# driving dual motor in snow



## stlgrym3 (Nov 4, 2018)

planning my winter ski trip, thinking about taking the dual motor AWD Model 3 this time around. anyone had driven their M3 in snow? how do our AWD Model 3 handle in light to moderate snow roads? do snow chain still needed?


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## garsh (Apr 4, 2016)

Snow tires are needed if you want it to perform well in snow.


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## Zek (Oct 28, 2018)

Try DWS06 in light to moderate snow, it's a wonder tire! Down side, they don't last long! and will eat more energy.
In heavy snow they will still work ok, but you will need to exercise extreme caution.


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## orekart (Nov 15, 2018)

Practice how the car handles in a vacant snowy parking lot:
Donuts in drive with regen on low, then high
Regen high braking in reverse from 15mph
Skid control from 45mph in straight line
Skid control from 25mph with obstacle avoidance

Over 50mph on stock tires for slick road surfaces is do-able with some practice but you're not going to cheat science; the car will tend to continue in its given direction until something gains traction.


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## Jay79 (Aug 18, 2018)

It will work like any other car will with AWD except have less of a tendency to get stuck because of the excellent traction control system all Tesla vehicles have. Buy winter tires to take advantage of your cars TC system.


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## Frully (Aug 30, 2018)

I absolutely love my awd in ice and snow. The trick to 4wd steering is don't brake if you skid - power on to match your speed to force the drive wheels into biting the road.


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## Achooo (Oct 20, 2018)

I have never driven my Performance in the snow, but having recently lived in Illinois through the last couple of Polar Vortexes, I can say this.

In bad weather/road conditions, I was more confident and felt more grounded in my 2009 Camry Hybrid with snow tires than I did in my 4wd SUV with high quality all-seasons.

Personally, I think the Model 3 has the best traction control system I have ever experienced, but as mentioned above, without the right tires to connect to the ground, it can’t really do it’s job that well. In my opinion, this car just has too much power/torque to risk driving on slick roads without snow tires, especially with my wife and kids in the car.

In temps less than about 40-45 F, I consider snow tires an essential safety feature.


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## ihomer (Apr 17, 2018)

I live in Wisconsin and I have driven my P3D- in the snow with snow tires and without. I commute 50 miles one way per day. I will never drive in the snow without snow tires again. It has a better grip on the road and the snow. I would tend to slide around more without the snow tires. My car has 32,600 miles on it and 12,000+ of those miles were in the winter.


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## stlgrym3 (Nov 4, 2018)

Any recommendations on snow tires?


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## garsh (Apr 4, 2016)

stlgrym3 said:


> Any recommendations on snow tires?


Just about any studless snow tire will perform much better than any all-season tire.
Just make sure it's a studless design, and not one that's made to accept studs.


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## Lgkahn (Nov 21, 2018)

I have xice 3 in 18" size on my m3 awd. Smaller and narrower tires get better traction. I've taken it skiing many times. Only issue is it is a lot lower than for instance my subie which means its not great in deep snow.


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## Achooo (Oct 20, 2018)

Lgkahn said:


> I have xice 3 in 18" size on my m3 awd. Smaller and narrower tires get better traction. I've taken it skiing many times. Only issue is it is a lot lower than for instance my subie which means its not great in deep snow.


I had the same tires on my Camry for the last few winters with amazing results. They were my secret weapon. I 2nd the recommendation. Also, Bridgestone Blizak have an amazing reputation as well. I would poke around on Tire Rack. They have some great reviews and head to head tests that can inform your decision.


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## MNScott (Mar 16, 2019)

LR AWD here...I put on new 18" rims and Nokian Hakka R3's on it for our MN winter. Really aggressive tires, great traction thus far (not that we've had much snow/ice to really test them) and surprisingly quiter than I expected. Our other car has Blizzaks on it, they are much louder.

Good luck!

Scott


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## nobrien1 (Nov 20, 2017)

I recently drove my M3 AWD with Michelin Xice Xi3 snow tires in 14 - 16 inches of snow in Boulder , CO to help a vet get to a medical appointment. In Colorado, only the main streets get plowed. I had no trouble at all. I did put it in 'Chill Mode' as that seemed to approximate a snow mode.


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## orekart (Nov 15, 2018)

nobrien1 said:


> I recently drove my M3 AWD with Michelin Xice Xi3 snow tires in 14 - 16 inches of snow in Boulder , CO to help a vet get to a medical appointment. In Colorado, only the main streets get plowed. I had no trouble at all. I did put it in 'Chill Mode' as that seemed to approximate a snow mode.


'Chill Mode' + Regen on low... yep.


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## PaulT (Aug 22, 2018)

stlgrym3 said:


> Any recommendations on snow tires?


Just get a decent All season. The stock 18 tires are beyond terrible in snow. The Goodyear weatherready tires on our model 3 handle just as well as blizzaks did on our 2006 Subaru Legacy GT.


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## PaulT (Aug 22, 2018)

Turn regen braking down to “Low”. I have put in acceleration to “Chill” a couple of times, but I actually like to feel the slide once in awhile controlled, so it doesn’t catch me off guard, so I leave acceleration in “Normal/Sport” now.


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## $ Trillion Musk (Nov 5, 2016)

Can anyone verify the recommended settings when driving in snow?

Snow Mode:

Chill
Regen low
Roll mode

I got it from a comment in this video.


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## garsh (Apr 4, 2016)

$ Trillion Musk said:


> Can anyone verify the recommended settings when driving in snow?
> 
> Snow Mode:
> 
> ...


Only really helpful for very slippery (icy) conditions. For plain old snow, I don't bother changing to those settings.


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## TomT (Apr 1, 2019)

Frully said:


> I absolutely love my awd in ice and snow. The trick to 4wd steering is don't brake if you skid - power on to match your speed to force the drive wheels into biting the road.


Don't ever brake if you skid, period!


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## garsh (Apr 4, 2016)

TomT said:


> Don't ever brake if you skid, period!


It's kind of hard to teach this, but TomT's essentially correct. If a car starts sliding, you need to take your foot off the brake AND steer the front wheels in the direction of the slide. This should get the wheels rolling again, at which point they'll regain enough traction to allow you to start steering again (slightly, nothing sudden), and _maybe_ try a lighter touch on the brake pedal to slow down.

"Taking your foot off the brake" becomes more difficult in a vehicle with strong regen - you'd have to actually press down the accelerator just enough to mostly turn off regen. This is why it's recommended that regen be turned off or on a low setting in icy conditions.


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