ES3

Any recommendations? 16--18's??

gkw

I have been using my 17" Michelin Pilot Sport A/S for three winters and they are pretty amazing as far as I am concerned. My driveway is uphill and never plowed or sanded and I have never been stuck. (Make sure you use the Snow mode...).

GW

ES3

Good to know, and encouraging they've lasted 3 seasons... any scary moments saved by VSC?
What made you choose 17's over say 16's or 18's?

herragge

I don't drive my SC in the winter but I live in Canada=lots of snow.

Many SC owners up here however have had very good luck downsizing to 17" winter rims from the stock 18" to get more rubber and many use blizzaks which are very soft and great for the snow. My son uses them in his RWD bimmer so they are pretty good. If you downsized to 16's you would get even more rubber and it wouldn't be a bad idea but I've never seen anyone do it. I think this is because downsizing to 17's are enough to get the traction you need. Like another member said, the snow function is good too have on as well. I believe it stays in higher gears to maintain traction and prevent spinning.

Bubba

I've made it through one winter now with the 18's and the all-season Michelins that were on it when I bought it used. Living in Wisconsin where we get a lot of snow, I must say I was quite impressed with the traction and control with them. The WINTER mode is great for when you are stopped on a road that goes uphill slightly (i.e. waiting at a stoplight) or in a sloppy parking lot as it starts in a higher gear. I think the VSC also helps prevent as well as assist during a slide since I've tried to get it to fishtail which was actually difficult. The traction control is a big part of it, and it's nice to be able to turn it off when needed.

I did have an SC300 before this, and I swapped to Pirelli winter tires every year. While it helped some, I still had trouble with spinning in light snow to the point of being stuck halfway up my driveway which has a moderate incline from the road. I just thought that was the best I could get for winter. After replacing the summer tires with Michelin MXV4's (all season), I decided not to switch and leave them on since it was a mild winter. Much to my surprise, they were actually slightly better than the Pirelli's! I absolutely loved those tires and highly recommend Michelins in general. The old-timers will tell you also that it is the width of the tire that is the biggest factor for traction. Contrary to "bigger is better", I've been told it is better to have a narrower tire which seems contrary to logic. The example given to me was the old ****** Jeep from the war which had skinny tires and went through (apparently) anything. I personally can't see going to a very skinny tire just because of the way it looks!

In my book, the bottom line is not always getting through the snow, but looking out for the idiots who can't drive in the snow. I'm confident of my driving abilties in the snow having had no problems with a Trans Am in my teens in northern Wisconsin, but it's the guy behind you or to the side that you have to watch out for which is the bigger concern for me. I simply wait until they have plowed the roads to go to work or again, wait to go home after the nervous nellies are at home. I'd try making it through a winter first and then go to snow tires if needed. I wish I had with my old car as it would have saved me a lot of time in the spring and fall in changing them back and forth.

gkw

When I bought my car 3 years ago, there was much concern over the lousy ride of the stock 18in RFs. I decided to replace them with 17in non-Runflats (using stock Lexus GS wheels to accomodate the tire pressure sensors) to provide a smoother ride. I went with the A/S tires because I drive my car in winter.

Now that I am replacing my tires, I am considering 18s (non RF). My son has some nice 18s on his SC 400 and I am going to try them for a week and decide after that.

GW

ES3

VERY encouraging! So you would say an all-season tire is manageable in light snow, huh? Did you put any extra weight your trunk during the winters? Is your SC430 your year round car? Or did you only pull it out on certain occasion during the winter months. I'm looking at an SC as a year-rounder here in Indianapolis, where at LEAST we don't get the lake effect snow!!

herragge

A wider tire and a narrower tire both have benefits in snow. A wider tire will definetly give you more traction for maybe small inclines. The thinking behind narrower tires is that when you are driving in an area where the snow has not been plowed and the snow is fresh, you tire literally just cuts right through the snow like a knife because of the narrow rims and tires. Its actually pretty fun to drive in the snow when you can do this; my brothers X5 has narrow tires and its a blast to just rip through new snow.

Wow, I guess us canadians know more about snow then we think

Bubba

Sorry for the delay in responding, but I was out of town.

I did not put any extra weight in my SC430, but I did in my SC300. The SC430 seems more balanced in terms of weight distribution, whereas the SC300 seemed very light in the rear. The weight helped in the SC300, but I think you would eat up too much valuable trunk space if you did this in the SC430. If you want to try adding weight, use cat litter. It's cheap and somewhat moldable, and won't cause any damage to the trunk in case of a sudden stop. Better yet, you can dump it under the tires if you are really stuck and no one is around to help. Coming from northern Wisconsin when you could be miles from the nearest house and before cel phones, it was always a possibility. Don't use anything hard like bricks or concrete blocks which could ding the inside or, I'm not sure if this is possible, come flying through the back seat in a sudden stop. I'm not sure if this is true also, but the same old-timer said not to use water softener salt as weight. He said that it could rust the inside of your trunk, but I personally find it hard to believe that the little residue on the outside of a plastic bag could do this. However, I didn't want to risk it by testing to see if it were true or not.

I do use my SC430 year-round, but I live in the city of Madison so the roads are usually plowed quickly. If not, I just wait until they are plowed. As I said, I'm quite happy with the SC430 in the snow. I was at a restaurant last winter and actually plowed in while in the parking lot. I didn't have a shovel or anything, and my old SC300 would have hung up on the snow pile behind my car. The SC430 just backed right over it with no trouble at all.

tonydt1g3r

Thanks god I lived in FL my entire life and never seen snow