After hearing bad stories about is200's being bad in the snow i became worried as every winter season i hit the hills and the roads are offen near unpassable, i have made it up and back every trip safely (touch wood) and i do not wat to break this trend, especialy with the lex.

i shall be putting my standard alloys back on with the best rubber i can buy but which kind are best, has ayone tried out snow tyres properly?

if not i may take the lex off the road for winter and buy a cheap hi-lux, L200 or something along those lines.

This has been covered many a time.
search and ye shall find

http://www.lexusownersclub.co.uk/forum/ind...p;hl=Snow+tyres

http://www.lexusownersclub.co.uk/forum/ind...p;hl=snow+tyres

i Have just ordered my tyres...Nokian WR from www.mytyres.com
tyretest.com reports best results in snow

...do you reckon we're going get some this Winter then? Haven't had a lot for the last few, or is that just in the Cotswolds?

best bet is getting some steel wheels, there available from the dealer on the continent, however avensis steel wheels fit, (pcd 114.3 x 5) these with narrow winter tyres will be much better indeed

i used to have the part number for the OEM Lexus steel winter wheels, ill dig it out

bit of advise -AVOID TOYO SNOWPROX tyres shocking performance becuase oil leeches out of them for months making driving a bit interesting at times.

Just out of interest, is it ok to keep the chromes on the car during winter (i'm thinking in terms of all the salt on the roads and whether it will attack the chrome plating)?

i think chrome and road salt dont go together best to put the old ones on when it gets to that time i dont know how bad its going to be this year i am hoping for a bit of fun as mine has not got t/c

Contrary to popular opinion chrome plating isn't corrosion resistent...it's porous so unless you happen to have a very good nickel plate under it it'll be attacked by the salt real quick. Get some steel wheels or be prepared to rinse off every trip and wax polish.

Im just being prepared as now i live out in the country we get forgotten about I remember last year we only had a little snow and a hill was impossible, with t/c on or off and snow on or off...i think i melted my way up sideways in the end.
Im hoping that winter tyres will sort that issue...last thing i wan to do is abandon my car, I even have a box of grit-salt to carry now.

This year's test winner in the Germanic countries: GoodYear Ultra Grip

Our vans have a box of grit onboard too
Did you try reversing up?

Mine were indeed positively scary for the first 500 miles or so (ie about a week with my mileage).
They were fine after that though, and are a massive improvement on summer tyres - plenty adequate for our fairly puny winter weather.

BUT after 2 seasons (having been in storage over the summer) they are all showing signs of splitting in the sidewalls, so I wouldn't get them again for that reason.
Strangely all the splits are on the inboard side, which I don't really understand.

when in storage if you let some pressure out wouldn't that protect them a little?
Probably inside edge because of the salt?

Perhaps - I've not had the problem with other tyres though.
I can't see why the salt would affect one side more than the other. Also they were all cleaned before storing and no signs of splitting then.

I think I'll just change brands on the next set.

might be adequate for the uk winter but not here - i binned them after 1 season

Yeah, I kind of gathered you weren't keen on them
But for UK use they seem fine and I have been impressed by them - until they started to fall apart

Considering the weather outside, I'm interested in following up on this topic. I know it's already Feb and kind of pointless getting winter tyres now, but definitely something I want to get done for next winter.

Do you happen to have the Lexus steel wheels part numbers, what size are they?

Which year Avensis are we talking about? Can even smaller wheels ie 14" or 15" from the Avensis work?

In case if we need something aftermarket, what offset should I aim for with 14", 15" and 16" wheels?

Are you serious? It's only one day of snow mate... I know global warmings kickin' in but we're far from the need for this!

BUT each to their own...

Mk1 (and MK2 as far as I know) Avensis steel wheels are pcd 100x5.

From what I have read on the net, this for example:

http://www.tyres-online.co.uk/techinfo/winter.asp

Our typical (summer) tyres aren't very suitable to temp under 7 celcius, so winter tyres can/should be used from around November to March? I think some winter tyres have properties of all-season tyres so they can also cope with warm spells during this period. Countries like Holland have similar weather to us but the % of people using winter tyres is much higher than the UK, and I believe that this may be one of the reasons why they cope much better in bad weather (ice, snow) then we do.

I'm sure someone will correct me.

I just try and drive according to what the conditions dictate... wouldn't personally go as far as swapping tyres for winter compound etc. However I can see why you might want to...

After our bit of snow i have managed to put my winter tyres to use

I have Nokian WR's I live in the country and we had a fare halping of snow (everywhere was covered), some roads not gritted i had no troubles at all, managed to do my drive to work with no t/c or snow control, even managed to get up hills (had trouble with my Goodyear F1's with less snow)
Only time the car become unsettled was when I had a play at work in our car park

Had a little weight in my boot, shovel, box of grit salt, and first aid kit.

I would buy these tyres again and I would rate them 9/10 because there maybe better tyres that im not aware off.

Good price too!

Im pretty sure the tyres are 225/45/17 (7.5x17 GS wheels) narrower tyres will probably be even better.

I no longer fear snow

Have you been using your winter tyres throughout the winter? If so may you share your experience of them (dry/wet performance, road noise, etc.), and whether you think there is a definte advantage over summer tyres?

i can tell you about 1 generation michelin aplins if thats any use? mine go one each year between the last week of october and 1st on November and they stay on until end of march. expect to loose about 2mm of tread during this time when used on clear tarmac roads - if used on lots of snow covered roads the wear will be less of course. i find no difference in handling between my summer tyres ( dunlop sport maxx) but then i dont race around and throw it into corners either - just plain normal driving. Road noise is the same but at speeds of about 120mph on concrete roads i find the car a bit more floaty - i can only put this down to the deeper tread and the form of tread being made of 100's of little blocks so some movement is to be expected. at speeds normal in the Uk i dont think you will feel any difference.

I put my tyres on at the start of november, i find no difference in road noise wet or dry, however i do have a Kazama sports back box so that makes a fare bit of noise.

the tyres have MS stamp on them and with there being a few farms near me they are also good going onto muddy sections of the road.

because the tyres are not Z rated i have also kept my speed in mind and the fastest i have probably been with them is 90 and maybe 100 on a short burst, mainly 75mph on motorways.

Because of this i have not driven my car too hard through corners but it does still feel pretty solid and have found no difference in stopping distance.

I have noticed the tread going down, mainly on the rear but i think i will get another 2 years from them, with them being swapped round. (so long as the side walls don't crack)

They are certainly better than my Goodyear Eagle F1's at winter grip, wet probably about the same, Dry the Goodyears will last longer and i would be happier to drive harder...So the Goodyears are going on about March time.