It's Gonna Snow!

[Mr Singh]

Time to think about preparing your car folks, the met office is saying it's likely we'll all see snow later this week with possible blizzards in some areas. Drive safe.

As the UK shivers in freezing weather conditions, the Met Office has issued its first warning of possible disruptions due to heavy snow and blizzards.

All areas of Britain are at risk of seeing snow by the weekend, the Met Office says. It is predicting a period of cold and very strong northerly winds across the country on Thursday and Friday, and perhaps also through Saturday.

It puts the probability of disruption due to severe weather conditions in parts of the UK this week at 70 per cent.

Highest risk areas are northern and eastern Scotland, where winds may reach severe gale force, and also eastern counties of England.

Showers will turn to snow or hail over higher ground, with blizzard conditions expected in the North and East, the Met Office says.

The current cold snap is the start of what is predicted to be the coldest winter for a decade. The big freeze threatens the lives of thousands of pensioners and raises concerns over the soaring cost of power bills.

uh-oh!

[Kazi]

Well that will make walking to work interesting! Down a long hill I think I could be spending alot of time on my butt!

Drive carefully peeps!

[Lex-aholic]

It's been REALLY foggy here in Bristol over the last few days. Driving home on Saturday night (about 9:30ish), I was stuck in 4th gear as the visual distance was terrible.

I haven't driven the Lexus in snow yet. Should be fun trying to get the car out of the drive - it's on an uphill slope which I'll have to reverse out on to.

Time to test the snow button and see if it's not just a LED.

[derekyau]

It's been REALLY foggy here in Bristol over the last few days.  Driving home on Saturday night (about 9:30ish), I was stuck in 4th gear as the visual distance was terrible.

I haven't driven the Lexus in snow yet.  Should be fun trying to get the car out of the drive - it's on an uphill slope which I'll have to reverse out on to.

Time to test the snow button and see if it's not just a LED.

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LOL.

But yeah, all be careful. All RWD cars can be a bit slippy-slidy...

D.

[Mr Singh]

Time to test the snow button and see if it's not just a LED.

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Don't hold your breath, its rubbish lol

There i was last year, oooh its snowing! got in the car and to my amazment the car didn't move from the same spot for 5mins, traction is awful in the snow.

Snow button made it worse. Honestly, they should of left that switch blank or put a 'get out of jail free' button in instead

[MrADeveci]

Driving a police car ....... with blues and twos .... is always great fun in the snow !

[Anees]

Snow!

I have learnt from last year that the Lex is absolute PANTS in the snow with the summer tyres it has.

Now....whos car can I borrow...

[koshime]

errr- how do i prevent those hail and chips enroute to Torquay this weekend.......

[Anees]

errr- how do i  prevent those hail and chips enroute to Torquay this weekend.......

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Wonder if the new IS250 is any better in the snow?

Let us know mate and safe trip. :D

[koshime]

heh..will be driving down on auto cruise this Frid (so i dont bump into le Officer SFace) but driving up again to leicester on Thursday. I reckon I'll easily rack up 600 mile sby the end of the week! :)

[Monster-Mat]

it doesnt snow in the uk.................

it snows in Germany, ask Zee, Dave E and barrie

i used to regular, drive the monster in the snow.with the 255/35/18 on..ok was a bit slippy at times...but interesting

regulary in germany where i lived it would dump 5-6 or even 7 inches in a few hours

[Colin P]

heh..will be driving down on auto cruise this Frid (so i dont bump into le Officer SFace) but driving up again to leicester on Thursday. I reckon I'll easily rack up 600 mile sby the end of the week! :)

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i'll look out for your new IS around here then! Would avoid Torquay seafront btw!

[Andy_F]

Mine was hairy enough in the frost earlier this week, I dread to think what its going to be like in the snow. I kind of have an idea what the snow button is useful for since I've experimented a few times on empty fields - and it pretty much does bugger all. It should be interesting anyway...

[Rob]

Time to test the snow button and see if it's not just a LED.

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Don't hold your breath, its rubbish lol

There i was last year, oooh its snowing! got in the car and to my amazment the car didn't move from the same spot for 5mins, traction is awful in the snow.

Snow button made it worse. Honestly, they should of left that switch blank or put a 'get out of jail free' button in instead

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Summer tyres in winter conditions by any chance?? The snow button works perfectly well when it is used in the correct positions.

It really does still amaze me the amount of poeple that think pressing the "snow" will turn the car into a "go anywhere" machine - james bond isnt real!

A QUESTION: what do people expect to happen when they press the snow button???

[Monster-Mat]

A QUESTION: what do people expect to happen when they press the snow button???

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erm.start snowing

[Anees]

A QUESTION: what do people expect to happen when they press the snow button???

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Duh....what a question.

OFCOURSE:

Spikes come out of the tyres to help grip and the ride height increases :P :P

[MacRS200]

it doesnt snow in the uk.................

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Does in Scotland mate, I remember being out on my trials bike trying to go through drifts up to my waist. Didn't work but it was fun :D

Problem with Southern England is the councils aren't geared up for snow, proper snow ploughs and gritters to keep the roads clear. Too many cars compact the snow too a hard thin layer that then freezes into an ice sheet. Give me virgin snow anytime, you can get a bit of grip on that and have fun, ice rinks are OK if you got studded tyres. Then having said that, in the average year we get about one day with 2-3" of snow so why spend the money? By the time you get a snow man half built the snow is gone

I've driven in loads of snow in FWD, RWD cars and motor bikes and I can honestly say the IS is the worst car I have ever driven in snow absolute PANTS. Best bet is Snow Button on and TRC off and go for it I reckon.

[gazza200]

Time to test the snow button and see if it's not just a LED.

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Don't hold your breath, its rubbish lol

There i was last year, oooh its snowing! got in the car and to my amazment the car didn't move from the same spot for 5mins, traction is awful in the snow.

Snow button made it worse. Honestly, they should of left that switch blank or put a 'get out of jail free' button in instead

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Summer tyres in winter conditions by any chance?? The snow button works perfectly well when it is used in the correct positions.

It really does still amaze me the amount of poeple that think pressing the "snow" will turn the car into a "go anywhere" machine - james bond isnt real!

A QUESTION: what do people expect to happen when they press the snow button???

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For it to actually do something?

Same as when I press that little mirror button the door mirrors close and when I press the heated seat button my arse gets warm?

Lets face it, a button that needs a grands worth of winter tyres to work is sort of USELESS?

[Zee007]

Time to test the snow button and see if it's not just a LED.

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Don't hold your breath, its rubbish lol

There i was last year, oooh its snowing! got in the car and to my amazment the car didn't move from the same spot for 5mins, traction is awful in the snow.

Snow button made it worse. Honestly, they should of left that switch blank or put a 'get out of jail free' button in instead

←

Summer tyres in winter conditions by any chance?? The snow button works perfectly well when it is used in the correct positions.

It really does still amaze me the amount of poeple that think pressing the "snow" will turn the car into a "go anywhere" machine - james bond isnt real!

A QUESTION: what do people expect to happen when they press the snow button???

←

For it to actually do something?

Same as when I press that little mirror button the door mirrors close and when I press the heated seat button my arse gets warm?

Lets face it, a button that needs a grands worth of winter tyres to work is sort of USELESS?

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Firstly. no one has really answered Rob. Don't expect miracles. The snow button does what its supposed to. It reduces the power output. Thats why a lot of people use it in traffic.

Secondly, winter tyres don't cost a grand.

Thirdly, if you want to drive safely in the snow - by a 4x4, a tank or snowmobile.

[Monster-Mat]

Thirdly, if you want to drive safely in the snow - by a 4x4, a tank or snowmobile.

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erm even tanks crash in ice and snow..........trust me, been there :shutit:

[Rob]

useless??? ....... i wouldnt say so. the system works as intended, reduces the throttle sensitivity ( reduces the chances of wheel spin) and also doesnt put the traction control on as much allowing the tyres to slip a bit and remove any snow that is stuck in the tyre - but the effectiveness is reduced if you dont have the final part in the system, - proper tyres or crap tyres ( winter tyres cost the same as summer tyres btw)

if people crash when driving in winter conditions with summer tyres then they deserve it - no sympathy at all.

I think a few people need to read the pages in the following link

WHY did I crash in winter when I had my summer tyres on??

[MacRS200]

useless??? ....... i wouldnt say so.    the system works as intended, reduces the throttle sensitivity ( reduces the chances of wheel spin) and also doesnt  put the traction control on as much  allowing the tyres to slip a bit and remove any snow that is stuck in the tyre -  but the effectiveness is reduced if you dont  have the final part in the system,  - proper tyres or crap tyres ( which cost the same as summer tyres btw)

if people crash when driving in winter conditions with summer tyres then  they deserve it - no sympathy at all.

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All very well but you have to put winter tyres on over there, and I do agree that most of the problems we have are about tyres. However the question is why put winter tyres on for a couple of days of snow a year.

I agree that the snow button works as intended, reduces the throttle response and "softens" the engine.

The TRC is a pain cos it just kills the engine as soon as you get ANY wheel spin, even if you lift off the TRC refuses to switch off till you take the foot off completely, it detects wheel spin starting but not when you are getting some grip, so you come to a stop cos you have to take the foot right off the throttle.

The IS is THE ONLY car I have driven that I have got stuck in 1" of snow, it could be very much improved by winter steel wheels and tyres and I have seriously considered that option, but with 3 motorbikes and endless other stuff in the garage, winter wheels are not an option for the few days a year you actually need them. Stay at home if it snows in the morning or check into a hotel if it snows at night, sorted.

[eXOBeX]

Drove home in the GS last night, -5°C outside. Got to about 4 miles from home, to be confronted with two traffic cones and a ROAD CLOSED sign. No diversion, nothing. Had to turn off and go up (and down the other side) a narrow, ungritted, icy country lane about 2 miles long. Found Snow mode and VSC a godsend. Kept my foot in one position and let the car do the rest, car slowed right down where it needed to. Wheels slipped a few times, but the car stayed stable and kept going up the hill. Don't know how I'd have fared in the old Carina!

[Monster-Mat]

Drove home in the GS last night, -5°C outside.  Got to about 4 miles from home, to be confronted with two traffic cones and a ROAD CLOSED sign.  No diversion, nothing.  Had to turn off and go up (and down the other side) a narrow, ungritted, icy country lane about 2 miles long.  Found Snow mode and VSC a godsend.  Kept my foot in one position and let the car do the rest, car slowed right down where it needed to.  Wheels slipped a few times, but the car stayed stable and kept going up the hill.  Don't know how I'd have fared in the old Carina!

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............but why was the road closed

[eXOBeX]

............but why was the road closed

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Dunno. No cops about, was just a Highways depot sign.

Black ice? Couldn't have been any worse than the lane I had to use instead!