I do not where you're coming from on this, this is a myth of 30 years ago. Good studded tires are no worse on asphalt than good Nordic/Ice&Snow winter tires. They lose a bit due to studs, gain a bit due to compound hardness and tread design that doesn't need as many sipes. Studded tires aren't big in the U.S. cause it's warm here, but in Scandinavia/Russia those are pretty big even for city-dwellers. Vancouver can have different weather conditions depending on where OP lives. If ice traction is big for them, studded tires should be considered.
My only point was that studded tires are now a niche product.
Winter tires in general suck for dry driving, unless we're talking -30 temps. So, it's all about the conditions one has to experience in their daily driving and their probabilities. If one can stay home on bad days, there's zero reason to get winter tires. Someone with an on-call job, living on a hill, down the pecking order of public plowing (or without any), in a climate with frequent thaw-freeze cycles (so, ice at the bottom of the hills every other morning) would be a good candidate for studded tires. They just have to be aware of noise considerations, take it easy on dry+wet (where studded tires are a bit behind the Nordic ones), and (Tesla specific) probably expect some range loss.
I don't want to turn this thread into studded vs non-studded debate though. Maybe we should take it to some general 'winter tire' thread. For my past winter cars, mostly Subarus , there were usually a multi-year forum threads where people posted fresh winter tire reviews from Scandinavian/Russia journals to keep up with what's latest and greatest. Maybe we could use one like that as well.
While I like X-Ice 3, and had them on multiple cars, they are getting old. Conti VikingContact 7, available on Tirerack, topped a bunch of recent Nordic studless winter tire tests in Europe/Russia.
Super happy with the X-ice that I had installed on 18" Aero wheels that I bought from someone local selling on this forum. Regularly took it up skiing all last winter, dealt great with icy roads and ski area parking lots. And that's on a RWD MR.
I do not where you're coming from on this, this is a myth of 30 years ago. Good studded tires are no worse on asphalt than good Nordic/Ice&Snow winter tires.
Your link had zero justifications for those opinions. Here's something recent in English with links, based on 2018 tests. Here's the most recent NAF test, make sure your google translate is on. The basic message is that plenty of decent studded/non-studded tires score similar overall on some synthetic metric. They are different though, representing different trade-offs. If one needs ice traction (especially wet ice around freezing temps), studded tires will be a worthy trade-off.
I don't blame you, coming across accurate information on winter tires in the US is very hard. People keep buying junk like studded Firestone Winterforce, or Hankook iPike and base their opinions on winter tires based on those.
True. I wasn't having luck finding actual comparison test results. But those two links came from a tire manufacturer and a tire store, so I assumed they had merit.
Agreed. The video I included above helps demonstrate that.
But still much better than any studded tire on asphalt. My only point was that studded tires are now a niche product. They're no longer a good choice when the majority of winter driving is on a finished road surface.
we generally don't get snow here (besides maybe two or three storms that last a day or two), but do often have ice on winter mornings and many people go up to the mountain weekly where studded tires or chains are required. meaning over the winter, probably at least a quarter of the passenger vehicles around here have studded tires with a much smaller percentage having non-studded winter/snow tires. (I've personally never had anything but all-season).
So I think your comment on them being niche very much differs regionally.
Are studdable winter tires the "right" choice?
"Once again, studies show that studded winter tires perform best on ice while studless winter tires deliver the best handling and braking when the temperature is below freezing, on both wet and dry pavement.
The performance difference is minimal between studded and studless winter tires in snow, slush, and other winter conditions outside of hard-packed snow and ice. "
Metal studs are prohibited in 11 states: Alabama, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Texas, and Wisconsin (some of these states allow tires with rubber studs; Maryland allows studs only in certain counties).
Only six states permit the use of studded tires without restriction: Colorado, Kentucky, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Vermont, and Wyoming.
Most of the remaining states allow studded tires with date restrictions. For example, in Washington State where the TireBuyer offices are located, studded tires are permitted from November 1-March 31.
Excellent video. Interesting that the studded tire doesn't seem to perform a whole lot better than the studless Nordic tire on ice. It seems to show that studless tires really have come a long way.
Excellent video. Interesting that the studded tire doesn't seem to perform a whole lot better than the studless Nordic tire on ice. It seems to show that studless tires really have come a long way.
That's an okay but not a great test. Best tests do two different icy conditions: grippy ice (temps <-15C) and slick ice (near-freezing). It's pretty hard to do both in a given year, cause the weather has to cooperate. This test, per authors comment to the actual article with numbers, was done at -15C, on grippy ice that is. Non-studded do pretty well on the grippy ice, as this test shows. Studded tires are FAR ahead on slick ice. Here's a pic from a Russian test a few years back. You can tell which are the studded tires.
Temperature in C on horizontal axis, braking distance on vertical.
Google tests for Gislaved NordFrost 100. Here's an example.
Keep in mind that those are meant to be run studded, and are gonna have sub-par studless performance.
I ended up with a set of the Dunlop SP Winter Sport 3D XL. Found it on Craigslist with one season and around 1K miles, it was a great deal. I’m extremely happy with the tires; in dry conditions they’re more fun than the stock tires (sportier) and in snow they have very good grip and predictable limits. They’re a little louder than stock but not more than I expected. Maybe slightly louder than the Blizzaks on my ICE crossover.
Just to follow on my initial impressions....I had the X-Ice's installed last Saturday and have put about 200mi of mixed driving on them since.
PROS: They ride smoother and softer than the MXM4's even at slightly higher PSI
CONS: On my RWD LR I'm noticing the traction control light coming on with 3/4 or more of full acceleration although I don't really feel them slipping and they definitely don't corner like the MXM4's without getting squirmy. They also add a little bit more cabin noise at highway speeds.
So I'm slightly regretting not going with a more performance oriented winter tire for thrashing around in just the cold and wet....(the way I usually drive) but holding out full judgment until I can test them in some snow/ice/slush where they SHOULD really excel. To be fair it's also been slightly warmer in the past few days, (40-50f) so I'm guessing this is also at the upper limits for a true winter compound.
Question: I was running the MXM4's at the door jam listed 42PSI..... should I run the X-Ice's at the same or higher/lower pressure?
Just to follow on my initial impressions....I had the X-Ice's installed last Saturday and have put about 200mi of mixed driving on them since.
PROS: They ride smoother and softer than the MXM4's even at slightly higher PSI
CONS: On my RWD LR I'm noticing the traction control light coming on with 3/4 or more of full acceleration although I don't really feel them slipping and they definitely don't corner like the MXM4's without getting squirmy. They also add a little bit more cabin noise at highway speeds.
So I'm slightly regretting not going with a more performance oriented winter tire for thrashing around in just the cold and wet....(the way I usually drive) but holding out full judgment until I can test them in some snow/ice/slush where they SHOULD really excel. To be fair it's also been slightly warmer in the past few days, (40-50f) so I'm guessing this is also at the upper limits for a true winter compound.
Question: I was running the MXM4's at the door jam listed 42PSI..... should I run the X-Ice's at the same or higher/lower pressure?
Using the Continental WinterContact SI Plus Tire:
DON'T. Bad choice.
All over the road. No contact with a bit of snow.
And I'm a seasoned winter driver here in Quebec
Using the Continental WinterContact SI Plus Tire:
DON'T. Bad choice.
All over the road. No contact with a bit of snow.
And I'm a seasoned winter driver here in Quebec
I used WinterContact SI in the past on a simlar 4000lbs car. Sure, they are 'wobbly' since their sidewall is much softer than decent performance tires. That's to be expected from non-studded Nordic winter tires. Not sure everyone from Quebec is an expert in winter tires.
21 - 40 of 45 Posts
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
A forum community dedicated to Tesla owners and enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about EV performance, charging, reviews, new models, modifications, classifieds, troubleshooting, maintenance, and more!