Of course they do. What makes ice slippery is the film of water over the ice. Snow tires have more void area so they wipe the ice dryer creating more friction. AWD doesn't make any difference in stopping, snow tires do.
-
Want to remove ads? Register an account and login to see fewer ads, and become a Supporting Member to remove almost all ads.
How does Tesla compare with an AWD car in snow
- Thread starter Jeffruby
- Start date
-
- Tags
- Driving Dynamics Model S
Last week our P85 was at the service center for its annual service and some warranty work. We have it outfitted with 19" Rial Lugano wheels with Dunlop Wintersport 3D studless snow tires. Our service center is 180 miles and a large mountain range away. To get there, we had to drive through a snowstorm over the pass. Our P85 did great. We had tons of traction, and while I did get the rear end to get a bit squirly, it was my own fault for being overly aggressive with the throttle.
For a loaner, Tesla gave us a 70D with 21" Turbines and the standard Continental tires on it, exactly what our car wears in the summer half of the year. We drove back over the same pass, through the same snowstorm. I was impressed with the traction the AWD provided, but what the car did NOT have a ton of was lateral stability. The snow ruts and mounds would move the car around on the road, and cornering ability was noticeably less. On one curve, I had to put almost a half-a turn more into the steering input and give more regen to shift weight forward to get the car to follow the turn. Braking performance was also noticeably less.
Three days later, I headed back over the mountains with the 70D to pick up our car. The storm was still going, the roads were still a sloppy mess. Again, the 70D's traction was impressive, but those Continental tires just don't have the tread or rubber compound to handle the forces. The car was easily guided by the snow pack rather than being guided by my steering inputs. At one point, I went to pass a slower driver by moving into the passing lane, a less plowed, less driven lane of travel. I easily reached the limit of traction and was only able to accelerate from about 30 mph to 50 mph with careful, slow progress. The traction control light flashed angrily at me, and the car wanted to slide around.
Conversely, in our P85 with snow tires in a similar situation, the car was able to accelerate noticeably faster, despite being rear wheel drive. Yes, the rear was more squirly due to my throttle inputs, but the car followed steering directions without complaint or much influence from the snow pack.
For a loaner, Tesla gave us a 70D with 21" Turbines and the standard Continental tires on it, exactly what our car wears in the summer half of the year. We drove back over the same pass, through the same snowstorm. I was impressed with the traction the AWD provided, but what the car did NOT have a ton of was lateral stability. The snow ruts and mounds would move the car around on the road, and cornering ability was noticeably less. On one curve, I had to put almost a half-a turn more into the steering input and give more regen to shift weight forward to get the car to follow the turn. Braking performance was also noticeably less.
Three days later, I headed back over the mountains with the 70D to pick up our car. The storm was still going, the roads were still a sloppy mess. Again, the 70D's traction was impressive, but those Continental tires just don't have the tread or rubber compound to handle the forces. The car was easily guided by the snow pack rather than being guided by my steering inputs. At one point, I went to pass a slower driver by moving into the passing lane, a less plowed, less driven lane of travel. I easily reached the limit of traction and was only able to accelerate from about 30 mph to 50 mph with careful, slow progress. The traction control light flashed angrily at me, and the car wanted to slide around.
Conversely, in our P85 with snow tires in a similar situation, the car was able to accelerate noticeably faster, despite being rear wheel drive. Yes, the rear was more squirly due to my throttle inputs, but the car followed steering directions without complaint or much influence from the snow pack.
DillyBop
Member
it's no contest... a Tesla D with proper winter tires is unstoppable in the snow. it's a snow cat. while other cars were spinning their wheels, i had to actively TRY to make the traction break on my P85D.
PV EV in VT
Member
I know that it's been a while since you posted this video, but I'm curious... your car comes to a stop part-way up the last steep hill. What did you do or change to make make the final climb?
Similar threads
