I have the stock michelins and drove right through a snow storm for over ten hours/ 300 miles. I was rather dissapointed in traction. I was very prone to slipping when braking and was swerving quite a bit. It felt like my tires were bald. I only have 4000 miles on my lx570.

Curious of others experiences

 

I was going to replace my Michelin Cross Terrians with Michelin Lattitude which are used on the LX570. From what I read, the Lattitude don't perform as well, have no 65000 mile treadwear warranty and owners from Tire Rack report that they wear quickly. For the price of the Lattitudes I went with another set of Cross Terrains.

 

For winter driving in Alaska I put on Nokian Hakkapeliitta The ride is not as quite as the stock tires, but I am after traction on snow and ice. The stock tires are just not sticky enough for winter driving in very cold climates. The sticky tires do not last as long, but they do give superior traction.

 

I would love to hear more opinions...more the better!!

 

Without more agressive tires, all the traction control of the 570 in the snow or ice will not work well at all.

 

Wow, that is disappointing to hear. The LX570 should have done better....

 

Traction contol on any car is highly dependable on the tires. The LX stock tires are for comfort and quietness on the freeways. Those tires are just are not designed to be as agressive as snow and ice tires. The traction contol electronics are the best you can get on any car/truck.

 

Your car is only as good as your tires. Get some snow tires and it will be a BEAST with all of that weight.

 

Also, realize that most tires (even winter/snow tires) are worthless on ice.

The only cure for ice is studded tires, snow chains, or snow chain alternatives. You must be able to "dig in" to the ice to gain any semblance of good traction.

Trust me, with a RWD LS430 Ultra, I am all-too aware of the perils of winter driving...LOL. But the truth is that people with 4WD are much worse off than I am if they have all-seasons and I am running studded snow tires or have my spikes-spiders installed. All that matters is what's touching the road!

 

For normal winter driving to the cabin and back, I found the car to be the best I have driven in the snow, with stock tires.
We dont have any snow at our house but on the way up to the cabin the 570 was much more stable, no slip at all on normal hwy snow driving.
The hwy to the cabin is not that "extreme" of a test although it's the most snow our 570 sees.

 

Went up skiing a weekend ago and it was +- 15 degrees and was on the curvy highway going +- 35-40mph.
I noticed that we hadnt been to where they have the chain control center yet and the road was pretty snowy and icy and I figured it would be best to slow to the 25mph.
Right then a Subaru just in front of me started spinning like a top and the 570stayed stable. The Subaru ended up in my lane facing backwards and flashing his lights at me so I didnt hit him. I hit the brakes softly and swerved around him, 100% in control and on stock tires.

As I drove up there I noticed cars fishtailing a bit in front of me and the 570 stayed stable when I expected to need to correct a bit, I just couldnt be happier with the car.

Oh yeah, all while in comfort and luxury...

 

That is really smart of you to slow down. I always take it easy when driving in the snow even though I have 4wd and good tires. Where I live I see a lot of cars doing well over the speed limit in snow storms. I never really understood why people drive so fast in the snow. I mistake, error, someone slamming on the brakes in front and you are toast.

I take it easy in the right lane and I eventually get there. About 10 minutes later. But I feel 10 minutes later than the guy passing me is better than being the ditch.

 

I am fairly satisfied with the winter handling so far but I did encounter a few instances of minor slip and slides , nothing to drastic, and this was while driving quite cautiously. I have the Latitudes on my 570.

Also have a 04 GX470 with winter tires and it handles better in these same conditions.

Wondering if anyone can recommend any good winter tire for the LX570...my tire dealership guy said that they didn't have any in the right size....(I wanted to just use the existing rims and just switch out the tires). ....Although he did say the Latitudes were "pretty good" as far as all season tires go....

 

Your 04 GX should have Cross Terrains. Better tire with a longer tread life for the same price. Michelin does not make them anymore. The Latittudes where the tire that replaced them. Curiously...the Lattitudes do not have a long tread life warrantly .

The new 2009 GX470 comes with Bridgestone tires. Maybe worth a look.

 

Thats good to know, thanks for the input....I will consider this when it is time to get new tires again for my GX470. Yes you are correct Pagemaster, i do have the cross terrains on the 2004 GX470 and found them good the first winter but as they wore down a bit they weren't as good in the snow the next year....so I switched out to winter tires for the season and not only did they really make a difference but the bonus is that hopefully it extends the useful life for my cross terrains.

But I am actually looking into winter tires for my LX570 and wondering if there is anything out there that would be recommended.