I've been to Tirerack.com. I called about the rims I wanted to use for snow tires and the guy at Tirerack said that I should call Lexus to verify they will fit. I called my dealership and was told that only 18" wheels will fit the IS350. When I pointed out that the stock wheels on the IS350 were 17" I was told the service manager would call me back tomorrow. I just wanted to know if there was anyone that actually put 17" wheels on their IS350 last winter and if so, what wheels did they use.

 

Your service manager is an idiot. All IS's come standard with the same 17" wheels and tires. End of story.

As for the tirerack, all the wheels they list for a given vehicle have been test fit already. Again, the guy you talked to was uninformed.

 

I just bought my winter tires. They are 225/45/17 all around and are nailed. What do you think of that?

 

I think that's awesome. What wheels do you have?


Jezza: Thanks for the info. I'll be sure pass that on to the service manager when he calls back. You'd think that working at a dealership in WI he'd have been asked this question by now and would have bothered to find the answer.

 

I bought Enkei GF1s in 17" they barely fit over 350s huge calipers but drove it all winter without any problems.
regards, Bart.

 

I have Michelin Pilot winter tires and traction was superb, no Snow Mode needed at all. OEM Dunlops have ZERO snow traction. I live close to chicago and 1 day after i brought my car home last december I had to get winter tires. I had to have my friends push my car up the driveway because those dunlops would just skid, Snow Trac wouldnt help at all.... so if you dont want to get stranded, get winter tires or at least all seasons.

regards, Bart

 

Just out of curiosity, how much do those snow tires cost?

Also, can you wear them all year? It sounds like a lot of pain to switch them out for the winter.

I wish the 350 came in all wheel drive. I live in Omaha, NE and winters get pretty intense hear sometimes. I have a Toyota 4Runner with all wheel drive and it drives sweet in the winter.

 

Hi guys, newbie here. I've always had front wheel drive cars because of the issues with winter driving up here in Canada. I've been thinking seriously about buying an IS 350. I love the styling and the quality. I am concerned about it's ability to handle Canadian winters. I would definitely plan to get snows put on the car for winter use, but having always had front wheel drive I'm still not sure if that would be sufficient for me. One of the issues is that my garage is off a laneway at the back of the house that isn't plowed by the city. We have had some major winters in the past several years where the snow was really deep in the lane way and I was just able to get my Acura TL into my garage. Most of my neighbours seem to have AWD vehicles for the winter but I don't want to own 2 cars for that purpose.. nor do I really want to get an AWD IS 250, if only Lexus made an AWD IS 350. The GS AWD is too expensive and I don't need a vehicle that large. In fact I'd like a car that is smaller than the TL. Any opinions on winter driving and the IS 350 with snows especially from those in the NE states/Canada or anywhere else with lots of snow.