When is the Model Y actually AWD?

Great job. Very interesting.

great explanation. I would would have not gotten it - if I had a choice. Seeky Tesla it was Long range I wanted - but it only comes with AWD. Not that I am upset, the power is just unmatched outside of Tesla. Best car to drive in winter.

Thanks!

Its fantastic in the winter

Thanks for shedding light on the snow dynamics of Tesla!

Great video. Can you link the display you are using?

Great video. My take away - if I don’t care about efficiency then turning on off road assist will give me peace of mind that AWD is always on without having the car slip first.

There are better tests online, it is RWD 90+% of time , and will instantly power on the front motor when losing traction.

What display setup are you using?

Nice to see the numbers in this test. reportedly offroad mode will: Disabled Automatic Emergency Braking Disabled Lane Departure Avoidance (no lanes in the snow anyway) Disabled Autopilot / FSD (to aggressive for slippy conditions anyway) Decreased traction control effectiveness (spin recovery) Decreased responsiveness (throttle response) Decreased efficiency

>Its fantastic in the winter I'm 90% sure I'm going to order a MY in a few weeks (edited to add MY AWD). The 10% uncertainty is because I live where there's lot of snow and ice in the winter, and I'm concerned about the regen braking causing it to start a spin. I'm so in the habit of taking my foot off the gas if I need to slow a little before a curve or whatever. How would I do that in a MY? How would FSD handle hitting black ice?

Tesla has the best regen drag control on the market. The sensors are inside each motor so it detects traction loss at each wheel almost instantly. You have absolutely nothing to be worried about [See here](https://youtu.be/6nwhbIOipXQ?si=SUAoxEbb9FJ0hhE4)

Thanks - just watched that and will watch again. Helps a lot.

>Decreased traction control effectiveness (spin recovery) Yeah so this is what I've been wondering for a long time. While I really like using off road assist when it's snowy/icy out for its throttle response and "safer feel" when regening I couldnt help but wonder if it's overall still safer to just be in the default mode so that the car can reel you back in if you start sliding/slipping. (Yes I'm aware there's chill mode) In the video he showed during the standard mode the car actually does/can prioritize front motor Regen more than the rear vs off road assist where it's always 50/50. So if you start sliding during a 50/50 Regen the car isn't going to do anything to reel you back in because it's just hard locked to be equal at the motors. So is it actually safer to just use the default drive mode when the roads are crappy vs using off road assist??? I've never felt confident using default in slippery conditions and feel pretty good in general about off road assist which is a bummer if default has a better reaction when the car starts to slip. Anyone else have a take on this? I just wanna know for sure if default is the better setting for safety/control.

That’d certainly explain why the rear tires always seem to wear faster on my Model Y.

No prob! And this other [video](https://youtu.be/UN2_wikI_Yo?si=rTxMdGE_yhc8KGyO) might actually be more relevant to your specific query!

I'm wrapping up my 2nd winter in my Model Y in northern Michigan, and this is the best winter machine I've ever driven. Last vehicle was a Ram 4x4, the Tesla blows it away for winter driving, and this is on stock all-season tires, not even snow tires.

I’ve driven a model X and a model Y in winter and snow conditions for years and in my subjective opinion I felt that the model X had better handling on snow.

As a Texan, I am amazed how fast he was going in the snow. I don't know anyone here who has snow tires for the 2 inches we get every few years but they look amazing. Here we are dealing with weather in the mid-80's right now and tons of sun.

the car activates motors in response to traction loss so fast it really doesnt make a difference

I think its the [S3XY Dash](https://www.enhauto.com/pages/dash)

> I've never felt confident using default in slippery conditions and feel pretty good in general about off road assist which is a bummer if default has a better reaction when the car starts to slip. It's counter intuitive but the car does perform better in icey conditions in default mode, even though it can feel more squirrelly, for the exact reason you mentioned. Regen is more dynamically controlled with better traction control effectiveness. Off-road assist mode is good for deep snow when travelling at a slower speed, but it's not a dedicated snow mode even though it "feels" more stable.

This is great to know - thanks!

Out Of Spec just did a video on this topic. https://youtu.be/UN2_wikI_Yo?si=depY16V8C0jPEklD TLDR; Tesla regen will not cause you to lose traction in snow. The Tesla traction, stability, and regen systems are incredible and work very well with each other. As for your habit of lifting off, as stated earlier the car will take care of it, but, you can also do a partial lift off. Once you start driving the EV in the snow you get used to it and adjust your driving style.

I like this.

That's all I need.

This is a great video - it's one of the two that /u/Squeakyduckquack linked above. Appreciate everyone's comments - I've gone from 90% to 100% sure I'll order!

Ive found both my old 3P and current MY slip if I take a turn at low speeds when my COA hasn't had plows come in yet for 3 inches of snow. I've also never felt either have done great in the snow. It's one reason I don't trust FSD because it tends to go too fast for the conditions at times.

This video made feel much better about my RWD purchase. I’m almost never in such conditions, like up hill with traction being an issue. I’ll enjoy not carrying an extra motor I will probably not use ever.

Same or different tires?

But then you wouldn’t watch their super long video

Rotate your tires regularly