Has anyone tried it on an empty lot? We just had some snow yesterday and I was wondering if it's even possible with VSA off...

 

Hey Doc!

Saw that you had snow up there. Sure am glad I'm not living in the Seattle area anymore. The sun is shining here in Vegas. I'm thinking you could do donuts in ANY car in the snow.

 

you might be able to, but the SH-AWD would keep the rubber from being "put down" on the pavement, though you would go in a circle

 

Yeah we had some snow here yesterday and I am sooooooo glad it didnt really stick for long !

 

Let's wait until the next snow storm and I will go to a bigger lot next time and film some footage of the RL doing donuts. I went out to a local "empty lot" and did some circles with VSA off and I could definitely break the end loose. Since the lot was not a big one I couldn't really push it. But the RL has a very high traction ability with VSA on. I could take turns in snow with regular speed and the car would bring you back to track if it was starting to lose traction. I love this car!




Photoshoot after some "circling"

 

The RL will do donuts beautifuly. Simply turn off the VSA. SHAWD makes the rear step out pronto in the snow if you are not judicious with the accelerator. All in all the Rl's traction (straight ahead) in the snow is excellent. Eventhough I live in Wisconsin I have not even had the slightest inclination to equip it with snow tires. Superior snow traction was the main reason I swapped my dearly departed manual TL for the RL.

 

I don't use snow tires, either. I drive carefully enough during the winter and use lots of engine braking via the SportShift on snowy days. Just remember that stopping requires good A/S tires and SH-AWD won't help you stop! (And yes, I know that snow tires provide better stopping power.)

P.S. SH-AWD is the....oh, never mind.

 

lol..good to know it can be driven like that, but I don't expect to be throwing mine around an empty lot any time soon.

 

I think it's a good idea to go to an empty lot in the snow and throw it around to learn the limits of the car and get comfortable with what it can do in the snow. It's a very enlightening experience.

Just make sure the lot doesn't have those parking cement barrier "thingy's" hidden under the snow. Those things can do some damage if you side swipe them. Can you say "bent axle"?

 

Check your local regulations too. My son's friend got a reckless driving ticket doing donuts in the snow in an empty high school parking lot.

 

I had some fun in the snow last year and yes with the vsa on the RL was really hard to drift. With it off it made things better, but still was hard vs my old wrx. Sh-awd is too good =).

 

I have an '07 RL and live near NYC. We had snowfall last week (and it's snowing now) and I couldn't resist a drive on some wider streets. The rear end kicked out quite predictably in the snow but thte strange thing is that I hadn't touched the VSA button. When I hit the button the VSA engaged the next time that I took a turn and punched the accelerator and the car just popped back in line with a few mechanical whirrs, etc.

Just be careful because even though you have VSA, it doesn't mean that you can't drift off the road.

By the way does anyone find the front seat a tad uncomfortable (seems that the bolster by my left thigh is bothering me a bit)?