ajgrasso66

i have a 92 ls400 with snow studed tires and i have to say it sucks.
i live in colorado and my honda civic does better and its droped 4 in.
has anyone put weight in the trunck and it helped?
i am trying to sale it due to this fact.
but in the mean time it is stuck in the middle of the street, and the streets are plowed. haha

ls in snow

daryll40

I put NOKIAN WR all season (with a winter bias) tires on my new '03 and now '04 LS and it goes ALMOST as good as all wheel drive. The one caveat is that I don't know if the tires will have to be replaced every year like BLIZZAKS yet...they are SUPPOSED to go 50,000 miles. I doubt it. I'll be happy with 30K here in Pittsburgh.

Daryll40, Crystal '04 LS430, Modern Luxury

ajgrasso66

i live at over 8000 ft here in estes park colorado.
and there is not one level road.
i cant wait to move to LA.

4theboys

Hey Aj,

Front wheel drive vs. rear wheel drive. I also have the nokians and they do handle very well in the snow. Some extra weight in the rear will help. Best of luck.

ToyLexmods

AJ,

What about some more information. I too have a 92LS and it has Blizzak WS50s...I live at 7k feet here in Colorado and it has snowed 18 inches the last 2 days. I get around better then most SUVs around here and drive through everything. Hell, its a blast driving the LS...and I have 5 other cars to choose from. I even have a LX470 with winter specific Blizzaks tires on it. The LX sits in the heated garage and I have not touched it all winter because I would rather drive the old 92LS and let it get chipped up during the winter.

I think you need to take a closer look at those tires. Tests show that the WS50 grip even better than studded snows. Hell, I drove my 91 Supra turbo with 340rwhp up here in the winters with the same Blizzaks and never ever had a problem.

Tires.

{-.-}

Studded tires and your stuck..........

You need to invest in some new tires. Those studs must be worn down.

lspower

i have just ok snow tires on and i get around fine

97LS400

ajgrasso66,

Tires determine 90% of snow traction. Weight/balance is the other 10%. The only difference limited slip or 4-wheel drive makes is that it determines how many wheels apply power to the ground when you accelerate... no difference at all for stopping, cornering, or normal acceleration while moving.

Your front wheel drive Honda Civic with (winter only) studless snow tires is the king-of-the-road in snow. 60% of the vehicle weight is over the tires and you have the added bonus of point-and-accelerate steering if it does start to slide.

The Lexus however will do just fine with the right tires. Put 200 pounds in the trunk and it will make a tremendous difference.

lexusguy

I too have new Blizzaks on my '93 LS 400. It handles extremely well in our wet snow. Tires will make all the difference when it comes to snow.

daryll40

How many miles do you guys expect to get out of your Blizzacks? And how much do they cost? My Nokians are supposed to go for 50,000 miles, but I can already see some wear at just 5000. And they cost $170/each plus mounting. Maybe the Blizzack is the better way to go afterall. Although I will say that my car DOES GO with the Nokians.

joyous

The only way to go, and STOP, on snow and icy roadbeds, FWD, RWD, AWD, 4WD, is with snowchains.

Even here in Seattle I know enough to always carry a set of snowchains during the winter.

daryll40

Snow chains will certainly "go" in snow, but are not the ONLY way to go. I don't like all of the baggage that comes with chains.

97LS400

Chains are best but what a "pain-in-the-***" they are.

We stopped buying chains when Goodyear came out with the first true winter only tire in the early 1980's. Lived in interior Alaska back then.

Today we live in Western Oregon and the current snow/ice storm has cars driving 10mph on the rural roads. I left the LS400 home and drove a 1993 Accord with Dunlop Wintermasters to work... couldn't tell there was anything wrong with traction unless I intentionally made an effort to spin or lock up the brakes.

The bad thing about these winter only tires is that they are only good for about 50% of the rated life.

First winter - WOW, it's almost like driving on clean pavement!
Second winter - These things are really great!
Third winter - Still working ok.
Fourth winter - They appear to have 1/2 tread life left but snow grip is gone... need to replace ASAP.

We average 10k per year per car so that sounds like an average of 20k per set of snow tires. Our family fleet has gone through 12+ sets of winter only tires since the early 1980's. Every new car gets 2 sets of wheels and tires right up front for summer/winter swaps.

ToyLexmods

97LS,

How correct you are.

I cant count the number of tires and rims we have extra in the garage. But when the snow flies...out come the Blizzaks and we dont skip a beat. I even have the Blizzaks for the LX470 mounted on extra LX rims and we hardly drive it in the winter. But, my wife will not pull out the driveway without Blizzaks in the winter...no matter which car she takes.

92 LS with extra rims and Blizzaks
99 LX with extra rims and Blizzaks
91 Supra turbo with extra rims and Blizzaks
88 Celica alltrac turbo with extra rims and Blizzaks

I like to drive fast...even on the snowpack.

daryll40

Do you guys have ramps/jacks and pneumatic tools to make the quick swap and do it yourself??