Winter is coming and some places even already have snow, so lets see those winter setups!

Currently still waiting for Black Friday to buy wheels and tires, so I hope it doesn't snow too much in the meantime.

Currently debating on x-ice or Blizzaks and wheels. What's the minimum size to clear the bigger brakes on the F-Sports?

Hopefully my MXM4s and AWD can handle the snow until I get some proper tires.

 

All I do for winter is set the wipers to winter mode and press the snow button if it has any accumulation.

 

My car remains the same all year round

 

Michelin Xice on 18x8" Fast wheels.

 

I run stock F-sport 19's with Pirelli Ice Zero FR's 225/45R19 (slightly skinnier but thicker sidewall than stock)

 

My MXM4s and AWD have worked great so far in Pittsburgh winter, but Michigan may be another story. Would be sweet to have winter tires but I don't feel like spending the money since the AWD and decent all seasons have worked fine for me so far.

 

When the salt comes out on the streets mine stays in the garage.

 

We skip winter in southern Arizona.

 

Winter here drops to an unbearable 10*C, the windows stay up and the heated seats get a workout

 

I run Continental Extreme Contact DWS06 all season in NYC on my AWD and haven't gotten stuck in any snow storms in the past 4 years. Zero issues with traction on ice or deep snow. I only use snow mode to get from my house to the highway if the plows haven't come through.

 

What exactly does the snow button do? Other than starting in 2nd? Does it defrost the window for instance?

 

As far as I know, it makes you take off smoother so you don't slip.

I believe you start off in 2nd gear in RWD cars. For the AWD cars, you stay in 1st gear, but your throttle response is kind of like Eco.

 

With my old car (Mazda 6), I ran Pirelli P7 all seasons and they generally do just fine, but I've had a few instances of sliding into intersections that swayed me into spending a few hundred bucks on proper winter tires. Handles much better in the snow with them.

With my S5, I'm running all season Pilot Sports. Doesn't give the same sense of security as having dedicated winter tires, but didn't give me too much trouble. With the higher torque and Audi's Quattro system, I could generally power through snow and slide around corners just fine, but it did get frisky at times..

This is my first winter with the Lexus and I have a much longer commute now, so I just kind of wanted the security of dedicated winter tires.

 

Any problems with rubbing? You have an AWD model, so it sits a bit higher, right?