How's your Camry perform in the winter?

[Silent Runner]

This is just for fun, but I'm really impressed by how this car handles the snow and ice. I just have cheap set of Walmart, Nexus snow and ice radials mounted on the factory alloys, no ABS, but this car climbs hills, goes through snowdrifts and stops alot better than most later model cars seem to. I was just following a late model Subaru down the road when we were approaching an icy intersection on a red light. I saw his brake lights come on, but he sailed right through it with his wheels still turning. I stopped easily with a little wiggling around. Pretty interesting sight as he was almost T- boned by a school bus. As it happens, I caught up to him at the next intersection, caught his attention and asked him what the heck that was all about? He said he was pushing on the brake pedal as hard as he could, but the car did almost nothing to slow down! anyone else think their Camry's are doing pretty good this winter?

[fenixus]

well obviously the guy had no idea how to use his brakes on ice
you need to simulate the ABS module operation (which you don't have) with your foot if you don't have it by rapidly pressing lightly and releasing the pedal, VERY quickly, like half a dozen times in 2-3 seconds period

pressing on brakes as hard as you can on ice is a death wish.

[ShawnTRD]

I've only had mine for about 3 weeks and I'm very happy. About 2 weeks was with some All-Season tires with less then 1/2 tread. And now I have 4 Firestone Snow tires.

[Silent Runner]

Originally Posted by fenixus

well obviously the guy had no idea how to use his brakes on ice
you need to simulate the ABS module operation (which you don't have) with your foot if you don't have it by rapidly pressing lightly and releasing the pedal, VERY quickly, like half a dozen times in 2-3 seconds period

pressing on brakes as hard as you can on ice is a death wish.

For sure, dude had no understanding of how to brake on Ice. but His late model Suby HAD ABS, thats why I saw his wheels keep turning... I thought on the other hand, start breaking gently, maybe steer a little to the left or right where there's snow, instead of ice to break on... end result, I stopped with no problem. What I'm really talking about here is how good the car gets around in general. I've climbed more than a couple of snowed up on-ramps around other cars, while scrapping the undercarage with snow and held the road with confidence and comfort while alot of other vehicles seem to be having a much harder time. Its alot better than my last car, a Mazda 626, in how it tracks down a snowed up road and handles tough conditions.

Maybe a story or two about how you/and/or your family got home safely in the last one or two brutal snow storms that seemed to mess alot of other folks up.

[bigbird]

well thoes cheap snow tires, while cheap, will help A LOT. thoes are cheap not because they dont do well in snow, but because they wont last or perform well in other more normal conditions, wait and see on that one. a friend got some from walmart as well. lasted about a year with frequent highway driving.

mine used to perform well in snow, but now, the summer rated tires and lower ride height dont do so well. but that being said, the extra weight of teh car definatly helps getting up hills and such. i was impressed before i did all this ricer stuff to it.

[Mister_Perkins]

I always pump my brakes when trying to slide to a stop. If driving and slide, I try to counter-steer and completely let off the gas and brake hoping that my car will grab on something with a little grip. I've only ever slid one time and that was because I was going a little too fast for the conditions. Always travel a safe speed, and double or triple your driving distance when traveling in snow / ice. Also make sure if your traveling a little too fast to slow down before a corner. Try to not use your brakes as much in corners that are snowy or slippery. That's what I do anyways.. not sure if its the technical way to drive, but I've found it works good for me. May work good for others too

On the topic:
Ide have to say my Camrys handle very good in the winter.. I haven't had any wrecks or problems in them yet. (Crosses fingers). lol

[Silent Runner]

Snow tires all round make a huge difference, and I don't think it hurts the car (in the winter), that its pretty nose heavy. I also grew up with a group of guys that thought "The Dukes of Hazard" was a lifestyle, not an old television program. After digging yourself out of alot of snow banks, and rolling your car off the roof and back onto its wheels a few times, you actually start to learn to drive pretty well. It also gives you alot of memories about the consequenses of driving too fast, or not paying absolute attention to the road especially in the winter.

[akhoundog]

yeah the camry does really well in the winter here in alaska and the underpowered 4 banger probably aids that.

I used bridgestone blizzaks and love them. i also tend to run a higher psi in the rear to reduce plowing.

[camry6]

Originally Posted by fenixus

well obviously the guy had no idea how to use his brakes on ice
you need to simulate the ABS module operation (which you don't have) with your foot if you don't have it by rapidly pressing lightly and releasing the pedal, VERY quickly, like half a dozen times in 2-3 seconds period

pressing on brakes as hard as you can on ice is a death wish.

That's how ABS works , stand on the peddle, and keep it down. That is why the Camry stopped ok. the tires can lock while braking which allows the tires to plow snow and form wedges against the tires=extra braking. Most ABS systems are crap and are dangerous ie: Subaru sailing through a red light! The only decent ABS is done by toyota, my two Lexus are not bad at all, but i'd rather have my gen 3 in slick stopping situations. The idea of ABS is to prevent steering plow of the front wheels to allow steering out of a bad situation, which is ok at highway speeds, but unfortunately it also operates at much to slow speed -city speeds. Really, how are you going to steer around a RED light! IMO, ABS is CRAP!

[camry6]

Originally Posted by Silent Runner

This is just for fun, but I'm really impressed by how this car handles the snow and ice. I just have cheap set of Walmart, Nexus snow and ice radials mounted on the factory alloys, no ABS, but this car climbs hills, goes through snowdrifts and stops alot better than most later model cars seem to. I was just following a late model Subaru down the road when we were approaching an icy intersection on a red light. I saw his brake lights come on, but he sailed right through it with his wheels still turning. I stopped easily with a little wiggling around. Pretty interesting sight as he was almost T- boned by a school bus. As it happens, I caught up to him at the next intersection, caught his attention and asked him what the heck that was all about? He said he was pushing on the brake pedal as hard as he could, but the car did almost nothing to slow down! anyone else think their Camry's are doing pretty good this winter?

Yea, the Camry is great in snow. Snow tires are a must! I've had mine for 8 or 9 years, very pleased with it in snow. Mine is the gen 3 with the 3VZ-FE V6. The engine has a cast iron "bullet proof" block, the extra weight really helps the traction. IMO ABS sucks for the most part, especially at slow speeds! on the other hand, if it only activated at speeds above.... say .....80 km's or so, I think it could help out on the highway. ABS prevents steering plow by allowing the wheels to keep turning, this results in minimal braking or stopping ability. The idea is to allow the driver to steer out of a bad situation, which is fine if you have somewhere to steer to avoid, but seriously, how the f*#K do one steer around a RED light??? That's why the Subie passed on through, I bet the driver had to change his underware after The only ABS i've seen done decently is Toyota. My Lexus cars both have it, and it is better than most I am sure, but I would rather be in my gen 3 Camry in slick stopping situations. It doesn't have ABS, this allows the wheels to lock if you want them too. This way the tires can plow snow and form 4 wedges in front of the wheels=extra stopping ability.....Which is why that bus didn't get you!.......That car likely saved you from a huge crash!....think about it.

[71Corolla]

Originally Posted by camry6

ABS is CRAP!

I wouldn't go that far. Most people are incapable of modulating the brakes, so ABS is a better option for most people. But I do agree that in some situations, ABS makes it impossible to stop the car. I'd much rather lock the wheels on and off to build up some friction, on a very slick surface ABS renders your car "brake-less" basically.

I do wish every car had the option to turn the ABS off, but no such luck. Speaking of Lexus, the traction control on mine works surprisingly well, as does the ABS. The ABS did save me from a crash though on dry pavement, there is no way in hell I would have stopped as quickly without it. Someone pulled right out of a side street, I got hard on the brakes and the car stopped on a dime, tires just starting to chirp.

[fenixus]

I like how ABS (Bosch made, no traction control) on my Solara massages my foot

[camry6]

Originally Posted by 71Corolla

I wouldn't go that far. Most people are incapable of modulating the brakes, so ABS is a better option for most people. But I do agree that in some situations, ABS makes it impossible to stop the car. I'd much rather lock the wheels on and off to build up some friction, on a very slick surface ABS renders your car "brake-less" basically.

I do wish every car had the option to turn the ABS off, but no such luck. Speaking of Lexus, the traction control on mine works surprisingly well, as does the ABS. The ABS did save me from a crash though on dry pavement, there is no way in hell I would have stopped as quickly without it. Someone pulled right out of a side street, I got hard on the brakes and the car stopped on a dime, tires just starting to chirp.

I do agree with you about ABS in ideal conditions, I should have clarified- I was talking about in winter driving conditions, sorry, my bad. Which Lexus do you have?

[71Corolla]

Originally Posted by camry6

Which Lexus do you have?

The cheapest one, a 2000 ES300. I love the car, and I like that it's a highly glorified Camry, parts are easy to come by. I want a first Gen LS400 really badly but I own too many cars as it is.

[camry6]

Originally Posted by 71Corolla

The cheapest one, a 2000 ES300. I love the car, and I like that it's a highly glorified Camry, parts are easy to come by. I want a first Gen LS400 really badly but I own too many cars as it is.

Nice! The ES 250 was the first Lexus. That debuted in 1989. It WAS a glorified Camry, and was not impressive for the price, 1989-1991 didn't do well at all for the ES. The Lexus department realized they had to come up with something totally new if they were going to impress. Toyota engineers said "aa-riight meesa. smaaty pants's, eef yu soo smaat, yu duu som-ting betta, an wee we-o uuz it to beyode awa Camwee ha-ha!" to which Lexus replied "Oo-kaay, wee we-o ha-ha!" Lexus engineers went to work and came up with a whole re-designed, totally new platform. They enlisted the help of Yamaha to come up with a little sumpin' special in the engine department, and so the ACIS and the 3VZ-FE was born. This was the birth of the Gen 3 in 1992-1993. The platform was cutting edge, far beyond its time. Both the ES 300 and the Camry were highly successful. To this very day, much of the same design has remained in production for these two cars. So the Camry as of 1992 is actually a de-glorified ES, and that is why it is such a fine, capable car.

The LS 400 is real nice and posh, but the GS 400/430 is where the performance is. The two have totally different attitudes even though they share a similar driveline. I'm Toyota/Lexus for Life!