Originally Posted by fabchef

Hey, allow me to correct myself. I don't mind if the read end brakes loose; however, if the vsc works well and keeps the car as much as it can from breaking loose, that's ok. What I don't like, and we had this on our 2007 passat wagon, was when I was trying to merge into a lane and the power just bogged down cause the nanny was trying to correct the slipping and the car was going nowhere...that I hate! If the vsc works and the car is still moving, i'm ok with it.

Originally Posted by Amskeptic

I enjoy the early Lexus LS400 in the snow. I drove a 1990 LS400 and a 1992 LS400 through several upstate New York winters and one epic blizzard in 1999. They both were equipped with traction control. The 1990 had M+S tires (Michelin Harmony) and the 1992 had Michelin Arctic somethingorothers.

As often as not, I would shut the traction control off so I could set up my corners with just a little blast of throttle. You might think that is self-defeating, but in fact, I could use the throttle to much greater effect for steering. I strongly suggest that people not become dependent upon electronic assists. With the traction control on, you'd lose throttle and perhaps get a little brake application chatter even as the front end decides to plow wide anyway. Then what?

To prepare myself for the long upstate snow belt winters, I'd take my Lexii to the nearest large shopping center parking lot in the dead of night and set up a nice little slalom course for myself. Then I would throw the car into slides over and over again until it became utterly second nature to catch and correct. As my slalom course would get "icy" from packed snow, I would enjoy all of the likely surprises you'd confront out on the roads, super slippery on one side but not the other, ridges that throw the car, etc. Over time, the limitations of traction control and ABS became apparent. If you needed to re-direct the car NOW, the electronics would say "ah, no." Without traction control, I could use the throttle to much greater effect for steering. Braking was actually better in fresh deep snow without ABS because the tires could make little snow dams, but de-activating the ABS is not an option from the driver's seat and resetting the thrown code is annoying.

I recommend that all snow belt drivers invest some time in having a blast at a parking lot in the dead of night with falling snow, It changes the entire calculus of winter to enjoy driving sideways.