hey guys just a quick question anybody drive their tl all year round or do most of you put it away for the winter. if you do drive it in the snow how does it handle and how is the traction. AWESOME WEBSITE

 

surprising, it does well in the snow; handling wise and traction wise it's all the same...lose traction here and there, but it feels pretty darn stable, that and the fact that it's fwd...you know how that goes right? haha...

 

my tires are balding, im slammed as hell with a lip kit so snow aint exactly my best friend. but the TL does manage to lug its fat ass around fairly well

 

that's good to know this is the first fwd car i've owned i've only driven & owned rwd & 4wd so this a totally new experinance for me . thanks

 

I'm putting mine away this winter (if it snows badly), gonna have to bust out the camry. But last year I attempted to get around, it was tough but I managed to get to some places. I'm a bit lower now so I'm not even gonna try.

 

traction control and snow tires ftw.

 

Depends on the tires. Live in upstate NY and running Nokian WRs (stock wheels and tire size). Driving in snow and slush has never been easier -- great tires.

 

got a few inches of snow out here in vancouver..tl hasnt even been outside yet..but last year i had my 00 out and about in the snow and it was fun.. on bald all seasons

 

Snow tires will help you A LOT if you want to drive in the snow. My TL is my daily winter beater as well.

 

im takin the chance with mine..its lowered 2 inches

 

I have a camry too but I decided to drive my TL in the snow cause it's more fun lol. I wish the it had a handbrake instead of a foot e-brake though.

 

yeah gives me leg cramps when i try to slide thru corners

 

I've driven some really crappy cars in the snow (i.e. Renault Alliance, etc..), so the TL is like driving a Range Rover to me.

 

In general regarding stability and drivability FWD >>> RWD in the snow.

I found the 2nd gen TL to be good in the snow. The engine weight feels like it is directly over the front axle and that improves traction and stability. The TC is helpful too.

 

I drive mine everyday, no matter the season. That will change next year, I will be buying a daily driver/winter beater.

 

Traction control the TL's TC is quite possibly the WORST i have ever seen/driven. Its POINTLESS!! It only goes up to 20mph (except type-s)

Snow tires on the other hand The TL is a remarkable car in the winter.

 

It does fine given the right tires. The Falken Ziex 512's I have on my CL-S wheels now suck for any wet road driving. I'll probably have to put on my stock wheels w/ new(ish) ResponseEdge tires...

My suggestion is, take your car to a large empty parking (free of light poles, curbs, large hills, children, lol) lot during the first snow of the year. Practice emergency manuevers at driving speeds. Stopping, swerving, sliding sideways, accerlerating quickly to manuever out of a situation, etc. Take it up to ~25mph, and twitch the wheel and let the car slide. See how easy it is for the backend to get loose. Try and drive out of it.

Seriously, learn how the car handles in extreme situations. It will better prepare you in the event of a real emergency. (Not to mention.. it's quite fun.... hehe) I saved my ass from being rear ended on the highway and watched the person behind me get WRECKED. I had the same thing happen on a wet road at a stop sign w/ a car in front of me. Car behind me locked it's brakes (no ABS) and was sliding, I gunned it just enough to not break traction in the rain, got the car into the other lane (no cars coming) and watched the car behind me slide sideways into the area where my car used to be... finally coming to rest half on the road and half in a ditch.

 

I drive mine year round. It's big, safe, stable, reliable, warm and drives great in the snow/rain. Just make sure you have good tires and drive reasonably.

 

I had no probs with the TL in the snow last year at all. This year I have better tires (Dunlop SP Sports) and just used them in freezing rain for the first time. World of difference with good tires.

 

the car feels very stable even if the ground is covered by snow (can't see pavement at all) at the speed limit with turns.

 

so far so good.
I have brand new Dunlop Wintersport M3s on and they have been great. good stoping distances and very little spinning off the line. they hold the road pretty well in turns too.

and when you push it a little too far the VSA gets you going straight again. with long cars its harder to get the ass back if it slides out.

 

how about lip kits and height? u guys go all stock or keep em on?

 

^^Ditto.


I'm a huge believer in snow tires and have been for the past 7 years. They make a huge difference in any car's ability to gain traction in the snow, and they do the same with my TL. I haven't had any problems with my snows slapped on, and as long as I'm tempering my use of the gas appropriately, I find the VSA isn't kicking in much at all.

 

Hmmm well with my OEM 16's + balding tires, it felt like a slip and slide once it hit the snow but hopefully with my new set of tires on these Type-S 17's, it will give me a better grip this winter. Never bought snow tires before though. Then again NYC snow can't be too bad

 

I'm leaving my kit on, I'm not lowered and I don't think the winters here in NY are all that bad anymore.

Being lowered is another story. Just keeping it nice and waxed for the winter to protect. it.

 

get a spare set of wheels 16" with winters or decent all season(this is what i do). i have summer tires on my TL-S wheels.

i drove to vermont every weekend a few winters back with my stock tls wheels and tires and never got stuck. i did pass a lot of bmw/benz/infiniti pals along the way hahah. i made sure i waved.

 

yep. Drove yesterday in the heavy snow we had. It does do well in snow. I don't have snow tires just regular all seasons. Only time i got stuck was when the snow was over a foot deep in some parts.

 

it did quite well in todays snow storm.

I kinda feel as though my accord (cb7 -1991) did better. and she was lowered on neuspeed sports with Blizzak tires.

the VSA light kept coming on. the tires i have are great though. (dunlop wintersport m3)i didnt get stuck but i did need to rock her a bit (with vsa off)

 

we have the same car man...but mines lowered like 1.5 inches..so she didnt see any snow

 

i have some siped toyo toureva tls's or something. they do hella good in the rain, but i don't know yet how well they will do in the snow. btw, anyone here from the northwest? hella rain and wind storm here this last weekend

 

can some remind me of what snow looks like? I'm in Alabama

 

I'm running Yoko AS430's. We had about 1-2 inches of snow on Sunday but I never got out there. I'm sure it won't be long before I find out how they do.

 

This is my first year running 16" CL-P snow tires now and 17" TLS rims for the summer. Got a few inches of snow last couple of days and loving the traction with slightly skinner tires. I will never go back to "all-season" set up for the winter again, although I didn't have too much problems last year. A few bucks investment is worth every penny rather than getting into an accident and sliding all over the ice.

 

good tires and smart driving will get the TL thru the winter

 

I'm stock height with Tokicos and winter m2's on right now. It does pretty good in the snow with that combo. Sadly, my wife's chrysler T&C is probaly equal to it with good all seasons. The minivan's traction control is definitely better than the tl's.

 

Upgrade to the new 3D's and you will see a HUGE difference. And the TC on the TL is a useless piece of crap

 

I plan to upgrade next winter. If the M3d's are still the best dunlops, I'll do those. The m2's have been great for 4 winters or so.

 

hell yea i live in seattle and it rain for like 36 hours stragiht. alot of areas were flooded and i had to dodge many large puddles on the round glad it finally stopped

 

The M3s were better than the 2s and the 3ds are better than the M3

 

Very cool. I've got one winter left on my m2's and i look forward to the upgrade. Is dunlop upgrading in the next year beyond the 3d's?