Dissapointed in snow
#1
Lexus Test Driver
Thread Starter
Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: Texas
Posts: 1,231
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Dissapointed in snow
I'm currently in Dallas and got to drive around in the 9+ inches of snow it had. My only other snow experiences have been in good ole Houston where the max was maybe 1 inch, and a snow storm in the midwest with a fwd car which handled great. Before the roads started becoming snow covered my GS430 was running like a champ. With maybe 1-2 inches on the roads, the GS was a nightmare. I was getting stuck in parking lots! In one parking lot every car could back out after a lil struggle except for me and a Smart car. The smart has tiny wheels so thats understandable. I put the car in snow mode and the tires still kept slipping like crazy. I have Goodyear Eagle F1 all seasons with good tread left. I saw other rwd cars gettin out of situations with a little struggle. In one situation, I had to take a uturn and the car got stuck! I was struggling to find grip going in reverse and drive multiple times to get traction in a busy street. I just couldnt make that uturn and had to get myself free to just go straight. I got straight, tried accelerating and the car lost traction again. I gave it gas and it was stuck for a couple seconds on the street, narrowly missing an oncoming car, as the engine finally gave power back to the wheels. Is there some setting I'm missing? Why am I getting stuck? On the plus side, the VDIM seemed to work well on skids, correcting itself very abruptly. My main concern is I might be moving to chicago, and if this car cant handle this little snow, I dont know how I'll get around there. I was getting ready to lower my car but I might have to rethink that as well. Are snow tires THAT much of a requirement on a 430? I know this is a bit of a rant but I expected a lot better from this car, considering other cars weren't having much trouble.
#5
Lexus Champion
iTrader: (1)
No offense, but you have a RWD car with all season tires and with lot of snow. That's a big no-no. You must and should have winter tires. I live in Michigan, and my AWD cars have all season and winters depending on how they do. My RWD cars ALWAYS have winter tires regardless if there is 1 inch or 10 inch of snow. Get winter tires. You will be surprise how good winter tires are these days. I can drive in deep snow, take 90 degrees turn at 30 mph with no skidding on my BMW and Audi cars. If you move to chicago, you are going to need winter tires.
#7
It's all about tires. If you have summer tires like me you should expect your car to be undriveable.
If you have all-season tires then it depends what you have. For instance:
- Bridgestone EL42 OEM tire on GS460 has a deep snow rating of 3.6
- Continental ExtremeContact DWS has a deep snow rating of 8.3
So I would say blame the tires not the car. As an example, I was in DC this week and I was riding in a Black Lincoln Towncar. These are heavy, rwd, poor handling cars. You would think these would be much worse than a GS in the snow. But he had tires that worked just fine in the snow.
If you have all-season tires then it depends what you have. For instance:
- Bridgestone EL42 OEM tire on GS460 has a deep snow rating of 3.6
- Continental ExtremeContact DWS has a deep snow rating of 8.3
So I would say blame the tires not the car. As an example, I was in DC this week and I was riding in a Black Lincoln Towncar. These are heavy, rwd, poor handling cars. You would think these would be much worse than a GS in the snow. But he had tires that worked just fine in the snow.
Trending Topics
#9
Beating the dead horse here, tires, tires, and tires ....
Age, thread depth, and type of tires are all key players here.
But no matter what, no all season tires can outperform true winter tires.
Age, thread depth, and type of tires are all key players here.
But no matter what, no all season tires can outperform true winter tires.
#10
Lexus Test Driver
Thread Starter
Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: Texas
Posts: 1,231
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I know snow tires would make a difference. With all season I think I should have atleast been able to get around, considering others were not getting stuck. My tires have a 6.8 light snow rating which should have been more than adequate. I'm thinking maybe the snow mode doesn't work on my car?
#11
Pole Position
I know snow tires would make a difference. With all season I think I should have atleast been able to get around, considering others were not getting stuck. My tires have a 6.8 light snow rating which should have been more than adequate. I'm thinking maybe the snow mode doesn't work on my car?
How well a car handles doesn't have anything to do with snow traction. The only thing that matters, apart from how many wheels can provide power to the ground, is the rubber interface between the slushy ground and your wheels.
#12
A 6.8 light snow rating does not equip your car to drive in the snow. Light snow rating means the snow is patchy with some tarmac to grip. If you are driving on snow (no patches of tarmac, then that is deep snow.
And snow mode doesn't change your snow grip level, it just stops people with poor driving skills from applying too much throttle.
Given that there are people who are driving their Lexus GS with All-season tires perfectly fine in places like New York and Minnesota, I think it must be the tires not the car. What type of tires do you have?
And snow mode doesn't change your snow grip level, it just stops people with poor driving skills from applying too much throttle.
Given that there are people who are driving their Lexus GS with All-season tires perfectly fine in places like New York and Minnesota, I think it must be the tires not the car. What type of tires do you have?
#13
Racer
iTrader: (1)
Add some weight to the rear axle, throw couple hundred pounds in the trunk while you still have snow, you will be amazed.
The cheap and clean way of doing it: buy some water-softener salt in Lowe's, it comes it 40-lbs plastic bags and costs around 4 bucks each. Place 5 of those in the trunk and you will be back in business.
The cheap and clean way of doing it: buy some water-softener salt in Lowe's, it comes it 40-lbs plastic bags and costs around 4 bucks each. Place 5 of those in the trunk and you will be back in business.
#14