Driving in snow?

[Henry Ford]

I got to try out some slippery driving today. Well packed snow, but not pure ice. I left it in normal 1-pedal driving just for fun and I tried to get it to slip by letting off the accelerator quickly. It never slipped and felt and sounded completely normal with normal steering control. I even thought it must not be that slippery so I tested by applying a lot of brakes. The anti-locks kicked in and the truck slid a long ways as the AL did its thing. I repeated both ways several times and the AL was awful and the 1P was "normal". I am a convert to 1-pedal in slippery conditions.

I did the same thing with the same results. I think this makes sense. Regen never stops the wheels from spinning so you never lose control. Anti-lock brakes operate on the same principle that a rotating tire maintains some level of control compared to a non-rotating tire. Regen probably compares favorably to anti-lock brakes because it lacks the pulsing of ABS. Neither system will be very helpful if you are driving faster than conditions warrant but if you drive cautiously regen seems to be a net-positive in slippery conditions.

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[Heliian]

In 1 pedal on ice, the regen kicks off when it starts to slide. Just like normal braking, if you're going too fast you will not stop in time.
You will notice regen kicking off when the truck doesn't slow down and the regen gauge drops quickly.

 

[mr.Magoo]

In 1 pedal on ice, the regen kicks off when it starts to slide.

Does it try to come back on, kind of like ABS or does it behave more like when Blue Cruise gets confused and just throw it's hands up in the air and go "here, you take over" (accompanied by a subtle ding) ?

 

[Heliian]

Does it try to come back on, kind of like ABS or does it behave more like when Blue Cruise gets confused and just throw it's hands up in the air and go "here, you take over" (accompanied by a subtle ding) ?

I haven't been going fast enough to notice but it's usually followed by me pressing the brake and the abs kicking on.

One pedal mode is great but you still have to be ready to use the brake pedal, especially when someone cuts across 3 lanes for no reason and tries to pinch you into a snowbank.

 

[rg7]

Brand new Lightning owner here. Just drove in the snow this morning. I prefer 1 pedal driving, so that's what I was using. The roads weren't clear, but I couldn't get the vehicle to slip at all.

 

[Zprime29]

Sounds like what it comes down to, is just drive the mode you are used to and let the truck do its thing. I took the family up to Mt Lemmon on Friday for some fun in the snow (a novelty here in the desert) and had no problems with standard 2 pedal driving. Even when heading back down and a plow coming the opposite direction was partially in my lane and I had to brake harder than I wanted to avoid him and going into a guard rail. Never felt it slip, love this truck.

 

[USA EV]

FWiW, I came across some surfaces that were more slippery (packed snow that had turned icy). At parking lot speeds I was able to get 1-pedal regen to slip and it actually applied antilock braking and still came to complete stop and did not disengage.

 

[mefly2]

It hit negative 40 F/C here last weekend ... the Lightning was sure-footed on snow and just a bit skitter ish on ice with KO2 tires in OEM size. Not sure that I will ever use the one pedal option around this neck of the woods in Montana.

 

[Lightningwaiter]

THe lighting is the best vehicle I have driven in the snow. I love the 1 pedal. We had 18" of snow fall and I had no problem on the roads.

 

[cdherman]

I drove the farm Lighting in the snow the last few days. My brother has been complaining about the tires (stock, 20" on an August Lariat build (Yoko?)). Also complaining about snow buildup and balance issues.

We were snowed in, in western KS. Only about 6 inches of snow, but -20 temps and a diesel fuel mishap (tractors all gelled up) meant the 4x4 trucks were all we had, after 60 mph wind stacked all that snow in piles.

We broke through one stretch with a big chevy 2500 with very aggressive off road tires. Thinking was that the Lightning stood no chance. The 2500 drug in spots -- would have stopped but I hit it at 40 mph and did not let off. And did not end up in the ditch, though there were some hairy moments. Knew where the ditches were from 50 years of driving the road. Snow was 15-18 deep on the road, hard and ice at the bottom, new drifted snow on top, drifts perhaps up to 24" in spots.

So got the big tractors running on day 2 and decided to see if the Lightning could at least get out in the track of the 2500. Put in off road mode and locked the dif. Was very crabby, even on snow.

Could the front diff be locking too????? Felt like a classic 4x4 with front hubs locked on pavement. Did not like to be turned.

Took off and drove the same 2 miles of drifted hell. Stock AS tires. Never left off the pedal. I am sure I would have been done. Could see the flattened pattern of the Lighting undercarriage and snow flying from spinning tires.

Anyhow, we found some 64H 18" rims and plan to mount some snow/AT tires at some point. That will make the warm come back for sure!

But the Lightning is NO SLOUCH in deep snow. Its weight I think means that it can squash down some stuff that would start to high center some vehicles. Just one observation, but I was pleased.

 

[-XLT-]

Normal, turn off one pedal drive. Teslas end up in the ditch because the tendency is to lift off the gas when things start getting hairy, which is why you see so many teslas in the ditch during a good snowstorm. One pedal drive cannot be disabled in a tesla... they're too cheap to come up with a blended braking solution and they're still trying to work out things like panel gaps.

 

[Mmiketa]

Normal, turn off one pedal drive. Teslas end up in the ditch because the tendency is to lift off the gas when things start getting hairy, which is why you see so many teslas in the ditch during a good snowstorm. One pedal drive cannot be disabled in a tesla... they're too cheap to come up with a blended braking solution and they're still trying to work out things like panel gaps.

I feel like none of that is true. I had a model 3 and when I got it there wasn’t even an option for 1-pedal drive…yes you can turn it off. Second, 1-pedal is better for snow. We don’t get much in the south, but I drove mine with summer tires on snow and was fine.

 

[LightningShow]

I put on Blizzak LTs this year, they've been excellent. The truck handled surprisingly well with the stock A/S tires last winter but not good enough for me. That was the first time in many years I didn't have snow tires. Snow tires are a must in cold climates IMO.

 

[RickLightning]

THe lighting is the best vehicle I have driven in the snow. I love the 1 petal. We had 18" of snow fall and I had no problem on the roads.

Pedal...

 

[PA Lightning]

But the Lightning is NO SLOUCH in deep snow. Its weight I think means that it can squash down some stuff that would start to high center some vehicles. Just one observation, but I was pleased.

I used to drive in deep snow and the enemy was getting high centered. I always wonder if a front receiver hitch with a home made mini v plow would prevent snow from going under the vehicle to reduce high centering. Maybe just a piece of 12" stock welded into a V to be placed in the receiver mounted at frame level. Similar to a cow catcher on a train.

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