So I drove my 05 LS for the 1st time when the roads were bad. Had an ice storm on Friday in Chicago. I was very paranoid, as I've had a truck for 7 years, 1st exp. in a car again. The LS handled the slick roads very well. Noticed the advace trac came on quite a bit, but no issues with stopping or skidding. Question: The side mirrors are supposed to be heated I thought when you turn on the rear defroster. I noticed very little change in the ice on the mirrors. Never had this feature, does it usually take a long time to melt ice? Or is there a way to check and see if this feature is working? Gotta champagne taste on a beer budget, so I still have stock tires w/ 22k miles on them, but no real problems. Any advise is welcomed. HAGD.
LS first drive in bad weather
- Thread starter 05'LSRN
- Start date
jk52781
Dedicated LVC Member
Yae we had a pretty bad storm here in St. Paul. I had no idea that the side mirrors had a defroster at least my 01 does not. I would say put some weight in your trunk if you do not because otherwise the LS does not do well in the snow being RWD. I have 120 pounds of sand in the trunk which helps out a lot.
EmpireSix
Well-Known LVC Member
I drove in that same storm, over here in Nw indiana. I dont think a tank would have helped. It was an ice rink to say the least. I only made it about half a mile before turning around to grab the honda. four banger fwd did no better anyhow, but at least i got to rubs some curbs with confidence that it wasnt my baby.
luttersj
Well-Known LVC Member
Interesting...this same storm was the first time that I had a chance to drive my LS in poor conditions. I thought it was the most horrible vehicle, traction-wise, since back in high school driving my dad's old '78 F150 2wd pickup. I made a short run to Home Depot in my car. Upon returning, I hopped in my wife's 325i (also RWD) and took the same trip. Light years of a difference! That being said, this is the first time that I've driven a car with "performance" tires. I suspect that had a lot to do with it. Needless to say, I've got a set a Blizzaks coming in the mail next week! Hopefully that'll do the trick.
bingbangyadda
LVC Member
Up here in Calgary we had some snow fall and I barely made it up a hill. Not surprised about it though haha
MikeRhyner
LVC Member
Snow tires do help. For those without snows, toss a couple bags of water softener salt in the trunk for weight...it helps.
SE Wisconsin.
SE Wisconsin.
PatrickSimmons
Photographer
I had my first experience with a rwd this weekend with my LS but it wasn't as bad as I expected. I did slip a little but not much more than my fwd I used to have. The real test will be once we get quite a few more inches of snow. I think we had maybe 2 inches or so on the hwy up here in Waukegan.
gcwimmer
Dedicated LVC Member
Here in Reno we can get a few inches of snow then gone in a day so I use all weather tiers and have Spike-Spiders for the occasional deep snow or icy conditions.
http://www.spikes-spiders.com/catal...ssion=9e8279a5ba7e78f972005a66eef9f4b6&id=624
http://www.spikes-spiders.com/catal...ssion=9e8279a5ba7e78f972005a66eef9f4b6&id=624
I had my first experience in the snow, in my LS, Saturday.
I hate it. I will drive my pickup truck(with LSD, of course) over my LS for sure!
I got on the down side of the roads crown, going around a left hand curve, at about 5mph!, when the car pushed all the way to the curb...got some curb rash on one wheel now...sucks to be me!
Oh well, bonus time is in 2 weeks here at work, and the wife said I could get a new wheel, when the bonus comes thru...anyone have a 00-02 5 spoke chrome wheel laying around?
I was very surprised at how worthless this car was in the snow, and I consider myself an above avg. driver, in all conditions.
I hate it. I will drive my pickup truck(with LSD, of course) over my LS for sure!
I got on the down side of the roads crown, going around a left hand curve, at about 5mph!, when the car pushed all the way to the curb...got some curb rash on one wheel now...sucks to be me!
Oh well, bonus time is in 2 weeks here at work, and the wife said I could get a new wheel, when the bonus comes thru...anyone have a 00-02 5 spoke chrome wheel laying around?
I was very surprised at how worthless this car was in the snow, and I consider myself an above avg. driver, in all conditions.
luttersj
Well-Known LVC Member
there might be one on eBay for you, Garbone. I think there was one chrome wheel there last week...
I have recently driven my LS both with ans without snow tires.
1st was about 2 weeks ago. 2 inches of snow and Goodyear Eagle F1's = almost didn't make the 20 min drive home. I was all over the road, sideways on the off ramp to the northway and couldn't make it up my hill to get to my diveway.
2nd was last night. 3-4 inches of snow over a layer of ice and Bridgestone WS-50's = 20 min ride home was almost fun. I had a lot better control on the northway with no problems on the off ramp. Once I got to some of the back roads that were not plowed yet it was almost fun to drive the LS in fresh powder. The traction light only came on twice the whole ride home and it was only when I was having run with the car. Also I made it all the way up the hill and into my driveway with no problems.
1st was about 2 weeks ago. 2 inches of snow and Goodyear Eagle F1's = almost didn't make the 20 min drive home. I was all over the road, sideways on the off ramp to the northway and couldn't make it up my hill to get to my diveway.
2nd was last night. 3-4 inches of snow over a layer of ice and Bridgestone WS-50's = 20 min ride home was almost fun. I had a lot better control on the northway with no problems on the off ramp. Once I got to some of the back roads that were not plowed yet it was almost fun to drive the LS in fresh powder. The traction light only came on twice the whole ride home and it was only when I was having run with the car. Also I made it all the way up the hill and into my driveway with no problems.
luttersj
Well-Known LVC Member
that makes me very happy to hear, SPY. I just ordered those same tires! 245/45/17
luttersj
Well-Known LVC Member
I wondered about the tire size...but I read on Tire Rack's website to install the same size snow tire as what it currently on the car. So that's what I did. Hopefully I didn't make a $560 mistake....
EmpireSix
Well-Known LVC Member
Don't we all
I have 7 40 lb bags of softener salt in the trunk, and it does make a little difference. But not nearly enough for me to make my LS safe in a northern MN winter. I checked prices for 4 Blizzaks (215/60/16) with some stock 16 in wheels. $764 +tax. Looking through the classifieds today, I found a 91 Chevy Silverado 4x4 for $750. Going to take a look at it tomorrow. If it has a strong engine and tranny, that's going to be my winter beater. Plus, it will be nice not to have to worry about salt damage on the LS 
knocturnal
LVC Member
just experienced connecticuts first snow last night and the car was alot to handle. i knew what to do but it was alot of work lol
Powderboy
New LVC Member
We have yet to receive any snow here in SW Ohio, but I did get to test my LS last year. I bought it the day before I was to make a trip up to northern Indiana for my buddies wedding. On my way out of town in the morning, I put on a set of stock size V rated Michelin Pilot Alpin PA2's. The LS did extremely well. The night before the wedding the groom, best man, and myself made a country road trip to an out of the way strip club, and still had no issues. I let the best man drive, an he beat the hell out of it on the crappy roads, the LS never flinched. Now the roads are maintained much better up there than they are here. We get crap for snow here in Dayton, but they have crap for snow removal. One to two inches shuts down the schools, city and sometimes the highways. Last winter I commuted about 30 miles to work and never had an issue.
The wife is pestering me now, so to sum it up, a good set of snow tires is worth their weight in gold! And a friendly reminder, when doing donuts, don't forget to turn the traction control off!
The wife is pestering me now, so to sum it up, a good set of snow tires is worth their weight in gold! And a friendly reminder, when doing donuts, don't forget to turn the traction control off!
HerbieTheMisfit
LVC Member
Just don't ever get stuck in snow. I could barely get out of my driveway yesterday morning after getting bunch of snow here in WI. I dug myself a little whole trying to back out of my gravel driveway. I tried rocking it back and forth but it was almost pointless.
Traction control was pretty much worthless in this case. I would barely let me move. But the part that really ticked me off was when I turned it off. What is with the crappy throttle response!! If I barely touched the accelerator it would rev way up and then SLOWLY throttle back down. That made it nearly impossible to rock out without digging myself further down.
Is there anything I can do to change that throttle response? Will an XCal2 or Livewire take care of that?
Aside from getting stuck, I really like the way my LS handles in the snow. T/C on for normal driving, T/C off when I want to have a little fun...
Traction control was pretty much worthless in this case. I would barely let me move. But the part that really ticked me off was when I turned it off. What is with the crappy throttle response!! If I barely touched the accelerator it would rev way up and then SLOWLY throttle back down. That made it nearly impossible to rock out without digging myself further down.
Is there anything I can do to change that throttle response? Will an XCal2 or Livewire take care of that?
Aside from getting stuck, I really like the way my LS handles in the snow. T/C on for normal driving, T/C off when I want to have a little fun...
wheels
Yep, i will be checking them out shortly...there always seams to be a reason someone is selling one, or 2 wheels. They either have damage, or they are selling the set of 4, because they bot aftermarket wheels. Either way, a new wheel seams smart to me...I can buy one, and it will be pristine.
Yep, i will be checking them out shortly...there always seams to be a reason someone is selling one, or 2 wheels. They either have damage, or they are selling the set of 4, because they bot aftermarket wheels. Either way, a new wheel seams smart to me...I can buy one, and it will be pristine.