Is350 In The Snow

[chughtaijr]

HI Everyone, new to the form as I got a IS350 on order last week (and not expecting it to show for another 3-4 weeks) I cant wait....

However, I live in Colorado and will be getting the car in Mid November. Can anyone recommend some good snow tires, all seasons etc. I got the dealer to throw a set in for cost when I bought the car (should save me about 600 bucks)

Also, would be interested in finding out how others fair in the snow with their 350's.

Thanks

[bartkat]

HI Everyone, new to the form as I got a IS350 on order last week (and not expecting it to show for another 3-4 weeks) I cant wait....

However, I live in Colorado and will be getting the car in Mid November. Can anyone recommend some good snow tires, all seasons etc. I got the dealer to throw a set in for cost when I bought the car (should save me about 600 bucks)

Also, would be interested in finding out how others fair in the snow with their 350's.

Thanks

http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index...918&hl=snow

http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index...460&hl=snow

[SilverSport]

I live in Denver and got my 350 last November. I bought a set of dedicated wheels and Bridgestone Blizzaks around December 1st. Except for the heaviest snow days (two), I drove the car every day last winter and had no problems. Even the days that I drove my Durango I could have driven the IS. I was just chicken with the new car. I was also just learning the capabilities of the car. I'll be more confident this year.

Blizzaks are great tires for snow and ice. Just be aware that they are made from a very soft rubber compound. They are not performance tires! The car will handle differently and I avoided the zero to 100 accellerations and pushing it hard through curves while I had them on. If you push it at all you will notice little bits of rubber in the rear wheel wells and on the rear quarter panels. Not a big deal, but if you want to use them for a few winters, you'll want to take it easy on them. Besides, it's something to look forward to when you get to put the performance tires back on and can let 'er rip!

FYI, I drove on the snow tires from December 1st until late March and am planning the same this year.

[chughtaijr]

Thanks for the info. Very helpful, although I dont think I will be able to last untill late march since my 350's not due in untill mid to late November, I'm gonna be anxious for that 0-100 run.

Thanks again.

I live in Denver and got my 350 last November. I bought a set of dedicated wheels and Bridgestone Blizzaks around December 1st. Except for the heaviest snow days (two), I drove the car every day last winter and had no problems. Even the days that I drove my Durango I could have driven the IS. I was just chicken with the new car. I was also just learning the capabilities of the car. I'll be more confident this year.

Blizzaks are great tires for snow and ice. Just be aware that they are made from a very soft rubber compound. They are not performance tires! The car will handle differently and I avoided the zero to 100 accellerations and pushing it hard through curves while I had them on. If you push it at all you will notice little bits of rubber in the rear wheel wells and on the rear quarter panels. Not a big deal, but if you want to use them for a few winters, you'll want to take it easy on them. Besides, it's something to look forward to when you get to put the performance tires back on and can let 'er rip!

FYI, I drove on the snow tires from December 1st until late March and am planning the same this year.

[mkaresh]

I live in Denver and got my 350 last November. I bought a set of dedicated wheels and Bridgestone Blizzaks around December 1st.

Which Blizzaks do you have? The LM-25s? Consumer Reports just tested winter tires, and they appear to offer the best combination of handling and snow tractions. I have Michelin Pilot Alpin2s on my own car, a FWD Mazda, and though they placed midpack I've been very pleased with them. I don't think handling is significantly worse than a decent non-performance all-season tire.

Last year was the first year I had winter tires. Now I'm a believer--they make a HUGE difference. AWD is no substitute--winter tires do much more for cornering and braking.

[rewells]

HI Everyone, new to the form as I got a IS350 on order last week (and not expecting it to show for another 3-4 weeks) I cant wait....

However, I live in Colorado and will be getting the car in Mid November. Can anyone recommend some good snow tires, all seasons etc. I got the dealer to throw a set in for cost when I bought the car (should save me about 600 bucks)

Also, would be interested in finding out how others fair in the snow with their 350's.

Thanks

I live in Upstate New York and recently ordered four Dunlop SP Winter Sport 3D's for my IS 350. They are a performance winter tire and are supposed to be great in the snow and nearly as good in normal driving conditions. I have 18" alloy rims and didn't want to ruin my nice rims in Winter conditions so I also ordered inexpensive alloy rims and had the snow tires mounted on the new rims. We average about 100" of snow per year. Just as an aside I got the tires and rims from Tirerack.com. They were shipped directly to my business in 3 days. They were great to deal with and much less expensive then going to the local tire stores or the dealer. Hope this helps.

[mkaresh]

Good idea on the second set of rims, especially if the originals are chrome (probably not with the IS of course). Also, this way you don't have to pay a local shop to mount them--I checked into this option once, and it was pricey.

I've written about rim corrosion here:

http://www.truedelta.com/pieces/chromewheels.php

A tire shop told me they see the problem most with chrome rims on Chrysler and Lexus models. I am a bit disturbed that manufacturers never advise against using the rims they sold you in the winter. At least I've never seen a note to this effect in a brochure alongside the "These are performance tires and might only last X miles..." note.

My Michelin winter tires came from CostCo. They often have a $60 rebate on four, making them considerably cheaper than TireRack.

[bartkat]

I believe the owners manual will tell you at least to keep the rims clean and that corrsion can cause problems. Not running really nice wheels in the winter is just a matter of preference and common sense.

[SW03ES]

The FACTORY Lexus chrome rims are clearcoated, it should make no difference. If the factory Lexus chrome wheels corrode in the winter, the painted ones will too.

The issue comes when the chrome is AFTERMARKET. Almost all Lexus chrome wheels are aftermarket since OEM ones are extremely rare. The aftermarket rims are bare chrome. Lexus can't control the quality of them.

[mkaresh]

I believe the owners manual will tell you at least to keep the rims clean and that corrsion can cause problems. Not running really nice wheels in the winter is just a matter of preference and common sense.

I see you live in Alabama, where this isn't an issue.

Up around Detroit, I rarely notice people running cheap aftermarket rims in the winter. The only exception tends to be snow tires on performance cars, where some people step down to a smaller diameter. But the average consumer doesn't give it a thought and would think it a severe inconvenience to change rims twice a year.

I have winter tires, and they work great. Everyone in a place like Detroit should use them, but few people do. Every once in a while someone emails me asking which AWD would be good in the snow, because they don't feel secure in their current car. I often often them to just put proper winter tires on their current car. But for some reason many people think that the car has a much larger role than the tires in winter traction. Probably all of the TV adds that push the benefits of 4WD in the snow. The ad budgets for winter tires are miniscule in comparison.

See lots of OEM chrome rims in the winter, and I don't think I've ever seen something like a Chrysler Pacifica or Lexus ES with a "winter" rim.

No idea if the problem Lexus rims where OEM or not, and doubt the tire shop would know, either. So it's quite possible that they're aftermarket. When entering data on my pricing site, I have noticed that Lexus chrome rims are marked up about 100%, which is highly unusual and makes the MSRP very high.

[SW03ES]

No idea if the problem Lexus rims where OEM or not, and doubt the tire shop would know, either. So it's quite possible that they're aftermarket. When entering data on my pricing site, I have noticed that Lexus chrome rims are marked up about 100%, which is highly unusual and makes the MSRP very high.

Thats because Lexus almost never ships OEM chrome wheels from the factory.

[bartkat]

Lived north of Akron in a medium snow belt for 15 years. It was a matter of routine practice to switch to snow tires and wheels every fall. There you get the worst of the worst, with lots snow and ice and then the salt.