[[email protected]]

well.. i am in vancouver.. and today.. big snow just fell off, which doesnt usually happen in VANCOUVER!!!.. ok anyway...
i find IS300 very very very hard to steer and drive during snowing condition or on snow/icy road.
i dont have a snow tire on my is ( coz i didnt think i'd need it). so i drove aboout 1.5 hour for a usual 20 min drive.
i basically kinda slided all the way back home, and the slippery light is always on when i try to pedal the gas. i was kinda pissed tonight, because, i saw cars such as BMW, camrys, and even tercels ( YES.. TOYOTA TERCELS!!) passing me by. i can hardly even move forward. During the process, i cant get my car straight, and i hit my rim!!!!!!!!!!!!
and now, my left rear rim is scratched quite badly on some part, ( coz i hit the curb and cant get the car straight).

i actually even saw an white IS300 parked on the side way. ( i was going down hill and the white IS is going up.. and he doesnt seem to be able to climb up the hill)

i wonder is it because i didnt have a snow tire? or is it because the car is not supposed to drive on snow anyway!?

BUT, all the other cars i saw on the road were driving fine, including all those sucky cars such as tercel, old old 1970 muscles cars and etc etc... ( no offense to anyone, but dont u get pissed when ur 36k car cant even drive better than a 10k car under the same snow condition?) i mean....yes tonight the snow was quite big, but even tercel can do it, why cant my is?????????

anyway.. my heart is broken. ( coz of the rims)..

does this happen to you snow city drivers?
coz i actually think IS300 sucks tonight, and even my gf thinks how come a tercel can drive straighter and better than my IS3!!!!

anyway.. give me some thoughts..
sigh. disappointed in how IS300 performed tonight on snowy roads.

[This message has been edited by [email protected] (edited December 16, 2000).]

 

[HIBBoyScott]

Originally posted by [email protected]:
well.. i am in vancouver.. and today.. big snow just fell off, which doesnt usually happen in VANCOUVER!!!.. ok anyway...
i find IS300 very very very hard to steer and drive during snowing condition or on snow/icy road.
i dont have a snow tire on my is ( coz i didnt think i'd need it). so i drove aboout 1.5 hour for a usual 20 min drive.
i basically kinda slided all the way back home, and the slippery light is always on when i try to pedal the gas. i was kinda pissed tonight, because, i saw cars such as BMW, camrys, and even tercels ( YES.. TOYOTA TERCELS!!) passing me by. i can hardly even move forward. During the process, i cant get my car straight, and i hit my rim!!!!!!!!!!!!
and now, my left rear rim is scratched quite badly on some part, ( coz i hit the curb and cant get the car straight).

i actually even saw an white IS300 parked on the side way. ( i was going down hill and the white IS is going up.. and he doesnt seem to be able to climb up the hill)

i wonder is it because i didnt have a snow tire? or is it because the car is not supposed to drive on snow anyway!?

BUT, all the other cars i saw on the road were driving fine, including all those sucky cars such as tercel, old old 1970 muscles cars and etc etc... ( no offense to anyone, but dont u get pissed when ur 36k car cant even drive better than a 10k car under the same snow condition?) i mean....yes tonight the snow was quite big, but even tercel can do it, why cant my is?????????

anyway.. my heart is broken. ( coz of the rims)..

does this happen to you snow city drivers?
coz i actually think IS300 sucks tonight, and even my gf thinks how come a tercel can drive straighter and better than my IS3!!!!

anyway.. give me some thoughts..
sigh. disappointed in how IS300 performed tonight on snowy roads.

[This message has been edited by [email protected] (edited December 16, 2000).]

Maybe those other cars all had snow tires.

But the Camry and Tercels are FWD so they have an advantage in slippery situations.

 

[Nate]

Actually, cars like Tercels, Metros, Corollas, etc. do a lot better in snow than other vehicles because of their thin tires. The narrow tires create more pressure and slice through the snow pretty well.

 

[ckolsen]

Nothing about your IS300 with summer tires is meant for snow:
(1) Not enough weight over rear tires, even worse cause it's not 50/50 weight balance, it's 54/46 (this is bad). Try some cement bags.
(2) Performance tires are too wide (floats on snow) and the tread design gets clogged with snow, and the soft compound is not good for cold weather.

My 325i BMW is horrible with the summer tires, get some narrow 16" snow tires. The Tercel etc. have all their weight over the front wheels, with narrow tires that are either all season or snow, totally different situation.

 

[SophieSleeps]

This is something that should be expected. Your car won't do well in the snow the summer tires. That's why they're called summer tires.

I put snow tires on my car and I live in MA...we get a lot of weird weather and snow.

Think about it this way...take a Viper or Corvette and try driving it in the snow. Few cars come stock with tires and wheels like ours.

As someone said earlier, thinner tires help. Imagine ice skating with skates that were 2 inches thick rather than skates that were sharpened. It's the same type of deal. More weight is applied to a smaller area, putting more pressure on the road.

I'm thinking of getting some added weight to put in the trunk...maybe a ugly fat girl or something. I think I'll have to plastic wrap her to make sure she don't get my car dirty.

 

[IS300GTE]

get used to driving the car in the snow, get better tires, and put some weight in the trunk over the rear axle, that should make it bearable. as for the tercels, you'll never be able to go through snow better than them, unless you figure out a way to convert your car to awd.

------------------
"the gene pool could
use some chlorine!"
"http://www.shitonhonda.com"-Funny Site!

 

[hasanazhar]

I got two words for ya, "SNOW TIRES". They make a world of difference. My 1993 BMW was the worst car to drive in the snow...it was all over the damn place.
Get snow tires and you'll be just as confident as the other fwd drivers.
Your lack of control is not the car's fault, it's yours. There's been a lot of discussion on snow tires, and how effective they are. So spend the extra mula, for your own sake, and stop blaming the car.

good luck.

black/ivory
17"

 

[[email protected]]

thanks
54/46 / why is that bad? its not that much different from 50/50?
well. coz my car is quite new, and dont have anything in trunk.. so maybe i should put some weigh in it them..

ya.. the tires seems to be spinning most of the time.. and i think i am gonna ask the dealer about the tires and etc..

PS, during that drive on snowy road.. i have to turn off traction in order to apply gas to it.. coz other wise.. i couldnt just press the pedal, and i feel nothing when i steped on the gas if i have traction on..
why is that. ? and should i keep traction off while i drive on snowy road?

sorry about these stupid question, but i dont know much about cars.

and i havent driven on snow too many times..( like couple times, since dont realy remmeber when was the last time it snowed and actually accumulated snow on the road).

 

[SeattleSheila]

Oy, you with the head...ALL SEASON RADIALS! Vancouver's climate is very similar to what we have in the Seattle area. My baby isn't leaving the driveway in snow. I'll take the bus when it snows until I can afford to put all seasons on it. (I've got the 17" Potenzas and it's NO GO in SNOW.)

 

[ckolsen]

50/50 weight is also bad in snow, but 54/46 is a little worse. Get a CL, that's like 68/32 or something. Probably pretty good in the snow. Do NOT turn off traction control, because a slipping tire has a lower coefficient of friction than one that's rolling. Just go very easy on the gas and put it in snow mode.

Originally posted by [email protected]:
thanks
54/46 / why is that bad? its not that much different from 50/50?
well. coz my car is quite new, and dont have anything in trunk.. so maybe i should put some weigh in it them..

ya.. the tires seems to be spinning most of the time.. and i think i am gonna ask the dealer about the tires and etc..

PS, during that drive on snowy road.. i have to turn off traction in order to apply gas to it.. coz other wise.. i couldnt just press the pedal, and i feel nothing when i steped on the gas if i have traction on..
why is that. ? and should i keep traction off while i drive on snowy road?

sorry about these stupid question, but i dont know much about cars.

and i havent driven on snow too many times..( like couple times, since dont realy remmeber when was the last time it snowed and actually accumulated snow on the road).

 

[[email protected]]

ckolsen, but if i do put it on.( like that night) i can hardly move at all!! and no response from engine when i step on gas tho..
and surprisingly, i dont see any big snow blocks or something that blocks my tires, it just spinning and spinning and dont seem to catch any friction on slippery ground.

anyway.. i guess those potenza tires really cant even drive on slippery ground..

once again, i am stuck today on my winter break @ home and watching boring TVs.......

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*************************
01' Spectra Blue Mica
Fully loaded IS 300

 

[DtEW]

This is what you need.

 

[[email protected]]

hahaha.. real nice!!!

how do u run those tires.. or do u call them tires.....or chains..

haha.. hilarious..

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01' Spectra Blue Mica
Fully loaded IS 300

 

[nemesiss]

WHATS WRONG WITH TERCELS>>>
hey i used to have one....
traded it in for the IS300...
haha...they were like"so what you
funna trade in for the IS"..."my tercel"..
<<weird look>>>

anyways....tercels are good cars....

 

[[email protected]]

ha..
real funny~
nemesis

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01' Spectra Blue Mica
Fully loaded IS 300

 

[dreamwonder]

Goto a chinese super market and buy 2 bags 100 lb. bag of rice for like 40 bucks each. Put them in the trunk. Lowers the car by a inch gurantee. Serves good as ration, gives you the lowered look. Improves handling in snow, now that you get true 50/50 weight distrubution.
Just don't forget the winter tires.

The draw back to this is that it reduce acceration speed by about 1/2 second because of the added weight.

 

[ckolsen]

Swatch, this may sound like a dumb question, but are sure you're not turning it off? It defaults to ON, if you press the button it turns off, and light comes on. WIth TRAC on, your wheels should NOT spin no matter what, if they do, it's not working.

Originally posted by [email protected]:
ckolsen, but if i do put it on.( like that night) i can hardly move at all!! and no response from engine when i step on gas tho..
and surprisingly, i dont see any big snow blocks or something that blocks my tires, it just spinning and spinning and dont seem to catch any friction on slippery ground.

anyway.. i guess those potenza tires really cant even drive on slippery ground..

once again, i am stuck today on my winter break @ home and watching boring TVs.......

 

[[email protected]]

sorry here, i dont really get what ur saying..

i dont know.. at beginning. i think the wheel isnt spinning.. i think its not running at all or its running a bit!!. not much response when i step on the clutch pedal. when i turn TRAC off ( on that button besides the heat seat), the wheel is spinning on slippery ground and there is response from pedal after i turn off trac!.. so.. i dont know whats happening here.
is my traction not working? or anything to do with LSD or something??
i dunno..........

Originally posted by ckolsen:
Swatch, this may sound like a dumb question, but are sure you're not turning it off? It defaults to ON, if you press the button it turns off, and light comes on. WIth TRAC on, your wheels should NOT spin no matter what, if they do, it's not working.

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*************************
01' Spectra Blue Mica
Fully loaded IS 300

 

[JW]

I've heard from some RWD Lexus owners that TRAC OFF and Snow ON helps in the snow. Please search the old (really old) messages for a little more detail. Best thing to do, as others have said, is to get a smaller rim with snow tires.

As for weight balance...what about a 45%/55% MR2 in the snow?

 

[Shoofin'TL]

FWD Vs. RWD, the never ending saga..
Ed

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1999 TL Non/Nav, Satin Silver/Ebony, Comptech Springs,Comptech Exhaust, Inspire tails, Air filter, Guy Smiley as my Co-driver...many many more..
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