thbrewst

Looking at getting a used LS. I live in Atlanta, so not really a lot of snow though we obviously have heavy rain at times and do have ice storms. Historically I've always tried to get 4WD/AWD cars just from a comfort factor but finding a suitable AWD LS in the south is like looking for a Yeti. I'm wondering what folks experiences are with the 2WD model in heavy rain and moderate snow. How well do these cars perform?

Thanks for the info.

Devh

RWD in heavy rain no problem. Snow can be a little more tricky to drive then a smaller car but still doable with quality tires and skill.
AWD cars do not offer any more comfort then RWD and in some cases the RWD will have a better ride.

thbrewst

By comfort I guess I meant more the security of knowing that I had AWD.

I'm a fairly accomplished snow driver but different cars have different capabilities. As heavy as the LS is I would think that it may actually do OK in light/moderate snow, but was looking for folks who could confirm. Certainly tires could make a big difference, but in ATL I would just have all-weather tires on year round.

Devh

It's more about weight distribution then the actual heaviness of the car. Lighter FWD cars do very well in the snow because the weight of the drive wheels over the snow.
Security of AWD is a good thing I suppose but it can also give you a false sense of security. When you apply the brakes all cars are equal. I would rather have a RWD car on snow tires then an AWD car on all seasons.
In a heavy rain condition there's really no advantage to AWD for the simple reason that you should always slow down because visibility is the bottleneck not the drivetrain.

CRowe14

Couldn't agree more.
Unless your in a constant tundra, RWD on an LS in combination with the drivetrain, and most importantly, as Devh has clearly stated, one's capability to exercise good driving tactics in slippery conditions, will more than suffice. Those variables in conjunction with some good snow tires.
I saw that you mentioned the cars ability on ice...
Again, Devh touched on it, but in the event you must drive on ice, from experience, slower, controlled driving and gentle braking will determine how well the car performs. Ice is ice, RWD, FWD or AWD..drive carelessly and an accident is much more likely to occur.

Lastly, one of our fellow members, Doublebase, resides in MA., as as you may or may not be aware, that region had one of its worst snow seasons, if not the worst, in its history.
He not only drove his LS all winter with snow tires, but drove an incredible amount of miles.
The LS is more than capable, as I believe that it has more to do with the individual behind the wheel.

Tec80

This morning I drove the AWD to work vs. the RWD, and I was noticing the additional driveline drag whenever I lifted off the throttle. The AWD also has a slightly shorter final drive ratio, but even when you pop it in Neutral it slows down noticeably faster when coasting (can you tell I get bored driving to work?).

The AWD does feel more planted in situations like pulling out of a side street onto a main road at half-throttle. Essentially you can punch it when pulling out without any clumsiness where the RWD would lose traction on the inboard wheel, trip the traction control, wag the tail slightly, etc. The AWD just goes like it is glued to the road. I don't know that I've ever heard it slip a wheel or turn the traction control light on.

On ice, the AWD will do much better accelerating, but no better turning or braking since you are off the throttle in these situations on ice. And as others state, tires make all the difference. For Atlanta, RWD with proper winter tires is fine.

Doublebase

I just drove through the worst winter in Boston's history with my RWD LS. I'll tell you that with snow tires, the car is pretty darn good for a rear wheel drive vehicle. The stability assist and traction control are very intelligent on these cars and the abs is excellent - I would certainly think the AWD is better, but if you're a good driver the RWD should be fine with snow tires. Without the snows? It's a different story.

SW17LS

I had an LS400 and an LS430, both RWD obviously. They are hilariously awful in the snow. I mean, really bad LOL. I would expect the 460 to be the same.

Thats with all seasons, with winter tires they are quite good in the snow. Its not cold enough and we don't get enough snow to get winter tires here, and you certainly wont in Atlanta, you should be fine with a RWD LS.

I wouldnt worry about AWD in heavy rain.

enoch861

I'll also chime in and say that it all comes down to the tires. Good tires = good traction. Bad tires = bad times. Obviously AWD has it's in advantages in snow and in rain as well and RWD has it's perks also with the biggest one being they're plentiful haha. Unless you're doing hard launches/accelerating or something (the car isn't really meant for that, but whatever, it'll go) in the rain, RWD will do equally as well as AWD.
This will be my first winter with RWD so we'll see how it goes. All my other winters have been with AWD and winters.. That was was an unstoppable force - I'd be able to almost WOT without spinning tires. Hopefully it's kind of the same story with RWD and winters.

R Z

I would think in Atlanta, RWD would be fine. Plus less to go wrong.

Devh

And much better power to weight ratio.

Kansas

We would have winter tires if we had to drive on ice just one day a year which was the case with my wife's Prius which was driven only one day on snow/ice on its Bridgestone Blizzak WS70 tires during its first winter. The difference between certified (mountain/snowflake symbol on sidewall) winter tires and all season tires is staggering - more so on ice than snow. Besides being able to stop and turn without drama, it's fun to "power away" from traffic lights in 2WD vehicles while AWD vehicles with all-season tires are helplessly spinning their wheels. And it is more than just fun to be able to get out of the way of drivers who don't have winter tires.

Here is an informative and scary video from Tire Rack comparing the traction of summer, all-season and winter tires on ice:

SW17LS

Then problem when you live somewhere like here though where we routinely have winter days over 40, and even upwards of 50 degrees, is that at those temps winter tires loose traction in dry and wet weather as compared to all season tires. So they might be better when we do have cold and snow, but the tradeoff is they are actually more dangerous the bulk of the winter that isn't that way.

Kansas

Steve, how much experience do you have driving on modern winter tires? You mentioned that your father's 98 LS400 was awful on snow. The similar 2000 LS400 I sold last year was a delight to drive on snow and ice on it's WS60 and then WS70 Blizzak winter tires - the best "snow car" I've ever had.

The difference in dry/wet pavement traction between winter and all-season tires is not nearly as great as it used to be - winter tire tread design and compounds have changed. Check the Tire Rack dry traction ratings for the Blizzak WS80 size for the 2015 LS460: http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....RatingsReviews

Although I have always moderated my driving somewhat when on winter tires, I do that more to avoid wearing out my winter tires quickly. Winter tires need at least 5 mm of tread for good snow traction and the sticky ice grabbing compound is not in the last few millimeters of the tread.

A "problem" with using winter tires is that I end up providing shuttle services to others which is actually a lot of fun. And a couple of winters ago, I had do a lot of backtracking to find streets that were not blocked by abandoned vehicles. These are nice "problems" to have.

SW17LS

I don't have a tremendous amount of experience driving on winter tires because I've always lived in the mid-atlantic and don't run them. His LS was terrible in the snow (as was the 430) but that was on all season tires, I have no doubt that with winter tires it would be much better. Bear in mind though, that we have 1, maybe 2 real snow days a year where the LS was difficult to drive, so it really didn't impact him/us at all.

The issue here is that, winter tires are designed to be used in temps less than ~40 deg F, just as summer tires are designed to be used in temps higher than that. When you're in that ~40 deg range, you're in the realm of similar capabilities as an all season tire on dry and wet roads, to at the worst slightly less grip performance. Hence...IMHO for my application they aren't worth it. If we had average temps even in the 30s for more than a month, I would run winter tires.

If my LS were RWD, and now that I don't have the Jeep I might consider it, but I got around great last year in the GS AWD on all seasons, really incredibly well, and I'm sure I'll do the same with the LS.