IS - 2nd Gen (2006-2013) Discussion about the 2006+ model IS models

What is the benefit of AWD besides in the snow?

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Old 04-17-06, 08:54 PM
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LexAppeal
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Default What is the benefit of AWD besides in the snow?

Sorry I did a search but did not find much information. I searched awd and rain and most people said that good tires with a RWD was fine. But that was comparing the 250AWD to a 350 RWD w/ Vdim in the rain.

So my question is if I really only need IS-250 AWD for a week or 2 out of the year for snow. What else is it beneficial for compared to an IS-250 RWD? There wasn't any RWD's available so I just took the AWD as they offered a little extra discount. So it seems i lose gas mileage and a very tiny bit of speed to gain the ability to drive in the snow? Is feeling more confident in the rain more of a placebo effect?
Old 04-18-06, 06:30 AM
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cdeslandes
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Just better traction year-round. Snow and rain of course, but also on the dry: off the line and accelerating in turns. Plus better balance in corners, since power isn't going just to one end of the car or another.
I wish I had AWD on my 350.
Old 04-18-06, 06:43 AM
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unless youre breaking traction or gunning it in the rain I doubt you will see much of an effect. AWD is a lot more forgiving to the normal driver than RWD is in inclement conditions. RWD is oversteer biased AWD is biased more towards understeer (not as much as FWD is), depends what level your driving abilities are
Old 04-18-06, 07:30 AM
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Originally Posted by LexAppeal
Sorry I did a search but did not find much information. I searched awd and rain and most people said that good tires with a RWD was fine. But that was comparing the 250AWD to a 350 RWD w/ Vdim in the rain.

So my question is if I really only need IS-250 AWD for a week or 2 out of the year for snow. What else is it beneficial for compared to an IS-250 RWD? There wasn't any RWD's available so I just took the AWD as they offered a little extra discount. So it seems i lose gas mileage and a very tiny bit of speed to gain the ability to drive in the snow? Is feeling more confident in the rain more of a placebo effect?
AWD won't do much for you, but it will be "better" in the rain when a combination of your tires and AWD can work together. No matter how much torque is being applied to any of your two or four wheels though, they are only going to grip as much as your tires allow- that above any drivetrain layout should be key. Traction control will just brake (compensating for throttle control on your part), in order to stop the wheels from slipping in an attempt to regain traction. Once again though, unless you're flooring it from a stop, or for some reason trying to accelerate harder than usual around corners on less than adequate tires or in rain, AWD doesn't offer much. RWD will be more potent through corners, just as capable in 0-60, and only poor in inclement weather because of its tendency to oversteer if you're too heavy with the throttle. I'd say confidence should come from your driving habits, then tires, and then the drivetrain...but some consumers get that order switched around.
Old 04-18-06, 07:43 AM
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Originally Posted by cdeslandes
Just better traction year-round. Snow and rain of course, but also on the dry: off the line and accelerating in turns. Plus better balance in corners, since power isn't going just to one end of the car or another.
I wish I had AWD on my 350.
Stop stealing my thoughts! J/k, I miss AWD too. I just love how you get pulled into the seat with a powerful AWD car.
Old 04-18-06, 08:09 AM
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Bobs SC
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Anyone know if there will be a future AWD350?
Old 04-18-06, 08:45 AM
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al503
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Originally Posted by cdeslandes
Just better traction year-round. Snow and rain of course, but also on the dry: off the line and accelerating in turns. Plus better balance in corners, since power isn't going just to one end of the car or another.
I wish I had AWD on my 350.
Agree regarding better traction in the rain and snow but other than that, there are no other real benefits.

Acceleration: the 250 doesn't have enough juice to light up all four wheels. You'd have to rev the engine very high and drop the clutch (not great for the tranny) to get any type of benefit in off the line acceleration in the dry.

Weight: the AWD hardware adds weight so any benefit to a high rpm launch will be negated. In addition, handling and braking will be adversely affected. Fuel efficiency takes a corresponding hit.

Balance: the AWD hardware adds weight where you don't want it (over the front wheels) which takes it further away from the 'ideal' 50/50 weight distribution.

Driveline efficiency: the addition of the hardware will increase driveline inefficiency. Put another way, more of the engines output will be used up in rotating the extra driveline mass and the extra heat from the friction of the additional parts. In short, fewer ponies will reach the ground. Again, fuel efficiency takes a corresponding hit.

Now, if you're talking about the 911 turbo (or other very high HP car) that has enough juice to overpower it's rear wheels, then AWD does have very certain benefits.

If you live in the snow belt, AWD is great for that reason alone. However, if you're in an area that gets snow very seldomly or for a week or two a year, you might consider a good set of snow tires.
Old 04-18-06, 08:49 AM
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I used to drive and AWD BMW (325 xi). On two occasions, when it was in for routine maintenance, the loaner car had RWD. Amazing difference. When driving in winter weather, the back end of the BMW would slide out when I went through snow or slush. Never happened in the AWD. I just like knowing that, if I end up leaving the Hospital at night, when I can't see the condition of the roads as well, that I don't have to be nearly as concerned about the weather. Just one less thing to have to screw around with. A little extra margin of safety. You trade some extra money for an little better edge. To us, it's worth it - whole family has AWD or 4 wd.

Since our driveway is quite steep near the top, we could NEVER get up it in the bad weather -- not in FWD cars either. It's just the price we pay for having a steep driveway.
Old 04-18-06, 10:21 AM
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Originally Posted by al503
Agree regarding better traction in the rain and snow but other than that, there are no other real benefits.

Acceleration: the 250 doesn't have enough juice to light up all four wheels. You'd have to rev the engine very high and drop the clutch (not great for the tranny) to get any type of benefit in off the line acceleration in the dry.

Weight: the AWD hardware adds weight so any benefit to a high rpm launch will be negated. In addition, handling and braking will be adversely affected. Fuel efficiency takes a corresponding hit.

Balance: the AWD hardware adds weight where you don't want it (over the front wheels) which takes it further away from the 'ideal' 50/50 weight distribution.

Driveline efficiency: the addition of the hardware will increase driveline inefficiency. Put another way, more of the engines output will be used up in rotating the extra driveline mass and the extra heat from the friction of the additional parts. In short, fewer ponies will reach the ground. Again, fuel efficiency takes a corresponding hit.

Now, if you're talking about the 911 turbo (or other very high HP car) that has enough juice to overpower it's rear wheels, then AWD does have very certain benefits.

If you live in the snow belt, AWD is great for that reason alone. However, if you're in an area that gets snow very seldomly or for a week or two a year, you might consider a good set of snow tires.
I agree with just about everything said, but in the case of the GT2, its one of the fastest turbo cars porsche makes, and it outdoes the AWD cars in 0-60 and just about any other measure of acceleration. Countering the 50/50 balance idea (I don't know why this is marketed so heavily), the rear engine, RWD layout = If you can grab traction with two wheels, its 'better' than splitting the task to four.
Old 04-18-06, 10:32 AM
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al503
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Originally Posted by Shinobi-X
I agree with just about everything said, but in the case of the GT2, its one of the fastest turbo cars porsche makes, and it outdoes the AWD cars in 0-60 and just about any other measure of acceleration. Countering the 50/50 balance idea (I don't know why this is marketed so heavily), the rear engine, RWD layout = If you can grab traction with two wheels, its 'better' than splitting the task to four.
Agree for the most part, myself.

The GT2 does outrun the AWD Turbo. However, with all that power and with non-expert drivers at the wheel, I think the AWD Turbo will win the majority of runs especially if the road surface is not ideal.
Old 04-18-06, 10:44 AM
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Default AWD has two main benefits.....

traction accelerating from a standstill and proceeding up a steep grade with sketchy traction conditions. It doesn't help you corner better really. You would leave an IS250 AWD (and many others) far behind in rainy conditions as the VDIM is superior at maintaining stability than AWD with VSC. So much so that even in snow it will execute turns better than AWD with VSC. In dry conditions of course the IS350 would do just fine from a dig as weight transfers back to the rear wheels under full acceleration. Verdict: Get the IS350 if it's in your budget. Put All Season's on it for the winter or snow specific tires if you're concerned about the slush....

Rock
Old 04-18-06, 11:23 AM
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Originally Posted by al503
Agree for the most part, myself.

The GT2 does outrun the AWD Turbo. However, with all that power and with non-expert drivers at the wheel, I think the AWD Turbo will win the majority of runs especially if the road surface is not ideal.
I'd have to agree with you- can't exclude the driver by any means. All other things being equal, to the non-seasoned driver, AWD is probably the safer gamble for consistent lateral and 0-60 type performance.
Old 04-18-06, 11:28 AM
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Originally Posted by Rockville
traction accelerating from a standstill and proceeding up a steep grade with sketchy traction conditions. It doesn't help you corner better really. You would leave an IS250 AWD (and many others) far behind in rainy conditions as the VDIM is superior at maintaining stability than AWD with VSC. So much so that even in snow it will execute turns better than AWD with VSC. In dry conditions of course the IS350 would do just fine from a dig as weight transfers back to the rear wheels under full acceleration. Verdict: Get the IS350 if it's in your budget. Put All Season's on it for the winter or snow specific tires if you're concerned about the slush....

Rock
This is exactly what I would have said!

Unless you live in a heavy snow belt area where you get tons of snow in the winter (not talking about the light snowfalls (less than 4 inches) and have to drive up mountains to get to your cottage in the deep of winter, I find AWD completely useless. A well balanced RWD car with winter tires will do just fine in all other situations!
Old 04-18-06, 03:17 PM
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LexAppeal
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350 is not in my list of choices. They are very limited in my area at the moment. I don't race or speed just to speed. It was going to be a 250 either way. I just went with AWD because that was the first thing available in my configuration. It seems the dealers in my region tend to stock the AWD more than the RWD. I'm not even going to test drive the 350 and give myself buyers remorse nightmares. I'm content with the acceleration of the 250...notice I said content not excited =).

Well at least I guess I can leave my house during snow storms and feel a bit more confident. It hardly snowed here this past winter but we sure do get alot of rain.
Old 04-18-06, 03:29 PM
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I have an STI (IS350 on order) and I will say this that I have snow tires for winter and when I accelerated I would lose traction in rain or snow. So AWD is good but it depends the 250 would be great because it has 200+ HP but with 300+ it’s no big difference. As long as you will have good snow tires you should be fine. That is my opinion.


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