LS430Lexus

The snow is coming and I am concerned about my son (relatively new driver) in an '02 GS w/ 88k. The car came with an almost new set of Michelin X-Ice snow tires but I would like to be extra careful. Has anyone put extra weight (100 pounds of sand, rock salt, etc) in the trunk and had success in winter weather? Any winter driving suggestions are appreciated, thanks in advance.

Htony

I sent my two kids to defensive driving course when they got their licenses. Real teacher is accumulated experience. Usually PU drivers up here carry extra weight in the back in winter. I'd say same rule applies to your son's car. Some careless people ditch their cars/trucks thinking AWD system won't have any trouble dealing with snow.
I don't know how old you boy is, most important is to drive for the road condition. After wrecking two cars(Subaru WRX, Nissan Pathfinder) he is now very good driver driving BMW 3-series, nice little car. He still miss the Subaru AWD system. That MIchelin is good winter tires. Daughter never got into any accident by contrast.

SpectraBlu

iTrader: (1)

Some weight in the back will definitely help a little. You should take him to an empty snow covered parking lot and put him through some loss of traction scenarios, so he knows what to expect and how to deal with it.

Mr Jokster

iTrader: (8)

Dont forget to put the tranny in "snow" mode.That will give slow smooth non-torqued shifts to eliminate the chance of wheel spin when down shifting.

LS430Lexus

All good points. He learned to drive in my LS430, rear wheel drive with snow tires so it should be similar. I taught him to use the the snow setting if the road has any ice or snow on it. A full tank of gas also adds weight in the right spot. That said, we will head to the nearest high school parking lot tomorrow for practice if we get the predicted 6 to 8 inches. 100 lbs of ballast in the trunk just behind the rear seat can't hurt. Thank you for your comments.

firelizard

iTrader: (1)

I haven't had the need to do that. The GS is not prone to fishtailing. In fact, because it tends to spin just one wheel, it's actually a little tricky to make the rear step out unless you are very reckless, or deliberately weight-transfer to induce oversteer. X-Ice are as good on ice as their name implies- they are a good choice for this car in winter.

SpectraBlu

iTrader: (1)

Good point. My GS has a Supra tt diff and a Dragon torque converter, so driving in the snow isn't happening

AmanO

Tires make a huge difference. I have **** tires on mine. Read end kicked out a few times even in rain. I am driving it like a grandpa in wet weather, too.

I cannot do **** in the snow. Today was the first time in it with my GS. Hopefully last time, too. I am so glad, now, I kept my Camry as a winter beater.

OP, you close to the Ohio line? We got at least 6 inches already and are scheduled for 7 more hours of snow.

Htony

In winter time traction. in summer time hydroplaning both are very important. I once witnessed a airborne car due to hydroplaning caused by wreckless high speed
driving. Cars contact to surface area is few square inches of rubber on 4 corners. I never cheap out on tires. Always I go for best sets for my driving style.

RXGS

iTrader: (2)

My 2002 without snow tires was brutal, especially getting it going from a redlight, stop sign etc. but with Michelin snow tires, it made it one of the best cars I've ever had in the snow. The weight will help, but you probably won't need it. I think the heavy weight helps because it helps the tires dig in. I found it best, especially around town, to keep the traction control off and in snow mode, but that was just me.

Htony

All our vehicles in the family are AWD(not all AWD system is created equal) type, have two sets of tires for summer, winter. Most scary surface is black ice. Also winter
rims are one size under to have tall tires(digs in better). I do seasonal tire/rim change myself including TPMS programming when needed. IMO, best AWD system is
that of Subaru.

MattyG

I think he and you, have the right idea. He's already quite experienced with driving a larger rwd V8 car so he's further ahead than 90% of the drivers out there. I do exactly what you've suggested. I've got two 50lb sandbags right above the rear axle and they do make a difference when starting from a stop or reversing out of moderately deep snow and even on ice.

LS430Lexus

I took the car through the snow this morning to get the ballast (2 - 50lb bags of ice melter). While the roads had been treated a little in the hour I was shopping, I could feel the difference on the way home. The rear end was more firmly planted and solid feeling on the way home. It may not be necessary but it can't hurt. The bags fit very well on the elevated portion just behind the back seat. With all of your help, we survived his short first winter driving experience. Thank-you.

burteboy

I wouldn,t put ice melter in my car for that long a time you could do extensive damage if it leak. Your best bet is sand and also properly wrapped in plastic.

LS430Lexus

Good point. I may switch the bags to sand. Alternatively, I may put them in a box or "double wrap" with thick trash bags. Ideally, I would like to find lead or similar bars. In any case, he drove through our first 8" snow fall without incident.