How Well does Your Genesis Perform on Ice and Snow?

[RogerB]

Well, today we got 30cm of snow in Ottawa. This was my first experience of handling our Genny under winter conditions.

I have found that US car rating magazines give little to no importance to how a car handles on ice and snow yet here in Canada we have to contend with it for up to five months. I haven't found many Canadian sources of info on this either although the French language annual Le Guide de l'auto gives a brief graph on this for every car.

The best car I ever owned for snow and ice was my first car, a 1953 Chevrolet. It was a heavy car with a standard transmission. It was a piece of junk with many idiosyncracies but I could pass just about every car going up a slippery hill. Well, our Genny did okay but was no match for my old Chevy. It was nice to feel a rear wheel drive again. A couple of times in tight conditions with very deep snow, our car did get slightly stuck but a judicious back and forth shunting (being careful not to abuse the transmission) got me out of them. The Genesis was a shade better than the Buick Allure (Lacrosse to you Americans) that we just traded in on slippery roads but not as good as a couple of heavy Pontiac TransSport minivans we once had. I would give the Genesis a B.

 

[mikec]

What tires are on your Genesis - that makes a huge difference. Are you running dedicated snow tires, all-season tires, the factory tires - Dunlops in the US, I don't know about Canada, etc?

I'm encouraged by your report; I have a long drive soon that may expose me to snow. Yuk. I've always driven RWD cars even when I lived in Virginia and had to deal with frequent snow. In Virginia my car was a RWD Corolla hatchback with a stick-shift. I had Michelin all-season radials on it (MXV or MXL series tires) and it was a mountain goat in the snow. I made a few bucks dragging other UVA students out of trouble.

mike c.

 

[BacktoHyundaibychoice]

A couple of quick tips while on the subject of snow/ice:

1. If you'll be parked outside for any extended period during snow/ice fall, set your wipers to the OFF position! I found out the hard way last year that heavy snow or frozen ice can snap the blades from the arm if they're buried/stuck while in AUTO.

2. I make extensive use of the pseudo-manual tranny while driving in snow, especially when moving forward from a dead stop. I put it in 2nd while stopped, and that takes just enough torque off the rears to get me moving. Downshifting works well too, and after practice you can go from 40 MPH to a dead stop without applying the brakes at all.

(I know, I'm an idiot for not buying snow tires!!! You told me that last year! But as a lessor, I'm not making the investment.

 

[RogerB]

I have four Goodyear winter tires on 17 inch rims.

 

[dts2]

Funny that I came across this note today. Yesterday, RI had a minor snow storm, first of the season, and reality struck again. The Genesis is the worst snow car I have ever had and it probably could have been fixed during the design phase. Although the V8 comes standard with a limited slip differential, the V6 does not, and it sure makes a difference. My previous automobile, an STS, had it and i could go through just about anything thrown at me. Why Hyundai would produce a rear wheel drive automobile without limit slip amazes me. Maybe in areas where snow is not a concern, but not having it sure diminishes my driving pleasure, not to mention scaring the heck out of me. I know that is general I really like the car, but this could be a show stopper next July when my lease is up.

 

[CanukV6]

When pulling away from slippery stop signs/lights turn OFF the ESC otherwise you cannot spin the rear wheels and forward progress will be minimal. Not good when pulling out of a busy intersection. I know this sounds counter-intuitive, but the ESC stops wheels from slipping, which works wonders for traction and stability once you are moving, but it works against you in the situations I described above.

This is my second winter with the Genesis (on four Yokohama W-Drive winter tires) and I have found it excellent in every type of driving.

 

[scottdk]

Funny that I came across this note today. Yesterday, RI had a minor snow storm, first of the season, and reality struck again. The Genesis is the worst snow car I have ever had and it probably could have been fixed during the design phase. Although the V8 comes standard with a limited slip differential, the V6 does not, and it sure makes a difference. My previous automobile, an STS, had it and i could go through just about anything thrown at me. Why Hyundai would produce a rear wheel drive automobile without limit slip amazes me. Maybe in areas where snow is not a concern, but not having it sure diminishes my driving pleasure, not to mention scaring the heck out of me. I know that is general I really like the car, but this could be a show stopper next July when my lease is up.

You could lease or buy the V8 with limited-slip once your lease is up

 

[jwaters943]

My V6 w/ 17" Dunlop Wintersport 3D tires does quite well. It's almost as good in most situations as our AWD Mitsubishi Outlander w/ highly-rated Yokohama all season tires and much better than my old 2006 Lexus GS430. The VDIM system in my Lexus would cut power at the slightest hint of wheel slippage leaving me stuck in anything but a light dusting of snow (even with snow tires). Thank god Lexus now allows you to turn it off because in low speed situations it renders the car completely useless in winter time.....I couldn't even back out of my garage.

For a RWD vehicle, the Genesis does quite well. The biggest thing holding it back is ground clearance, or lack thereof. Make sure to weigh down your trunk a bit...it does help. I use a couple medium size boxes of old car magazines that weigh about 60-70 lbs., but most people use kitty litter or sand (which has the dual benefit of enhancing traction if you get stuck....just spread some around your tires).

 

[ImInPA]

Funny that I came across this note today. Yesterday, RI had a minor snow storm, first of the season, and reality struck again. The Genesis is the worst snow car I have ever had and it probably could have been fixed during the design phase. Although the V8 comes standard with a limited slip differential, the V6 does not, and it sure makes a difference. My previous automobile, an STS, had it and i could go through just about anything thrown at me. Why Hyundai would produce a rear wheel drive automobile without limit slip amazes me. Maybe in areas where snow is not a concern, but not having it sure diminishes my driving pleasure, not to mention scaring the heck out of me. I know that is general I really like the car, but this could be a show stopper next July when my lease is up.

You may have a problem with the traction control system The V6 models, while they do not have LSD, accomplish the same functionality (albeit at low speeds only) through the traction control system and stability control with brakes, and throttle regulation. LSD is a mechanical system.

 

[RogerB]

For a RWD vehicle, the Genesis does quite well. The biggest thing holding it back is ground clearance, or lack thereof. Make sure to weigh down your trunk a bit...it does help. I use a couple medium size boxes of old car magazines that weigh about 60-70 lbs., but most people use kitty litter or sand (which has the dual benefit of enhancing traction if you get stuck....just spread some around your tires).

Yes, in the old days I always used to put weight in the trunk for better traction. But once the cars I owned had front wheel drive there was no corresponding way to increase the weight over the driving wheels. I had actually forgotten that. Thanks for the reminder.

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[healeybob]

I just bought 4 Bliizzaks. Its like a go cart on snow.

 

[medhat]

I just bought 4 Bliizzaks. Its like a go cart on snow.

Me too (from Tire Rack - outstanding service, ordered Thursday pm, on the car Monday at noon). 17 inches of snow Tuesday, and thank goodness I didn't have my OEM Dunlops on (they're fine in the summer). We had a dusting of snow the prior Thursday and it was a hair raising experience. The Blizzaks are absolutely a night and day difference. I couldn't imagine driving a Gennie in snow without snow tires.

 

[knight]

I'm still driving a dealership 09 V8 loaner which means no snow tire option for me. Chicago just had some snow and ice these last couple days and driving the Genesis was scary. One I am not completely used to the car and all it's handling characteristics even in dry weather, so trying to control it with the stock tires in the snow and ice was quite a challenge. The first thing I will do is put Blizzaks on my 2010.

A co-worker who also drives an 09 Genesis (3.8) just put Blizzaks on his car and said it made a big difference.

-knight

 

[ilovemygenesis]

Me too (from Tire Rack - outstanding service, ordered Thursday pm, on the car Monday at noon). 17 inches of snow Tuesday, and thank goodness I didn't have my OEM Dunlops on (they're fine in the summer). We had a dusting of snow the prior Thursday and it was a hair raising experience. The Blizzaks are absolutely a night and day difference. I couldn't imagine driving a Gennie in snow without snow tires.

I will have to get some snow tires, we had some snow here in CT and my Genesis was making me very nervous, i will look into the Blizzaks tires that i heard a lot of people writing about.

 

[HeavyG]

I went through some snow a couple of weeks ago and the car didn't do so good. I blame this on the Dunlops that came with the car which the only adverse weather that they're designed to be driven in is the rain. I think I might be switching to a decent set of all-weather tires. Anyone have any good recommendations?

 

[wallymn]

I live in MN, lots of snow, with blizzaks on , car handles better than my 4x4 truck.

 

[Sayantsi]

Funny that I came across this note today. Yesterday, RI had a minor snow storm, first of the season, and reality struck again. The Genesis is the worst snow car I have ever had and it probably could have been fixed during the design phase. Although the V8 comes standard with a limited slip differential, the V6 does not, and it sure makes a difference. My previous automobile, an STS, had it and i could go through just about anything thrown at me. Why Hyundai would produce a rear wheel drive automobile without limit slip amazes me. Maybe in areas where snow is not a concern, but not having it sure diminishes my driving pleasure, not to mention scaring the heck out of me. I know that is general I really like the car, but this could be a show stopper next July when my lease is up.

Your STS was fwd, afaik did not have a Limited slip differential either, had a lot of weight on the front wheels to improve traction, and might have had tires that performed better in the snow.

The V6 does not have a limited slip differential, but that's not necessarily a bad thing, even though one would think that having both wheels exert torque when in winter sounds like a good thing. It is not - especially on low traction surfaces.

If you have a normal differential, when one wheel slips it starts spinning and all the engine speed goes to that wheel and the other wheel just rolls on. This is good because it tends to keep the rear moving in the same direction as before the loss of the spinning wheel traction. Since the free wheel rubber is still rolling in contact with the surface the direction of rotation keeps the rear from moving sideways. It keeps the car from spinning since one wheel has traction, and one wheel has power.

With a LSD, the coupling of the two wheels together means that when one starts spinning it draws the other side into the same spin, and you end up with a good chance the rear is NOT going to keep in line (especially in a turn or even on the crown of the road surface). Both wheels have power, but neither have traction, and you end up sliding around without control.

The best thing to have in winter is not a LSD, its winter tires designed to provide traction in cold, snow and ice. It doesn't matter how many wheels have power if none of them have traction - look at all the SUVs in ditches every winter.

 

[Sayantsi]

I live in MN, lots of snow, with blizzaks on , car handles better than my 4x4 truck.

Tires are the most important part of winter traction - they're the only part of the car that touches the road - they dictate what the car can do.

 

[Sayantsi]

When pulling away from slippery stop signs/lights turn OFF the ESC otherwise you cannot spin the rear wheels and forward progress will be minimal. Not good when pulling out of a busy intersection. I know this sounds counter-intuitive, but the ESC stops wheels from slipping, which works wonders for traction and stability once you are moving, but it works against you in the situations I described above.

This is my second winter with the Genesis (on four Yokohama W-Drive winter tires) and I have found it excellent in every type of driving.

Fyi, if you spin a wheel, its a sign that you have exceeded the available traction and need to cut power to get back to optimal traction. Turning off the stability control will let you spin the tires, but just letting the stability control work will better manage the power/traction ratio.

The only time you'd want to disable the traction control would be if you're stuck and need to spin the wheels in the hope you'll catch an instance of high traction. Otherwise, its too much power for conditions.

 

[CanukV6]

Fyi, if you spin a wheel, its a sign that you have exceeded the available traction and need to cut power to get back to optimal traction. Turning off the stability control will let you spin the tires, but just letting the stability control work will better manage the power/traction ratio.

The only time you'd want to disable the traction control would be if you're stuck and need to spin the wheels in the hope you'll catch an instance of high traction. Otherwise, its too much power for conditions.

As with most electronic systems on todays vehicles, an experienced driver can better feel what the car is doing and apply more or less throttle or braking to achieve superior acceleration in slippery conditions or shorter braking distances in dry conditions (vs. ABS). The threshold of the traction control is set too low so that even with slight wheel spin the system cuts power and impedes forward motion. If you are pulling out of a side turning onto a busy road, that can be dangerous.