I just has a blast driving in 4 inches of heavy wet snow. The car handled it wonderfully.I felt in control the entire time.The awd is worth it.

 

Absolutely agree. Even under horrid conditions the car is very stable.

Just have to watch out not to speed, because the braking is the same
or worse than everybody else and to watch for the other cars because
sometimes they go ice skating around you.

 

I live in WI. I just replaced my 2001 GS430 with a 2006. I used to have Blizzaks during the winter, but so far I'm running on the stock All-Weather tires. We had our first real snow (only about 3 sloppy inches) last night. I was OK on the freeway, but I got stuck trying to park my car! I have a side-entry garage. I usually turn toward the garage door, then back up to get a straight shot, then enter & park. When I backed up last night, I could not go forward again. So I backed up a bit more, figuring I could get some traction in my own tracks. NO GO. So I backed up a bit more... and more... and more... All the way across the street. There I was: stuck sideways in the middle of the street. Ya know how streets have a slight curve, so water will run off the sides into the drain grates? You usually don't even notice it. Well, that "incline" was too steep for me I had to shovel every inch of the path, from 15 feet behind my car, across the street, all the way to the garage. I ended up just parking it on the driveway. Needless to say, I took the 4Runner to work today!

So here is my question: Have any of you had a good experience with all-weather tires in the snow on GS430?

I've come to realize (through the planning of a home theater) that OWNER/ENTHUSIASTS are most often a better source of information than salespeople... even good ones.

Question 2: What 18" snow tires would you recommend?

 

I also had a 2001 GS430 and it was pretty bad in the snow even with brand new
all season tires. Snow tires are much better, but with RWD it is much easier
to get stuck. Not being able to go up icy hills is a horrible feeling. The other
day some clown in a Beemer held up traffic for 1 1/2 hours because he could
not go up a hill

18'' tires are usually too wide for snow anyways. You may want to go down
to 17'' and get Blizzaks for those, but my feeling is even the 225/50/17's are
too wide...

Others who have had 430's have shared their experience if you do a
search. I respectfully disagree with some of their opinions. I think RWD
cars should be parked when it snows more than 4 inches.

 

I guess it was a long winded post, but if you absolutely MUST drive the
GS430 in the snow, get snow tires. Don't push your luck with the all seasons.

One of my friends said snow tires with RWD was enough, but the other day
he got stuck in the parkway under 6'' of snow

 

Do you think putting snow tires on the OEM 18" rims will be decent? I see that Tire Rack recommends stepping down to 17" rims w/ snows. I was hoping to put snow tires on the stock rims, then get 19" rims when summer rolls around. I want to upgrade, not downgrade!

I suppose I am asking a very broad question... Without a doubt (in my mind) snow tires will be much better than all-season, regardless of size. But most of the older posts I found on this site refer to 16" vs. 17" on the older GS models. I haven't found a discussion of 18" snow tires, yet.

 

I can't say I have tried snow tires with the OEM 18s. This is where others may be able
to help. Logic says the 245/40/18 is too wide, but I perfectly understand why you
don't want to go with 17's. I upgraded to 18's in the middle of winter and the dealer
justifiably gave me a warning that snow/rain performance may suffer.

You may be one of the first to try the 18'' snow tires, since previous GS's best OEM
setup was 17''. You may want to ask around on the TireRack forum for feedback,
but they might tell you what you already know.

 

When I mentioned that online forums are often a better source of information than dealers, I was thinking about how my sales rep gave me the impression that my GS430 would perform just fine with all-season tires...
So far he has been correct--unless I count not being able to pull into my own driveway without a running start!

 

How has your PZero Nero's been handling in the snow so far? In the one huge snowstorm that I drove through in NJ a month ago, mine handled the 4-6" of unplowed snow on the highway with relative ease. No doubt that winter tires would make the car handle as if it were on rails.

 

With the very limited testing I have done, they seem not to affect the snow
performance too much. They haven't been tested strenuosly though and are
just starting to break in.

Next winter I may get winter tires if I have trouble, but so far no problems.

 

There were a couple of threads by CL members Rockville and looknow12 on the 2006
GS430, VDIM and snow. You may want to look at their assessments and see if you
agree with them. There may be other suggestions there as well, like adding weight
in your trunk?

The GS430 is a marvelous elite car, but 3 months out of the year it may not be able to
go everywhere you'd like. I'm jealous 9/12 months

 

Just a thought...

Did you have your "SNOW" button on?

That may help to reduce torque and slippage.

 

You bet. This is my second GS430. I'm not an automotive expert, but that is a "must know" around here!

Also, before I forget: Thank you, marshmallo!

 

I figured you knew since you had a GS before.

You're welcome and good luck with whatever you decide to do!

 

gbondioli,

I had an experience very similar to yours a few weeks back. I got stuck backing out of my garage in about 5-6" of slushy snow. My driveway is barely on an incline, so I can't imagine what would happen if I had to actually drive up a slight hill....the car would probably slide backwards! All the praise for VDIM and TRAC had me convinced that I would be fine driving in most conditions I encounter. Boy was I wrong. The RWD GS is worthless in snow. Even with all the driver aids enabled, the back end will loose traction and break loose quite easily. By comparison, my '97 528i felt much more stable and secure and performed better in snow and rain. Heck, even our lowly '02 Civic on all-season Kumho tires does 10x better than my GS, without the help of traction control or stability control. Granted, it is a FWD vehicle, so that helps quite a bit.

FWIW, I swapped out my stock Continental tires for Pirelli PZero Nero M+S tires, which are highly rated for snow traction, even though they are only all-seasons. On top of that, I always enable the snow mode on my transmission and have penty of experience driving in snow/ice. Still, if we get more than 3" of snow, the GS is completely useless. Snow tires would help, but I'm thinking the GS is more of a "fair weather friend" at this point. Needless to say, I went out and leased an '06 Pilot EX-L the other day. It does great in the snow and also fixes my other main gripe with the GS, which is cargo capacity. The narrow opening of the trunk and the lack of fold down rear seats make carrying any large box or odd shaped item nearly impossible in the GS.

I will say that I do still love the audio system and creature comforts of the GS, but I'm not loving it the way I did when I bought it.