Rear-Wheel Drive in Snow

[PopTart]

My wife and I found a 2008 Lexus IS-350. We live in Chicago. I'm concerned about her driving a RWD car in snow. Is RWD really unsafe?

[Kczach]

Just make sure you have a good set of snow tires and maybe a little extra weight in the trunk. I had an old BMW 528 that did really well in the snow. You have to pay attention to what you are doing though. Quattro is a no brainer in the snow.

[PR.138]

I’d recommend a set of dedicated snow tires for winter. A RWD car with true snow tires is perfectly fine in snow, but would be a bad idea otherwise for the most part.

[hilmar2k]

I had a RWD Mercedes E500 about 15 years ago. With snows, it was okay in the snow. Not as good as AWD with good all seasons, but certainly not dangerous.

[JayDog747]

Ho-lee shit! Are you kidding me! RWD is a phuking blast in the snow. You just have to have the experience and balls to know when to hit the gas instead of the brakes. Having said that:

Even tho Chicago uses a 2-1 ratio of salt to snow, get a set of snow tires. Remember, it's not really accelerating, it's being able to stop and turn in the snow. I even have snows for my pick'em up truck.

Also, when it snows, take your wife to an empty parking lot and have her do donuts and figure eights. Practice emergency lane changes and braking. This way she can get a feel for the car and how it reacts in the snow.

Snow+RWD=drifting Drifting DRIFTING!

[chi123]

I'm in Chicago and have both a B8 S4 and IS350. Had the IS350 for 4 years before I got tired of driving it in the snow that I picked up the S4. It sucked in the snow and I had to have snow tires and about a bag or two of salt in the trunk just to be able to get around. Ground clearance was also and issue cause I was lowered and had a front lip. My neighbor had an IS350 with all season tires and he would lose traction trying to get out of his parking spot in 2 inches of snow. Now I no longer drive the IS350 in the snow and just have all-seasons on it. The S4 with all-seasons does so much better than the IS350 with snow tires. Pretty much no issues with traction from stops in the S4 (IS350 would fish-tail even pressing the gas lightly on snow tires) but braking is better in the IS of course because of the snow tires.

If you guys can spend extra money, get the 2011+ IS350 AWD.

[PopTart]

Thanks for all the responses. Appreciate it.

[Iwantyourcar]

Drove an 03 m45 (v8 rwd) through lake effect for a winter. Only had all seasons. A few times it was a white knuckle affair. It’s the ice I really had to watch out for. Honestly I bet you would be fine with winter tires. Good luck. Agree with the other poster that if you can swing it get the awd.

The real answer though is ISF :)

[beatlesfan]

I'm in Chicago as well. Before the Audis I had a tuned 2004 Pontiac GTO with around 500 whp. With a set of blizzacks and two sand bags in the trunk I really had no problems. Good snow tires with weight in the trunk will be fine. However, an awd car with snow tires will be better every time.

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[Rectangle]

Just get those winter tires and I think it'd be fine. Most of the time it's just really cold anyway. The city is really good about getting the plows out and salting the heck out of everything right away.

[stardust8750]

Doesnt the IS350 have an open rear diff? My father has a GS430 with an open diff, my 6mt G37 with the VLSD was considerably better in the snow (we both had the same snow tires)

[BDP]

I look a the title of this thread and think you should change it to "Tit's on a Bull".

That's basically how useful RWD is in the snow. Can it be fun if you know what you are doing and have no sh*ts given about anyone around you...sure. Would I ever put my wife in a RWD car in the snow...NOPE!

[raudiace4]

Lol i drove my C63 with winter tires in Chicago snow all last winter. You’ll be fine.

[blackfunk]

I look a the title of this thread and think you should change it to "Tit's on a Bull".

That's basically how useful RWD is in the snow. Can it be fun if you know what you are doing and have no sh*ts given about anyone around you...sure. Would I ever put my wife in a RWD car in the snow...NOPE!

You clearly love her. The OP might not necessiarily feel the same way about his wife. LOL [:D]

[GandalfTheIbis]

I'd say it depends largely on your parking situation. If you street park and will need to get over the large mounds of snow that get pushed against street parked cars, good luck. If you need to travers an alley that doesn't get plowed... good luck. If you have a garage or driveway that goes directly to the street a good set of snows will be all that is needed in my experience. Our 328d sedan is RWD and does fine until the snow gets so deep that the car gets high centered. I would say it can drive in as much as 4 inches of snow without issue. It doesn't move as easily as AWD, but it does move, and it stops just as well.

[SteveYem]

It can be done, surely, but of course is not ideal. For 3 years I drove my 350z year-round in southeast PA where we get the occasional heavy snowfall. I had Bridgestone Blizzak LM-32 in 17" sizing and was able to traverse some questionable conditions. There was one night during my ownership when I got stuck on a hill during a freezing rain storm, with my snow tires on. Maybe I would have fared better with a FWD or AWD vehicle, but that's tough to say. I couldn't even stand up when I got out of the car unless I was hanging onto it.

Otherwise, there was a learning curve with feathering the throttle in slippery conditions to keep the back end from walking out. And of course driving up hills could prove challenging in slick conditions. For what it's worth, though, I'd rather have RWD than FWD in the snow if I had to pick one over the other. To an extent I can control how much the back end swings out (RWD) more easily than I can prevent the front end from plowing through a turn and off course (FWD).

[Dr GP]

IMHO, going in the snow is more about having the right tires with decent tread than what type of drive your car has. Yes, you can go with RWD and 4 good snow tires. You can also get around with AWD and decent All season tires. It all depends o the amount and type of snow, where you live, and how important is it for you to go where you want when you want. No one will go with over 20" of snow because the snow will pack under the chassis. If the roads are expediently plowed, FWD and A/S tires will get you there. BUT for the best safety and traction, AWD and Snow tire are your best bet. Actually, you can go with summer tires. Its turning and braking that's the real issue.

[seanj130]

Exactly. I’ll take a front wheel drive car with snow tires over an AWD with all seasons. Driving in the snow is always about how the car tracks, and how it stops. Rarely do you have a problem getting going.




IMHO, going in the snow is more about having the right tires with decent tread than what type of drive your car has. Yes, you can go with RWD and 4 good snow tires. You can also get around with AWD and decent All season tires. It all depends o the amount and type of snow, where you live, and how important is it for you to go where you want when you want. No one will go with over 20" of snow because the snow will pack under the chassis. If the roads are expediently plowed, FWD and A/S tires will get you there. BUT for the best safety and traction, AWD and Snow tire are your best bet. Actually, you can go with summer tires. Its turning and braking that's the real issue.




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[Johnnycash]

dude you have been shopping used cars for like 2 years now, seriously what is your deal? google can be your friend, tis a great resource.

[tar]

dude you have been shopping used cars for like 2 years now, seriously what is your deal? google can be your friend, tis a great resource.

This. Plus b8 main forum isnt the place for these kinda questions.
Personally I vote you sell the s4 and get 2x bmws or any other non audi. That way we wont have to deal with these threads anymore. Everyone wins

[JayDog747]

YEA! [poop] or get off the pot already!