MyIS350G

iTrader: (6)

same with my 350.. first time went to Lake Tahoe.. cant make it up a small hill because of snow.. I was pissed, i was like f... this imma get an AWD.

WeisISF

iTrader: (8)

same here been snowing every week in nyc and i got stuck 0 times!

Jmags

iTrader: (1)

3inches of real snow isn't the same as driving on roads that have been plowed with less than an inch of snow :P

Also Long island is so flat that it's not surprising you don't get stuck much :

Likwid XTC

iTrader: (5)

you can trade me ur 350 for my modded 250awd my isawd is freakin awesome in the snow!

Bottledfed

iTrader: (3)

Operator error...

Kurtz

iTrader: (1)

For what, exactly?

Why?

Lexus dealers here it's $50 for an oil change... and on a 2IS there's really no good reason to be doing it every 5k either unless you're doing nothing but taking really short trips.

clubfoot

Every year around this time I see posts about winter tires, getting stuck and AWD. I get a good laugh 'cause like everyone else who lives in the NE, we know how to drive RWD, FWD and AWD in the snow. On my second set of 18" oem sized winter tires on my lowered IS350 and I have never ever gotten stuck 'cause I know my car (read traction control) and I know how to drive. Since they flashed my ecu with the brake interlock I now have a 2nd gear snow mode, which is a GOD send, and I just turn off traction control when I need some wheel spin,....easy.

bichoo

I live in Canada an I bought an IS250 cuz of the nasty winters we get here..but you know what..I REGRET IT! There are only 10 days at most where the roads are so bad that an AWD would come handy...and I got an AWD just or this. I live in the city so the roads are kept clean well.
I'm seriously thinking of trading this in for a IS350...m advice to everyone, get the car u'll enjoy..and not get an AWD just for those few days ur car might get stuck.

Lucky350

iTrader: (2)

I got stuck twice last week! But I still love my IS350!!! You have to be one with your car and know if it's capabilities. Treat her like a woman and don't make her do things that she isn't able to do. That's the best way I could put it.

kl323

There's quite a few people w/ 350s who say they haven't gotten stuck yet. How much snow were you guys actually traveling on?

I certainly didn't make it home w/ my 350 during the Christmas Blizzard of 2010. I was traveling @ around 10PM. I believe we've accumulated ~8-10 inches of snow. Since then, I've been hesitant to take it out. Now that all the snow has iced up, I'm worried about the ice chewing up the tires. (<== is that a legit concern though?)

I do have two questions:

1) How much weight should one add to the trunk to increase traction?

2) Sounds like TCS is causing more issues for some in certain situations. When would it be a good idea to turn it off? I only turn it off when I'm trying to get out of a parking spot.

chi123

iTrader: (12)

Okay, firstly this is my first car and I've only had about 150-200 hours of driving experience so far. The 15.5 MPG is definitely not because I drive aggressively or anything like that. The first week I had this car, I got a speeding ticket from a cop sitting under a viaduct with a lidar gun. He caught me doing 42 in a major street with a 25 limit. Most people do 35 to 40 there on a regular basis but that one day, I was the only one driving down the street. After paying the $147 ticket and getting a 95% in traffic school test, I never bothered to speed again! On the highway, I get like 32 MPG but only 14 driving through Chicago streets.

Today, I tried going to McDonald's. I got stuck in my ally and people came by to help push me. One dude was walking his puppies and pushed while I tried driving but it didn't work. So he decided to take the wheel while I pushed. We still couldn't get going and he said this car's drivetrain really sucks in the snow. I finally got out after 2 of my neighbors saw me and came to help along with 2 strangers walking down the ally. So yeah, 5 people pushed just to get my car out today. When I got out, strangely enough, there was a dude driving an '09 or new silver 335xi in front of me. After a stop sign, he just took off like the pavement was dry. I tried to catch up for the fun of it, but my car's rear end kept swinging side to side and he got way ahead.

I would like to get a beater but obviously that thing will need repairs, insurance, licenses plates, city parking stickers, and all that stuff. Meaning, I'll have to spend $3000-5000 and another $1000-2000 a year for other stuff. Not something I want to do without a job and in college, making $600 a month online.

chi123

iTrader: (12)

People told me for it to be effective, 100-200 pounds. I don't want to do that cause my MPG will go way down obviously.

If you're an experienced driver, you can probably deal without Traction Control. Otherwise, I keep it on all the time and only turn it off to get out of situation when I'm stuck.

chi123

iTrader: (12)

Another concern of mine, when the guy was pushing my car he said, "Your left tire is spinning like nuts but your right isn't moving". What's with that happening, an open differential or what?

Also, when I was stuck, I rolled down my window to see what my wheels were doing. I was on wet pavement with almost no snow and the wheels kept spinning. I didn't have my foot on the gas and just had it in Drive. The wheels just kept turning with no effort to move forward.

ScKcBc

iTrader: (2)

The only issue I have is ground clearance. I've driven in 4"-5" of snow so far without a problem but that's about all I can do given the height of my car. I went snowboarding 5 times and didn't get stuck any of those times either, 2 of those times, it was during recent snowstorms I know you've seen as well

Sango

iTrader: (10)

Nope, that's pretty much open diff. Unless you feather your gas and brake pedals or use parking brake for assistance then you could get away with it by getting both wheels to move. With your other wheel spinning like crazy, it does it unless you can get both wheels to pin up at relatively the same rotational speed.

If you want to mod your car such that it has true LSD, then it will make a difference then you do not have to as much of the pedal as the other wheel would spin up when the differential locks.