Winter Driving Experiences

[mikevbf]

Have had a test drive In Oslo.
-8*C, fresh snow, slippery conditions and 19" wheels. Not sure About the tires as its their demo car, but its not Nokian Hakkapelliita, I rememver that much.

Personally i think the Traction control is awesome! I tried a zero - 60km/h kickdown going uphill ( started In the middle). It went absolutely fine! No drama! Just a slow(er), easy, smooth acceleration. Car didn't seem nervous at all. Had a few 0-60 runs aswell on average snow covered roads, performs superior.

On normal driving you will notice that it is a rear wheel drive vehicle, and you certainly do take notice its a beast on batterymunchies- yet i feel as comfortable In it as In my Saab!

I did a test drive here in norway this week in temps below freezing and very slippery conditions.

TC worked perfectly for me. Could floor the pedal and onky hint if "trouble" was the light showing that TC was working really hard.

I have though seen clips on youtube showing similar situation as you described here. A guy floored it on an onramp and the car got quite tailhappy, but the TC fixed it ver quickly for him.

From my limited testdrive the traction and stability control worked flawlessly, and I tried my best to challenge it!

I had a couple of full on 0-80kph runs and 2-3 80-120kph runs without issues at all.

This was on the winter tires though....

(this quote stolen from traction control thread)

It seems our first really good winter weather testing are coming in from the Norwegians. Everything looks good on the traction side on the flat acceleration and cornering and even some uphill slippery conditions. Keep them coming in.

 

[mikevbf]

FWIW, no issues driving on the all-seasons in the light snow/wintry mix conditions over the weekend. Saw two cars flipped on I-95, though.

I am going to keep pulling from other threads to this one for winter driving performance experiences. This one is from winter wheels/tires thread:
Winter wheels/tires packages for Model S - Page 10

Thanks Robert.

 

[Mike_Schlechter]

I'm likely taking my Model S to Vermont on Saturday morning (Stratton). I need to confirm I'll have access to better than a 110v for charging, and get my wife's ok, but it looks like it will happen. I'll surely get some winter driving in while I there (until Jan 1).

I'll make sure to update the forum with my status and experience.

 

[bosgig]

@Mike_Schlechter--definitely please update on what you discover for charging (either here or in the battery/charging section). There's a J1772 in South Londonderry, not far away, but its 30A and that would mean hanging out there for several hours. I'm definitely interested to hear if you find anything at Stratton itself, especially for overnight charging, as I go there occasionally as well.

 

[wycolo]

> I assume that the Model S would perform as well if not better in these conditions (climbing slippery roads). [mikevbf]

I don't get the 'if not better'. By definition the Roadster's ~40/60 beats the S's 48/52 for simply getting up the incline. For higher speed curves, the S probably behaves better due to more even weight balance. But we shall soon see. :biggrin:
--

 

[PRJIM]

The Roadster seems to be more confidence inspiring on unplowed roads.

 

[Mike_Schlechter]

@Mike_Schlechter--definitely please update on what you discover for charging (either here or in the battery/charging section). There's a J1772 in South Londonderry, not far away, but its 30A and that would mean hanging out there for several hours. I'm definitely interested to hear if you find anything at Stratton itself, especially for overnight charging, as I go there occasionally as well.

I may bite the bullet and just put in a NEMA 14-50 at our house up there... My wife thinks it is crazy to take the S up to VT. She knows I will never park it where skis can be dropped on it, so why even bother... still, we will be up for 10 days over the holiday break, and it would be a lot of fun to have.

 

[mikevbf]

The Roadster seems to be more confidence inspiring on unplowed roads.

Is this based on your experience driving both?

- - - Updated - - -

I'm likely taking my Model S to Vermont on Saturday morning (Stratton). I need to confirm I'll have access to better than a 110v for charging, and get my wife's ok, but it looks like it will happen. I'll surely get some winter driving in while I there (until Jan 1).

I'll make sure to update the forum with my status and experience.

Looking forward to your report. After convincing your wife to go in the Model S, you could ask her to video a little :biggrin: Lot's of fluffy white stuff falling in Stratton. Enjoy.

 

[celter]

Hello everybody. First post on the forum. I testdrove the Tesla S on very snowy and slippery condition in Oslo last week. The car behaved perfectly. It never was out of control, and it felt very secure. I had bigger problems negotiating the conditions with my FWD Audi A6.

 

[Zapped]

What tires where on the car ?

 

[mnx]

What tires where on the car ?

I believe it was wearing the Pirelli's that Tesla is offering.

 

[Mike_Schlechter]

I may bite the bullet and just put in a NEMA 14-50 at our house up there... My wife thinks it is crazy to take the S up to VT. She knows I will never park it where skis can be dropped on it, so why even bother... still, we will be up for 10 days over the holiday break, and it would be a lot of fun to have.

I have received the spousal VETO to driving the Model S to VT for the holidays. I will, however, be putting in the NEMA 14-50 in the near future. This will provide better charging when in VT, and, along with the SuperCharger network, preempt future such vetoes.

 

[ohh]

I believe it was wearing the Pirelli's that Tesla is offering.

Yes, both cars in Norway is wearing the studless Pirelli tires on 19 inch rims.

 

[Doug_G]

I am bringing my car home tomorrow. Friday they are forecasting a "major winter weather event". Not clear if it will be all snow, snow and rain, snow and freezing rain, or whether it will be 15 cm or 35 cm (depends on the forecast you read - small changes in the storm track can have a big effect).

The upshot is, I should be able to give the car a pretty good winter shakedown on Friday. Stay tuned.

 

[KeithE]

Which wheels/ tires will your S have? Please specific. Many of us prospective buyers are trying to understand performance capabilities of the 21" wheels in winters conditions. Thx!

I am bringing my car home tomorrow. Friday they are forecasting a "major winter weather event". Not clear if it will be all snow, snow and rain, snow and freezing rain, or whether it will be 15 cm or 35 cm (depends on the forecast you read - small changes in the storm track can have a big effect).

The upshot is, I should be able to give the car a pretty good winter shakedown on Friday. Stay tuned.

 

[dsm363]

Which wheels/ tires will your S have? Please specific. Many of us prospective buyers are trying to understand performance capabilities of the 21" wheels in winters conditions. Thx!

Check out this thread
Driving in the cold on 21 summer tires?

bottom line is driving on the 21" tires probably a really bad idea in conditions with snow and ice.

 

[JohnQ]

I have received the spousal VETO to driving the Model S to VT for the holidays. I will, however, be putting in the NEMA 14-50 in the near future. This will provide better charging when in VT, and, along with the SuperCharger network, preempt future such vetoes.

Happy to borrow it for the week so it doesn't get lonely :biggrin:

 

[bosgig]

I have received the spousal VETO to driving the Model S to VT for the holidays. I will, however, be putting in the NEMA 14-50 in the near future. This will provide better charging when in VT, and, along with the SuperCharger network, preempt future such vetoes.

Bummer!! But good call on installing the plug.

 

[mikevbf]

I am bringing my car home tomorrow. Friday they are forecasting a "major winter weather event". Not clear if it will be all snow, snow and rain, snow and freezing rain, or whether it will be 15 cm or 35 cm (depends on the forecast you read - small changes in the storm track can have a big effect).

The upshot is, I should be able to give the car a pretty good winter shakedown on Friday. Stay tuned.

Doug it will be great to have your well informed opinion. Would you please test the car on something steep and slippery, perhaps a driveway to make a more controlled situation. That is where if any where the RWD non studded Model S might find its limit.

- - - Updated - - -

Hello everybody. First post on the forum. I testdrove the Tesla S on very snowy and slippery condition in Oslo last week. The car behaved perfectly. It never was out of control, and it felt very secure. I had bigger problems negotiating the conditions with my FWD Audi A6.

Nice. Glad to hear the Model S performs so well in slippery conditions. Did you climb anything steep and slippery in the Model S?

 

[mshobe]

I'm driving my S with 19"s and the stock Eagle RS-As up to snowy Snoqualmie Pass here in Washington state tomorrow for some skiing. I'll give you a qualitative report, especially the snowy parking lot aspect - most of the rest of the trip is on plowed interstate, so I don't expect a ton of drama.