GiN4tHeWiN

Hey guys, i'm from san francisco and i'm planning to take my 2015 IS350 RWD (F sport, not sure if that matters) up to tahoe for the winter in december for a weekend. i just wanted to see what everyones thoughts were on whether or not it'd be a good idea, since it's not AWD, and i'd be running on the stock turanza tires. i have about 15000 miles on the car since buying it new in march (yeah, i took it on a couple roadtrips), and by december, i'll most likely have another 5k miles on it.. and i don't plan on getting winter/snow tires just for a one time trip

what do you guys think? Any advice for someone who's making the drive up to tahoe for the first time? for those of you who have made the drive, do you think it would be fine taking a RWD car up there? I don't know if it'll actually snow much, but yeah, wet roads, etc.

Also.. would the snow mode button on my car be of any help? I'm still not sure on how or when to use it.

cp2

iTrader: (1)

pm nvmarkus. he lives in that area.

kickin8

iTrader: (1)

depend if it's really snowing when you are going up there.... you definitely need to bring tire chains (just in case)

the snow button helps...basically you just need to avoid sudden aggressive acceleration

road salt is another thing you might need to consider.....

Bartman619

Bring snowchains and probably get new tires before you go up there. I usually go twice a year with by non AWD GS and e90 BMW. I've never had to use the chains because the snow had turned to slush, buts nice to have them just in case. They keep saying it will be an El Nino year, meaning lots of rain and snow. I really hope so.

GiN4tHeWiN

hmm ok, sounds good guys. target / walmart has a cool return policy.. if we dont happen to use the chains, i guess we can return em.

yeah most likely i'll need new tires, we'll see how they look by then

thanks for the tips guys

larryv

During the winter and if there is snow or going to snow i would not personally. The salt on the road will sand blast the front of your car and of course the chances of chaining up. We just rent a AWD vehicle and call it a day.

14is350

originally from marin up to reno for the last 5 years. made the trip countless times previously in my 06 is 250 awd and now in my 14 is 350 awd. I would say just carry chains and just pick a good (dry weekend) unless you're looking for snow. Ive been stopped going over the pass too many times to count where cars are turned back if no chains or awd and snow tires. It really depends on if you don't mind putting your car through chains/salt/rocks over the pass. Sometimes conditions are horrible while other times its a straight drive through with no trouble other than wet/slush snow.

JDR76

I would say the bigger issue is your tires, not that your car is RWD. Personally I would not head up there with RWD and stock tires.

Also note that the manual states that tire chains are not to be used with the 18" wheels.

Sexis350

I think the manual says chains dont fit on the f sport and to get snow tires.

14is350

True. But it's all in moderation up here. We've had a good winter once or twice over the past 5 years which truly required awd and chains consistently. If you plan on coming up solely when we have snow on the ground over the pass and where you'll be in Tahoe then yes I would buy snow tires and drive with caution or rent an awd car. A good portion of roads get shoveled fairly quickly up here. But if your only coming up for a week or so regardless of snow on the ground or not all winter I personally don't think it's worth it to spend the extra cash on tires you won't use once back in San Francisco where we don't really have winter. To each their own though.

JDR76

Agreed, but I'm not advocating the purchase of snow tires for the weekend. I'm advocating a set of GOOD tires, which the stock tires really are not, not to mention they'll have 20k miles on them by that time. I just wouldn't take any IS, be it RWD or AWD, up to the mountains on worn summer tires.

GiN4tHeWiN

hmm you guys make good points.. i guess i'll think about it and probably rent or something, i just really like taking my car on long trips, comfy ride and everything's set up the way i already like it. but yeah, in this case maybe it's not worth it. we'll see how i feel when december rolls around. the dates i'm going are dec 18-22, but there's no telling what the weather will be like by then.

and who knows, maybe i'll just get a new set of tires by then; but there's still the issue of tire chains not working with my f sports.. ah hell.. guess it wasn't meant to be :P

thanks for the insight, you guys