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Is200 In The Ice


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the best solution, is to buy the 16" rims that came on the GS/IS and fit good quality winter tyres, you will be utterly amazed at the difference in the way the car drives....trust me

I agree, and mine are still for sale if anyone is interested. See here:-

http://www.lexusownersclub.co.uk/forum/ind...c=45235&hl=

Cheers,

IanB :D

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Im so glad this topic was created because i thought i was the only one having major issues with my lexus in snow!!

yesterday my car slipped doing 25mph while driving in a straight line. luckily there were no other cars oncoming otherwise there would have been an accident. the brakes also locked so i had to quickly pump the brakes to bring the car to a halt. must have been black ice on the roads. 5 mins later my car slipped again on a roundabout doing 20mph!

since then im ****ting myself driving this car anymore. i had to do 50-60 on the motorways today because i was that paranoid the car was gonna slip!

btw, im running on 19s with kumho tyres. either the car isnt designed for the winter, or the tyres. whatever the case, this lexus may end up killing me!!

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The roads certainly weren’t that bad yesterday (and it was 12 or 13°C most of the afternoon round here, so absolutely no ice). I took my bike for a run out to Rutland Water and although the surfaces weren’t perfect, I was able to “make progress” quite happily along the A606 through Melton & Oakham and then round the reservoir. It sounds like your wheel/tyre combination isn’t as good as it could be.

Rikos: as I passed through Uppingham, I was on the look out for your IS, but didn’t spot it, which was a shame ‘cos I had to actually part with real money to buy a cup of tea – next time, I shall have to get hold of your number so I can scrounge one!!

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i was in Davos for the past few days and we had quite a bit of snow on the 26th and then about 10cm overnight on the 29th but all was ok driving about and driving up the hills in the town/parking areas.

driving on fresh snow is better as u get a bit of grip but old snow is worse as its norm turned to ice after a while

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  • 2 weeks later...

Like any other car, adjust your driving style to suit your conditions. Slippery in ice unfortunately is a characteristic of rear-wheel drive. Personally if it snows...I leave the lexus at home!

I had a fiesta ST before before my lexus...and while ice wasnt so much of a problem with that, it did aqua-plane on it's tyres very badly...net result...wet weather driving style suitably altered so that I didnt put it in a hedge backwards (I dont miss that car!).

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people its simple........very very simple

i really am amazed at the lack of reading people are doing.

Buy 16" wheels from either the IS or GS or the 5 stud Toyota Avensis steel wheels and put winter tyres on them

its not a fashion thing....it makes **** sense .

Drive in Germany over winter , yes, everyone runs on winter wheels and tyres, yup, even fashion conscious BMW and porsche drivers

i have no sympathy for anyone who says , oh my car drives like pooh in the winter......thats becuase your driving on SUMMER tyres

the sooner this country wakes up, the better.....if its a bit slippy outside, slow down,

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Hmmm I wonder just how we all managed to drive about when the only front wheel drive cars were made by the British Motor Corporation.

Apply your school boy physics and you'll be fine.

Far too few drivers bother to defrost their cars and then fail to take the road conditions in to account..

I regularly used to drive down to the Balkans in the Winter... Just such a nice journey though sometimes I used to nip across Swiss when going to Italy.. The Gothart tunnel is so impressive

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LOL It was always company policy to never pull over onto the verges if you needed to stop for a pee.. I don't know what was the bigger hazard, anti tank mines or Croatian drivers :D There was one field where the remains of a Russian built Tank lay but I was never brave enough to go and hunt for a memento.. especially since there were piles of rocks near by denoting a mine field.

The trip through Germany, Austria and Slovenia was always something that I looked forward to though..And the Croatian coast road was stunning..

Sadly I only ever did that trip in a Volvo F16, I'd love to do it again in the Lex, furthest I ever got in the Lex was Munich on family business...It was kind of a novelty to be the only one not to be driving a BMW

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Welcome Jockdee to the club

Like any rear wheel drive car extra care needs to be taken at this time of year glad your ok and no damage to you car was done.

Where in Scotland you from? Aberdeen area?

Thanks for the welcome.

From central scotland. you're probably more used to the colder climate up there mate! :blush:

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If it makes you feel any better - the new IS is just as bad in the snow - even the TRC VSc and all of that can't cope well enough. It is a RWD thing.

For too long people have gotten used to FWD, and with the mild winters we've had for 15 odd years, people really have forgotten. I still remember those Mk2/3 Cortina's we had, on radial tyres...they had no grip even when new on dry service surfaces - just simple "cross stitch" grooves, but were very thin, and that's what helped in the snow.

When we bought the Austin 1300 with it's "transverse" engine, it was a revelation in the snow!

Back down to earth though, all you need to do is drop the tyre pressures by 10-15%, and don't make any sudden or sharp Braking manoevers or engage/disengage of the clutch, stay in a lower gear and think well ahead...

The winter tyre .v. summer tyre problem is one issue, but the width of tyres that we run nowadays is also a major factor. Not only in snow, but also aquaplaning - my IS is a real handfull on Motorways with large puddles like today...it aquaplanes all over the place...

The other alternative is leave the lexus at Home!

Next time I want a Quattro

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well, against the trend.. i dont appear to have any problems in the limited snoe we have had or the wet!

maybe a combo of the wider wheels and quality tyres.

wouldnt say i drive slow but safely and to the limits..

so far so good!!

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well, against the trend.. i dont appear to have any problems in the limited snoe we have had or the wet!

maybe a combo of the wider wheels and quality tyres.

wouldnt say i drive slow but safely and to the limits..

so far so good!!

I think most of us just don't get enough practice at driving in slippery conditions. It is amazing how skills develop when they are exercised.

I remember one really bad winter in the 60's (see here http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/corporate/pres...ter1962-63.html ) when I was forced to drive long distances over a period of weeks with persistent icy roads and with regular snow. I was driving a Ford Consul with sloppy worm and peg steering and a three speed gearbox with syncromesh only on second and third - the gear change was on the steering column. It is difficult to imagine a worse car to drive in those conditions and yet, by the end of the period I was achieving point to point times that were virtually the same as those I normally achieved in good conditions.

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well, against the trend.. i dont appear to have any problems in the limited snoe we have had or the wet!

maybe a combo of the wider wheels and quality tyres.

wouldnt say i drive slow but safely and to the limits..

so far so good!!

wider tyres make driving on snow/ice harder

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well, against the trend.. i dont appear to have any problems in the limited snoe we have had or the wet!

maybe a combo of the wider wheels and quality tyres.

wouldnt say i drive slow but safely and to the limits..

so far so good!!

wider tyres make driving on snow/ice harder

well!!

you learn something new every day!!

it must just be my 'expert' driving ability!! :unsure:

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