Snow & ice -- how will RWD Cybertruck single motor perform?

[maconjt]

I thought I posed this question earlier, but it doesn't look like it.

I have a reservation for the single motor mainly because I will be financing the vehicle and don't want a huge payment.

I live in Iowa and I'm wondering how the single motor will do in the snow and ice since it will be rear wheel drive and till have a lot of torque. I figured I could just throw a bunch of sandbags in the back if it slides around too much on the snow and ice like must people do with rear wheel drive vehicles in Iowa....lol.

Thoughts?

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[John K]

Battery weight is a plus, less wheels turning is always a negative issue. Can you get away without using chains, probably similar to other heavy rear wheel drive vehicles. Though, you will not need to hold back a high ice idle potentially losing grip at low speeds. Lots of unknowns. When time comes to fill your order, hopefully there will be useful data so you may finalize your trim decision.

 

[larryboy31]

Battery weight is a plus, less wheels turning is always a negative issue. Can you get away without using chains, probably similar to other heavy rear wheel drive vehicles. Though, you will not need to hold back a high ice idle potentially losing grip at low speeds. Lots of unknowns. When time comes to fill your order, hopefully there will be useful data so you may finalize your trim decision.

I have a Dodge diesel RWD with limited slip rear end. With weight in the bed I get around pretty well. Empty, not so much. It is my understanding that the single motor will send the power to the wheel with the most traction. If so you will be in good shape.

 

[VolklKatana]

Wisconsin resident and single motor Model S owner here. It's not much different than any other RWD car to be honest, with the additional note that the traction control, I feel, works much better than other vehicles. Is it better than my Silverado was, yes. Is it better than a FWD or AWD vehicle? Definitely not. As with most other vehicles, I really think tires would make a considerable difference.

 

[android04]

Tires make a huge difference, and so will the weight distribution (which is currently unknown for the Cybertruck). I live in Nebraska and have driven my Model 3 LR RWD since April 2018 and about 70,000 miles. I feel that my car does great in ice and snow, but I have always used winter tires in the winter with it. Other things that help are the weight distribution on my model (47% front / 53% rear) and Tesla's traction control. You can floor the accelerator pedal on ice or snow and the car will not just burn out, but will gradually accelerate based on the traction it has. The possible things that could cause me problems are driving in snow that is deeper than 6" or I drive into a ditch. I've actually driven in snow deeper than 6" a few times, and snow flies up and over the windshield as the front end of the car "cuts" the snow and flings it up. Depending on the type of snow and if there's ice under it, you might be fine. Or might be fine until you stop and might not be able to get moving again.

I'd say tires are the most important part unless you live in an area where there are a lot of hills. Then having AWD/4WD would be beneficial as well.

 

[Bill906]

Reading this thread I just thought of something I hadn’t thought of before. I wonder how a RWD (rear wheel drive) vehicle with AWS (All Wheel Steering) will handle on slippery surfaces. This is assuming AWS will be standard on all CT’s. I realize we don’t know that. We also don’t know exactly how the truck will steer the rear wheels in different situations. I’m picturing stopped at a stop sign on a city street where the snow plow just cleared the cross road you are turning right onto, putting a small snowbank in your path that you must concur from a full stop. Cross traffic doesn’t have a stop sign and it’s a busy road. Will the truck steer the rear wheels opposite direction as the front? If they spin (not enough traction to break through snow pile) will it cause the vehicle to act differently than if the rear wheels remained straight? Will the truck change the steering angle if it detects spinning?

I went to college in a very snowy and hilly town. I drove an ‘86 Buick Regal -rear wheel drive, no weight in the back, V8 in the front. All season tires that had “ok” tread. I was VERY good at driving that car. I knew exactly when the rear wheels would break friction and would vary the throttle and steering accordingly. Some days that car was going sideways more than it was going forward. But I was good at controlling it even when it was sliding. Never got into an accident. I never understood the phase “Steer into the skid”. Instead I would say no matter what the back wheels are doing, always point the front wheels in the direction you want the car to go. I wonder how much added complexity 4 wheel steering would have in controlling that vehicle.

 

[Crissa]

EVs (especially Tesla) has a bunch of advantages:

• Weight distribution. Battery pack means even, low weight which is easier to control. It's also more weight, which is good in snow and ice generally.
• Instant response for traction control. Electric drive motors respond instantly and have exactly the torque needed. (They can also spin out of control, but that's without traction control.)

Cybertruck will also have:

• Rear wheel steering
• Adjustable ride height to balance the load
• Full traction control and cameras for situational awareness

So it will probably be alot better than your standard rear-wheeled truck. Probably even better than traditional FWD cars.

-Crissa

PS: Steer into the skid is a method to regain control by getting the wheels rotating in relation to the car's motion. If the tires 'catch' while they're turned away from the direction of travel, that will often precipitate a high-side or overturn.

 

[Jhodgesatmb]

I grew up in Michigan winters and didn't have a 4x car until I was in college. We stayed out of trouble with ground clearance and knowing how to drive in white and slippery stuff. Given how well the other Teslas perform in wintery conditions, and given the huge ground clearance advantage of the Cybertruck, there is a good chance it will be fine.

 

[Bill906]

I grew up in Michigan

The very snowy and hilly town I went to college in is in Michigan.

 

[Tinker71]

I thought I posed this question earlier, but it doesn't look like it.

I have a reservation for the single motor mainly because I will be financing the vehicle and don't want a huge payment.

I live in Iowa and I'm wondering how the single motor will do in the snow and ice since it will be rear wheel drive and till have a lot of torque. I figured I could just throw a bunch of sandbags in the back if it slides around too much on the snow and ice like must people do with rear wheel drive vehicles in Iowa....lol.

Thoughts?

Without hills you should be fine. You should be able to stop and turn as well as anybody on ice. So many people are overconfident in AWD. AWD will help in the snow though.

 

[HaulingAss]

I thought I posed this question earlier, but it doesn't look like it.

I have a reservation for the single motor mainly because I will be financing the vehicle and don't want a huge payment.

I live in Iowa and I'm wondering how the single motor will do in the snow and ice since it will be rear wheel drive and till have a lot of torque. I figured I could just throw a bunch of sandbags in the back if it slides around too much on the snow and ice like must people do with rear wheel drive vehicles in Iowa....lol.

Thoughts?

The RWD Cybertruck will blow the doors off ICE RWD pickups in the snow and ice due to more weight over the drive wheels (battery) and no heavy high-mounted engine up front. Driving on snow and ICE is largely a matter of tires and weight distribution. The weight distribution of Cybertruck will excel and you are in control of tire selection so if you would be satisfied with a RWD ICE pickup, you will be thrilled with the snow and ice handling of the Cybertruck. If you want to be able to climb steep ICY hills, you will want winter tires and AWD.

 

[rr6013]

I thought I posed this question earlier, but it doesn't look like it.

I have a reservation for the single motor mainly because I will be financing the vehicle and don't want a huge payment.

I live in Iowa and I'm wondering how the single motor will do in the snow and ice since it will be rear wheel drive and till have a lot of torque. I figured I could just throw a bunch of sandbags in the back if it slides around too much on the snow and ice like must people do with rear wheel drive vehicles in Iowa....lol.

Thoughts?

CT RWD is the best damn truck for the money. Where it falls short of CT AWD is in battery size, crawling and mud.

CT RWD in snow, only difference from AWD is the tendency of the lighter frontend to get pushed. There are tires and a frunk to counter that.

CT RWD fails on ice. Parked on ice same as ICE RWD. Climbing a snowpacked iced hill, black ice, ditto… Tesla traction control sounds like the bees knees on highway ice~y roads.

CT RWD fails in deep mud. Where 16” clearance helps for snow dumps, it can’t do a damn thing in midwest gumbo, deep(10-20”) mud ruts that without chains on the front even std 4x4 won’t drag their sorry ass thru.

Cybertruck electronic traction control and EV motor torque will tease false confidence until the limits of its abilities teach what is the impossible. No one knows. There @VolklKatana wisdom rings true to this born & raised Sioux City midwesterner.

And Yes. Suzuki’s lightweight; Samurai will embarrass Cybertrucks with its 4x4 prowess just sayin’

 

[Bill906]

Hmm, this thread has me asking another question. What do we thing the front to back weight distribution will be for the CT? I've always been under the impression that, in general, the best distribution is 50-50. Someone correct me if that isn't true. If true, the next question is, Is the CT distributed 50-50 when empty? Or is it designed front heavy / rear light so that when you add payload to the rear it becomes 50-50?

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