MattyG

Here's a nice tech tip for those of you GS folks riding on slippery stuff during these snowy months. Not everyone drives this car in the winter because it is a hobby car, second car etc.

But if you do find yourself driving this in the winter belt, do not be scared. It is not a scary handling rwd car at all.

Basically you have to educate yourself about this car's systems and its tech. One of the first things is to get proper winter tires. Narrow 16's are best but if you're stuck with high performance 17's like my previous owner used, no prob!

Generally I drove this car in 5th gear, sometimes in snow mode, sometimes in other modes. But with some experiments I have found a good combo.

With winter tires on all fours. Car in 3rd gear/sometimes in 4th gear - snow mode and VSC off. You will be surprised how predictable this car is. You will find that the car communicates with you and you can drive up to about 50 mph.

Now I should say. Turn on the VSC if you're on the highway. That's where this car's safety systems will save you.

firelizard

iTrader: (1)

Yes, I've had a GS for three winters now, 430 for two of those and 300 for the first. Absolute death trap on summer tires, but perfectly capable on the monster-truckish 215/60-16 winter tires I've equipped. Usually I don't bother with any settings, but if it gets slippery I turn on snow mode.

Whether or not I turn VSC off depends on just how slippery it is. If it gets very slippery and there is too much one-wheel-peel action in traffic, I just let VSC chatter away and take of things, and if it's not very slippery it doesn't interfere so I leave it on in case I miss a slippery spot, for peace of mind. I only turn it off if I need a bit of slip, or if VSC is overreacting and preventing me from accelerating.

VSC has been really great at interrupting slides and such, although in a somewhat panicky manner. It's not quite as adept at managing understeer, which this car does a lot of when it's slippery, so that's still on the driver to deal with.

kamlung

iTrader: (8)

yesterday we had our first bit of snow in NJ this year... i have had the car for 7 winters now and i echo alot of the advice here... around town, i'll usually keep it in 3rd/4th with snow mode on... as long as i don't have many problems moving from a complete stop i usually keep VSC on... if i find myself in a patch and can't get myself moving at a red light, then i'll turn it off to power out... but then i'll usually turn it on...

i have all season tires with ample tread which have been able to get me around, but i know my limits... i'm sure if i step it up to winters my wife could drive this thing in a blizzard with confidence, otherwise she just takes the GX and i'm with ol faithful...

newgsman

iTrader: (4)

My GS4 is my winter beater. I have had the car almost nine years and admittedly when I first got it was a handful to drive in the winter but really it's only as difficult as your want it to be, Drive it like you care and it will be fine. I use higher end snow tires and pay attention to road conditions.

I am not so sure about the comments on keeping the car in 3rd or 4th gear. Even though our cars have manual mode, keeping the car in gear only really works if you want to wind it out, otherwise it will still gear down if you stomp on the peddle even in manual mode. It's the snow mode that is the kicker for bad weather. When it is really bad I use it as it helps to really slow throttle response so you can't spin the tires even if you wanted to. Keeps the car very tractable in the snow.

Understeer in bad weather means you need better tires and you are going to fast for the road conditions.

kamlung

iTrader: (8)

when driving in snow, the purpose of holding the trans in a lower gear isn't meant for winding the car out... its meant to help with engine braking so you can lightly use the brakes when needed... it helps keep things moving smoother that only applying brakes to stop

newgsman

iTrader: (4)

I have always driven rear wheel drive cars (for over thirty years now) and I am not a fan of engine braking in slippery conditions. With engine braking your are slowing the rear faster than the front. and if you are on black ice the rear can slide out on you.

luda42688

iTrader: (2)

I have snow tires on 17's.... I've driven uphill 3-4" of snow un-plowed before.... literally my bumper was acting as a snow plow for a .5" or so.