# Performance/traction in snow



## RocketRay (Jun 6, 2018)

We recently had a little rain here in SoCal and I was impressed with how well the traction control worked on the wet, oily streets.

Which got me to thinking (since I'm planning on taking it to Denver over Christmas), how well will my RWD Model 3 perform in snow? I'm mainly concerned with Interstate 70, last time I drove that was in my Eclipse GSX. It was snowing then and the AWD had no problem with it. 

Or (if there is a storm around Dec 23/24) should I take I-40 to I-25? That adds about 200 miles to the trip one way.


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## roguenode (May 31, 2017)

I'd plan on I70 and check cotrip prior to taking off and along the way. Between the alert info, advisories, and live cam's you should have a pretty good idea of current conditions. You can also sign up on the site, set a preferred route and get texted conditions, closures, etc. for the route you care about.


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## tencate (Jan 11, 2018)

We had a sudden snowstorm today and I had to take family to the airport and just got back tonight. LR RWD with Michelin X-ice. I'm pretty sure the bottom of the car hit some of these snow piles but the car performed just fine the whole trip. Remarkably so. It would be fun to compare with AWD in snow like this but I'm pretty darn pleased with the car. My other option was an old Subaru Forester but it's nowhere near as nice to drive. By the way, I DO have a set of chains in the frunk (the Tesla ones) but didn't have to use them.


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## RocketRay (Jun 6, 2018)

We're on that trip right now (supercharging in Green River currently). As we left Richfield it started snowing, then was snowing pretty heavily. Worst problem was visibility when following other vehicles. Performed great in the snow, but range is definitely affected by the cold. Just gonna hit every SC until we get to Denver.


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## Rick Steinwand (May 19, 2018)

AWD here with X-Ice winter tires in ND and except for the ground clearance, I can keep up with anything AWD or 4WD.

I can't believe how great acceleration is when I don't have dry pavement.


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## tencate (Jan 11, 2018)

I've got just RWD with X-Ice tires and drove several hundred miles during our recent blizzard now and I echo Rick's comment above. The car is just amazing on snow---even the occasional icy patch doesn't seem to upset it much. I do find that I'm collecting HUGE salt/ice packs in the wheel wells that never seem to melt or fall out and yes, ground clearance is an issue. Cold here, -5F this morning!


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