My first winter
#1
Racer
Thread Starter
My first winter
It got quite some snow here lately. The RLX is not an all time AWD car, so I experienced quite a few times of slipping when going from stop to motion . I do have snow tires on. It's not bad but it surprised me. Having said that, it hasn't disappointed me so far on overall driving. The regenerating brake does help on stopping I feel.
I will share more of my experience down the road.
I will share more of my experience down the road.
#2
mrgold35
I still have OEM tires on my wife's 18 RLX. We don't get a lot of snow, slush, or icy road in the southwest. I still have her drive my MDX with Conti DWS 06+ tires if the temps get near freezing or slick winter road conditions. My MDX has 4 IDS modes (Comfort, Normal, Sport, Sport+) with slightly different sport hybrid sh-awd programming. I guess the RLX hybrid wasn't ever designed for the same wide range of driving environments like the MDX sport hybrid?
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kareshi (01-16-2024)
#3
Advanced
Winter Driving
The OEM Michelin tires Primacy Green X tires are so aweful. You cannot maintain control of the car in the best of road conditions with them. As soon as I pulled those and swapped to Good Year Eagle Exhilerate. Not that i'm biased to any particular brand.
Bottom line. The RLX Sport Hybrid became a completely different driving experience. You really need to get different tires on the car.
Bottom line. The RLX Sport Hybrid became a completely different driving experience. You really need to get different tires on the car.
#4
+1 ^ this...
I went from stock tires to Conti DWS 06+ and love the car! Stock Michelin is the crappiest crap!
I went from stock tires to Conti DWS 06+ and love the car! Stock Michelin is the crappiest crap!
#5
mrgold35
Planning to switch out the RLX OEM tires for Conti DWS 06+ this year.
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rlx015 (01-20-2024)
#6
Burning Brakes
My wife moved from an SH-AWD TL to her SH-AWD RLX hybrid. We were able to use the same snow tires from one to the other, so here's a true apples-to-apples comparison (by her observation) in winter driving here in NH:
- The RLX SH, when in EV mode, spends all of it's time in RWD. As such, when the car starts to feel slip, you get an old-school RWD behavior for a second or two before the AWD kicks in, and then it behaves similarly to other SH-AWD setups (TL, MDX, etc). It takes a while to get used to since the normal SH-AWD (non-hybrid) system is FWD largely by default and has a different feel when the traction starts to let go.
- The RLX SH, when in ICE mode, gives very similar behavior to a normal SH-AWD system. The rear wheels are driven electrically, but tend to behave very similarly to the traditional setup when giving traction to the slipping wheel.
- If you decide to put the RLX SH into 'sport' mode - so that you keep the ICE on all the time - it's a double-edge sword. Yes, you get a more traditional SH-AWD behavior for all 4 wheels - but the 'sport' mode shift points can make things a bit squirrely when you try to handle twisty roads or hilly conditions. Sport mode makes the RLX a hot rod to drive - which isn't always the best in the winter :-)
Overall the traditional SH-AWD system is a more predictable experience, and if you live in the snow belt, you'll be happier with the non-hybrid setup. But once you understand the way things work, you can change your driving expectations and get thru just fine :-)
- The RLX SH, when in EV mode, spends all of it's time in RWD. As such, when the car starts to feel slip, you get an old-school RWD behavior for a second or two before the AWD kicks in, and then it behaves similarly to other SH-AWD setups (TL, MDX, etc). It takes a while to get used to since the normal SH-AWD (non-hybrid) system is FWD largely by default and has a different feel when the traction starts to let go.
- The RLX SH, when in ICE mode, gives very similar behavior to a normal SH-AWD system. The rear wheels are driven electrically, but tend to behave very similarly to the traditional setup when giving traction to the slipping wheel.
- If you decide to put the RLX SH into 'sport' mode - so that you keep the ICE on all the time - it's a double-edge sword. Yes, you get a more traditional SH-AWD behavior for all 4 wheels - but the 'sport' mode shift points can make things a bit squirrely when you try to handle twisty roads or hilly conditions. Sport mode makes the RLX a hot rod to drive - which isn't always the best in the winter :-)
Overall the traditional SH-AWD system is a more predictable experience, and if you live in the snow belt, you'll be happier with the non-hybrid setup. But once you understand the way things work, you can change your driving expectations and get thru just fine :-)
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kareshi (01-16-2024)
#7
Racer
Thread Starter
The OEM Michelin tires Primacy Green X tires are so aweful. You cannot maintain control of the car in the best of road conditions with them. As soon as I pulled those and swapped to Good Year Eagle Exhilerate. Not that i'm biased to any particular brand.
Bottom line. The RLX Sport Hybrid became a completely different driving experience. You really need to get different tires on the car.
Bottom line. The RLX Sport Hybrid became a completely different driving experience. You really need to get different tires on the car.
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#8
Racer
Thread Starter
My wife moved from an SH-AWD TL to her SH-AWD RLX hybrid. We were able to use the same snow tires from one to the other, so here's a true apples-to-apples comparison (by her observation) in winter driving here in NH:
- The RLX SH, when in EV mode, spends all of it's time in RWD. As such, when the car starts to feel slip, you get an old-school RWD behavior for a second or two before the AWD kicks in, and then it behaves similarly to other SH-AWD setups (TL, MDX, etc). It takes a while to get used to since the normal SH-AWD (non-hybrid) system is FWD largely by default and has a different feel when the traction starts to let go.
- The RLX SH, when in ICE mode, gives very similar behavior to a normal SH-AWD system. The rear wheels are driven electrically, but tend to behave very similarly to the traditional setup when giving traction to the slipping wheel.
- If you decide to put the RLX SH into 'sport' mode - so that you keep the ICE on all the time - it's a double-edge sword. Yes, you get a more traditional SH-AWD behavior for all 4 wheels - but the 'sport' mode shift points can make things a bit squirrely when you try to handle twisty roads or hilly conditions. Sport mode makes the RLX a hot rod to drive - which isn't always the best in the winter :-)
Overall the traditional SH-AWD system is a more predictable experience, and if you live in the snow belt, you'll be happier with the non-hybrid setup. But once you understand the way things work, you can change your driving expectations and get thru just fine :-)
- The RLX SH, when in EV mode, spends all of it's time in RWD. As such, when the car starts to feel slip, you get an old-school RWD behavior for a second or two before the AWD kicks in, and then it behaves similarly to other SH-AWD setups (TL, MDX, etc). It takes a while to get used to since the normal SH-AWD (non-hybrid) system is FWD largely by default and has a different feel when the traction starts to let go.
- The RLX SH, when in ICE mode, gives very similar behavior to a normal SH-AWD system. The rear wheels are driven electrically, but tend to behave very similarly to the traditional setup when giving traction to the slipping wheel.
- If you decide to put the RLX SH into 'sport' mode - so that you keep the ICE on all the time - it's a double-edge sword. Yes, you get a more traditional SH-AWD behavior for all 4 wheels - but the 'sport' mode shift points can make things a bit squirrely when you try to handle twisty roads or hilly conditions. Sport mode makes the RLX a hot rod to drive - which isn't always the best in the winter :-)
Overall the traditional SH-AWD system is a more predictable experience, and if you live in the snow belt, you'll be happier with the non-hybrid setup. But once you understand the way things work, you can change your driving expectations and get thru just fine :-)
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kareshi (01-17-2024)
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