hp1000

hey everyone,
i am lookin into gettin a used gs430 by october , i live in the philadelphia region, i was wondering if someone can tell me how is the car during winter time, with snow and stuff? and if the suspension is modded does that effect its abilities of what it can do in the snow and rain. ? thanks in advance...

barry gershinzo

the gs is not a winter car. if the suspension is lowered it is even worse. i put on winter tires on 16 rims and only drive when the snow is low. in rain with the right tires the car is great.

gs400998

I only drive my Lexus when the roads are clear of snow. Majority of RWDs: BMW, Vette, Mustang, disappear during the winter here. Get a set of snow tires if you must drive your GS during the winter.

Johnny Mo

I don't even attempt winters with mine.

wilassasin

I dont drive my GS in the snow, I hardly even drive it in the winter months. The GS even with the traction and all that snow button stuff is still horrible in the snow, but I love the car I just drove from NJ 2 VA and it was such a smooth and comfortablr ride, even my passengers complimented....IMO if u get one buy snow tires in the winter, or use other transportation when it snows....

J.P.

I never understand why everyone says the GS is such a bad winter car. The snow button does help, but most of the people who seem to complain are the ones running the 17" SUMMER tires. The same issue is with the IS 300, the 17's often came with summer tires, I once slide like a 1/4 mile in an IS, the local dealer even warned my friend to pickup another set of winter wheels\tires or at least get all season tires.

I run GS 16's in the winter and I am good to go, if you have the 17's at LEAST get all season tires, the summer high performance tires will almost guarantee an accident.

mooretorque

Mostly because an open differential with rear wheel drive (forget TRAC; it's helpful, but it's not a limited slip differential) is not a very good recipe for snow driving compared with other vehicles on the road that are, in general, less performance oriented but have weight over the driven wheels (eg, FWD). I grant you that dedicated snow tires make a world of difference but even if I have the skills of Michael Schumacher, I know that most of those other sum*****es out there do not. And my GS will be just as wrecked.............plus let's not forget..............SALT!!

Buy the GS, but get a beater Golf or Civic.............

LS4fun

I'm with the majority here as well. Definately get a beater car for the winter.

chuckisc

Hi HP1000,

Welcome to CL's!

I live in Delco, Philly's suburb. Just want to let you know exactly how my GS3 drive during our lengthy and crappy winter here....

1. Slip, slip, slip and slip! But the VSC will save your behinds since It will bring the car right in-line. First time that happened to me, it was very scary! HAHAHA

2. I'm getting new rims (Work Wheels LS 19") for the summer, but in the winter I will put my stock 16" rims with snow tires back on, It helps!

3. Car wash, undercar bath @ the car wash any time you can during winter's months. SALT (again!)

4. If you are @ work and the snow starts coming down, leave right away or else your ride will be snowplow all the way home on I-476, 76, 95. Local roads even worse!

5. Heated seats are awesome!

6. Adjustable winshield wipers (pull it out during winter's months) keep the snow off your windshield

7. Drive my 98' Maxima if it's snow pretty bad, or the day after a snowstorm. Again: REAR WHEEL DRIVE issue!

8. Too much torque makes you spin sometimes when there is snow on the road.!

But overall, I drove it all winter long, when there isn't snow on the road's surface, and the car runs perfect. GET THAT GS430, you will be thanking yourself if you did!

Good LUCK!

Hameed

I plan on getting a beater Corolla or Civic for the winter this year and give my GS a break from the salt.

I drove my GS the first winter I had it and the previous owner had just put on new all seasons - Michelin Pilot, so driving in the winter was not bad at all. I will upgrade the tire/rims next year to Z rated tires and bigger rims, however will not drive the car in the winter again. The salt is just nasty on any car. The GS deserves better.

fireballs gs400

i am looking at aold subaru awd or something 4x4ish to make it through the winters. the gs isn't going in bad weather anymore. but good luck with your purchase

joeydingo

Have enough people already told you these cars SUCK in the snow, or do you need one more person to say it????

lexguynj

OK, I am going against the norm. I recently replaced my OEM Summer Tires with Michelin Pilot Sport A/S (Ultra High Performance All Season Tire - Still Z Rated).

Last winter here in NJ, it was horrible. The GS this year performed fairly well for me in snow with the Michelins. I remember the winter year before with the OEM Summer Tires and that was a bad experience, but these Michelin Pilot Sport A/S are fairly decent in snow, not as good as snow tires of course, but it's a compromise, since you can still ride on 17's and look good in the winter.

doug_999

Although it has been said in other posts above, let me clarify.

The GSs with 16 wheels have all season tires. You can get by with these (see note on snow tires below however).

The GSs with 17 wheels have SUMMER tires. You can NOT drive in any snow with these - as mentioned above, 1/4" of snow makes the car completely undrivable. You won't be able to get out or back into your driveway.

Snow tires... I am a huge fan of these because I have owned them. I even change my wife's all season tires on her 4 wheel drive RX300 to snows each year. The difference is amazing. Anyone who tells you different, has not driven on the newer snow tires. That said, here are the rules for snows
1. Must be put in in fours - you can't just put them on the rear wheels. You will drive the DSC and tracktion control system nuts. and you will probably crash
2. The skinnier the tire the better. Wide tires ride on top of the snow, skinny tires cut through it. Check with Tire Rack if you don't believe me.
3. Taller sidewalls are better - pot holes wreak havoc on rims - the taller the sidewall the more protection you have for your rims.
4. Don't get real cheap rims that you hate just for the winter. I've done this and you end up hating the look of your car for 6 months out of the year. There are plenty of OEM 16 and 17" Lexus rims available out there (especially since everyone except me on this board has changed their wheels), I got mine from our friend Steve at Carson Toyota. Check the board classified for others.
5. Last but not least - snow tires are a trade off. There are performance snow tires (Bridgestone LM-22s, Dunlop Winter Sport M2, and Pirelli 210 Snow Sport) and then there are SNOW tires - Bridgestone WS-50, Dunlop Graspic, etc.). The SNOW tires will give you a subpar dry road experience with incredible snow traction. The performance snow tires are more of a balance with decent dry road handling and good snow traction. I do a lot of highway driving and rumor has it the WS-50s from Bridgestone can be squrimy - so I went with the LM-22s which are nice in the dry and good in the snow. Remember, everything is a trade off.

Oh and to answer your question, the car does fine in the winter with snow tires on it.

Doug

joeydingo

I do put four Dunlop Graspic snow tires on my car and it will "go" in the snow, however it is the worst handling car in the snow I have ever owned and I use it only when necessary. Not only for the handling aspect, but I hate to see my baby getting sandblasted and covered with salt.

That being said, I live in the Northeast and we get some real winter weather, and my other vehicle is an F150 4x4, so maybe I'm used to a bit better than what other people expect.