J C

Drove the SC 430 today and I am in love. I will be trading in my 2002 X5 4.4 and the SC will be my only car.
My questions are first....how bad is this vehicle in bad weather? I live in Delaware so we get a small amount of snow, but travel frequently to New England in winter. Any thoughts on winter driving greatly appreciated....I'm not expecting great performance here.......hopefully just as good as most rear drive passenger cars. Also have where have you found the insurance costs to be with the SC....average, high...or astronomical??
Thanks in advance for your feedback....I'm jealous of you guys..and gals.
JC

Arvin

welcome to the site.

I don't think you should drive the SC430 on snow road unless you change the stock RFT to winter tires.

I never try that because I live in SoCal, from what I heard the stock tires almost got no traction on snow surface.

my SC430 insurance is are not that high as my Honda S2000 before...

kasendorf

Huh!!!

You are talking about two TOTALLY, TOTALLY, TOTALLY different cars. I happen to own both an SC430 and X5 4.4. While both vehicles are fun to drive, one is bigger, versitale, and performs well in all circonstances and weather (the X5), the other is small, stricly for pleasure, and a nightmare in bad weather especially snow (the SC430). The issue with the SC430 in bad weather is not about the RF tires, it is more about a 40 profile 18" tire which is true for RF as well as regular tires. Will probably get a lot of flames about the statement but have experienced both in the snow this past year and I can tell you that the SC430 in bad weather is a nightmare. As far as insurance, my premiums seem to be about average. Good luck. Both cars are great but in my opinion should be used for different purposes.

dseag2

Kasendorf- I'm certainly not going to flame you, but I do have to disagree that the SC430 should be used strictly for pleasure. I own an SC430 and an RX300, and I use the SC almost exclusively for my everyday commute. The RX is used only if I have to haul more than 2 people or visit Home Depot.

I do have to qualify that by saying that I live in So. Florida, so snow obviously isn't a factor. We get a lot of rain, but I haven't had any difficulties driving in it. I would recommend to anyone who owns an SC430 that they ditch the runflats. I know those of us who've done it sound like fanatics, but non-runflats like Michelin Pilot Sports make a huge difference and make the car more liveable if you're driving it on an everyday basis.

Re: insurance... about average for me as well.

I would HIGHLY recommend this car. It is truly versatile as long as you don't have to haul more than 2 people.

J C

Thanks for the info...yes I do realize the X and SC are two different vehicles. My budget will allow only one nice car in my meager stable....so I guess the weather factor could be a deal breaker for me.
J C

Larry

I've heard that BMW is coming out with an "M" version of the X to compete with the Merc AMG. Anyone know if this is true ?

antigeek

Phooey on competing with the AMG.

The Porsche Cayenne Turbo has 450hp, an active suspension, and is one bad MF to drive.
Throw in some 275/40R20s on the optional Cayenne Sport Design wheels, and the stability is even more surprising. The only thing that reminded me I was driving an SSUV was the distance between my derriere and the ground.

Just thought I'd share my driving experience.
I only made the owner grab the OS handles once (for some reason there's one on the console, too).

ceboyd

A while back I heard that a Canadian dealership in Toronto was selling 16" winter wheels wearing 225 50 16 tires for SC430 owners in winter and they were just fine!

As long as you have room for winter tire/summer tire wheel storage, and don't need the extra hauling room/passanger room, GET the SC430! You'll love it!

AS AN FYI: Before getting the SC430, I had a Z3 6cyl convertible and it was my year round car... it did just fine with winter snow tires and wheels (15")... and I had the optional hard top.

With the Sc430, you already have a hard top and don't have to worry about winter conditions..

Additionally, in winter use, you'll have significantly more trunk space!


PLEASE don't let the winter scare you away from the SC430

There are other SC430 owners here who drive year round in winter and are fine!


Just understand that you must have seperate snow tires and you'll be fine!

J C

ceboyd...now thats encouraging...thanks for opinion....guess I'm going to have to look a bit closer
at this. Anyone else with winter experience care to chime in?

Knicksfan

Assuming you don't have any people or possessions to carry and you can try to avoid snow I suppose you'd be OK. I live in NY and tried to drive in snow and it was a disaster. I didn't change my tires so that certainly might help but it was SO bad that I can hardly believe it will be anywhere near as acceptable as you might have experienced with the X5. I suppose that if you plan to stay away from snow then on the rare instances where you do get stuck in something unexpected you can survive or wait it out. But don't kid yourself into thinking that this is a reasonable snow car....its not.....my .02

I had an RX 300 when I added the SC and now have a GX so the SC sleeps from Nov-April. This is my third spring/summer with the SC and I only have 10,000 miles!

ron36330

What's SNOW? I live in the South so others will have to opine. As for insurance, mine went up $40.00/yr over an 01 Mustang GT 5-speed convert. So I would say insurance for an SC 430 is pretty reasonable.
GET THE SC 430!!!!!!!
Ron

Tjz

Woooooo....Hold on a second.

If you don't get the SC, which I highly recommend, go and check out the Infiniti FX45. I almost made the mistake of buying a BMW X5. Just check it out, it blows away the X5 and just about everyhting else in the crossover/SUV category, even the Cayanne.

The FX will give you a nice blend of SUV safety and sportscar fun.

TjZ

DeniskaGS4

I drove all winter with stock 18's... We had a lot of snow this year and it wasnt fun. I will be putting snow tires on my stock 18's in november and running my chrome wheels in the summer time.. My Gs400 performed the same way as this car in the snow.. (with stock 17's)

Arvin

there is already a 1/2 M version of the X5 called X5 4.6 to compete with the ML55 AMG.

Deanski

Buy the SC4430! You can always get a snow car cheap!

Just so you know, yes you can drive an SC430 in snow, but you must change ALL tires to snow tires. A celeb in our area (Sopranos "Ralph", Joey Pants) just had his snows removed from his SC430 not long ago.

Personally, I'd never drive mine in the snow. I'm getting a cheap car just for snow.

I traded my 2001 RX300 that was fully loaded for the SC430 after I drove one. Just had to have it!

Hell, my wife get's pissed when I won't drive it in rain at times. Oh well, she does not understand how nice these things just gleam when cleaned and polished with Zaino. Just a pain to remove water spots off glass.

Do yourself a favor, get the SC430, change the tires from run flats to the Mich Pilot Sports. Buy a beater car for snow and invest in good snow tires for it.

Let us know what you will do. Hopefully, we will hear you got the SC430!

Regards,
Deanski