Hi All,
I bought my LX570 two years ago and love to drive it and really enjoy the ride , specifically long drives. It is very comfortable and very smooth. The only catch is when I drive this in snow or ice or even when it is raining heavily.
Specifically on snow or ice, I have noticed its breaking really is very poor - when I say this , it is based on all other trucks and cars that I have driven in last 24 years. This car was also driven in snow in early 2020 by my friend and she also told me that its control on snow while breaking is really something that needs attention. She has driven many other cars also.
Recently , in Feb 2021, I had to take this car out right in the middle of a massive snow storm . Well, the breaking in snow really sucks as compared to any other car that I have driven. I am almost convinced that it are the tires and not the car as it breaks fine in any other condition - else I would be dead by now :-)
The tires I believe hydroplane in heavy snow and it skids much more than any other normal car. The fancy 21 inch Dunlop Grand tires have something that needs to be addressed. But before I comment further or write further, I wanted to hear from other LX 570 owners if they have experienced anything similar.
Any help would be appreciated.....

 

The trend for manufacturers to put on larger wheels / tires are mostly for show and not utility / functional at least for SUVs. Low profile tires do not perform as well as high profile tires hence in your case, 21" wheels w/ low profile tires will very likely not perform well compare with say 18" 70 series tires. Also tire brand / model will also affect traction performance. I have driven mostly FWD cars and minivans in snow (even snow storms back east) for many years and never had major issues (all seasons tires 50 series +). I've also taken my LX MY15 w/ factory 20" Michelin tires to Tahoe during 2ft snow / white out w/out issues also. Yes it's a heavy truck and it'll need longer braking distance, also brake pedal reaction will also need to be adjusted with respect to road condition / tire traction. But stopping distance has nothing to do with whether it's a AWD / 4WD / FWD / RWD. pulling forward / backward AWD / 4WD will perform better than 2WD vehicles. May be switching to more suitable tires will help your concern.

 

I live in Lake Tahoe area and I can confirm that with good winter tires, LX is one of the best cars you can have in winter. Of course, it's still heavy and has a longer braking distance. It also has a higher center of mass, so on snow covered roads, it will never be as fast as my LS 460 AWD with comparable winter tires. On the other side, in deeper snow, it will drive much better than any passenger car.

You just need to use good winter tires. Many LX owners use Bridgstone Blizzak DM-V2 275/65 R18 for winter. Using 21” wheels on Land Cruiser (and LX 570 is a Land Cruiser) does not make any sense. It's just a stupid marketing decision of Lexus.

 

What ClaytonW said...

20" or greater diameter wheels are Toyota's joke for Series 200 owners. People here biatch about road comfort on tires with a section height that is guaranteed not to absorb bumps. Not only that, even though the tire has the little snowflake symbol, you're asking for an interesting drive in snow, not to mention ice.

I'm using the same Blizzaks as Clayton W, but just a little wider with /75 vs. a /65 sectional height. The best tires for snow are narrow, so if the brakes lock up trying to stop, the tires push snow ahead to help with stopping. They go on the truck in November and stay on to early April in most years. The tire shop where I bought them changes them free of charge.

 

I agree. I have 255 /70 R18 on my Tundra and it's even better. But not so big difference. And, 275/65 R18 on LX looks better :-)

 

If you're hydroplaning, I'd back off the speed. It skids more since it's going too fast and it weights 3+ tons with a high center of gravity. In most Idaho winters, I'll pull two or three vehicles back on the road as their owners never practiced driving on slippery roads. Either that or they're going too damn fast for conditions.

 

Last year I sold the 20" wheels and got a set of 18" with Copper Discoverer AT3 285/65/18. They were fine in snow, I have a set of Cooper Discoverer M+S snow tires with the 3PMSF symbol but didn't put them on this year. If you do get rid of the 21" and go to a 20" there are some good A/T Tires options in with the Severe Snow rating. The General Grabber has great reviews

 

Smart move on getting the 18's. You'll get a far smoother ride and find more availability of tires better than oem.

 

[QUO
TE=abhaypatha;11047065]Hi All,
I bought my LX570 two years ago and love to drive it and really enjoy the ride , specifically long drives. It is very comfortable and very smooth. The only catch is when I drive this in snow or ice or even when it is raining heavily.
Specifically on snow or ice, I have noticed its breaking really is very poor - when I say this , it is based on all other trucks and cars that I have driven in last 24 years. This car was also driven in snow in early 2020 by my friend and she also told me that its control on snow while breaking is really something that needs attention. She has driven many other cars also.
Recently , in Feb 2021, I had to take this car out right in the middle of a massive snow storm . Well, the breaking in snow really sucks as compared to any other car that I have driven. I am almost convinced that it are the tires and not the car as it breaks fine in any other condition - else I would be dead by now :-)
The tires I believe hydroplane in heavy snow and it skids much more than any other normal car. The fancy 21 inch Dunlop Grand tires have something that needs to be addressed. But before I comment further or write further, I wanted to hear from other LX 570 owners if they have experienced anything similar.
Any help would be appreciated.....[/QUOTE]

I have found the same behavior (I have the same year and model with the 21" rims). For winter driving, I got another set of rims and the Studded Nokian Hakkapeliitta 9 SUV tires, and although they are fairly loud (especially to other people outside as you drive by), they make an incredible difference in ice/snow. The vehicle has quite a bit of torque, and 2nd-gear startup helps quite a bit. I found my S80 with studded snows does better in the snow, but it's much smaller ND lighter. Stopping distance on the 570 is much better with studded snows. Hopefully they are legal in your state.

 

If you and your friend notice braking is very poor on snow and ice, you both are driving too fast for the tires. Simple.

You have an issue with inferior tires on a big truck.

I changed to 18" tires on the '13 Land Cruiser and currently run Toyo ATIII's most of the time and Blizzak VM2's in the winter. I also allow a LOT of room between me and the guy in front of me in the winter. Idiots who tailgate with water on the ground, frozen or not, deserve what they get.