gvan1998

LOL, Im driving my 350 RWD with summer tires right now in snow. Its bad

SonyHome

I have IS350 F Sport RWD with stock rims and Michelin X-Ice Xi3 tires and they seem to handle well. I haven't driven through any deep snow yet but few inches and packed snow/ice doesn't seem to be an issue if you drive reasonably. I do notice if you take turns too hard and ground is slick your backend will try to swing out a bit. If you bought thinner wheels for winter it may perform better.

BOBFSPORT

Haha Same ! I got stuck going up my driveway today

jdot85

I own a 350 RWD FSport and I put on some Falken snow tires on the stock wheels a week after I got it. I live in Vancouver so our winter temperatures are for the most part above freezing and a lot of rain compared to the rest of Canada. We did get one snow day last month which we got 4-5 inches of snow. My car did fairly well with very little slippage in the wet snow and going up/down hills. I did notice the traction control light flashing once or twice because the tires were slipping a bit while I was accelerating up hills. Mind you I wasn't driving aggressively nor super slow.

The 8-speed is the way to go with a decent set of winter tires on all four corners, snow and ice shouldn't be a problem for Quebec winters.

AndyL

I have a regular IS350 RWD and I am in Greater Toronto Area. Compared to the previous two generations of IS, I find the car is more stable on snow and even when the traction light is on, you find the VDIM works quite well. For this new IS, I have the GoodYear UltraGrip 2 on a set of 17" wheels and -1 wheel downsizing helps the traction overall and I did the same thing for the previous 2 generations as well.

Being said that , I didn't have a chance to put the car in thick snow. However, I was once stuck in deep patches --- basically there was a big and deep ice irregular patch between the front and the rear wheels in a big gas station -- a weird sighting in the city and I didn't encounter it in the past. What was worse is the car was stuck at an angle and I couldn't move the car forward as one end of the front bumper had no room to move or your bumper will be scraped. (More correctly, it was the black plastic piece on one end that was stuck. )

In this situation, I ended up having towing company to winch the car out. Glad that there is no damage to the body of car. So in Quebec, if you encounter a lot of this situations, IS350 AWD may be a better option. RWD or FWD may get stuck.

Yes, the 8 speed in IS350 RWD is quite smooth and I love it.

AdvanSLF

We had some snow last week in the DC, VA, MD area. drove the car the day after it snowed and it did OK for being a RWD with summer tires. the roads were plowed but in most areas, there was still an inch of compressed snow and ice underneath. drove below the speed limit and took my time. did notice very slight slippage (rear kicking out) when i was going on down hill turns. was up at the top of the hill and tried to accelerate from a standstill with snow mode and eco mode on, the wheels spun for about 3 seconds then caught on the road. wasn't too bad overall, but i'd say you definitely need winter tires to be on the safe side. i can't imagine what hell i would go through if i was in stop and go traffic on a exit/on ramp with a small incline. i would probably be stuck and not going anywhere.

keveng15

i'd say definitely get a good set of snows.
I've got a set of LM60 on my 3IS and it doesnt seem to give me any problem besides the occasional start on an uphill, where you'd need to turn of traction control.
I'd say if you are mindful of the conditions, you shouldn't have much problems.
I've never driven through thick patches of snow since up here in toronto, the roads get plowed fairly quickly and there's like tons of salt on the roads X_x

Having an 2IS350 rwd before, i'd say the 3is is performing better on the snow (maybe coz of the 8speed?)

Aeromotive

Thanks everyone for your input. Considering how quickly snow gets cleared even after snowstorms, I think I'll be going with RWD and the WS70's or LM60's.

AndyL

Another vote for better stability of 3IS 350 vs the 2IS.

But not just IS350 RWD. Even for IS350 AWD or IS250AWD, you can feel the car is more planted.

avex

I just took delivery of an IS350 RWD with 18's and it did come through with summer tires. I'm in the Boston area and we do get a few snow days. My 2IS was horrible in snow with all-seasons, so this time I'm thinking of getting a set of Blizzaks. I just have a couple of questions for those of you with experience with winter tires:

(1) Do most of you install the winter tires on the stock 18's, or do you buy a cheap set of 17's (possibly narrower than stock)?

(2) if you use the stock 18's, what size do you get for the rear? The stock 255/35R18's appear to be an odd size. Tire Rack lists nothing in that size for winter tires. Is 255/40R18 an acceptable substitute?

Randre19

I went to my dealer and got a winter tire package that consisted of 17" Blizzaks and Sport edition rims. The Blizzaks are AWESOME. Have had no trouble in the snow. Even parallel parked over night in the city when it snowed through the night, thought for sure my car was going to stuck snowed into the parking spot but gave it some gas and shot outta there. The Blizzaks are great winter tires and have exceeded my expectations with this RWD beast. Obviously you have to drive smart in the snow. I dont recommend driving aggressively as then you would absolutely lose the back end haha

avex

How much were these Sport Edition rims?

I'm wondering if the stock 255/35/18's are just completely sold out because it's late in the season, or if they don't make that size at all.

jaznraz

iTrader: (1)

Avex - I put 235/40/18 Dunlop SP Winter Sport 3D tires on my stock F-Sport 350 RWD rims and they fit very well imo. I would suggest this size if you want to stay with your 18's.

Aeromotive

Thanks. What Blizzaks do you have? LM60? WS70?
Also how deep was the snow? And did you lose the back end under normal (whatever that means for you!) throttle, for example on turning tight (city streets) corners, or highway ramps?

Randre19

Hey Guys,

The tire winter package I got included Blizzak LM-60's and 17" Sport Edition rims. The rims are in this link http://www.******************.com/wh...on-wheels.html

I don't mind the look of the winter rims..I actually think they look pretty good and they are winter rims so who really cares right? I was quoted $2295 for the whole package which included the 4 Blizzaks, 4 sport edition rims, 4 sensors, and free mount&balance and storage and swaps for the life of the car. Pretty good deal in my opinion.

As for driving the car...the Blizzaks have been great! I've driven in about eery snow condition as Chicago has gotten pounded by snow storms this winter. I've been in freezing wet conditions, slush conditions, and straight blizzard conditions. The deepest snow I have driven through would be around 6-8" and it handled pretty well. Snow mode helps alot but in normal drive you just have to be gentler on the throttle. If you give it gas around a turn you will slide out the back end a tiny bit but the traction control responds so fast its nothing to worry about. I havent had any problem with tight turning in the city or on highway ramps. I even parallel parked overnight in the city and my car pulled right out of the spot after being snowed in through the night. I thought I was going to be stuck but I was pleasantly surprised.

Honestly the Blizzaks are great winter tires and if you just drive smart you should not have any problems. If you want to slide the back end out you definitely have enough power to do so. Overall, I give the IS350 RWD with Blizzak LM-60's a 10 outta 10