sNOw and the IS350
 

Two words that don't go together real well.

We got about 3" of snow in Portland yesterday..the side streets pretty much have turned to compacted/icy snow.

Drove my truck to work and had no problems getting in or out of the neighborhood.

Soooo...I decided to take the IS to the gym after work...

Took off in 'Snow' mode..and made it about 50 feet until I hit a very gradual incline...then nothing but spinning tires...

I managed to back down the incline..then had another one to go up to get back to my house...

and finally (30 minutes later) with the aid of a neighbor or two pushing..I got it back to my garage..


That being said...the 350, especially with stock tires isn't made for the snow. Chalk that experience up to lessons learned

Yeah, that's been well documented. Summer tires + snow = IMPOSSIBLE TRACTION.

Good thing it doesn't snow here in LA. Except for today in Westwood where my car felt rain for the first time and even a little bit of snow. Its very unusual to see snow in LA.

hmm.. i know that summer tires + snow = impossible traction but how bout... NEW summer tires + snow = possible traction???

i just got my 350 a month ago... and yes i will change my tires to snow tires but... its such a waste to know i'm letting go not just perfectly good tires... Brand new tires........what do you guys think? just do it anyway?

do NOT attempt to drive your IS 350 w/summer tires in snow if at all possible. It has almost zero traction. It snowed the day after I got my car and I could not get out of my driveway. I had to be towed to the street where it was already plowed -- went straight to dealer and got my winter tires put on (they were already sent there from Tirerack)

Like everyone has said - do NOT drive in snow or below freezing temps with stock performance/summer tires on the 2IS. The material in summer tires simply does not perform in below freezing conditions - I think tirerack.com has good info about this. Even if the tires are brand new, they will harden up and lose all grip in cold temps. Wait for the snow to be plowed, then drive to the garage and swap out the tires! I had a great experience buying from tirerack.com, and selling my stock tires to a fellow CL member. I highly recommend this route!

ahahhaahhahaah i did this also with my 250 which has the sports and everything like the 350 besides the hp :) it was sliding and i knew it would just having some fun in the empty drive way :woot: and the snow button does crap. I figure it just regulates the speed. it takes longer for the gears to move and slow down speed gains.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=aAidrS144r0
get snow tires

hahaha i seen this video on the news but it cut out all the other cars on the end shoot...it was like that in WA too for a couple of days we had ice and snow on toppp of ice...thank god i have no one near me to hit my cars :)

I'm so lucky my 350 came with Blizzaks. :D

I never knew snow tires made that much of a difference.

haha..funny video..thats some serious ownage

i've been driving in snow all my life and love it...but that was with a fwd car
so i'm kinda weary of how well my car will handle this year..haven't seen a drop of snow yet..but looking forward to take my car into an empty lot and get a real feel for this car and learning its limits in the snow.

Lol that video was great! Why do all SUV drivers think that they own the road and that their vehicles can make it through anything!? They got what they deserved.

thanks guys... i should order mine on the double then

That Volvo at the beginning seemed like he had the thing pinned the whole time he was sliding around. WTF?

Read the comments on that video's page. 1) That is a steep hill, so that's why everyone is sliding the same direction, 2) your tires melt ice on the road, creating a thin layer of water on top of the ice that is basically impossible to stop on no matter what car/tires/skills you have.