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Montana Driving


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New to forum. Wife drives 2006 RX 400h. Great in town. Engine stressed at high speeds. Looking for the family road trip car, as well as my everyday vehicle.

I've been driving front wheel drives since graduating college. Have Saab 95 now. Thinking of upgrading to Ls 460. Excited about RWD, but concerned about how it will drive in Winter. Even my Saab, with studded snow tires, has to be rocked once in a while out here. I'm kind of looking forward to power slide turns in the snow, however.

Do you think the LS 460 would be good here? From some other discussions I've read, sounds like snow tires are a must. Any particular kind, or do you have to buy Lexus snowtires?

Gcgang

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I live in Winnipeg, Manitoba which I believe has a more severe winter than Montana. I drive a 2007 LS460 equipped with Michelin X Ice tires which are the same size as the original equipment tires. I have had no trouble getting around this winter. There is a rocker switch which lets you choose between power, normal or snow. If you use the snow mode it improves the traction by starting in a higher gear. You also have traction control and Vehicle Stability Control to assist you. You should take one for a test drive and get the salesperson to demonstrate how these will help keep the rubber on the road.

When I bought my LS460 I bought the Teleios chrome wheels for summer and kept the origional equipment wheels for the winter tires. The Lexus dealers want a lot of money for the tires so I went to Costco for mine. If you want to do the power slide turns you will have to turn off the VSC.

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  • 9 months later...

I live in St. Paul, MN where snow, ice, and cold can get pretty severe and have been driving 2 older LSs for more than 5 years now. I found going to winter tires on all 4 wheels very much improved my traction and the car's ability to hold the road. I wouldn't go to the dealer for the tires - I have Winterforce (from Firestone dealers) on 1 of the LSs and Yokohamas on the other. All winter tires use a much softer compound plus many sipes or cuts in the tread to produce a tire that sticks much better to the road in colder weather. These winter tires make a tremendous difference in getting around. Good luck and enjoy your LS - they are awesome cars.

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