My Lexus has tires that came with the car - Uhh... Not a famous brand. Ironman Imove. But I left them because the online ratings are decent. In dry and wet they are fine. They seem pretty hard and have no sipes (like the LTX for example on my explorer)
When the snow started falling, I tested things out on streets with no traffic, and was able to slide thru stopsign intersections with pretty good stopping distance. (Again, no cars, anywhere, suburban dead end streets).
Now, I want to blame the tires but, is toyota ABS too aggressive in the snow? Also, it is an AWD car with full time center planetary diff, that can lock up, but I'm not really impressed.
I wonder if tires can make such a difference.
Tires or Toyota ABS
- Thread starter ford46guy
- Start date
No siping? I'm guessing that and a compound that is hard in cold temps is the problem.
Can't comment otherwise, I'm sure Toyota uses a different ABS system (and programming) per model. I can't say I've had problems; I usually have snows or a set of RT43's on, and it's just not a valid comparison. [RT43's aren't snow tires, but when I use them in snow, I'm far from aggressive, and don't expect much.]
How old are the tires? I'm guessing not too old, but if they are more than a 2 or 3 years old, it might not be bad money to get a better set of all seasons (if not winter tires).
I had Ironman imove tires on my 300. They were straight up dangerous in the snow. But like what you said, they were fine in dry and wet weather. I replaced them with some RT43's which are significantly better in the snow.
Vredestein Quatrac 5's might fit your needs. Great reviews on Tire Rack.
Tires make a huge difference.
And you should get new ones!
Originally Posted by 14Accent
ABS is purely a function of wheel lock. Wheel lock is purely a function of available traction. Crappy tires=less traction=more ABS activation.
You can slide around on a car with ABS with junk tires. That's why you need snowies on both axles.
Originally Posted by Astro14
Tires make a huge difference.
And you should get new ones!
My Tacoma came with factory Dunlops that were terrible in the Dry and Wet, but were dangerous in snow. The lack of traction combined with sensitive ABS would make me not stop at all. I had to leave the truck in gear and just idle up to stop signs. I left them on for a few years but I would pull the ABS fuse every winter.
Replaced them with Michigan LTX and have never had a hint of a problem again.
Money in tires is money well spent.
Anytime you see a name like Ironman or Dura🙄🙄🙄 you always gotta wonder just how much Chinesium🤡 is in them. Who puts 5th rate tires on a Lexus anyways? Isn't that some kind of sacrilege . In Albany of all places. Better get ya a set of Blizzaks shoes like I just stuck on my Camry today. Winters just getting started..........
Hmm...my new to me Venza AWD, i put on conti wintercontact SI's...my first winter driving the Venza...the abs kicks in pretty quickly when i step even a bit firmly or it senses slipping...im used to driving an 07 Corolla... i do like that the abs keeps me straight but id likely rather not have ABS. Oh well.
What exactly happens? Does the peddle pulsate like the ABS kicked in early? If so, it even happens with my dedicated snows..im learning to brake very gently..lol
Originally Posted by ford46guy
My Lexus has tires that came with the car - Uhh... Not a famous brand. Ironman Imove. But I left them because the online ratings are decent. In dry and wet they are fine. They seem pretty hard and have no sipes (like the LTX for example on my explorer)
When the snow started falling, I tested things out on streets with no traffic, and was able to slide thru stopsign intersections with pretty good stopping distance. (Again, no cars, anywhere, suburban dead end streets).
Now, I want to blame the tires but, is toyota ABS too aggressive in the snow? Also, it is an AWD car with full time center planetary diff, that can lock up, but I'm not really impressed.
I wonder if tires can make such a difference.
Originally Posted by Rolla07
Hmm...my new to me Venza AWD, i put on conti wintercontact SI's...my first winter driving the Venza...the abs kicks in pretty quickly when i step even a bit firmly or it senses slipping...im used to driving an 07 Corolla... i do like that the abs keeps me straight but id likely rather not have ABS. Oh well.
What exactly happens? Does the peddle pulsate like the ABS kicked in early? If so, it even happens with my dedicated snows..im learning to brake very gently..lol
Originally Posted by ford46guy
Originally Posted by Astro14
Tires make a huge difference.
And you should get new ones!
Originally Posted by ford46guy
I wonder if tires can make such a difference.
Tires are huge. Try some better quality ones and you will likely be amazed at the difference
Get a set of tire chains in the mean time, until you can get new tires. See if that helps in the snow 
