Squirrelly handling on icy roads

[G-677669]

We’ve had some nasty winter weather here in Minnesota lately and it’s my first winter with my Ultimate 3.8 AWD. I’ve noticed when driving on partially ice covered roads (right tires on scattered ice, left on dry pavement) that the car feels squirrelly when cruising along at 30 mph. It will actually try to fishtail continually and turn the car slightly towards the oncloming lane. I’ve been driving rear wheel and 4x4 vehicles for years and this is my first AWD. Is this normal for an AWD vehicle or could there be something wrong with my AWD or Traction Control? The car drives like it’s on rails on dry pavement and has almost new Perrelli Cinturanto P7’s on it.

 

[rroyce46]

Have you tried Snow mode or ECO mode?
I use both in winter

 

[ewang]

Mine was crazy to drive with all season MX4 Primacy's. But now that I have put on a set of Yokohama winter tires, it sticks like crazy.
I think the rear-wheel drive bias add's to the shifty nature in icy conditions. In snow, the all season tires did fine, even though the tread was over half worn. Snow tires make a world of difference on rear drive bias cars.

 

[carguy75]

We’ve had some nasty winter weather here in Minnesota lately and it’s my first winter with my Ultimate 3.8 AWD. I’ve noticed when driving on partially ice covered roads (right tires on scattered ice, left on dry pavement) that the car feels squirrelly when cruising along at 30 mph. It will actually try to fishtail continually and turn the car slightly towards the oncloming lane. I’ve been driving rear wheel and 4x4 vehicles for years and this is my first AWD. Is this normal for an AWD vehicle or could there be something wrong with my AWD or Traction Control? The car drives like it’s on rails on dry pavement and has almost new Perrelli Cinturanto P7’s on it.

Crappy tires for ice is your problem. Even with AWD, all season tires do not grip well on ice. Better, than summer tires, but not as good as true winter tires. If I lived in an area with "real" winters, I would just purchase summer tires and a set of winter tires if I did not have a back-up truck/SUV to use.

 

[crizzlec]

Mine was crazy to drive with all season MX4 Primacy's. But now that I have put on a set of Yokohama winter tires, it sticks like crazy.
I think the rear-wheel drive bias add's to the shifty nature in icy conditions. In snow, the all season tires did fine, even though the tread was over half worn. Snow tires make a world of difference on rear drive bias cars.

Can confirm, as the MX4 Primacy's are what I have on now and they are hot garbage in snow and ice.

 

[EdP]

Crappy tires for ice is your problem. Even with AWD, all season tires do not grip well on ice. Better, than summer tires, but not as good as true winter tires. If I lived in an area with "real" winters, I would just purchase summer tires and a set of winter tires if I did not have a back-up truck/SUV to use.

Ice is a great equalizer. Anything can slide. My tire guy recommend Nokian WRG3 tires as they have a true snow rating, yet can ride all summer as well. I had them on two different cars and they were excellent. Supposedly designed for use in North America.

 

[carguy75]

Ice is a great equalizer. Anything can slide. My tire guy recommend Nokian WRG3 tires as they have a true snow rating, yet can ride all summer as well. I had them on two different cars and they were excellent. Supposedly designed for use in North America.

Well, I just learned about a new product; All weather tires! Never knew they existed until now. The Swiss army knives of tires it seems or better yet all terrain tires for cars. Interesting.

 

[yepvegas]

Ice is a great equalizer. Anything can slide. My tire guy recommend Nokian WRG3 tires as they have a true snow rating, yet can ride all summer as well. I had them on two different cars and they were excellent. Supposedly designed for use in North America.

I have used two sets of Nokian Tires my first set was the WRG3's and my second set was WRG4's and they were amazing and held up for 40k miles. But unfortunately they do not have a size that will fit my G80

 

[1FstYota]

Short of a set of ice tires, anything will slide on ice. So not sure what kind of handling yall are expecting out of a set of all season tires on ice.

 

[MNgen]

Have a 2015 AWD, live west of Minneapolis and have been enjoying -30F lows with lots of snow and bad ice. Had the exact same problem running all season tires. With the RH tires on packed ice and LH tires on semi-dry pavement the vehicle sometimes feels like it wants to spin out. A month ago it got squirrely on me with a semi-truck approaching from the opposite direction. Scary. Went to Discount Tire the next day and bought Michelin X-ice winter tires. Problem solved, it chews through deep snow and no more squirrely driving issues.

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[Velvetsmack]

+1 For the Michelin X-Ice. I have these on two other cars and they're a must for Canadian winters (just got a dump of 2 feet yesterday here in Ottawa). What I'll be interested in understanding is if I notice a marked improvement with these tires and AWD, which my other vehicles do not have..

 

[carguy75]

Here is good comparison of all-season tires vs. winter tires.

 

[Skeezix]

Glad to see other Genesis owners in Minnesota!

We’ve had some nasty winter weather here in Minnesota lately and it’s my first winter with my Ultimate 3.8 AWD. I’ve noticed when driving on partially ice covered roads (right tires on scattered ice, left on dry pavement) that the car feels squirrelly when cruising along at 30 mph. It will actually try to fishtail continually and turn the car slightly towards the oncloming lane. I’ve been driving rear wheel and 4x4 vehicles for years and this is my first AWD. Is this normal for an AWD vehicle or could there be something wrong with my AWD or Traction Control? The car drives like it’s on rails on dry pavement and has almost new Perrelli Cinturanto P7’s on it.

I am moving from Houston to Minneapolis in June, and looking to get a G80. However, I'm not sure if I need HTRAC or not? Can I get by with a RWD 3.8 if I have a good set of winter tires? If the answer is no, then will the standard HTRAC all-season tires work well?

I hate to get AWD if I don't need it, but I'm looking for some advice on those living in the frigid north.
Ill be home based, and won't be required to drive if conditions are unsafe. My job will require me driving about 25K to 35K miles a year in Minnesota as well as Iowa.

Looking for advice please!

 

[EdP]

Glad to see other Genesis owners in Minnesota!



I am moving from Houston to Minneapolis in June, and looking to get a G80. However, I'm not sure if I need HTRAC or not? Can I get by with a RWD 3.8 if I have a good set of winter tires? If the answer is no, then will the standard HTRAC all-season tires work well?

I hate to get AWD if I don't need it, but I'm looking for some advice on those living in the frigid north.
Ill be home based, and won't be required to drive if conditions are unsafe. My job will require me driving about 25K to 35K miles a year in Minnesota as well as Iowa.

Looking for advice please!

I loved HTRAC when I drove in CT and MA, especially on hills. Cars would be slipping and sliding and I'd just chug along in a straight line except where I had to go around them.

If the land is flat, not needed as much. If ice, nothing works except staying home. For me, in snow territory it is a must to have AWD.
See my note above about Nokian tires.

 

[Skeezix]

In my experience, a Honda civic with dedicated winter tires will drive circles around any AWD/4X4 with all seasons. Thus, it's the tires that make the car. However, I've not owned a G80 and haven't played around with them in the snow. I will say the 2017 3.8 RWD I drove today was amazingly well balanced.

 

[MNgen]

Agree 100% that winter tires rule over all seasons. And you could get by in a Minnesota winter with a RWD G80 if you can slow down and take it easy when it's bad out. But you're giving up a lot in safety and acceleration during the winter months without AWD. You have to decide.

 

[Skeezix]

Agree 100% that winter tires rule over all seasons. And you could get by in a Minnesota winter with a RWD G80 if you can slow down and take it easy when it's bad out. But you're giving up a lot in safety and acceleration during the winter months without AWD. You have to decide.

Roger that. Looks like I'll be getting an HTRAC model. I'm looking for a 2017/2018 3.8 Ultimate w/ HTRAC. Those things are very rare it would seem.

Any tips on how best to locate one? Autotrader is the only thing I know to use.

 

[EdP]

Roger that. Looks like I'll be getting an HTRAC model. I'm looking for a 2017/2018 3.8 Ultimate w/ HTRAC. Those things are very rare it would seem.

Any tips on how best to locate one? Autotrader is the only thing I know to use.

There is one in my garage. You probably won't see them down south but fairly common up north.

 

[MNgen]

Carsoup.com shows (4) 2017-18 AWD Gennys within 200 miles of Minneapolis.

 

[rroyce46]

Come to Canada . All 2015 & newer Genesis's are ALL AWD except the Manual trans G70.