Lexus And Snow

[ricostuart]

yeah..... no. its poop. I have the brand new tires all round, and the car was a complete pita on the snow. Dont recommend it at all. Unless you have a clear and flat car park. Then its fun! :D

[colbecoz]

yep, I can't get mine out of our estate when it snows or is frozen. My Is200 sport was the same. Frustrating as heck!!!!!

Col :tsktsk:

[Exdee]

It's normal for RWD cars. Ask your fellow 3 series drivers. RWD + Summer tires = A big NO in the snow

I really don't think it's worth having winter tyres for the tiny amount of snow we get on a yearly basis. Relax and have a lay in.

[ChrisIS200SportTTE]

Mine isn't going anywhere....

[ricostuart]

still tempting to take it to a car park that is just a bit further down my road ;) turn off traction control and wahaaayyyy!! :D

[Exdee]

Don't forget to turn VSC off too and hit that ECT PWR button!

[ChrisIS200SportTTE]

still tempting to take it to a car park that is just a bit further down my road ;) turn off traction control and wahaaayyyy!! :D

Lol that'll be the car park by the cop shop in chipp mate yeah? Had the same thought

[ricostuart]

lol! that one or the one by the old factory across from waitrose ;)

[colbecoz]

erm..... how do you turn off the vsc control?????????

DOH!

[colbecoz]

I'm just back from Canada, and, they only sell the AWD/4WD IS series over ther and they don't have any problems. Wish I had one now!

[Exdee]

erm..... how do you turn off the vsc control?????????

DOH!

Press and hold the TRC button till you see the light on the dash.

[noby76]

I really don't think it's worth having winter tyres for the tiny amount of snow we get on a yearly basis. Relax and have a lay in.

+1.. Infact I still have my summer Pirelli Rosso's on and the car has been coping well without winter tyres just becuse i dont have the space to store summer tyres and like you said for the minor winters we have in UK, there is really no point for winter tyres. If the roads are undrivable i park my car lie in knowing I have saved ££'s on winter tyres and also avoided some one else running into me on them icy roads even if I had winter tyres on minding my own business on the road. save your money on winter tyres and stay at home people :winky:

[Silver Arrow]

Well I'm one who was a COMPLETE winter tyre sceptic. Didn't think they were worth it.

I've just put some on as a test to see what the fuss is about, and believe me if anyone thinks the benefit is on snow only, then you are mistaken!! Even on a dry road, yesterday, -1.5C, the turn in, crisp handling was amazing. It has completely transformed the car. I have installed Pirelli Sttozero II's. The rear are from eBay (used) with 4-6mm on them, the front ones are new (from my tyres.co.uk) and it cost £30 to fit all 4 at an indy tyre fitters.

Having the IS220d through 3 winters, I really suffered in snow. My next car, a 5 series Auto BMW was actually better in the snow then the Lexus was by some margin - probably because of the way it put the power down, but changing on the GS has in my view been worth it.

Don't knock it until you've tried it is my message now - and like I say I was a sceptic thinking that it's doesn't snow much. It really isn't just snow and ice where they work much better. And it's a measurable improvement even on a dry road.

You can pick up a set of tyres on eBay for less then £200, that will serve you well over a couple of winters if not more - but I take the point about storage. That I think is the only downside. The cost - well - I reckon you're not wearing the summers whilst the winters are on - so the cost has to be into perspective.

[TigerFish]

Agree with above. It is very easy to dismiss them and if you have the luxury of "staying at home", then that is fine. Of course, if you aren't at home, and can't get home, that is a different story.

They are worth every penny (even without snow - even more so with) but sadly there will always be the haters, and not generally for any good reason. Plus there are those that don't have the money or the space for them, which is a shame, but that doesn't make them pointless.

[jpjsavage]

I drove to the station this morning, and back, and that was far enough in my LS! But no major incidents (thankfully). Just take it steady.

[noby76]

just got home from work after a 7 mile trip on the summer Pirelli's Rosso's with Snow mode activated and keeping speed at a low 30mph, feathering the throttle, not accelerating when approaching roundabouts and its been fine in -3 conditions today with quite some snow on the roads. But i live in Bedfordshire so we might not have severe snow here...any one else running summer wheels and managing ok?

[Exdee]

I went to work today. 8 miles journey and return on the summer Dunlop SP Sport 01. I drove in snow mode too most of the time and felt confident in the cars ability to stick to the ground.

I had the VSC light come on once but that was me getting a little excited.

[matt-c]

I went to work today. 8 miles journey and return on the summer Dunlop SP Sport 01. I drove in snow mode too most of the time and felt confident in the cars ability to stick to the ground.

I had the VSC light come on once but that was me getting a little excited.

Alongside the added grip in snowy, icy, and wet conditions (gotta say it, the Uniroyal winter tyres I put on mine are absolutely fantastic in the wet! Just like the Uniroyal RainSport's I ran years ago on one of my Escorts), one of the most reassuring things about winter tyres, is the confidence they give. Confidence not only that you can get moving from on a snowy, icy hill, but also that you can turn in, and most importantly, stop again. Then there's the added confidence of standing water. So often you get lots of rain and on fast A roads and motorways you get build ups of standing water, that can often "snag" a front wheel as you drive through, and at worse cause aquaplaning; not with these Uniroyals. Powering through standing water at 70mph while everything else has to slow to 50 or 60, and still feeling totally confident in their grip. Not a snag, tug, and pull anywhere. Very impressed!

Will find out how good they are with ice later, since the way out of my estate is uphill, and has compacted, as usual, into ice, which has been frozen for about 12hrs now. The van failed to negotiate it, and nearly took out some trees at the side. Let's see how the Lex fairs later on!

[Exdee]

I am pretty convinced about the performance of winter tyres in the snow but like I said before it barely snows here and they are not worth the hassle in my opinion. As far as an improvement in the wet is concerned that you and Silver Arrow have pointed out, I wonder if a similar result could be achieved by getting a summer tyre that has an excellent reputation in the wet such as the Good Year Asymmetric 2.

I think the way you drive and where you drive can make a difference too. For instance a person who cruises in the city will probably not notice the difference between a summer tyre and a winter tyre apart from in the snow. On the other hand a person who drives in a spirited manner on curvy country side roads will probably be like WOW!

[Dromara1974]

Not all rear drive cars are bad in the snow, as both my e46 3 series and my wife's 2005 C class coupe were both very good and I could keep them going when idiots were crashing in their 4x4s.

My IS220d is utter bobbins and couldn't cope with an inch of snow and a slight incline - the steering is way too light and the front end has no grip (my federals probably don't help - they were on the car when I bought it!), and the rear can't generate any traction whatsoever.

I nearly swapped ends when changing from 3rd to 2nd in a straight line, which was at about 25 mph and has never ever happened to me before and I've had RWD for over ten years. I used to find my cars fun in the right circumstances, but this feels far too twitchy and quite dangerous.

[matt-c]

I am pretty convinced about the performance of winter tyres in the snow but like I said before it barely snows here and they are not worth the hassle in my opinion. As far as an improvement in the wet is concerned that you and Silver Arrow have pointed out, I wonder if a similar result could be achieved by getting a summer tyre that has an excellent reputation in the wet such as the Good Year Asymmetric 2.

I think the way you drive and where you drive can make a difference too. For instance a person who cruises in the city will probably not notice the difference between a summer tyre and a winter tyre apart from in the snow. On the other hand a person who drives in a spirited manner on curvy country side roads will probably be like WOW!

Absolutely. I ran a set of Uniroyal RainSports on one of my Escorts many years ago, and the grip in the wet from those were phenomenal! They are a "summer" tyre (I say summer with inverted comma's, because they are not a winter tyre, but rather than an out-and-out summer tyre, they are marketed as a wet weather tyre). The grip in the dry was perfectly fine; not as sticky as the Yoko A520's they replaced, but still more than capable, but the wet grip was just next level - totally awesome! And the Uniroyal +66 winter tyres I'm running now have the same wet grip I remember from the RainSport's, the eat standing water for breakfast and just say "what's aquaplaning?" ;)

[ChrisIS200SportTTE]

Yoko A520's... Best tyres I've ever had!

Had them on my 95 Primera which had aftermarket 17 inch rims! Sexy looking tyre and sticky as. Only got 11k miles out of them tho and at £200 a corner, not cheap! I got them from Demon Tweekes and the guy there sold them to me as a summer/rain/winter tyre all in one!

[matt-c]

Haha, don't think I even got that, more like 9 or 10k! As for summer/rain/winter tyres all in one - tosh! They were great in the summer; sticky a hell! But not so good in the rain and rubbish in the snow (and you could definitely feel that they weren't at 100% in the low, single digit, winter temps, and in the minus temps, gave no confidence at all! Awesome on hot dry roads though!)

[ChrisIS200SportTTE]

As for summer/rain/winter tyres all in one - tosh!

Absolutely, had a little giggle to myself :)

[ehonda]

Hi to all proud Lexus owners! New here. Just wanted to share what I did last night. I have a set of proper winter tyres (with alloys) left from my Qashqai. All jap cars have same 5x114.3 stud fitting. So I thought I give it a go. Here's what I have now, until snow will vanish. Awesome grip !!! Drives like a 4x4 now :hohoho: