1UZ-FE Posted July 1, 2004 Posted July 1, 2004 i have a 94LS and was just wondering what the "snow" mode does on the ECT switch in newer LSs as shown in this pic. this is a pic that blake918 posted in a different thread.
SKperformance Posted July 1, 2004 Posted July 1, 2004 snow mode on any lexus like the GS means the tranny starts off in second gear to reduce wheel spin mainly on rear wheel drive cars.
LinuxFan Posted July 1, 2004 Posted July 1, 2004 It sure will... if it starts in 2nd gear -- less chance to spin the wheel on slippery surface. In my 91LS it does not have the Snow option. I think it only says Pwr and Norm -- cannot recall exactly, imagine that, and I spend so much time in this thing. gosh!
Matthew_McNally Posted July 1, 2004 Posted July 1, 2004 it reduces the throttle response to help avoid wheelspin in snowy conditions. its not just auto vehicles either - my IS is a manual and has a snow button. Mind you - I have convinced my 6 year old niece that it actually makes it snow in the car, and she is always asking me to press it
98 LS Posted July 1, 2004 Posted July 1, 2004 it reduces the throttle response to help avoid wheelspin in snowy conditions. as Matthew has mentioned, it (electronically) reduces throttle response ....... it does not, however, start the car in 2nd gear. I use my "snow" button frequently when in slow and congested driving ......... it makes the car much smoother to drive and is easier on the car, the driver and MPG.
chips229 Posted July 1, 2004 Posted July 1, 2004 I was disappointed to find on my 91 LS 400 that there was no snow button.. My old Vauxhall (GM) Senator 3 litre 24V Auto (uk car) had the snow button on it and i found it very useful,press the button when stopped and the car would pull away in 3rd gear!!!,3rd gear would take you up to 127 mph :D :D before it changed into 4th... Vauxhall had this snow button on there cars back in 1988. I found the button handy when the roads were greasy and slippery pulling out of junctions and of course in the ice and snow.... As with the !Removed! it wasnt until they saw it on other make cars,then they copied the idea :D :D Thats why its on the later LS models ;) Not sure about the snow button on the LS as i dont have it,but on the Senator when you got above about 40mph it would disengage and go back to normal up and down shifts.
SW03ES Posted July 2, 2004 Posted July 2, 2004 The PWR button simply changes the shift points slightly so the car always responds as if you were calling for full acceleration.
SKperformance Posted July 3, 2004 Posted July 3, 2004 the throttle control is by the traction control being in snow mode i really thought is supposed to make it start in second inan auto from all the info i have read from tests
1UZ-FE Posted July 3, 2004 Author Posted July 3, 2004 my LS430: ECT power button: when it is switched to "power", the transmission chooses the best shift point with the most HP and torque depending on how much gas you are giving it. with "power" selected, the transmission will also downshift sooner than it would in normal when giving it more gas, for passing and the like. most people think all this switch does is make it shift at a higher RPM. the tranny will shift at a higher RPM with it in "power" but a better explaination is stated above. this is supposed to give a more "sporty" driving experience. however, it doesn't matter if this switch is "normal" or "power" when giving full throttle. your tranny should always shift right around 6k RPMs. skperformance: actually, it states in my 94 owners manual that the sounds that can be heard when traction control is operating are the rear brakes being applied. the throttle stays the same but the rear brakes control wheel spin. how do you think its possible for your car to still be go with one wheel on ice and the other on road. if traction contol decreased throttle this wouldn't be possible.
SKperformance Posted July 3, 2004 Posted July 3, 2004 in tandem with abs and throttle control on some car to reduce power overall as traction control is more than just abs,just like the yaw and pitch control from the traction control which adjusts the throttle the noise is when abs kicks in when one of the 2 wheels start spinning more than the other if both are then it would reduce throttle until one gets grip and balance accordingly i have been know to be wrong
Drumrboy Posted July 3, 2004 Posted July 3, 2004 Mind you - I have convinced my 6 year old niece that it actually makes it snow in the car, and she is always asking me to press it LOL! Thats Classic !!!!!!!!!!!!!
SKperformance Posted July 3, 2004 Posted July 3, 2004 the funniest thing is it hardly ever snows in England ,matt's neice may have never seen snow yet ,to all that lint on the seats could be his excuse of left over snow the last time he used it.
my ls430 Posted July 4, 2004 Posted July 4, 2004 i don't know about the older engines but i know that my engine has VVT-i, so shouldan't it produce max power to redline, and also lets say i was in the tiptronic mode, my car has the 6spd, does it use the input from pedal position and gear to give me the right power, while in pwr, or ormal modes?
1UZ-FE Posted July 5, 2004 Author Posted July 5, 2004 honestly thats out of my league. all i know is that VVT-i was introduced in 95. right?? i think so. either 95 or 98. i do know for sure that 90-94 were not VVT-i. either way, i really dont know about how that would work with VVT-i and especially in tiptronic. and actually, i would think that "power" would do absolutely nothing in tiptronic b/c you are shifting yourself. thats only logical right? can someone else with more expertise enlighten us??
blake918 Posted July 5, 2004 Posted July 5, 2004 all i know is that VVT-i was introduced in 95. right?? i think so. either 95 or 98. '98. honestly thats out of my league. Hehe, me too! :)
bartkat Posted July 5, 2004 Posted July 5, 2004 From what I know, the pwr thing makes the shifts a little "crisper" so it does come into play when making "manual" shifts. VVTI has to do with engine valve timing. Normal driving it's aimed at fuel mileage, but under acceleration gives better performance.
1UZ-FE Posted July 5, 2004 Author Posted July 5, 2004 bartkat - to clarify: Variable Valve Timing with intelligence. this either advances or retards the timing of the valves opening/closing to maximize engine performance.
1UZ-FE Posted July 5, 2004 Author Posted July 5, 2004 exactly ;) . thats exactly what Vtec does in hondas. but i think Vtec is a bit more involved and does a few more things. my friend has a riced out 94 prelude with the H22 engine (2.2 ltr Vtec) and hes packin 305 HP at the wheels! (i saw the print out from the dyno). its naturally aspirated. aka: no turbo and no supercharger. the dyno test was without NOS (which he has too). when he 'sprays' NOS, he figured about 425-450 HP!!
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