About 2 weeks ago it snowed up here in New England and my Lexus was awful...... It was one of the first snow storms ive experianced while driving, and I have a few questions about the Lexus in the snow....

1. What does ect "snow" do???
2. When going up a hill and "gunning it" does it ruin your engine??

(Half of the reason my car is so bad in the snow is because my tires are basically bald and have no treads because spring is around the corner and I am going to put on my other tires with that have 20's on them)

 

does anyone have to deal with the snow or do you all live in hott areas?

 

The coldest it ever get her is 4 C (about 38 F) so i cant help ya out

PS . Welcome to CL

 

The "snow" mode in the GS limits acceleration. Basically, it helps you to keep the car in control by allowing slow acceleration (to limit slippage).

"Gunning" the car up a hill is not a good idea. Actually, taking the GS out in the snow is not a good idea. The GS is not built to handle heavy snow. Light snow is okay but if you're looking at a snow storm, you should be prepared with something more heavy duty.

By gunning the GS up a hill, you're doing nothing but spinning your tires. It might not harm the engine immediately but if you keep at it, the heat is going to build up and that's never a good thing. If you encounter a hill, you should try to get a little speed up before getting to the hill, that way you have momentum and you should be able to trut up the hill.

You should think about purchasing a cheap vehicle for snow use, such as a used Toyota 4Runner or something of that sort that can handle heavy snow accumulation.

*And get new tires. Even if it wasn't snowing, running on bald tires is a bad thing.

 

Snow mode also doesn't give you 1st gear, it starts you in 2nd.

A good set of snow tires will make your GS be able to get through most situations in the snow.

 

[QUOTE=IAGS400]Snow mode also doesn't give you 1st gear, it starts you in 2nd.

A good set of snow tires will make your GS be able to get through most situations in the snow.[/QUOTE]

yea....basically that is what I am going to get before next winter occurs...

Thanks everyone for answering the questions I had... (It will help me out next time the snow hits)

 

I have to disagree with your comments regarding the GS not able to handle the heavy snow. I live in Sunny Canada and I have a good set of winter tires and studs and I can go pretty much anywhere any other car can get.

Just my two cents, or years of driving in the snow I guess

 

I live in Chicago and I hate to drive my gs in the winter damn RWD set-up no fun at all

 

Hahaha it must be the experience.

I've driven my GS430 in snow several times and yes, it CAN handle the snow, but there are much more suitable vehicles IMO than the GS.

Just because the GS can move in the snow doesn't warrant it to do so. The GS is a V8, RWD, sports sedan. Even with snow tires, it's going to have difficulty handling heavy accumulation of snow. I know from my own experience that the GS may get you from A to B in the snow, but it does so with difficulty.

Just speaking from my own experience.

 

It is like a fat girl on skates. It is all over the place and out of control. Get a 4x4 or a front drive car if you commute during snowy days.

 

We had 14" of snow on Monday and 8 today. I have a set of Blizzaks for winter use. So far this winter the GS has outperformed most FWD cars I"ve owned, and I've had a lot of them.
Get some snow tires, and use the snow button, you'll be fine.

 

I just purchased a set of Lexus 16" factory alloys with Pirelli Winter 210's. I live up in Minnesota where we get plenty of the white stuff. Snow tires are a must on a GS400 or any rear wheel drive vehicle.

 

Actually thats what I thought too, but if you test it out....yes it does start in 1st gear. It just limits the throttle to maybe 5-10% opening unless you floor it. If you dont believe me, try it out.
Go into snow mode and accelerate slowly until 40-50mph. Count how many times the car shifts. You will be surprised...I was.

My parents have a LX470...instead of a snow button, it's labeled as 2nd Start. So in that case, I guess it starts in second gear. I havent tested it out, but I think thats what it would do.

 

i live in colorado and we get a lot of snow, for some reason my car does really well in the snow as long as i have the snow button on (even with bald tires) i hardly slip except when i take fast turns (in which case i do a little drifting) haha but yeah i like how the GS handles in the snow, does really well, i think the weight of the car also helps it from slipping around

 

Yep!! 21 Alaskan winters and my GS is the best RWD I have ever had in the snow and ice. Agreed, there are better vehicles for winter driving but I've seen most of them off in the ditch somewhere because of the over confident feeling their drivers have and they push it too far. It's a matter of good equipment (tires), and the experience of knowing how to drive under severe winter conditions. That said, when it snows 2 feet or more up here, i don't go to work that day.