New: Tesla Winter Tires & Wheel Package, Core Wheels Covers

[HaulingAss]

If you want quality winter tires then buying this deal and throwing away the tires isn't a great price. It isn't a terrible price for just the wheels and TPMS but not great if you just want cheap wheels and TPMS.

Even if you didn't want to run these tires in the winter, you wouldn't throw them away. Because they are not real winter tires, they can be run in the summer and transition seasons.

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[joesdayjob]

so if these are not winter tires WHY ARE THEY BEING SOLD AS WINTER TIRES ? also wha tires can you get that are for winter ?

 

[TheLastStarfighter]

Have you ever run a full winter with dedicated studless winter tires? If so, which winter studless tires were they, and what vehicle did you have them on? If not, I think it might be an eye-opening experience how well they can grip on most kinds of smooth ice. Gut instincts are often wrong.

I find studless winter tires (not the Goodyear AT's under discussion) superior to studded tires on most types of ice. It's hard for people to wrap their heads around this because it seems so counter intuitive but the right rubber compounds can actually exceed the traction studs provide on many types of ice due to the fact that studs have very little surface area compared to the treads footprint and tires that accept studs have to be made with certain rubber compounds that are hard enough to retain the studs.

The fact that the Goodyear AT tires don't accept studs gives me hope that they will have a better than average rubber compound in the cold (for an AT tire). I have no illusions they will be better than a dedicated studless winter tire, but I'm hoping they will be in the top 15% of snow performance of all AT tires. Historically I've noticed AT tires tend to do particularly poorly in winter conditions, and the more aggressive the AT tread pattern, the more this tends to hold true. Probably because more aggressive tread patterns require harder rubber compounds to avoid tearing and chuncking.

Most of my winter driving is above 22 degrees F, it's only for a couple of weeks per year that an arctic front settles in and drops the temps to truly cold temps, so I'm hopeful these Goodyears will work out for me. Another reason I'm going this route (vs. dedicated winter tires) is I don't think a truck tire made for a truck this powerful and with such a high GVWR would fare well with some of the best winter rubber compounds available on car tires (and I don't want to give up payload capacity in the winter). There might be chunking (from off-roading), poor bare pavement handling or wear issues. Tires are asked to do a lot and dedicated winter tires push that limit by excluding use during warmer weather. It could also be excessively expensive if they only last 15,000-20,000 miles and cost a lot to begin with!

Thanks for your thoughts. I can't say I've ever had high-end winter tires, but always dedicated winters. I've had studded and non-studded winters on various cars and SUVs over the years and I found the studs had a much shorter stopping distance on ice, and ice has been the only issue that has had me in danger or slip off the road. On the east coast of Canada we get winter temps that bounce up and down above/below freezing so ice patches are really common. Snow has never caused a problem but ice below snow - that's scary. I do hate the sound of studs so I'm going to have to look into what you're saying further.

 

[HaulingAss]

so if these are not winter tires WHY ARE THEY BEING SOLD AS WINTER TIRES ? also wha tires can you get that are for winter ?

There is no tire industry standard for what makes it a "winter" tire (beyond the 3 mountain peak snowflake designation). The tire industry in the US and Canada came up with the 3 Mountain Peak Snowflake designation years ago, to weasel out of having to match what the Europeans were doing (and to confuse consumers). The Europeans were years ahead of what N. American tire manufacturers were doing with rubber compounds that actually worked in the snow and ice.

When someone speaks of a "real" winter tire (or a dedicated winter tire) they are talking about a tire made with a rubber compound too soft to be used in warmer weather. There is no law against running them in warm weather (because they don't damage the road) but they have to be taken off in the spring or they will be ruined.

A studded winter tire has to be taken off in the spring for legal reasons (they wear the road down) and also for practical reasons (the studs wear out on bare pavement and tires with worn down studs no longer function well as winter tires).

 

[joesdayjob]

Thank you think I’m gonna blow my voucher on these seems like my best value

 

[cofree]

Even if you didn't want to run these tires in the winter, you wouldn't throw them away. Because they are not real winter tires, they can be run in the summer and transition seasons.

Yeah, they aren't valueless, it just takes effort or the right circumstances (either to sell the tires, or else utilize them).

In the end the simple solution for us might be to have these tires for the cybertruck for winter for a couple of years, but prioritize using the Y on the worst weather days and have Hakkas on that. As far as I can tell the best winter tires simply aren't available in 285/65 as of yet (which might explain why Tesla chose these). After a couple of years maybe these tires will be a future summer set and we'll put a nice set of winters on the Cybertruck.

I also agree that these tires should be in the top 15% of AT tires (for winter). The review I watched yesterday comparing the new version to the old version seemed to suggest that this version should be better for winter (excluding the question of studs). I'm assuming the Tesla stock AT tires will give better range.

 

[Crissa]

so if these are not winter tires WHY ARE THEY BEING SOLD AS WINTER TIRES ? also wha tires can you get that are for winter ?

Because they qualify as winter tires.

There's always going to be tires better at some specific thing. You have to balance all the things together though, when you select a tire.

For me, winter tires that are bad at rain are useless.

-Crissa

 

[joesdayjob]

Because they qualify as winter tires.

There's always going to be tires better at some specific thing. You have to balance all the things together though, when you select a tire.

For me, winter tires that are bad at rain are useless.

-Crissa

Are these winter tires bad at rain ?

 

[Crissa]

Are these winter tires bad at rain ?

Dunno!

I am unaware of any published tests with these tires.

But dedicated winter tires are generally worse at rain than all seasons or all weather tires.

Tires come in an amazing number of flavors.

-Crissa

 

[HaulingAss]

Yeah, they aren't valueless, it just takes effort or the right circumstances (either to sell the tires, or else utilize them).

In the end the simple solution for us might be to have these tires for the cybertruck for winter for a couple of years, but prioritize using the Y on the worst weather days and have Hakkas on that. As far as I can tell the best winter tires simply aren't available in 285/65 as of yet (which might explain why Tesla chose these). After a couple of years maybe these tires will be a future summer set and we'll put a nice set of winters on the Cybertruck.

I also agree that these tires should be in the top 15% of AT tires (for winter). The review I watched yesterday comparing the new version to the old version seemed to suggest that this version should be better for winter (excluding the question of studs). I'm assuming the Tesla stock AT tires will give better range.

No doubt they will have less range, I'm guessing about 3% less than the Foundation Series AT tires, so 308 vs. 318 miles. Which is a non-issue for me, I can go most of the day off-road in the mountains and only use 20%, even on a lot of steep grades than climb 4000 feet higher than the pavement.

For me, the biggest downside will probably be a less direct steering response (due to the larger voids in the blockier tread pattern and the sipes) followed by a bit more tire noise. For people who do a lot of fast Interstate it will probably be the shorter tread life, due to the softer rubber compound and more heat buildup from the blockier tread design. They should also be worse in deep, dry sand, due again to the blockier tread design and more tread voids. I know, this is counterintuitive but that's how it works.

The OEM AT tires are a very good all-around tire for the Cybertruck, giving up very little on pavement while still getting the job done on all-weather rocky type roads and working pretty well in dry sand too. The main weak areas being cold weather, snow/ice and mud traction.

If I had to guess, I would say dry pavement braking distances of the DuraTracs will be slightly longer while wet pavement, particularly cold, wet pavement braking distances will be slightly shorter.

The advantages will be numerous and significant too, better snow and ice traction, much better traction in sticky mud and more resistant to hydroplaning at high speeds, more puncture protection, more protection against sidewall cuts, and more climbing ability off-road on most surfaces.

Looking forward to trying them out!

 

[HaulingAss]

Are these winter tires bad at rain ?

They should be very good in the rain.

 

[Cybertruck2024]

I had dedicated snow tires on my M3P and they are great in the snow, they blow away any all season or all terrain tires I've ever used. But I have been running into an issue with them, and it's huge temperature swings.

Last year there was a day in October it dropped down to about 20 degrees. I happened to be doing a 300 mile drive that day on my summer tires, it felt like I was driving on ice and I couldn't safely do highway speeds. Then it hit the upper 70s a few days later, which would have been too hot for my snow tires. It happens every October/November and March/April, it is impossible to have summer/snow tires and not be in a dangerous situation a few days without multiple swaps.

These tires may not be perfect for snow and ice, but they will make logistics with wheel swapping a hell of a lot easier. There are too many times it is 20s and snowing and then mid 70s back and forth where a summer/snow tire setup becomes a tremendous burden.

 

[Crissa]

These tires may not be perfect for snow and ice, but they will make logistics with wheel swapping a hell of a lot easier. There are too many times it is 20s and snowing and then mid 70s back and forth where a summer/snow tire setup becomes a tremendous burden.

That's a good point.

Having a fifty degree split in temperatures might not be normal, but... it's not entirely uncommon, either, especially in the mountains. Out here in California I can often go from fifty at the coast to hundred in the desert and then hit ice in the mountains.

-Crissa

 

[beasto]

Go check it out.

https://shop.tesla.com/category/vehicle-accessories/cybertruck

You can now buy a winter tires and wheel package as well as Wheel Covers for the CORE wheels.

Did the wheel covers already sell out ??

 

[HaulingAss]

I had dedicated snow tires on my M3P and they are great in the snow, they blow away any all season or all terrain tires I've ever used. But I have been running into an issue with them, and it's huge temperature swings.

Last year there was a day in October it dropped down to about 20 degrees. I happened to be doing a 300 mile drive that day on my summer tires, it felt like I was driving on ice and I couldn't safely do highway speeds. Then it hit the upper 70s a few days later, which would have been too hot for my snow tires. It happens every October/November and March/April, it is impossible to have summer/snow tires and not be in a dangerous situation a few days without multiple swaps.

These tires may not be perfect for snow and ice, but they will make logistics with wheel swapping a hell of a lot easier. There are too many times it is 20s and snowing and then mid 70s back and forth where a summer/snow tire setup becomes a tremendous burden.

Yeah, Buffalo area is a tough climate for timing the tire swaps, but one where winter tires make a ton of sense. One way to deal with that is to NOT run summer only compounds in a climate that such unpredictable transition periods. If you run a quality all-season radial through the non-winter months, you can handle the shoulder season cold spells a lot better.

Another way to deal with temporary warm spells when running dedicated winter tires is to air them up about 5 psi above normal and avoid high speed and/or aggressive performance driving. Truth be told, winter tires can handle some warmer weather driving when you understand how not to cook the heat sensitive rubber. The more payload you have, the faster and more aggressively you drive, and the lower your tire's air pressure, the more likely you are to overheat them.

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