a790

Something to consider is that just because your other vehicles haven't slid on that patch of ice before doesn't mean your Lexus is garbage on ice. There are many different types of ice, and it's a very real probability that you may not have encountered the ice you slid on until you drove over it in your Lexus.

spiridons

I know what you are saying but, just to give you an example, I was in the drive-in of Tim Hortons, and there was a tiny patch of ice (very small) and I had to stop because there was another car in front of me..the car just did not stop when applying the breaks. It startrted to swirl and i had to steer left so i wont rear end the car in front me. I know if there is ice on the road you cant do anything, but such a small patch of ice? My question to you since you know more about cars, is that i have 18inch winter tires on my stock 18 inch wheels. I have read that for winter it is preferably to use lower inch winter tires (16-17inch) as to 18 as I have. You lose more control with higher size winter tires...Is that true? What do you have for the winter tires?

Anyways thanks for your help, but I am concerned. i love the car so much, but only sometimes i am scared that i wont be able to stop the car once i start slipping.

Thanks,

a790

I have 18" winters on my, Nokian X-Ice. I have no issues with control. I have also heard that reducing the rim size can assist in control, but I've also heard it's minimal at best. You also need to consider the size of the brakes/etc. to make sure it will fit underneath a smaller wheel.

What kind of throttle input are you using when these situations take place?

Swacer

Didn't read the coefficient of friction thing, huh?

In a drive through, you shouldn't be going more than 5 mph, so how hard do you need to apply the brakes so you don't hit the car in front of you? You should be coasting around the turn and slowly applying brakes.

And rule of thumb in winter is that you buy a smaller diameter wheel because then you can run a smaller width tire. if you put on a smaller wheel, at the same thickness, you've changed NOTHING about how your car handles. F = P/A. If your pressure is the same, but your area of contact decreases...your force of contact to the ground in a spot increases. (However, this is only important when driving through snow)

Additionally, rubber is rubber, winter or summer tire. Rubber still touches ice the same way. You slip....

I honestly believe this not a matter of car issues...its just you can't drive in cold weather.

On a lighter note, perhaps you want to take your car out onto a frozen parking lot and start spinning the sucker around? Get used to how the car feels to lose control? You can't be scared of your car. I personally love taking my car into bad weather because I enjoy the challenge of getting around and I used to take my old Accord and spin it "just because I could".