I no longer have my 2011 WRX, and debating if I should get another 4WD vehicle for the winter. I think ISF in the winter time would be suicidal even with snow tires. What do you guys think?

Ben

 

Hi Ben Welcome to NELOC. First off I am not gonna get into a debate of can or cannot but if you search the ISF section there are plenty of owners who drive their ISF in the snow and it is very capable of doing so. As in stock form the ISF is horrible in the snow. If you are deciding not to drive it I agree with you but if your financially not ready to get another vehicle for the winter the ISF can handle the winter. My suggestion is if you can afford another vehicle then get it if not purchase some dedicated winter tires, I recommend blizzaks. Make sure you have snow mode enable and just take your time driving. Good luck!

PS I also drive mines in the snow.

 

Thanks. I'll keep that in mind.

 

Blizzaks make the difference. They can stop on a damn ice skating rink....

 

I drive my IS F, year round, and it's outstanding in the snow. However, it needs dedicated winter tires (mine are on thinner wheels), and some simple sense when driving. Otherwise, I have to actively and literally try to upset the car, to get it to do anything crazy. If you're in snow mode, the car has so much electronic assist dialed in, that I couldn't imagine what trouble you'd manage to get into. It's pretty much all about tires with this car, as I've driven in dedicated summer, all-season, and winter tires in all elements...AMHIK.

About the only things you have to worry about will be ground clearance (I've never encountered this), or other motorists (I fear them more than anything, since I can typically stop faster and more reliably). Otherwise, the IS F is more than capable, given Lexus certainly knows where and how to make the car conservative, when it needs to be.

 

Still debating if I want to drive the F in the winter, but what size wheel and winter tires are you running?

Ben

 

I am running the square setup with 18x8 wheels the tires I went with are blizzaks. I am not sure the tire size they are the same for all four corners. It helps with the understeer you get from the car.

 

Hey guy welcome to CL. Did you get your ISF yet? If so, let me know the year and color so I can add you to NEISF. Also, I see you're in NJ, join us for an ISF track event, we're going to drag strip @ Atco Raceway on Sunday. So don't put your snow tires on just yet if you plan to attend.

With that said, the ISF is certainly doable in winter with dedicated snow tires. I just choose not to expose mine to the snow and salt. A FWD car with all-season tires will suffice IMO. That way you won't have to worry about mucking up your F and having to scrape ice off it after driving through a storm.

Below are some links to get you started:

Atco Track meet on Nov 3: https://www.clublexus.com/forums/is-...ember-3-a.html

NEISF on ClubLexus: https://www.clublexus.com/forums/is-...sf-thread.html

NEISF on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/310911535627790/

 

Just got my ISF, so glad to see this thread. Tire Rack has nothing in the stock sizes, so I'll need to go to 18s. For those that have done this, how bad is it when the roads aren't frozen? And how do you store your summers? My garage is small so I think I'll need an outdoor solution.

 

Decided not to use the F in the winter, looking for a LX450/470 now, anyone in NELOC have one?