Snow Tires

[stacia]

I'm picking up my 2010 IS 250c next week and I'm already worried about the RWD in the snow. Has anyone had any experience driving the 250c in the snow? How does it handle? I'm thinking of getting some aftermarket wheels with snow tires, but don't want to incur the expense if I don't need to.

Any advice/experience you can share?

Thanks!

[1990LS400]

I don't have an IS250C but I suspect it will generally "suck" in the snow without snow tires like every other RWD car I've owned since the 1960's. Whether you need snow tires depends on how much, if any, you need to drive it during the winter and how much tolerance you have for occasionally getting stuck or contending with moments of terror.

If you decide on snow tires, IMO you are better off buying OEM wheels instead of aftermarket. Aftermarket wheels come and go and it can be difficult or impossible to find a replacement if you ever trash one. Craigslist or ebay are good places to look for used OEM wheels. And buy only snow tires with the mountain/snowflake symbol on the sidewall. Some tires sold as snow tires are really just all season tires even though they may have something like "M + S" on the sidewalls.

[boykster]

I don't have a 250c, but I do drive an '06 250RWD that I put snow tires on. I heartily agree with 1990LS400 about buying a dedicated set of OEM wheels and having your snow tires mounted to them. I opted to buy an OEM set of wheels off of ebay from a seller who had replaced his wheels with aftermarket ones. I chose to put Blizzak's on my car and I wouldn't say it's a stellar performer in the snow, but the few times I've gotten caught it's performed fine.

[stacia]

Thanks for the advice! I actually got a set of Blizzaks and they are UNBELIEVABLE! I drove my IS250c in the snow today, and the car drove better than my old front wheel drive maxima. I highly recommend blizzaks.... :)

[Malinda25]

Stacia, thanks for the feedback on the Blizzak tires, I too have the same issue- Ive had my IS250 for about 9 months now and yesterday was my first time driving with snow and ice on the ground, it was scary at first, it did ok for it being a rear wheel drive, but I was still scared. I will definatly look into the Blizzaks, as im sure we have much more snow coming our way! :)

[dcfish]

Definetly Blizzaks Happy New Year...