Ls460 In The Snow?

[wacko]

.

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.

Alternativly you could use Autosocks. i've been using these on my 430 for the last week in and around edinburgh and they have been fantastic.

Easier to put on and take off than snowchains and they can be used for a limited time on tarmac.

[Nitmoi]

Those socks sound good!

They ought to make carrying autosocks obligatory from November to March

[steveskeggy]

I had Pirelli`s on my old 400, but the 430 has Dunlops on it.

The 400 was quite good in the snow, but the 430 is like a greasy weasel.

It will be due for some new boots soon, so it wont be getting Dumlfops on it.

May go for Pirelli`s or Michelin`s, but if its the same with those on then I have told my wife that we will be buying a eat up old Range Rover, just for the winter.

Dont mind it slipping when I am trying to pull away, but do mind it when it looses traction in traffic with the lightest of pedal pressure, the back steps out and so do my bowles...

When I visited Mother today, the road was so bad that the car would not stop unless I took it out of gear as the front wheels were locked and the engine at tickover was still pushing it along!

[dave1]

.

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.

Alternativly you could use Autosocks. i've been using these on my 430 for the last week in and around edinburgh and they have been fantastic.

Easier to put on and take off than snowchains and they can be used for a limited time on tarmac.

Glad you too found them useful. My thread on Autosocks last winter was met with a lot of negative comments regarding them. Members on here seemed very sceptical.

[wacko]

.

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.

Alternativly you could use Autosocks. i've been using these on my 430 for the last week in and around edinburgh and they have been fantastic.

Easier to put on and take off than snowchains and they can be used for a limited time on tarmac.

Glad you too found them useful. My thread on Autosocks last winter was met with a lot of negative comments regarding them. Members on here seemed very sceptical.

I've had a few odd looks when putting them on but the looks on peoples faces as a powerful rear wheel drive car does a hill start and pulls away without a problem is priceless.

My boss was late into work yesterday as his new and shiny X5 got stuck in the snow. he was amazed that i made it in, he was even more amazed when i gave him a lift home on snow and ice covered roads.

The only downside is having to buy two pairs of socks. fitting them on the rears only will get you moving but you can't steer very well.

However the best thin i've seen in the last few days was a guy in a modified Punto that had a front spoiler that was so low it acted like a snow plough. he'd driven all of fifty feet and had to stop to clear a wedge of snow in front of his car that was up to his bonnet. happy days

[hitchers]

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!

I've been driving for 50 years in all terrains and conditions. But my 1998 LS400 baffles and alarms me. Even with the snow button pressed and the gentlest right foot, it will refuse to move off in the presence of snow and ice. Therefore when snow and ice are forecast I despair and leave it at home and drive off in my old Citroen BX. This is inconvenient, but if I encountered snow or ice on my return journey, I'd have to be prepared to stay with the car until Spring!

[JellyBean]

Therefore when snow and ice are forecast I despair and leave it at home and drive off in my old Citroen BX.

Oh no! You have mentioned the C word. You'll wake up Old Skellington again...

[Sagitar]

and drive off in my old Citroen BX.

One of my best cars ever on snow was a Citroen Light 15. Mind it was my first front wheel drive and such a revelation compared with other cars around at the time - that was the late 1950's.

[Nick W858]

Another vote for Autosocks. I had the same problem with my LS400 - I live in a fairly steep cul de sac and it was impossible to get out of. Bought myself a pair of autosocks a couple of years ago and although I only have had cause to use them three times since, they have been invaluable and I can fly past my neighbours who spend hours digging out the snow. I think they can only be used up to about 30mph but they give loads of grip and can at least get you out. I have absolutely no mechanical skills whatsoever but I can get them on easily. They cost about £60 - got them from a place in Cumbria that I found on the web. They are light and I keep them in my boot over winter.

[sd1v8driver]

I have to say, I've owned/driven quite a few rear wheel drive cars over the years and the LS is the probably the worst car I have ever driven in the snow (fortunatly its a very nice car to drive without snow)...Guess I'll have to by a couple of pairs of autosocks as I can't see me giving up the Lexus for the sake of a few weeks of bad weather a year!

This year I ALMOST lost an artic down a steep slope (trailer was all over the place) and my main thought was "bet the Lexus wouldn't make it down here" having tried a shallower slope in it earlier that day and given up when it slid sidewards and needing to be pushed into the curb with the help of passers by. One of the best cars in the snow mind was a 2.8 Granada 4X4 Turbo running high boost....I passed Range Rovers stuck up hills while still having all four wheels spinning like mad.

[steve-bedford]

I have to say, I've owned/driven quite a few rear wheel drive cars over the years and the LS is the probably the worst car I have ever driven in the snow (fortunatly its a very nice car to drive without snow)...Guess I'll have to by a couple of pairs of autosocks as I can't see me giving up the Lexus for the sake of a few weeks of bad weather a year!

This year I ALMOST lost an artic down a steep slope (trailer was all over the place) and my main thought was "bet the Lexus wouldn't make it down here" having tried a shallower slope in it earlier that day and given up when it slid sidewards and needing to be pushed into the curb with the help of passers by. One of the best cars in the snow mind was a 2.8 Granada 4X4 Turbo running high boost....I passed Range Rovers stuck up hills while still having all four wheels spinning like mad.

I have had to go to the expenses and hassle of buying a nasty, cheapo 4x4 (hence the Santa Fe) just to get me though the winter months - Sounds totally and utterly barmy doesn't it? So glad I did though!

In the snow of Feb 2009 my LS400 can only be described as terrifying, although to be fair that was on the last set of tyres which were getting low on tread. I do think that the amount of tread and rubber flexibilty makes a huge difference.

What am I complaining about? I bet an SD1 V8 would be no picnic!! (If you got it to start in the cold of course - ha ha)

[mikesands]

OK - here's what I'm doing. I have ordered 4 nanking winter tyres from mytyres.co.uk. £83 each delivered and my local tyre place is going to fit them for £10 per wheel.

I did some research a couple of years ago and discovered that winter/snow tyres are not just for snow. In fact their main purpose is to deal with cold wet tarmac. Apparently the compound in standard tyres is only designed to work effectively down to 7 degrees C (yes that is plus 7 deg c). The compound used in winter tyres is designed to stay soft at much lower temps.

Of course the problem is that when the temp is above 7 degrees the winter tyres wear out at an alarming rate.

I fitted the winter tyres to the previous GS300 each November and they came off in late March - admittedly it's an extra £80 per year just in fitting charges, but if the theory is right, the peace of mind on wet cold UK winter roads has got to be worth it.

I nearly ordered the winter tyres for the LS 430 before Christmas but for some reason didn't get round to it. I now realise that if I had done so, I wouldn't have been manoevering in the way and place where I was when the other guy slid into me between Christmas and New year.

I'll let you know how the nanking tyres are .... if the tyre delivery wagon can get through the snow :-)

Mike

[mr shifter]

my newly purchased ls400 which my friend was driving got stuck at the foot of a steep hill due to the snow etc. it was there along side a jag, numerous bmws, audi and quite a few fwd jobbies too. my rwd nissan van, which has skinny tyres made the hill with no real probs, 2nd gear all the way. some of the other cars were dragged up the hill by a couple of fairly new nissan 4x4s, with no problems at all. i have to say the most stranded cars we saw were bmws.

[mikesands]

I don't want to tempt fate - especially as I haven't got my winter tyres yet, but I'm getting quite impressed with my LS430's ability on the slippery stuff. It's definitely better than my mate's GS450H, and as others have pointed out the BMWs and Mercs at our car park are having to be dug out each day. So far the 430 has been able to get up our village hill when other smaller and front wheel drive cars have failed. I put this down partly to experience but mainly the snow button. I've also found that the LS430 is bad in virgin snow, and I think this is because the 3 continuous grooves in the tyres fill up with packed snow. Once ground cover becomes hard the tyres are really OK

Mike

[39buss]

Leave the Lexus in the igloo and use the Swedish Snowmobile Saab 9.5 Auto

[sd1v8driver]

What am I complaining about? I bet an SD1 V8 would be no picnic!! (If you got it to start in the cold of course - ha ha)

Its been a couple of years since I took the SD1 out in the snow (it's in the garage being converted to a 4.6) but if memory serves it wasn't too terrifing,just silghtly. It would start just fine in winter,summer was the problem lol,thats why I've fitted Megasquirt and coil packs :winky:

Back on topic,my wife's Galant V6 did a wonderful job in the snow,(better than some local blokes Frontera) and the LS got a week off...I did miss it though and its SOOOOO nice to have it back. :D

[mikesands]

We got snow again in the north east this weekend, so I thought I'd update you on the Nankang snow tyres. So far they seem superb. they dealt with fresh snow of 5-6inches on our backlane/drive on Saturday - normally the car would start slewing sideways on the downhill bend. They managed the hill in the village without the traction control kicking in once. And coming back last night up the back lane on hard packed snow was a dream. And on the motorways the tyres seem quieter than the standard tyres, and they don't adversely affect the mpg. £340 +£40 fitting I think over the next 2 or 3 winters that's going to be money well spent.

Mike

[GBR134]

I'm staggerred at some of the stuff i read in this thread. Boss drives an LS460 and I drive RX400h - both on standard Bridgestone. His has been useless in the snow and left at home. I didn't expect much from the RX - its not really hard core off road is it - but it has been absolutely brilliant! My only complaint is I can't find a way to turn traction/ESP off when I want to play!

[mikesands]

What is it that's staggering you GBR ?

Mike

[eurotrotter]

Invest in AUTOSOK about £65 pair, almost as good as snow chains. Alan

[GBR134]

What is it that's staggering you GBR ?

Mike

Sorry Mike - I must have been having a really dumb day. Had misread the thread and thought people were saying the RX400 was as bad in the snow as the LS series - it isn't but then 'nor does anyone in the thread claim it was!

[mikesands]

No problem GBR .... I live up a winding mud gravel steepish back lane, and the LS and the GS before it and the BMW 7 series before that were a complete nightmare. Failing to climb even the slightest slopey bit after snow, and sliding into the hedge trying to descend if it snowed while the car was at the top. I had considered the RX but their second hand prices are still very high compared to the LS. So far the winter tyres on the LS are a revelation, but I don't want to tempt fate too much.

Mike