Technically it shouldn't matter. Even OPD in OFF mode the car still regents when you hit the brake pedal.

Probably in LOW it allowed you a little more control than just using the Gas peddle alone.

 

OPD will work great in snowy conditions too, you still have the stability control so no worries, I have found OPD works good in slippery conditions

 

Had my first couple of experiences in similar conditions. I kept it in OPD and thought the behavior of the car was really predictable on declines and stops. I plan to try regen off next time and see if it's more precise.

 

What kind of tires do you have?

 

I probably should know, but it's whatever tires came standard on the 2021 non-performance pack cars.

 

If I remember correctly Polestar recommends a low setting, I use it as well since the standard one feels too sensitive, especially if you lose traction and leave the brake- a neutral or low response would be safer than hard braking

 

I’ve found the car to do very well in sloppy , icy , winter conditions using standard OPD . I’m just well aware that the pedal is also a brake and let it off smoothly .
I’m also quite impressed with my all weather Michelin Cross Climate 2 tires .

 

It's best to put OPD on low or turn off completely. There's a reason why most manufacturers have it written in their manual. Is it possible to use standard OPD and feel like you're not slipping and drive just fine? Yes, of course, but it doesn't change the fact it's even better to have it off.

 

I'm in the DC area also and was wondering today about the Polestar and winter handling. Our other car is an Audi with Quattro (AWD). Is the Polestar with dual-motor "smart" when it comes to power distribution in slippery conditions, or does it always effectively send the same power distribution to each wheel regardless of conditions?

 

Vs. Quattro: the press material says Polestar 2 DM has torque vectoring. So it should be smart.
In general, EV's should be easier to design so that power is fed to the wheel(s) with traction. This (in theory) should enable Polestar to be on par with the proper Quattro system, i.e. A4/A6 - better than A3 and other VW 4wd systems having nothing to do with real Quattro except marketing.

The roads here are covered with ice, slush and snow many months, so I've had several xDrive cars. The well optimized traction control allows quick takeoff by not cutting throttle aggressively when slipping a bit - and the rear bias is nice in corners. Am probably going to miss that with the Polestar. Delivery is 2 weeks away, so we'll see.

It comes down to how they tuned the software. If it's Swedish (cautious), the take off will be chary and slow on icy roads. And corners will be all about understeer. The latter might be a bit tunable by adjusting the Öhlins dampers to different settings front/rear. This I'll test immediately. Understeer is annoying. 😉

 

I don’t think the car is understeering in a disturbing way at all. Really easily at least in winter this can be driven sideways. Sport mode = My Winter mode Using the OPD in this type of driving was challenging for me at least in the beginning. The fun naturally stops right away if you lift the ‘accelerator pedal’.
I have a lot of experience with the BMW xdrive and I would say that at least in the winter, the Polestar 2 behaves very similarly on a slippery surface.

 

Sorry for offtopic but if comparison is allowed to BMW and how ESC works, Polestar is much more permissive and I like it. 1st setting for switching off the ESC in BMW is very similar to Polestar's normal driving mode. Sport Mode is very similar to a situation where BMW's ESC is 'switched off' with a long press of the ECS button.

 

Kiitos,
This helps!
Some other cars I tested had panic-like behaviour on snow/ice - they tend to kill off throttle, braking and flashing warning lights at you and ofc disable cruise control even at the slightest slip.

 

So... anyone able to get the tail out a little on slippery conditions? You know, like how you do when you are in a safe environment and want to have a bit of fun?

 

Like so?

 

 

Also, this past weekend while at our place in NH, the driveway turned to a slushy and icy mess. So, of course, I took that opportunity to play with the car. I got in, turned on sport mode, and floored it. It had some rear wheel bias, because the rear tires dug a nice trench into the slush, while the fronts didn't seem to leave much of a mark.

 

I don't always drive in snow and ice, but when I do I always leave the OPD setting to standard.

In the end, it doesn't change how or when the car brakes/regens anyway, but it does give you really fine and rapid modulation of access/decel from a single pedal, which I like on snowy mountain roads. I suspect that manufacturers might suggest turning it off because inexperienced drivers might completely lift of the pedal in a panic situation when the car starts slipping and therefore exacerbate the situation. But that's just an operator issue, not a car issue.

Of course, many people may just prefer to have it off.

 

Driving to work along a quiet lane at 6:30am this morning, turning at 55mph (at least 15mph too fast) I hit a patch of black ice. In a split second there was a slide, a twitch, a corrective shuffle, an audible sigh of relief before normal service was resumed. Only thing missing was strangulation from the seatbelt as punishment for driving like a dick.
Thanks Polestar/Volvo safety engineers. Saved me (again)

 

This is my second winter (real winters). Last year with nordic studless and this year with studded. OPD always in standard. Works great!

 

Winter in Southern Norway: Salt, Slush, Compact snow, Powder, Ice. You'll get it all! 19 inch rims with Continental 245/45 R 19 102 T M+S. Winter tires supplied by Polestar, - excellent! No studs (destroys our highways). On dry or wet roads I always using OPD selection STD. I am definitely using OPD in LOW on slippery roads, Or OFF on extremely slippery roads. I want my wheels rolling when I release the throttle to maintain steering. The car may take care of it in STD, or not? As a pilot I am used to more advanced antiskid, where ground speed is also taken into account. Not so with cars, The calculations may go haywire, when the tires loose traction and references are lost. The greatest car I have ever driven on snow and ice!

 

I said this in a separate post, but I think the main issue with having OPD set to "standard" (or even "low") in slushy/sloppy and icy conditions is the lack of having a coasting position in the pedal modulation. Even when you pin the pedal dead center between throttle and regen, the car is actually slowing under regenerative braking. You can test this yourself, as I have. Pick a stretch of road, now pick a marker along that road (tree, sign, whatever) to act as a transition point. Now, accelerate up to a constant speed (it doesn't have to be fast), and as soon as you reach that marker begin to modulate the accelerator to the midpoint displayed on the dash (for either "standard" or "low" OPD settings), see how far the car rolls. Now go back and do the same, with OPD set to "off" and simply release the pedal when you reach the marker, note how much further you coast.

Having the ability to allow the wheels to coast in ice and slush is pretty important for maintaining stability, particularly when transitioning over mixed surfaces. Think of a highway with heavy wet slush, but that's been cleared within the lanes where the cars are driving and you're changing lanes. You want the car's momentum to carry you through that and only then return to throttle or braking.

If there's a winter driving school near you, it's always worth doing so you can learn how to maximize the responsiveness of both you and your car under varying winter conditions.

 

If there's a winter driving school near you, it's always worth doing so you can learn how maximize the responsiveness of both you and your car under varying winter conditions.

No matter what car you own, this is a thing you seriously should do when you live in an area that gets snow regularly! Can only highly recommend.

 

@nbvolks I think we are getting into a semantic argument. My point is simply that there is a OPD pedal location that is vanishingly similar to being off of both pedals in a traditional car. And it is reasonably easy to just feel where that spot is. And I like the shorter response time where I don’t have to move from pedal to pedal. But I think your method is fine too!!!
And hopefully none of us spend much time driving where we are constantly on the ragged edge of losing all traction. Although last Thursday was sorta like that!

 

@JPC I am sure there is such a place, but I couldn't find it on the standard settings and even if I did it will be too sensitive and hard to find when the car start slipping. On the low setting it seems to be relatively easy to find and maintain.

I agree with you that the quote @nbvolks brought doesn't necessarily mean that the controls should be physically separate, after all this is simple physics being applied.

 

Unfortunately, drivers tend to release the trottle abruptly (by instinct), when the car suddenly slips. Or even worse, get on the brakes.
In OPD Standard, full regeneration control retardation, unless the antiskid function will release individual wheel braking. At this point you have lost some traction, and may get some unpleasant surprises!
On slippery roads, I'll go for what Polestar recommends: OPD selection Low or Off.

 

Hi Everyone -

We are having another snow storm in Colorado and I have been doing some reading on snow driving on this forum. Some people report that the regenerative braking can cause the P2 to lose traction in the snow. Is this really a thing? If so, should we turn off one pedal driving in the snow?

For those of you in North America and east of the Rockies - stay safe!

 

You can't turn off regen braking.

Even when OPD is off the car still uses regen braking to a point.

 

This thread One-Pedal Drive in Snow? may be of interest

 

Thanks. I missed that.