LS In The Snow

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WantAnLS

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I am considering buying a 2004 or 2005 LS V8 Ultimate. I live in Ontario, Canada and we get quite a bit of snow so I was wondering how the LS manages in the snow for those of you who live where there is snow? I currently have a Honda Accord (piece of junk) and am unsure how the LS would manage in the snow given that it is rear wheel drive. Thanks
 
I remeber reading where many where pleased with it because it has traction control. I can't personal speak of this because we don't get snow down here though. I am sure some will chime in.
 
It'll get you around, with the right all season tires, but I hope you don't live on a big hill. They go great on normal streets, the traction control is great, plus the car's weight is distributed very well, but it's still rear wheel drive. It's not going to go like your Honda, I know that.
 
I purchased Bridgestone Blizzaks and this car got around better in the snow than any other 2 wheel drive vehicle i've ever own HANDS DOWN. It was so impressive. I feel that being a slightly heavier car with 50/50 wieght distribution helped quite a bit, but the Blizzaks are the best snow tires money can buy. Of course, I have summer wheels and tires for the opposite season. Only downpoint is that you will need a set of summer tires.
 
You should pay careful attention to the posts on this site and do your searching on the proper tires for the LS. The general concensus here is that the car does well in the snow. But, I had the misfortunate experience of not having good snow tires. I can tell you to be prepared for some skating if you do not. I don't drive my LS in the snow anymore since we only get snow a handful of days out of the winter here and I'm not purchasing snow tires just for those few days. In Canada, go ahead and buy a set - the car really performs well in the other seasons on a good set of high performance tires. One comical experience a couple years ago were some teenagers noticing my car at home on a snow day. They tried to steal it but were no match at all for handling the car with high performance tires in the snow. They slid and spun themselves right into the cops! The police said that they were scared crapless!
 
I have an LS V8 and we got 3 feet of snow here in Arizona last March. The LS is a heavy car and with the right tires, it will do just fine in the snow. I had to drive up a mountain from Payson to Flagstaff and there was tons of snow, but it did fine.

I've actually learned that if I take off with the traction control on, it goes straight with no problems, but after attain speed, I turn the traction control off. Sometimes if there is a lot of ice on the road, the car with traction control on will try to grip on the ice and it can't so it kind of wobbles trying to get traction.

I also have a Mark VIII. I tried to drive that in the 3 ft of snow and got terribly stuck outside my driveway. I had the worst time trying to get it back in my driveway. But, I think that mostly had to do with the facts the tires were bald... :D
 
I use mine to go skiing every other weekend during the winter. With good snows (I have Dunlop Graspics on a spare set of 16 inch rims) it goes very well, up hills down hills and through some fairly deep (over the front bumper) snows.

Mines a 2000 manual trans without traction control.
 
2003v8sport said:
move to FL... problem solved!
Click to expand...

lol.




i had no problems this winter. i just run four snow tires....not an expensive brand, and they worked perfectly. and i agree on traction control to start from stop and then shutting it off when in motion.
 
When I lived in Idaho (serious snow most of the winter) I was very impressed how the car handled the snow. Best RWD car I ever had in snow.
 
I have a 2000 LS V8 and live in Toronto. I went without snow tires for the first 5 years, using the stock all-seasons. The car is not too good with the all-seasons and I got stuck a few times going up hills mainly. This past winter I installed Toyo Gerrit snow tires, slightly narrower 215's and the difference was amazing--felt like summer. I can't wait til next winter :D
 
i live in Minnesota...always have. The LS is terrible in the snow, even with 300 lbs of sandbags in the trunk AND winter tires. My LS will never see another winter..
 
get better tires. the ls is great with good snow tires.
 
I don't know man. Even chains on the tires wouldn't help in 8" of fresh snow here in Minnesota. On those days I stopped trying...I couldn't even leave my garage/driveway....
 
Get snow tires. Apples to Apples a FWD car may do better if both have all-seasons, but even then you should get snow tires for ANY car if you are going through snow often. I have a FWD beater and the difference is night and day from the all-seasons to the snow tires. So, if the LS is what you want, spend the extra cash for snow tires. You'll be glad you did.
 
well 8" of snow is a different story. the ls has what 4" or so of ground clearance? Snow like that the car will just PLOW if it's fluffly and yes you'll get stuck. But I think you'd be stuck if it was AWD for that matter.
 
Im in Edmonton alberta canada, and this was the first winter i was driving the LS. I went about a week with michelin hydroedge's and decided it was well worth it to spend the money and get some good winter tires, i got some nokian rsi's and they are great tires. We had a record snowfall and i managed to make it out of our neighbourhood without getting stuck. But i also turned the traction control off and just gave er hell when the snow was getting deep. But overall the car is pretty good in the winter.
 
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