Is300H - Too Posh To Drift :)

[ganzoom]

So with with a nice layer of snow on the ground I took the IS300H to an empty car park to see if I could warm my self up with some nice doughnuts....Sadly it quickly became clear Lexus didn't want the IS300H to be associated with this type of immature behaviour :(

The TC kicks in regardless of what setting you put the car in, Snow, TC 'off', sport, manual shift. Worse than that it's not just the TC that kicks in, you can feel individual wheels been braked to try and stop the rear end from over taking the front.

Shame really, because the car is beautifully balanced, you can start a drift/donut really easily, and for about 1-2 second it all feels really controlled, but than the TC comes alive, and it becomes like wrestling some kind of bear (I imagine).

But it wasn't all just about trying to get an ASBO....Also tried 'snow' mode, which seems to lower the initial power delivery, and allows a bit more 'slip' before the TC kicks in. Overall very impressed how the car handled in slippery conditions, even with the eco tyres on :).

Still a shame the TC is so intrusive, but at least the car still looks good surrounded by a bit of slush.

[Zotto]

Have you tried to keep TC OFF for more than 10 seconds?

[ColinBarber]

Toyota hybrids have aggressive traction control, if the electric motors are allowed to spin without load they can be damaged and/or damage the transmission.

[MJG]

Aha you could try pull the fuse for the traction control?

My IS200 will turn off the TC fully with the traction control button pressed in.

Haven't had to drive it in any snow yet, but I guess its best to have TC turned off when driving on snow otherwise the TC light will going mad cutting the power on the wheels?

[ganzoom]

Have you tried to keep TC OFF for more than 10 seconds?

I tried all sorts, will give it another go. But snow is disappearing :(

[200h]

we haven't had any snow not a flake,if its forecast i'll send to you ganzoom.

this is my 1st rear wheel drive i've had in about 30 years my last rear wheel drive

car was my 18th birthday present a mk3 capri ,i'm wondering how tail happy the

IS is, i want to feel what its like in slippery conditions but i dont want to lose it either

[rayaans]

we haven't had any snow not a flake,if its forecast i'll send to you ganzoom.

this is my 1st rear wheel drive i've had in about 30 years my last rear wheel drive

car was my 18th birthday present a mk3 capri ,i'm wondering how tail happy the

IS is, i want to feel what its like in slippery conditions but i dont want to lose it either

The IS is fine in snow - yours should be even better than ours as it has narrower tyres! Just stick in Snow mode and don't do anything daft and you'll be fine.

I scraped the drive out today (it goes downhill and then curves around to the road) and it was slippy when I was doing it. I was sliding in my boots but the IS didn't even make a noise apart from the pavement where I forgot to shovel.

The Merc before it on the other hand was a disaster! It'd slide and make crunching noises no matter what but then, it was 400kg lighter so perhaps the IS weight has a benefit

[ganzoom]

i want to feel what its like in slippery conditions but i dont want to lose it either

That's my 'excuse' for having a little play in an empty car park. Actually losing the rear end is pretty difficult, as I've found out, the TC system in the IS is ferocious, your very unlikely to send it spinning unless your really trying too.

The bigger danger in ice/snow is the massive braking distances. Your much more likely to rear end someone, or slide into a junction due to not braking early enough, than sliding the rear end out. Which is why I don't understand why people think 4WD cars are safer in snow/ICE. 4WD doesn't help you slow down any better, if anything it means your likely to be traveling faster (due to better traction), and therefore your braking distances will be even more.

But for the IS300H, my experiences so far tell me its a pussy cat in low traction conditions. Don't be scared by low traction conditions, see it as a opportunity to get to know how the car handles but at much lower speeds. And the IS300H handles very well :).

[ganzoom]

So holding done the TC button for 5 seconds whilst in P appears to have done something....Shame the snow woudlnt be back for another year :(

[Zotto]

While for safe driving it's better to push the "snow" button, for fun all the procedures to disabilitate control make a happier tail, a step more tu unsecure driving is setting in SPORT mode, but be sure to have large spaces and no trees around :-)