I'm considering buying a 2001 LS430. My wife is a little concerned about the winter driving of the LS430. The weight balance of the car is very good (47/53) so there's a good amount of weight on the back. Plus the car has all sorts of stability control. And after putting some good winter tires on it, I don't think there should be any problem.. I live in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. So we do get a fair bit of snow from time to time, but nothing like Buffalo bellow us here.. And NO, drving another car is not an option, I already have a Corolla 1994 as my beater car in replacement for my BMW 325i...

Let me know what your experences are with the LS430 with good winter tires.. Thanks..

 

See the other close-by topic of winter LS driving. I installed Nokian WR tires as recommended by folks on the alt.autos.lexus newgroup.

 

I put Nokian WR's on my LS430 and they make a WORLD of difference over the SP Sport's I had on it before. I got a set of new Lexus 16" rims off Ebay for $315 plus $70 shipping and went down to 215/65/16 size, for better grip yet.

 

I need to put new shoes on my new LS this winter. Have run Artic Alpin's on my GS but from what I can find so far they are not available in the 225/55x17 size. Tire Rack has a message that due to technical considerations they don't have winter tires yet for the LS.

I plan to do wheels and tires dedicated for winter and looking at the Nokian web site the WR's didn't appear to be available in that size. Looks like if I want Nokian's I have to look at the Hakkapeliitta RSi. Other optios?

 

My Nokians are 17 inch.

 

OK, great - now to find a dealer nearby.

 

Or not. I got mine from a Nokian dealer in Albany NY. "Broadway Auto Clinic" 518-434-4077. They dropped shipped them and my Lexus dealer installed them.

 

Now there is a good idea, thanks.

 

Good luck! Lemme know how you made out.

 

Although I dont have an LS430 yet :-), my 95LS, which only has traction control, handled last Toronto winter season pretty well. And I was only using an all season Michellin brand tires which came with the car when I bought it. I doubt you will have any problem driving an LS430 with a dedicated winter tires.

 

I'm across the water from you in Rochester NY and I put the Nokian Haka-Q's on my ride(99 'LS400) last year. I opted for a decicated winter tire to deal with all of the snow we can get here. Overall I was pleased with them. They drove very well through snow. Starting off was some times an issue but was more because the car has too much power when you start off. That issue got taken care of by putting the car in "snow" mode. That button really helped believe it or not.

Stopping could have been better but that's the trick to winter driving isn't it? Are studded tires allowed in Toronto?

.

 

Found dealer near Chicago that quotes $170 per for WR's, doesn't get enough requests for RSI to carry them.

Anyone with experience on WR's during all year driving? Only have 5k on the Dunlop's that came on the '04 LS430 sort of hate to waste the money if the WR's aren't used full year or should I just consider them extended-winter tires.

 

Like you, I decided to get my money out of the Dunlops so I took the WRs off after last winter. Unfortunately BOTH the WRs and the Dunlops seem to be wearing quickly. But that is not unusual here in Pittsburgh. Anyway, I'll put the WRs back on around Thanksgiving. I'll probably leave them on as I expect the snow tread to be gone by spring, but with enuf tread for summer driving. Then maybe buy new snow tires next winter...perhaps I'll try Blizzaks this time. The WRs were great in snow, but the treadwear is not impressive. Meantime I suspect I'll get another non-winter (about 9 months) of the Dunlops at some point down the road, probably after I buy and use the next round of snow tires.

 

Next time I would go with a straight Nokian winter tire.. The Nokian winter tires are the only winter tire on the market which actuly have a tread warranty/rating for 50,000 miles.. All others don't.. I have some Haka's on a smaller Toyota and they look brand new after a winter of driving..

 

Anyone try the Michelin Arctic Alpines on the LS430 before? I have a almost new pair of 16" which came off my Cadi STS (thank goodness I got rid of that crap bucket) and now stuck with these to put on the LS430.. If these wear out, i'll put Nokian's on for sure.. However, i'll have to use these till they wear out.. They said 16" steel rim's won't go on the LS430 so i'll need to buy some cheapo 16" aluminum's to use..

So, anyone have any experence with the Arctic Alpines? They seemed to work well on my FWD Cadi..