Slvr surfr

iTrader: (1)

I just came back from a ski trip over the weekend at Deep Creek, MD. Third time ive been there driving my car and i must say its held it's own so far. Dont get me wrong, it's no awd or even close and i did get stuck once and had to use my trunk and floor mats to get up a icy hill but on moderate snowy roads and slight inclines, the car can do what it do. Now, once ice starts to be the majority, game over. That said, snow mode/ traction control are two of the best options on this car. I did flip the trac on and off a few times to negotiate some slippery terrain but its a must have nonetheless. How are you guy's fairing?

randal

My 02 LS430 is a 'tank' in the snow. Of course I have Michelin X-iceII on it and that makes a tremendous difference. I throw an extra 100 pounds in the trunk and it is as surefooted as they come. Never have gotten stuck anywhere.

Now, take away the dedicated snows and its a completely different ballgame. But with the snows, there is nothing I would rather be in than the LS. The VSC keeps me on the straight and narrow. Cant say enough on how well it performs with snow tires. In fact, my opinion is that you should have snows on ANY vehicle in the winter snow/ice. That includes 4WD vehicles. You have to stop and 4WD/AWD does not help with that. Tires do.

Tom57

randal, you are absolutely spot on. I too have Mich X-ice on my '01 and it's better than new Michelin Premiers on a front wheel drive Sienna. All 4 wheels of the LS are firm and fully planted on snow and/or wet pavement. Of course, you'd need studded tires (outlawed here) to perform as well on ice, but I've had no issues with the LS and Mich X-ice tires on black ice. Since running snow tires on the LS, I'm never concerned about snow forecasts anymore. Wish I had converted to snow tires long ago for the peace of mind.

02Legend

iTrader: (3)

Unfortunately I have not had my car long (06), but it's far better than my 02 GS430 in ride quality and comfort. The down side is that the LS has Dunlop SP5000's on it and they are horrible in the snow. Was planning on running them through the winter and put new tires on in Spring. Couldn't take it anymore and ordered new tires last night and hopefully will be putting them on tomorrow if not Thursday.

Balex11

We had snowpocalypse here Tuesday. Like 7 inches of nice fluffy white snow. 7 inches isn't much snow really-- But here here on the TN/VA border... Gawd you'd think we were at the end days. Schools, banks, doctor's offices, and restaurants closed. Shelters opened to accommodate those who needed a place to stay. The emergency management operations geared up. They told people to stay home. Grocery stores were emptied. Meanwhile I drove around in my LS430 all night. What a champ. Even with Michelin all season tires it went very well. When the snow got to 6 inches or so it didn't go so good, but still better than I imagined. I can only guess how great the car would be with dedicated snow tires. The 18 in 245 45 tires are way too wide for snow driving.

Can anyone weigh in with an opinion about Bridgestone Blizzak tires? Specifically as compared to the popular Michelin snow tires... I've heard great things about them, but I haven't heard from someone who has had both Michelin and Bridgestone snow tires on the same car.

polonius

Haven't had the LS430 long but have been through two snow events here in Northern Indiana. I forgot what it was like to drive a big rear wheel drive car in the winter after a long time not doing that. The car handles itself pretty well. My wife got stuck in the driveway trying to push through an 18" pile of snow/ice from the plow but that is not the car's problem. We had her out in about 2 minutes.

It is a dream compared to the full size Buicks, Oldsmobiles and Chevys from the 60s, 70s, and 80s that I learned to drive winters in. My 17 year old son is about to take over my Dad's 2005 Grand Marquis. That will be a nice learning curve. I'll have to train him on the beauties of RWD.

LiCelsior

iTrader: (32)

I have Goodyear Ultra Grip's on my car and man what a big difference it makes. ive driven through 4-5" of snow and it does get a little hectic at times but so far i have not gotten stuck yet with these snow tires. *knock on wood*

vpspecialk

Just picked up an 05 ls430 today and being in MA the car handles itself well but I am definitely going to invest in dedicated snows. Snow tires make one hell of a difference and its always good to have living in the snow belt.

takimanpgt

We've had a fair amount of snow and ice events and the car has been rock solid for the most part except when I've forgotten that I am in a RWD or that I am driving a heavy car. Dedicated snows are helping a lot. Where others get stuck on the hills around here, this car makes it up without any problems. The VSC has kicked in occasionally and I have not minded because it's kept me straight and on the road. I do love the seat heaters and the overall pleasantness of the warm interior - seriously has me spoiled rotten on the inside....I guess it will take me a long time to unlike this luxury - if I ever will..

I've had both brands and they are both good. I am personally biased towards the Blizzaks - have had some version of them on my cars forever and the tires have done what they need to do. Blizzaks have lasted longer than the X-Ice with similar driving commute on same car so have to assume that the X-Ice wears faster than it's competitor. I just drove through Storm Neptune via PA and OH highways that were clogged solid with traffic issues due to road conditions and the tires held up perfectly.

If you have nothing but a rare snow event, I'd save my bucks on dedicated winter tires - just drive carefully in that one or two snow events. For someone who lives with temps under 30-40 all winter long AND snow/ice events regulary - a dedicated snow tire setup makes a whole lot of sense.

phanham

I discovered that it's best to keep the wipers in OFF position, rather than AUTO in the winter. This revelation is from my experience yesterday, where I went to warm the car up after we had received sleet (wipers were completely buried). Once defroster warmed windshield enough, WHAM, the blades broke free (I had been scraping windows, not yet begun the wiper excavation), along with the glacier that had formed around them. Once I got the wipers off, I then noticed that the blades themselves had been bent by the force; the driver side especially was barely hanging on. Btw, I think aftermarket blades would have done better here as the stock NWB frames appear thinner than others available? Nevertheless, I've already ordered NWB replacements off of Amazon...

randal

My son has some cheap Dunlap snow tires on his 92 LS400 and they work very well. The Blizzaks are great tires as are the Michelin. From what I have seen, even the cheapest dedicated snow tire will beat an all-season in snow.

@phanham...I agree on leaving the wipers "off" in this kind of wx. They can get stuck with ice then try to run. Not good on the motor or mechanisms. Funny story on my auto wipers is that my wife took my LS to an automatic car wash last summer and began freaking out when the wipers went on automatically. Had to get the car wash operator to shut wash down while she figured out how to turn the wipers off (she does not drive it often).

Theo@TireRack.com

I have to agree. Even the worst winter tire will outperform the best all-season tire in winter driving. The winters will have better grip in all conditions from about 40F degrees and below. It is no comparison between grip levels in the snow/ice/slush.

Regarding the Bridgestone vs. Michelin debate, the Bridgestone Blizzak WS80 has proven to have better outright grip than the Michelin X-Ice Xi3 in our instrumented testing. They are both excellent tires, but the Bridgestone is a step above in snow, ice, and slush traction.

Anthony81

I just got home from a 2500 mile road trip from MN to Jackson, WY. There was snow along the way in South Dakota, and some snow pack in the Big Horns. I just bought my car, and she performed beautifully. Snow tires were already on her. I had no trouble whatsoever.

airchomper

I got nokian hakkapeliitta tires because I wanted to try something different. I can't compare them against the X-ice or Blizzacks. But I do agree that the Blizzacks are superior to the X-ice tires.

Truthfully, the LS430 with snow tires is way more than adequate in the winter. Usually, I'm the fastest car on the road during snow storms (although I don't speed, I don't really drive slower than the speed limit either )

It's about as good as a good AWD vehicle at starting, which says a lot. But the snow tires make it excellent for stopping and turning, and not spinning out on ice.

The car handles the cold really really well. I have a lot of experience with Toyotas, Hondas, and GMs. And the Toyotas are by the far the best in the cold weather. Although Hondas heat up REALLY fast, the Toyotas start the easiest and make the fewest weird noises.

When it gets cold enough, every car starts acting weird. But my Highlander and my LS430 are good to go until -20 or so. Whereas my Hondas get funky at 0, and my old GM would get persnickety at 10 degrees.

1WILLY1

iTrader: (9)

im using the stock goodyear all seasons and overall the car is pretty good in the snow.

Traction control does help a lot , sometimes it helps to take it off and just try to power your way out if your a bit stuck.