So i go the Tsx about a week ago..and its finally prediciting some snow to fall this week. On dry ground and even in the rain, i could say the TSX handles pretty well, but im not sure how it'll do in the snow. I was wonder'in if the tsx VSA helps at all handeling in the snow, and for a hilly area, would it be easy to get stuck with around 2-3 inches of snow. Tell me about you winters...

 

Unless you have stud'd tires, no car will "handle" in the snow. It's definately compliant and the VSA saved my baby once on black ice, but I usually turn it off on spirited drives. I actually almost lost control due to VSA once as well...

Coming around a bend (right hander), there was dirt at the apex and the ECU sensed the wheels at different speeds and I assume it braked the rear and possibly the front, but it went into an almost instant oversteer as it thought I was understeering. The outside wheels/tires had plenty of grip and after counter-steering and correcting the ECU's mistake, I now turn VSA off all the time unless it's raining/snowing in the mountains...

 

The other day, up here in MA we got about a few unexpected inches of snow and my school dismissed us early. Overall, the TSX performed decent. It was a hassle to get it out of the parking spot but other than that, it did well. I bet if the stock tires didn't suck so bad, it would have done even better. Keep the speeds low, keep a safe distance, and pump the brakes... I find that I get better stopping distance when I do that. Be safe out there.

 

Not that I am complaining, but I bought my TSX over a month ago, had snow tires put on before I picked it up, live in the most northern Canadian provincial capital city and so far have not had any snow to drive on to speak of.

Maybe we will get something to test my tires in February

The best tips for driving in snow is to first off respect the snow and drive slower, leave lots of braking distance and be careful in the curves.



Excited

 

do NOT pump the brakes if you are driving a vehicle with ABS - ABS will do it for you. You might throw off the ABS sensors and cause them not to kick in when they should, possibly causing you to lose steering ability during braking (the primary reason that ABS kicks in).

 

With proper snow tires the TSX combined with VSA works very well in the snow. My only complaint is with braking - the car is very light and with the agressive ABS you can end up spending more time anti-locking instead of stopping.

 

I'll second what curls said. DO NOT pump your brakes when you feel the ABS kick in. If you're sliding, stand on the brakes as hard as you can and steer in the direction you want the car to go. Follow that with a lot of prayer in hopes the your car will stop in time to not hit anything.

The most important thing is to NEVER pump your brakes when the ABS is on. You'll do much more harm than good.

 

Just a question regarding TSX and its VSA and snow -- we've been in snow/driven in snow a lot. In other cars we've had and been in, VSA can be a real pain, completely removing any power from wheels that need to spin. This is especially true when starting from a stop. One of my friends wound up sliding off a snow covered road in a VW because of the "control" (cutting all power) the ESP exerted over the wheels (like Canyonball).

Is there a consensus regarding when, if ever, to turn off the TSX's VSA for snow?

 

My 06 6MT is on order, so I don't know about the TSX, but I drove an 06 BMW 325i 6AT with crappy 205/55-16 AS tires in 5 inches of snow, and while traction was limited (you're a sitting duck at an intersection, but stopping and starting on a hill was NO problem, just slow), control was phenominal, easy, with no drama - better than my 03 Mazda Protege AT with snow tires!

I'd rather have a good set of 205/60-16 snow tires than VSA, and I think that the VSA still needs the grip provided by the right tire for the conditions. I anticipate leaving it on in the wet and the snow, but if it's a nice day for a drive, I'd rather be driving.

 

sorry if this is a dumb question...
is VSA traction control!?
If no, does the TSX have VSA and traction control!?

again, this is probably a really stupid question, i just want to be clear about it

 

VSA is traction control plus yaw control.

 

If you need the wheel spin to get moving, turn off the VSA. Once in motion, turn the VSA back on.