Ls460 In The Snow?

[DaveB]

Well I'm having a fairly exciting day here in the snow. The car's got a mind of it's own and unfortunately doesn't tend to go where I want it to! The LS is the largest car I've owned - before that I had an Audi A6 which I don't remember giving that many problems.

So is there an additional set of problems driving big cars in the snow? And other than staying in any tips for handling?

[spacenase]

It's not so much the size of the car that's the problem, it's the powerful engine and rear wheel drive combination.

There is relatively little weight over the rear wheels, so they are more likely to spin on ice and snow. Also, at speed they'll tend to try and drive the car straight on whereas front wheel drive cars, like your previous A6, will tend to drive the car in the direction the wheels are pointing. I didn't take my LS430 out last winter when it snowed, and if my Skoda would work properly for more than a week, I'd tend not to take it out this year either.

You can help by putting some weight in the boot, but you'll always struggle more with these type of cars. If you can find a big empty car park, you can have some fun though! :winky:

[steve2006]

Mines no better, even with traction control it's impossible to get any forward or backwards movement with anything but idle throttle levels,another problem with automatics is even when applying the brakes the drive is still being applied to the rear wheels.

The best thing to do is practice with a fully laden supermarket trolley as the handling characteristics are the same

[plastic orange]

I'm using mine at the moment in our lovely weather, and I want my Saab back :D

Pete

[robban]

I'm using mine at the moment in our lovely weather, and I want my Saab back :D

Pete

On my ls i got some really good tires with dubbs (Good year ultra grip),works perfectly in the snow,

[Rodney]

Mines no better, even with traction control it's impossible to get any forward or backwards movement with anything but idle throttle levels,another problem with automatics is even when applying the brakes the drive is still being applied to the rear wheels.

The best thing to do is practice with a fully laden supermarket trolley as the handling characteristics are the same

Mine is exactly the same and your comparison of LS handling to a supermarket trolley is spot on Steve. :D :D

My advice to you DaveB is to keep away from supermarkets Seriously, you must drive within the limits of your car and yourself and not be bullied by people in cars that handle better and try to make you go faster. If push comes to shove, offer them a race next summer.

Another thing that is baffling me is how can I practice my handbrake turns in the snow?

Rod

[MAT_8N]

well my LS is easier to drive in this weather than my wifes RX!

the rx just puts all the electric traction/abs/blah blah blah to work and its a bloody nightmare. ice is ice and no car will drive on it!

we've parked the rx up and are using the LS now. also its not worth as much if someone else smashes into it!!

if your used to rear wheel drive the ls's can be loads of fun in the snow :)

[Mybikesacx500]

Iv'e got some weight in the back, 2 LPG tanks, so the grip moving in a straight line (on ice) is not to bad.

A few very gentle experimental drifts on corners revealed it breaks away quite gently but you then have a fairly substantial amount of car going a bit sideways. All quite predictable, but I like rear wheel drives in slippy conditions

Also the ABS is working fine, never had it cut in until today.

I normaly drive manuals, this is my first time in an automatic on ice, much easier!

[jad]

well my LS is easier to drive in this weather than my wifes RX!

the rx just puts all the electric traction/abs/blah blah blah to work and its a bloody nightmare. ice is ice and no car will drive on it!

we've parked the rx up and are using the LS now. also its not worth as much if someone else smashes into it!!

if your used to rear wheel drive the ls's can be loads of fun in the snow :)

I remember last feb when we got loads of snow i had a bmw 740 and the bloody thing wouldnt move an inch in it (it was a nightmare). The funniest thing of all though was that my old man had to take us out in his old volvo and just down the road there is very steep hill and as we were going up it there were 3 cars that had been abandoned because they coudnt get up it , and the order was a bmw 7 series , mercedes e class and a lexus ls all big rear wheeled driven cars. Its a fine example that its not just lexus that have trouble in the snow but all big engined rear wheeled cars

[steve-bedford]

Most RWD cars are useless in the snow. You have those big fat tyres with relatively little weight on them and you just don't get the downforce. My wife's KA is brilliant (well in the snow and ice anyway) as it has skinny 155 tyres with the weight of the engine over them.

I had such a miserable time earlier this year, my LS400 cannot even get up the fairly meagre slope on my drive that it's now sitting there under a huge pile of snow and I went out and bought a 2003 Santa Fe V6 for £2300. Now you can all take the mick as much as you like......................but it's not half bad and I quite enjoy driving it - Especially in the snow!!

[Nitmoi]

Just take it easy and start with the engine warmed up and revs low. Don't brake if you can avoid it even though the ABS works up to a point. And that point is when you are sliding forward at 1 MPH out of control!

I used to stick a concrete block in the trunk in Wales.

Falken tyres that I keep banging on about have been fine too.

[John Lawley]

Another thing that is baffling me is how can I practice my handbrake turns in the snow?

Slip it into netural and stamp on the "clutch"

I've been doing pizza delivery int he snow not had any problems beyond moany customers...

[Parthiban]

The problem is the tyres mainly - I'm guessing the A6 was a quattro? The 4WD would probably help in this sort of weather.

[steve-bedford]

It's not the fault of the Lexus as such, it's just the configuration of RWD. The snow and ice was very bad here last night, my neighbour (who also has a slight slope on his drive) came home from work, parked his 58 plate Merc E Class on the drive, went in for dinner only to find it just slid back out into the road.

I watched it all happen, the rear wheels were locked and the front ones turned and it just glided it backwards with noone in it in slow motion - Quite scary actually and luckily came to a stop on the kerb the other side of the road.

[Rodney]

Another thing that is baffling me is how can I practice my handbrake turns in the snow?

Slip it into netural and stamp on the "clutch"

I've been doing pizza delivery int he snow not had any problems beyond moany customers...

:D :D :D :D

Brilliant John :winky:

I intend to try to arrange a meet in the New Year where all the members with that special sense of humour that some of us recognise will be especially welcome. I have a good venue in mind with large car park and very cheap but excellent Sunday lunch and will, as befitting a relative newbie, ask permission from those Mods who must be obeyed first................ honest.

Rod

[Parthiban]

It's not the fault of the Lexus as such, it's just the configuration of RWD. The snow and ice was very bad here last night, my neighbour (who also has a slight slope on his drive) came home from work, parked his 58 plate Merc E Class on the drive, went in for dinner only to find it just slid back out into the road.

I watched it all happen, the rear wheels were locked and the front ones turned and it just glided it backwards with noone in it in slow motion - Quite scary actually and luckily came to a stop on the kerb the other side of the road.

That happened on just a slight incline? That's very bizarre, unless it was just ice underneath I wouldn't expect a car to do that.........that's got nothing to do with RWD though, any car would have slid down if it happened to the Merc.

[DaveB]

It's not the fault of the Lexus as such, it's just the configuration of RWD. The snow and ice was very bad here last night, my neighbour (who also has a slight slope on his drive) came home from work, parked his 58 plate Merc E Class on the drive, went in for dinner only to find it just slid back out into the road.

I watched it all happen, the rear wheels were locked and the front ones turned and it just glided it backwards with noone in it in slow motion - Quite scary actually and luckily came to a stop on the kerb the other side of the road.

That happened on just a slight incline? That's very bizarre, unless it was just ice underneath I wouldn't expect a car to do that.........that's got nothing to do with RWD though, any car would have slid down if it happened to the Merc.

Yep - that's pretty much what happened to me. My block paviour drive has a very slight incline towards the garage door, and stopping on the drive (from 1mph) caused the car to slide forwards and sideways. I tried to reverse it to straighten it up and that just caused it to slide more. I'm not sure whether to clear the remaining snow from the drive or let it melt naturally.

[Chris Skelton]

Years ago I delivered an Amp (Quad 405 if you need to know) to a buyer in Walton on Thames. On the way home, it snowed A LOT! The M4 was down to one snaking-about lane; I was passing -at 40-ish - loads of abandoned Saabs, Porsches, etc. I was all toasty in my air cooled.........20+ year old CITROEN DYANE!!

Smug or what??

[Chris Skelton]

Sorry! Double click!

But these are the world's biggest car speakers? AND run well from car radio, being very efficient!

Cool Yule to all!!

[sir john]

My LS is a nightmare in the snow. But today i had to drive to Ambleside and back (50 miles) in snow. Went in the Landrover Disc. Went just where i wanted it to go. Until i used the brakes. At that point it might as well have been the LS.

Even with 4 wheel drive, my bum was going 5p 10p all the way there and back. The problem is the tyres. Im on ordinary summer road tyres. If id been on mudpluggers or winter tyres there would be no probs.

Irony is, i have 2 sets of quality winter tyres for the Disco. Theyre in the garage!

[steve-bedford]

It's not the fault of the Lexus as such, it's just the configuration of RWD. The snow and ice was very bad here last night, my neighbour (who also has a slight slope on his drive) came home from work, parked his 58 plate Merc E Class on the drive, went in for dinner only to find it just slid back out into the road.

I watched it all happen, the rear wheels were locked and the front ones turned and it just glided it backwards with noone in it in slow motion - Quite scary actually and luckily came to a stop on the kerb the other side of the road.

That happened on just a slight incline? That's very bizarre, unless it was just ice underneath I wouldn't expect a car to do that.........that's got nothing to do with RWD though, any car would have slid down if it happened to the Merc.

Yep - that's pretty much what happened to me. My block paviour drive has a very slight incline towards the garage door, and stopping on the drive (from 1mph) caused the car to slide forwards and sideways. I tried to reverse it to straighten it up and that just caused it to slide more. I'm not sure whether to clear the remaining snow from the drive or let it melt naturally.

Well, when i say slight incline........it's a reasonable "slope" I guess.

Yes, it was solid ice underneath with fresh snow on top and it's a block paved driveway - It's like glass - Not good at all!!

RWD - Maybe.........I guess a FWD does at least allow you to lock the rear wheels (handbrake) AND front wheels (leave it in gear / park).

What I don't think has helped here is that he has gone forwards into his uphill drive. Therefore the weight of the engine is naturally pushing backwards and only has the locked rear wheels to support it (or not as the case may be!)

[cdxdillan]

hi,

You guys are right the LS rear wheel drive cars are a bit of a handfull in slippery conditions, go easy as they say, after all we are driving a modern version of the American land yacht, large car, big engine, soft suspension and RWD. if you can make your way in an LS in the present conditions you can assure yourself that you are a canny driver.

If you ever have the opportunity to drive a classic American car try it, they just don't handle very well at all, even on a dry summers day, my 63 Cadillac has drum brakes all round compared to a modern car you may as well open the door and try to stop it with your foot (yes they are maintained and working as they should) the suspension and tyres are so soft (24 psi modern radials) at 10-15 mph on a roundabout on a dry summers day the tyres start to squeek, what these things were like on X plies I dread to think.

Look after your LS's they are certain to be sought after classics in the not too distant future, especially once the uneducated catch on.

[Nitmoi]

Scatter dishwasher salt under the wheels and they will not slip away. I t wo't wash the car though

I bought a set of wheels for the VW camper and they had snow tyres on all for £80! No studs though.

They ought to make carrying snow chains obligatory from November to March.

That would sort it all (well most of it)

[JellyBean]

They ought to make carrying snow chains obligatory from November to March.

Wouldn't they make your clothes a bit dirty?

[Rob]

.

They ought to make carrying snow chains obligatory from November to March.

resulting in road damage (rise in council tax), alloy wheel damage, and trashed back ends when the numpties try to drive with them on a road with no deep snow and then the chain breaks - you can imagine the damage that would cause!

but hey go for it, it would give me something to laugh about.