Is 250 And Snow/ Ice

[MW70]

Hello all

Here in the IOM like elsewhere in the UK theres been snow and ice, Its my IS250s first winter in my care, and Im nervous. I was out yesterday and I couldnt back out of my dads drive (slight incline and not very well surfaced) without a push! There wasnt even that much snow. (When it was just wet once i had a lot of wheelspin!) Anyway the journey home was successful in snow mode and taking it very sensibly. The traction control light was on and off quite a bit. There were a few moments where I wasnt sure if I was going to continue in a straight line...

Ive seen people suggest putting extra weight over the back wheels so might try that to improve traction.

Anybody else had experience in the snow with the 250 and its auto...

MW

[Matus]

what would you expect from 245 summer rubber + rwd?

http://www.lexusownersclub.co.uk/forum/index.php?showtopic=70192

[javadude]

RWD + Snow = forget it. Last year my car couldn't even make it up the camber away from the kerb with a small amount of snow. A BMW parked in front had the same problem.

[F.A.]

Didn't have much problem last year in Bristol. Our drive is on a hill so had to clear the rear wheels on two occasions but other than that, taking it easy in snow mode seem to work ok.

[brido]

has to be said the is250 is total baws in the snow, snow mode is just a button that does nowt and you cant tickle the accelerator without the traction control kicking in. I had a dabble with the snow tried my best to see best way to drive the car in the snow but it was all over the place. If you accelerate on a bit of slush the wheels will spin. My citreon dispatch van kicks its *****.

[UpSideDown]

has to be said the is250 is total baws in the snow, snow mode is just a button that does nowt and you cant tickle the accelerator without the traction control kicking in. I had a dabble with the snow tried my best to see best way to drive the car in the snow but it was all over the place. If you accelerate on a bit of slush the wheels will spin. My citreon dispatch van kicks its *****.

Why don't get a set of good studded winter tire. I even drive with ECT PWR switched on in heavy snow without any problem. Well I did get stuck once on my parking lot. But that was the only time.

[fjcfarrar]

Hello all

Here in the IOM like elsewhere in the UK theres been snow and ice, Its my IS250s first winter in my care, and Im nervous. I was out yesterday and I couldnt back out of my dads drive (slight incline and not very well surfaced) without a push! There wasnt even that much snow. (When it was just wet once i had a lot of wheelspin!) Anyway the journey home was successful in snow mode and taking it very sensibly. The traction control light was on and off quite a bit. There were a few moments where I wasnt sure if I was going to continue in a straight line...

Ive seen people suggest putting extra weight over the back wheels so might try that to improve traction.

Anybody else had experience in the snow with the 250 and its auto...

MW

Like all cars with reasonable power and fattish tyres, the IS 250 is poor in snow unless you fit winter/snow tyres. This is a pain and expensive. The cheaper and better solution is to borrow, buy or hire an old Corsa or anything similarly light with skinny tyres and not much much power to use in snow. Much less bother and easier to store than a set of wheels/tyres.

[Yamavira]

In agrrrrreement with all earlier posts. IS 250 Auto in the snow. A TOTAL disaster. Might have electronic everthing, none of which is any good if you cannot get any grip. The 245 summer rubber is useless.

I understand from the forums best action is a set of IS200 16" wheels with 205 winter tyres. Bit of an expense.

Wrap it up in the garage to keep it warm until the sun comes out again. A bit like having a motor cycle. !!!

yamavira.

[UpSideDown]

In agrrrrreement with all earlier posts. IS 250 Auto in the snow. A TOTAL disaster. Might have electronic everthing, none of which is any good if you cannot get any grip. The 245 summer rubber is useless.

I understand from the forums best action is a set of IS200 16" wheels with 205 winter tyres. Bit of an expense.

Wrap it up in the garage to keep it warm until the sun comes out again. A bit like having a motor cycle. !!!

yamavira.

I have 18" 225/40 studded winter tires. Works great actually. I drive about 60km everyday and it's plenty of snow here.

temperature this morning: -20C :duh:

[scudney]

Hi,the fact is that RWD and snow just dont go together(so lexus, mercs,bmw's,mx5's,rx8's etc are crap in the snow on normal tyres)you have all the power at the back and little weight which equals wheel spin and your back end sliding out of place,have been told that deflating all 4 tyres by 2 psi does help but havent tried it out yet.

[Matus]

I understand from the forums best action is a set of IS200 16" wheels with 205 winter tyres. Bit of an expense.

the initial investment is quite large, but it is not that bad after all.

Driving on winter tires means saving the summer tires and since the 205/55/16 is much less expensive than 245/45/17 or even 18", it means that driving on winter tires is actually cheaper.

The alloys you will later resale any day...

[Yamavira]

Morning

When going for Winter Wheels / Tyres for the IS250 which Lexus models will provide the best set of replacement wheels for the winter. What wheel specs. are the best.

What Winter rubber would anyone recommend.

Thanks

Regards

Yamavira. ;)

[Matus]

I bought these, because it is for me closest design to the originals

tires I have are pirelli sottozero, but this model is already 5y old, so there should be better tire now. When choosing, I recommend not to look on overall characteristics (position in the test) but take the best tire with traction on snow. This tire will be for sure worse on water or on dry road, or will be more noisy, but what we need is the traction on the snow.

[Yamavira]

Hi

Nice looking wheels. Post the details please. Specs. where to buy etc.

Many Thanks

regards

yamavira.

[Matus]

it is called OZ Michelangelo.

I bought it in Slovakia, so I don't think I will help you with the shop.

the size for 16" is 7JJx16 ET45, but double check with the seller, he should have the list with models and sizes.

[blana]

I have a set of 4 winter tires on Lexus 16" rims and they work well, I haven't had any problem.

[colbecoz]

IS220D is awful in the snow. Too much torque, and even with traction control off, I couldn't get the damn thing to go up even the slight incline out of our estate. Got stuck twice. Luckliy have great nieghbours who helped get me back in to our driveway. Ho-Hum.

Col

[Propwash]

A friend of mine bought some snow socks, not for rear wheel drive though. He is a traffic copper and should now, but he swears by them. £55 from Halfords or some other and you can drivewith them on, not just to get you out of a snowy hole. Might be worth a try.

[Tango]

A friend of mine bought some snow socks, not for rear wheel drive though. He is a traffic copper and should now, but he swears by them. £55 from Halfords or some other and you can drivewith them on, not just to get you out of a snowy hole. Might be worth a try.

I've got a set of winter tyres on the OEM 17" Rims off my IS250 SE-L, but they are on my IS200 Sport. The IS200 will now go anywhere, regardless of whether it's snow or ice and drives/steers without any slipping. To say that winter tyres make a difference in colder weather, never mind snow and ice, is an understatement. My IS-F with summer tyres is really twitchy in the cold and will lose traction easily on even slightly wet roads.

[mipmip]

Hi all, I am new to Lexus and am picking up an IS 220D SE tomorrow morning. Did speak to 2 owners I know prior to purchase and they didn't think the snow was a big issue, drive sensibley and switch off all the gadgets that are supposed to help was the advice given. Is it as bad as suggested here, I'm starting to have doubts about getting rid of my Audi A4 already.

Regards mipmip.

[Tango]

Hi all, I am new to Lexus and am picking up an IS 220D SE tomorrow morning. Did speak to 2 owners I know prior to purchase and they didn't think the snow was a big issue, drive sensibley and switch off all the gadgets that are supposed to help was the advice given. Is it as bad as suggested here, I'm starting to have doubts about getting rid of my Audi A4 already.

Regards mipmip.

It's about time the average Brit driver was educated about driving a car equipped with summer rubber in the winter months. Doesn't matter what the car is, the contact patch with the road dictates what traction you have. Rear wheel configuration is more difficult to control if you don't have traction and 4x4 probably the easiest as it has drive to all wheels, but even a 4x4 with summer rubber isn't the best.

[adjust8r]

My IS220d se has not moved from outside my house for the past two weeks. I have tried to move it....an absolute disaster in the snow.

[tinka]

When it snows, i dont go for the car key, i go for the keyboard, to find out the train times, dont even bother trying to use the car in this weather. the trains are not much better though, i must admit.

[mrkfx]

Well i fitted Nokian WRg2 tyres in mid october, superb on snow, excellent traction and i think braking is the most staggering difference over summer tyres in these bad conditions.

well worth the money. I dont see it as a cost, my summer tyres will now last 2 years, and so will the winters. Plus i am safer and can venture out when things are not ideal.

[mipmip]

Well i fitted Nokian WRg2 tyres in mid october, superb on snow, excellent traction and i think braking is the most staggering difference over summer tyres in these bad conditions.

well worth the money. I dont see it as a cost, my summer tyres will now last 2 years, and so will the winters. Plus i am safer and can venture out when things are not ideal.

Hi, can I ask where you bought them from and how much they were?

Also do you just change them at the first sign of snow or say in the autumn for 6 months?

Last question, do you have all 4 on as the Lexus dealer told me only the 2 rears which I found strange.

Regards mipmip.