Best Preparation For Driving Is 250 In Ice/snow

[Matus]

for snow, winter tire is a must, but it is ideal to have the tires narrow as possible - in this case 205/55/16

so buy rims for this size. it is the best solution.

and if you also put 100kgs in the boot, you'll be OK.

[Rob]

conti winter contact is popular over here and if you can get them a nordic winter tyre would be good due to the extra grip

[vektor12]

Guys, let me share you my experience with IS 250 auto on snow.

In 2009, we had the first snow in December for the last couple of years. Obviously, I was not equipped with winter tyres, so after a good half an hour trying to take the car out of my garage, I surrendered myself and put it back (very difficult as well).

I installed 4 Nokian WR G2 (225 45 17 in front and 245 45 17 for the rear, all with alloy wheels). They are not really winter tyres, although they are marketed as both winter and summer (though they do not mention the words 'all season'). They are really incredible, on snow, ice, slush, you name it. Of course they tend to be a little bit noisy, but it only bothers me after 100 kmph. I climbed hills with them, drove on other people's tracks, went to the mountains and they proved really useful.

However, I found myself in 2 rather difficult situations:

1. a couple of days ago, when trying to turn on a narrow street surrounded by snow, I found myself unable to move because there was ice under the rear wheels, and lots of snow under the engine and the front part. It took me half an hour to be able to do something (the car was also perpendicular on the road, so pushing it was still difficult).

2. this morning, when my car was parked outside on old snow (flat terrain), and it snowed quite a lot (approx. 20-25 cm of fresh snow for the last 7 hours; I was at a mountain resort). I completely cleaned the car (I am a freak when it comes to that, and I would not allow myself to drive with snow on it), but I was unable to get it to move. With the help of a shovel and some good push, my girlfriend did move it about 1 meter behind, but that was it. Once a Range Rover SUV towed me to the tracks left by other cars, I was able to drive it. It could also be the fact that it's a very low car, with automatic gearbox.

Bottom of line is good tyres help you a lot (before, even on slush, i was able to drive with max. 30 kmph, since the car was almost uncontrollable), but they don't help you all the time. Studded tyres could be a solution, but they are forbidden to use here (I think they are allowed in rally competitions, but not on roads). Chains (I hear RUG has some very good ones) are also something to consider.

Good luck to everyone in snowy conditions out there.

[Rob]

WITH 245 tyres what do you expect - winter tyres should be as thin as possible.

[vektor12]

WITH 245 tyres what do you expect - winter tyres should be as thin as possible.

This is true; however, the initial thinking was to get as much grip as possible on the road, since in the last years we did not have too much snow.

By the way, why is it better to have thin tyres in winter? Do they have a better grip? I understand they "cut" the snow better, but besides this, I see no other obvious reasoning.

[vektor12]

WITH 245 tyres what do you expect - winter tyres should be as thin as possible.

This is true; however, the initial thinking was to get as much grip as possible on the road, since in the last years we did not have too much snow.

By the way, why is it better to have thin tyres in winter? Do they have a better grip? I understand they "cut" the snow better, but besides this, I see no other obvious reasoning.

[Rob]

yes the thinner the tyre the more weight per area there is so you get better grip. with a wide tyre the weight is spread over a wide area so not much loading

[vektor12]

Elementary physics lesson! Thank you!

[walterlex]

Winter tyres help, but not practical in UK yet!!

why not?

Why not indeed? I have them on - in the UK and they are entirely practical as far as I can see.

I would like to get some feedback from people who have driven with "autosocks". Seem to be a perfect solution for only 100£.

Why doesn't everybody have them???

[Rob]

autosocks will wear out very quickly when on clear roads and are meant to be a quick and very temporary solution

[walterlex]

autosocks will wear out very quickly when on clear roads and are meant to be a quick and very temporary solution

Thanks for your advice.

But here (in Brussels) snow and ice on the road are also very temporary situations. I suppose (my IS250 will only be delivered next week ) it is just for those gentle and not so gentle slopes that I would really need them. On the flat snowy stretches in between I figure they would just come in handy.

Also, if you believe the publicity, they are very easy to put on/off. So you could use them only on snow/ice and take them off once you have the chance to find yourself on a cleared road.

Any idea how long these socks would do their job on really snowy/icy roads?

[ekky]

On Sunday i tried my Autosocks for the first time and was amazed at the difference it made. Normally the car would have stayed safely on the drive when it snowed, but i was away and had to get home. There was about two to three inches of snow and the car wouldn't move from the position it was parked in (on a very slight slope). So a put the Autosocks on the rears and the car was moving as though there was no snow, next a short but steep hill to get onto the road, i didn't need to take a run at it, the car just made it to the top problem (to the amazement of my dad)

i then had 6 miles to the motorway on snow all the way, doing 20-25mph the car felt under control (no squirming about). Once at the motorway where i could see tarmac, i pulled the off and i was away again.

They were quick to put on and take off less than 5 minutes and as away keeping going when the conditions got difficult i think they are great. They are quite expensive especially if you buy front and rears, but the biggest problem i've had with my is200 in these conditions is poor rear traction so you could probably get away with them just on the rears.

Once home i dried them out, they were a little dirty, but there were no signs of wear

Only thing i'll change are the gauntlets they supply, as i found they weren't quite long enough and ended up rubbing my sleeves on the arches (minor issue)

Hope this helps may be a little late for this year, but i thought i wouldn't use them when they arrived after the snow in January, so who knows

[BosniaLexus]

Thanks to all for a good discussion on this. I am used to driving in heavy snow and the best car I had for this was my old IS200 with snow tyres fitted in Austria (winter tyres, without studs), a heavy boot, and it coped in all conditions. Regretably, I did not have a chance to try the autosocks on the 18" wheels on my IS 250, as despite paying for next day delivery, they arrived 2-3 weeks later. Reducing the tyre pressure slightly and putting weight in the boot did help somewhat, but as one poster said, the IS 250 is prone to becoming stranded with clogged ice/snow preventing it from moving at all, when parked for a few days when it snows on top of snow. The car will now migrate to south east europe again for the rest of the year, and the snow is pretty much gone. Though the IS250 sport looks great and it came with all the gadgets (unlike the new IS 250 sport launched this month), drivers should beware the disadvantages of the sport suspension (too firm) and overlarge wheels (18" look great, but too wide for winter).

[nbp]

Hi,

I drive an IS220D sport with 18" alloys. The front are 225/40 and the rear are 255/40. Does anyone know what the best winter tyres that would suit the car are? I guess the best thing to do is purchase a set of wheels for the winter tyres. The manual for the car suggests that the car is not suitable for snow chains. I have, however, purchased a set of chains which I've never used. I'd like to be in a position to put snow chains on the winter tyres.

Can anyone suggest a solution?

[The Swede]

I'm a bit puzzled about your comment on the lack of Winter tyres in the UK. Plenty of places sell them - most of the tyre fitting places offer them and they are readily available off mytyres.com, blackcircles.com or camskill.com. I was thinking of buying a set but to be honest with the snow button engaged and a bit of care i've had no real problems this year.

There are plenty of winter tyres available, but my experience of buying them is that they come in a limited range of sizes and only in higher profiles. I suspect that is deliberate and related to perfomance.

The Conti T830s that I bought were (AFAIK) only available in 15" or 16" and for me that meant new wheels as well as new tyres. I am not unhappy about that because it makes them easier to exchange back when the weather gets warmer, but I can see why someone with 17"+ wheels might say there is nothing available for his wheels.

How do you find the TS830s? I have ordered a set of them with 17 inch five-spoke wheels that are good in the winter (not so much snow stuck in them) for my new IS due to be delivered in a few weeks.

Living in Sweden, I don't have any problem driving in the snow, but then my current car is a Saab 9-3 FWD with real studded winter tires. This will be my first RWD car since driving old Volvos in the early 90s. I have tried the IS with real winter tires (Nokian Hakkapeliitta R) and found them to be very good. That tire is a proper "Nordic" winter tire made for snow and ice. The issue with it is that it is not very good on asphalt, which is the surface I'm driving on most of the winter in this part of Sweden. That kind of snow and ice tire is actually worse on asphalt than a studded tire, which is hard to believe. That is why I am going for a "Central European" type of performance winter tire that provide decent performance on asphalt, while not being completely useless on snow and ice (though not as good as a "Nordic" winter tire with or without studs).

Another thing I have found with the IS, apart from it being RWD of course, is that the stability control system is very aggressive. When it senses a slip, it really brakes hard, bringing down the speed of the vehicle quite abruptly. My Saab has a very smooth system that gently stabilises the car. Often, the only way I am able to notice the stability control working is the flashing indicator light.

I use these on our Lexus IS 300 http://www.lexusownersclub.co.uk/forum/index.php?showtopic=70420&view=findpost&p=742738

As you can see in the post higher, they're perfect in getting the car even with the traction control up a steep icey hill.

For UK, I'd recommend Nokian wintertyres, but then studless, any time. I've tried many makes of tyres on different cars in Finland and the Nokians just beat all of them fair and square.

(PS: And NO, I am NOT a Finn )

[The Swede]

Hi,

I drive an IS220D sport with 18" alloys. The front are 225/40 and the rear are 255/40. Does anyone know what the best winter tyres that would suit the car are? I guess the best thing to do is purchase a set of wheels for the winter tyres. The manual for the car suggests that the car is not suitable for snow chains. I have, however, purchased a set of chains which I've never used. I'd like to be in a position to put snow chains on the winter tyres.

Can anyone suggest a solution?

Snow chains are just pointless. The only thing they can help you with is to get through deep snow for a few hundred meters... providing the car does not get stranded when it's too deep.

Ideally, get a set of narrower wintertyres in 17 or even 16". In winter, you want narrower tyres for better grip in snow and lower risk of aquaplanning when it's wet (which is generally the case). You also want a tyre that is less stiff than your low profilers as this provides more grip. Issue is that this is expensive as option as you also need to buy a set of alloys.

The alternative is to put a good set of tyres on your 18" and keep them on November-March. Less expensive in the beginning, but you need to pay your tyreman 50 quid twice a year for the swap.

In both cases, I'd go for a Nokian Hakkapeliitta WR G2 which are much more "performance oriented" than the R and the Hakka 7 which are really for use in Scandinavia.

http://www.nokiantyres.com/tyre?id=10360796&group=1.01&name=Nokian+WR+G2

[Maw71]

Hi All,

Bought my IS250 back in Nov just before the big freeze hit...not necessarily the best decision I've ever made. Great car but apalling in snow, used to have a Volvo S60 D5 and thought that was bad but this.......even with the snow control on it doesnt seem to like hills or straight roads. Looking forward to better weather so I can see how good it really should be.

[The Swede]

Thanks for your advice.

But here (in Brussels) snow and ice on the road are also very temporary situations. I suppose (my IS250 will only be delivered next week ) it is just for those gentle and not so gentle slopes that I would really need them. On the flat snowy stretches in between I figure they would just come in handy.

Also, if you believe the publicity, they are very easy to put on/off. So you could use them only on snow/ice and take them off once you have the chance to find yourself on a cleared road.

Any idea how long these socks would do their job on really snowy/icy roads?

Hi,

First of all congratulations that you are moving away from the :tsktsk: "mazout-burner". That is one less on the infested Belgian roads.

Knowing Brussels very well, I wouldn't do socks (I'm Belgian too). The roads are just in too bad conditions and if you use them on snow, you will tear them straight away on one of the many tramrails or potholes.

Considering how wet Belgium is, I'd get a good set of winter tyres and you will not need any socks.