. Get the D, even though many do fine without it. Our roads get nasty.
3. Only right after heavy snows when roads are not clear you'll be more stuck but overall roads are clear quick here.
4. Model depends on where your going to live and commute - but even then a 70D should be fine even with cold weather unless your living FAR from city like up in Wisconsin or something.


feel free to message and can talk more specifics.

You'll be fine with RWD as long as you have winter tires. You'll be fine with a D and all-season tires.

Our winters do get nasty and you run a non-zero chance of getting stuck in a heavy snowfall right after work. I had to abandon my RWD car in the parking lot at work a few times over the years.

HTH

Although I have never been stuck in my RWD S while in South Bend IN(lake effect snow over 100 inches last year), I stongly recommend the D similar range as my 85P but much safer driving in winter.

I'm a little further South than Chicago, but I can categorically tell you to go with the D.

I'm also a little south of Chicago. I'm in California where it doesn't snow and I have 21" wheels with summer tires only. I would also recommend the D. It's too awesome to miss with superb traction, energy efficiency, and just more 0-60 at every model.

Don't convince your wife to "let" you buy one. Buy one for her first. Then she'll be telling you to get one real quick once she drives it.

- K

Either car would be fine with winter tires. Get a second set of rims so you can swap them out. The 70D would be nice for the Autopilot hardware.

Been through 3 winters.

If I were to do it all over again, I would definitely get the AWD. However, I have basically done all right with the RWD and winter tires. This is suburban driving as well as city/highway driving. The first winter was with the all season tires, and it was very unnerving at times. There are some excellent discussions regarding what winter tires are good options; I got the Michelin Xi3 tires. They've served me well.

On a related note, I'd stick with the 19 inch wheels.

No question--AWD. If you have summer tires you'll need to swap them out as well.

You have another choice to make when driving a Model S in the Chicago area: 1) Hypermiling, or 2) Max acceleration. Apparently the middle ground is not a choice.

70D is perfect for Chicago! The range is great and can get you as much driving as you could need in the city and suburbs. Autopilot is a god send in heavy traffic, so I'd go with a newer one for that alone.

Having had a P85+ for one winter and a P85D last winter, same set of snows for both cars is as follows:

For most of our snow driving the RWD with snows is fine, the D with snows is better, but not enough for our quantity of snow to make it a necessity. If given the choice of a RWD with snows or a D without I think in many situations the RWD with snows might actually be a preferable choice in many years. Our average annual snowfall is not that high somewhere around 37 inches. You end up dealing with slick conditions, especially in the alleys and the suburbs more often then you are asking the car to push though deep snow. Even in the deeper snow the RWD with snows does really well, because of the weight of the car and the traction control. In my opinion the major reason to get the D is for the added performance on dry roads, the small winter improvement is just a bonus, if you can, test drive both cars and then make your decision.

Phoenixhawk101 said:

My company is relocating me to Chicago, IL in the next few months and this move is an excellent excuse to push the wife to let me buy the Tesla. However not being from the area and not really having survived a winter yet I wanted people's opinion on AWD or not. Those of you who have RWD, have you found the car to be heavy enough to not be effected by the ice and snow? I am coming from Philadelphia so I am not stranger to black ice and snow. So the draw of AWD is appealing, however I was looking into a Tesla long before the 'D' line came out and the reviews and opinions seemed pretty high.

While I can afford the 70D, a used 85 or 2013 P85 would certainly be welcome for a similar price point if I don't really need the AWD. Thoughts?

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Welcome to the area! (In a few months).

The winter weather here is similar to Philly, but on the major roads and outside of the city (if you are in the Burbs), we do a better job of cleaning up the snow. We also have less (actually, zero) hills, which is where the AWD really helps.

If you think RWD would work in Philly, it would probably also work here. The car is heavy and has a low center of gravity, and drives well in the snow either way.

From what I have seen, a 70D will cost approx the same as a used 85, after you factor the tax credit. You probably won't need more than the range of the 70 around here very often, unless you use the car a lot for work. Also, you would get the newest tech (AP is totally worth it...just went up and down the interstate all day and got to enjoy the ride for once) as there is often a lot of traffic here. Performance of 70D is similar to 85. You get to choose colors, specific features like cold weather package, which I would definitely recommend here.

Most importantly, find a way to convince your wife that you need this car. You will love any trim level that you get. Driving every day, you will have a smile on your face.

... and I'll chime in again on performance. 70D is plenty fast for Chicago. You'll rarely get to go fast/launch anyway since traffic is so bad MOST of the time. You'll want the newer AP features, parking sensors for sure, ... LTE seems nicer than 3G as coverage is spotty, etc. Pull the trigger, and enjoy!

Rarely get to go fast?

Man, I punch it on the Ike every morning!

The average speed on i294 is about 75-80mph. The ones getting pulled over are going 90-100. I personally have a D and also have winter tires. Winter tires make all the difference. the tires are not as hard and have much better traction. Esp on really bad days.

I am in Chicago and had a 2013 AWD Subaru Legacy until I got my Tesla in April; The Subaru was supposed to be very good AWD but without winter tires I had alot of trouble breaking and turning even at slow speeds, especially on side streets that weren't fully plowed. My Subaru slid all over the place last winter and nearly ended up in several accidents or in a ditch. One time going downhill with ice i applied breaks several hundred feet before a red light and literally slid all the way into the middle of the intersection, luckily no cars were coming; the dealer said nothing was wrong with the breaks or tires at the time it was just the reality of all season tires in a harsh climate.

I can't speak for how the AWD Tesla compares to my last car but from what I have heard AWD only helps with traction getting uphill and a little when turning, but snow tires help alot with turning and breaking. For such an expensive car its a no-brainer to me after my previous experience to get snow tires this winter regardless of whether you have RWD or AWD; not only are they significantly safer but think of it as an extra insurance policy, with all the snow storms the last few yrs there have been countless cars in accidents. I'll probably get some off tire rack soon.

Phoenixhawk101 said:

Thanks a ton for the feedback, for those of you who do snow tires. Did you get an extra set of wheels as well?

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I heard its better to get new wheels because remounting the tires can cause damage to the tire but it would be more expensive

I picked up a second set of wheels as well. If it makes the total expense any less painful I look at from the perspective that my summer tires will last almost 1/3 longer because I am only driving 2/3 of the year on the summer tires. Of course the money has to be paid up front but the difference between snow tires and all seasons is night and day. The difference between all seasons and summer tires is also substantial. As many have noted all seasons are a compromise in all seasons.