Winter Performance

[Kevin Sharpe]

this Tesla looks happy in the cold... http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=5720105&id=18790602800

 

[tdevince]

I did mpt's heater duct modification this morning. It was quite an improvement on the drivers side!

 

[Doug_G]

So I just hand washed my car; first time I've ever done that in December. The temperature was -3C. Rolled it out of the garage and started washing normally. At first is was going pretty normally, as the car was a little warm. But then the driveway began getting a little slippery, and icicles started forming on the car. Makes it kinda hard to rinse when there are soapsicles all over it. Wasn't too bad, although the car was more icy than wet when I was done.

I've got it back in the garage now, powered on with the hot air blower thawing out the windshield. At least I won't get CO poisoning...

 

[mpt]

Ah, dedication in the face of adversity. Been there, done that, fallen on my arse

 

[PaulM]

Hey Doug, I wash my car IN my garage which never goes below freezing. Your free to come over if you like, although by the time you get it back to your place it will be dirty again. Such is winters in Ottawa. Sometimes it seems like there's more salt than snow on the roads.

 

[Alan]

Its still below freezing in the UK at the moment (-5C / 23F this morning).

This morning I noticed something new,the bar-graph for battery temp was set to the coldest position as you would expect, but the text battery was in yellow. It went white after driving a few miles, and a few miles later regen was enabled again.

Is the yellow text a warning - any idea what temperature it refers to?

 

[cinergi]

I am surprised they key worked. As far as I know the keyfob, key in the rear light cluster and button in the cabin all do the same thing - trigger the solenoid that opens the catches for the trunk, I dont think the key does anything mechanical - happy to be corrected.

I have not been able to open my trunk all week, no noise of a mechanism trying to work - bit of a problem as my mobile charging lead and warm winter jacket are inside. I have been advised to run warm water around the rear light cluster but thats not worked so far.

Planning to make some space in the garage today for the Tesla so it can properly thaw out.

Mine wouldn't open again this morning (23 degrees F). Key also didn't work. I'd played with it the other day to get a feel for the key and it felt somewhat mechanical, but it was hard to tell. Today, no noise from using the buttons, and turning the key (with a fair amount of pressure) didn't do anything; I couldn't tell if I was pushing up against a frozen lock or if it just wasn't activating something it's supposed to. After driving into work (30 minutes), it still won't open.

My car may visit Tesla in NY so maybe it'll be cold enough for them to reproduce and fix the problem.

 

[stenkb]

Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield intends to write another article and is looking for EV's that are used in very cold environments (apparently our -3 Deg C is not cold enough for some people). If you have a suitable car can I suggest that you contact her?

We just went through a stretch for 2 weeks of daytime highs of -20 Celcius - that cold enough for ya?

 

[Kevin Sharpe]

We just went through a stretch for 2 weeks of daytime highs of -20 Celcius - that cold enough for ya?

sure... are you driving an EV in this?

 

[stenkb]

I drove my Roadster in -20 weather - no problems. See pics I posted earlier in this thread of the Roadster in the snow!

 

[Doug_G]

Hey Doug, I wash my car IN my garage which never goes below freezing. Your free to come over if you like, although by the time you get it back to your place it will be dirty again. Such is winters in Ottawa. Sometimes it seems like there's more salt than snow on the roads.

Right now it's clean, and it's probably going to stay in the garage for a while. I might take it out if we get some good weather (e.g. dry roads), but for now it's in storage mode.

 

[PaulM]

Right now it's clean, and it's probably going to stay in the garage for a while.

Probably best although I imagine it will be tough going back to the ICE age...

 

[Doug_G]

Probably best although I imagine it will be tough going back to the ICE age...

Yeah, it is. I hadn't bought gas for months. And the Model S is still at least 1.5 years away. Will definitely get snow tires for that one.

 

[Jehuda]

I have had my Pirelli winter tires on for a few days now and thought I would share how the Roadster handles winter in Lethbridge, Alberta.

The tires have great grip - and the traction control works very well with the Roadster - the tires don't spin! (unless I turn off the traction control and I have fun making donuts for a bit!)
Compared to the only other sports car I drove in winter - a BMW - the tesla handles better, grips better, and feels solid.

If the snow pile between the tires gets too high - you do become a plow unfortunately - but for me all main roads are fine (where the snow has been packed a bit) - in residential streets where snow does not get cleared I get to listen to the snow rubbing against the bottom of the car - but no real problem.

I am going to see if I can get more 3M film added in the door sills to protect the paint from sand, rocks, snow where it enters.

Here's a few pics to share:

Hi : I am located in Toronto and we had around 6 cm of snow and it is around -10. I installed four Hankook snows and my roadster handles fine and especially up steep icy hills without spinning. However the slush does get in the door sills. Regards Mitch

 

[Jaff]

Once my Roadster arrives (hopefully next week), I'm going to get the additional armour coat applied (as per Kevin's pictures) to the door sills...I'm sure this will help make it easier to clean off the sills without scratching the paint.

 

[stenkb]

Once my Roadster arrives (hopefully next week), I'm going to get the additional armour coat applied (as per Kevin's pictures) to the door sills...I'm sure this will help make it easier to clean off the sills without scratching the paint.

Here's more reason to get the paint armour.....I am very glad I had it added - the following pics don't bother me too much anymore now that it is protected.....
This is what my car looks like in wet weather - snow melting away and all the road debris lands in the door sills...

 

[Jaff]

All the more reason to add armour to the door sills...thanks for the additional pics Kevin!

 

[zack]

Looks like tonight and tomorrow are going to be a serious test for the Tesla in severe Minnesota weather! Up to two feet of snow predicted? Gahhh!

 

[zack]

This is my first winter driving the Tesla.
We have had one snowstorm so far (Minnesota). My wife and I were eager to try snow driving, so in the middle of the snowstorm we took the Tesla out for a test.
When we started out we had just over 4 inches of virgin snow. We live in suburbia, and no plows had yet been through the neighborhood streets, although some vehicles had, so you had a mix of chopped up snow and virgin snow.
We do have the winter tires.
No issues with traction. I was actually quite surprised at how good the traction system was, no sliding whatsoever.
If the traction light had not come on I would not have known it was on.
We did a number of errands an returned a couple hours later.
Snow debri between lanes on streets that had been plowed posed no issues. You could on occasion hear chunks of snow hitting the bottom panels.
In our neighborhood the streets were still not plowed and we were up around 6 inches of snow. Temp was near freezing so the snow was very wet and clumped easily. In the unplowed backstreets we did run into an issue of snow getting jammed up into and sticking in the wheel wells to the point where the wheels were actually difficult to turn.
I have not experienced this at any other time. I am hoping to get a chance to test it in 6 inches of dry snow and will report back.
On plowed streets, the Tesla handled better than any other car I have driven in the snow.

I intended my post above to be a reply to this post.

 

[cinergi]

Mine wouldn't open again this morning (23 degrees F). Key also didn't work. [...]

It's above freezing today. I tried opening the trunk; it sounded like it was trying (some solenoid clicking noises) but it wouldn't open. Key didn't work, either.
After driving about 1-2 miles to my destination (short trip!), I tried again, figuring the bumps and chassis flex may help loosen it up -- and indeed, it opened! I took that opportunity not only to take everyting out of the trunk, but to familiarize myself with the mechanism more. I took a video of what happens when I turn the key; it's indeed mechanical, and the buttons simply activate a solenoid that does the same thing the key does -- which is to move a couple of cables.
Video: