Johnny

We awoke this morning with about four inches and it's still coming down. I scraped the driveway, and warmed up the LS. This time last year, I ventured out with a great deal of trepidation which was warranted as I would find out eventually. The 460 would yaw to the point of breaking sweat. All that was a distant memory today as I backed out with a surge of confidence. A few months back, I chose to leave my all-seasons on and wait to replace them with summers next year or so, along with a set of ice radials for winter. The area I live in has very steep hills, as Gojirra will vouch.

I backed out, put the car on the road and could already feel the slick surface underfoot. The plows had not been through our neighborhood yet, so the surface was very slick. The AWD made its presence known by biting and tracking in the snow with great aplomb. I came up to speed without a hitch, worked my way around steep curves and hit the main road. The steep winding hill to the bottom is called Johnson Street and during large snowstorms, it has often become a parking lot full of wrecks, but there wasn't enough there this morning to cause this, only very slow and nervous traffic. I danced around these cars at my usual pace, guiding the 2 1/2 ton behemoth like it was on railroad tracks.

Later, I hit Barnet highway into town and it was slick and snowy all the way in. Most of the right lane traffic was traveling at a snail's pace of 20-25 mph. The LS was clipping along at a brisk 50-55 mph., and there was never feeling of marginal control throughout - the stability control only kicked in once with the usual audible warning whenever a wheel breaks free.

I can now say the AWD combined with the fairly heavy weight of the car gave me back the confidence I had in my old 98 Audi 100. Skiing is on the menu again this year as last year's experience with the 460 put outdoor activities on the back burner until now. I can hardly wait to get ice radials next year, but I'm sure the 600 will take me in whatever direction I point it this year.

To those of you who may be considering the new 460 AWD, do not hesitate one bit, especially if snow and ice are a part of your winter driving experience. You will not regret it. Needless to say, AWD has put fun back into my winter driving.

Helmar

Ditto!

HBH

TripleL

Great write-up!

Thanks for sharing your experience (and excitement!).

TripleL

Craig B

Burnaby, glad to hear you had no problems. I've only driven my LS 460 once in 2" on snow and won't do that again. I drive an SUV when it snows here. I ordered a new BMW X5 twin turbo diesel to replace my QX4. It's at the dealer now, but I'm going to wait until January 2nd to take delivery. It will save me on personal property taxes.

Craig

bruceko

We had some minor ice and snow here in Seattle.
I tried out my new Ls460 on it and won't be driving it in any cold weather.
It even seems to spin the tires in wet weather.
Maybe it is the Bridgestones?

Johnny

Winter tires would help you, but are always a semi-redundant purchase in the NW, as you know. The Bridgestones are fine. What is not however, is all the power (380 HP) and torque (367 lb-ft) going to the two rear wheels, each receiving 190 & 184 respectively. And when one slips, it all goes to the other wheel causing a vicious circle. On the AWD, the distribution drops to 95 HP & 92 lb-ft per wheel, significantly reducing wheel slip and in turn delivers a more balanced and useful traction.

joeyb

I've got the AWD and put on Bridgestone Blizzaks. We got 2" of snow yesterday, so I went out late last night and did some perfomance driving. It was really really cool. When the car would start to slide in the corners, I would give it the gas and it would drag you through.

Patric

Good read Burnaby.

We have a couple of inches here in Everett. Getting up out of my driveway is always the big issue having to clear two tracks for the tires before starting up but once on the road my factory Bridgestones were adequate.

About the AWD; I understand the center differential transfers power front and rear automatically but do you or anyone else know if the front and or rear differential has limited slip or is it in effect one wheel drive in the front and one in the rear?

I may spring for the AWD on my next one down the road.

Thanks.


Pat

Nospinzone

If I have time later this month I'm going to my dealer and see what they'll do on taking my 07 on an 09 AWD. However, I noticed the Lexus website no longer has a list of all the options so you can "build your own". I know my car would have to be special ordered because I have to have the Pre-Collision option and that's not available in the cars they ship to snowbelt states.

PHCMA

I never thought I would read that a manufacturer would brag about going to 2 wheel drive.

http://www.autoblog.com/2008/12/18/r...rive-cars-for/

Johnny

2WD (i.e. RWD) cars are much easier to drift or fishtail, or handbrake turn...

If I want to toss a car around, I avoid 4WD altogether. Too stable & civilized!

Gojirra99

I had to get a ride Wednesday. Thursday was OK with my SC430 on all-season though ...

Johnny

I've been going up and down every day, no problems. I did have a close call last night at the new Willingdon Costco. They have a parking lot entrance at the north side of the building. The street that accesses that entrance is a dead end street, barricaded with a concrete barrier, at the entrance point. I approached the entrance and only then noticed that street had turned into a skating rink (black ice). I knew I was in trouble and as I approached the end of the street, I gradually applied the brakes, but nothing happened, I was still drifting too fast.

Had I continued to brake, I would surely have crashed into the barrier, so I gingerly steered the wheels toward the driveway. The tires reacted slowly but surely and fortunately the car caught grip of the bare freshly salted concrete hump there. I went back today, and that same street was now salted clear. Ice radials would have been great in the same situation, but there is a shortage in Canada now, so I'll be more vigilant as this cold snap is supposed to maintain its grip on us until at least until at least Tuesday. Whew, that put a damper in my AWD confidence!

Helmar

Black ice is definitely a different matter. On black ice, even the most careful driving can result in an accident, especially if even the slightest hill is involved (I've had a previous FWD car do a slow 180 down a hill, no steering or braking had any effect).

I expect that only studs would make a significant difference.

I wonder if the extra 800 or so pounds on my hybrid helps or hinders when driving in adverse conditions....

HBH

encore888

Thanks for the writeup!