| KSMDX |
We just got our Sport/Ent 07 MDX last Saturday and on Tuesday my wife had an accident in the bad snow. I had heard some rumblings on a few boards that the Sports were not good in the snow.
Turns out my wife hit some glare ice while stopping (on the 4th day of ownership!) at an off-ramp. She describes as very slow motion with the ABS going crazy.
No damage to our MDX but unfortunately placed a small crack in the bumper of a new Lexus. We are still waiting to hear the damages there!
Tonight I had the opportunity to drive to the Kansas City Airport with 2 inches of fresh unplowed snow.
Accidents everywhere (driving too fast for conditions).
The MDX performed well and felt very stable even at near the posted limit (when the traffic was thin).
It was nice to see the yellow triangle light up when the MDX was trying to get traction, giving me a gentle reminder to back off a bit.
So felt very good about traction in the MDX and think my wife was just very unlucky with the patch of ice she hit. And I feel good knowing that she and the kiddos have all the airbags and safety equipment.
Just my 2 cents. |
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| BLACK-BLING-MDX |
| Yeah, I share your views and sentiments about it, but to be honest, no four wheel drive car can save you from ice. Think about it, ice is frictionless when in a solid state, and when accelerating over that, especially black ice, there's no system in the world that can stop you from skidding. Just be thankful that your family is safe, especially with the winter storm that just hit us this past week. Congrats on your new X, and hopefully no more accidents!! |
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| KSMDX |
| Agreed, glare ice is bad news unless you have studded tires or possibly true snow tires. |
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| crazymjb |
Good snow tires are incredibly undestimated.
AWD is only as good as the rubber meeting the road, or ice.
Mike |
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| sobrien1087 |
quote:
Originally posted by crazymjb
Good snow tires are incredibly undestimated.
AWD is only as good as the rubber meeting the road, or ice.
Mike
A few weeks ago I posted an experience I had last year on black ice on a major highway through the mountains of PA. The only thing that save me and my family was *NOT* hitting the brakes at a time when several cars were already in the ditches and a car immediately to my right - then front - then left went flying in the air, flipping twice and landing on it's roof.
Black ice is a nasty enemy that will get you (in a panic) no matter what tires you think you may have on your side. I was lucky that night (although the nerves were shot after it all). Many others who slammed on their brakes didn't fare so well. |
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| crazymjb |
Of course their will be situations where you can do nothing, or have very little you can do, but for the vast majority of winter driving snow tires will help.
Mike |
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| mindmachine |
Let me start by saying that the I have a 2007 MDX Sport Cherry Red pearl/Parchment on order, scheduled for Feb 28 build date. I previously owned a 2001 MDX Touring and I also currently have a 2005 Porsche cayenne S. I also have had several Toyota Land cruisers.
Guys the tires make all the difference in the world. Today you can buy stud less snow tires. Yes i agree on a sheet of ice even those are severely limited in stopping power, but I highly recommend you visit the tire rack and read their test reviews on winter tires and how much difference they make.
Also pay attention here, many Porsche Cayenne owners found out the hard way, but the tires that came on the Cayenne and even those that are OEM on the 07 MDX are crap when it comes to all season performance. They are mainly summer performance even though they are said to be all season. The Michelin Latitudes 104 H only come new with 9/32" tread depth, most new tires come with 11/32" and many of the dedicated ice/snow tires have 13/32 and even some have 14/32.
I currently own an extra set of wheels for my Porsche Cayenne, with Dunlop Gran Treck WT M2 winter tires on it, and what a difference like night and day, my summer tires are 19" Pirelli P Zero Rossos. The OEM 255/55/18 Conti's were junk when it came to even light snow, even with the center differential locked.
I dont even have my 07 MDX, but I have a second set of Sport rims I bought off of Ebay and they will be getting dedicated Ice/snow tires.
Remember you bought a $50,000 vehicle and the tires are the weakest link between you and the road especially in winter.
Read for yourself about about winter, snow vs all season and even studless ICE/SNOW
tires, the link is to the tire rack:
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/types/snows.jsp
I am a retired manufacturing/mechanical engineer and I have spent a lot of time researching tires, let me say the choice of tires that come on SUV's never ceases to amaze me, as to how poor they are given the type of vehicle they are on. Yea if you live in Florida then the OEM Michelin Latitude is OK I guess. Gus look at how the Michelin Latitude is rated by people who have purchased them on the tire rack!!!!
:yesyes:
Oh yea, by the way, I really loved my 2001 MDX Mahogany/Tan. I cant wait though to get my hands on the 07 MDX Sport, I got the front and rear lower garnish, auto dimming mirror, fake wood shift knob. I also got $3283 off of MSRP on one the dealer had on order.
Oh and to the original poster, the Sport model should not make any difference when it comes to snow or ice traction problems. The tech and base model should be the same. Also read your manual about deep snow and disable the VSA. I currently own a 2005 RL with SH AWD and I love it, but again the OEM tires were crap and I replaced them at delivery, but thats another story.
Be sure and pay attention to the outside diameter of the tire when buying an equivalent tire size. Remember you dont have to have a 255/55/18, a 235/60/18 will work and give you better penetration in snow for example.
Yes I am trading the 05 RL in on the 07 MDX but I am keeping the Porsche Cayenne S.
The RL was real nice, but I love SUV's . |
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| drjay |
Thanks for the information and link.
Congratulations on buying your cherry/parchment MDX, and welcome aboard!
:welcome: |
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| mkaresh |
As others have said, you need proper winter tires. AWD has been incredibly oversold as a solution to snow and ice. It does help you go. It doesn't help you stop. Being able to go well but not stop well, not a good combo.
I've written about this topic in a couple of entries to my blog, including a recent trip from Detroit to Chicago for the auto show there:
http://www.truedelta.com/blog/?p=7
http://www.truedelta.com/blog/?p=26 |
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| KSMDX |
| Got a call that my wife's low speed 'kiss' into the new Lexus is going to be $930 + rental car for a small crack in the rear bumper. Ouch! |
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| Luke |
quote:
Originally posted by KSMDX
Got a call that my wife's low speed 'kiss' into the new Lexus is going to be $930 + rental car for a small crack in the rear bumper. Ouch!
Hey could be worse. When someone bumped slightly into our Toyota the damage was $1500 (it was slightly cracked).
Completely agree that winter tires help but thing to remember is that 4WD/AWD helps in traction, not in braking...
Also the MDX is not the lightest vehicle on the road so it takes longer to stop.
Also you can avoid some accidents by keeping sufficient distance and knowing right time to brake (not in a curve obviously).
Also best to keep it in low gear and use engine breaking first.
Off topic on traction: I read the MDX manual recommends in (deeper) snow to use manual mode and set to 2nd gear to reduce chance of spinning. Reminds when I had manual shift and I drove in snow (works well). |
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| sgtglok |
I have '05 (previously had '01), and thinking about '08... Tires are extremely important, if you expect driving in snow/ice or heavy rain.
My '01 first gen had GY Integrities - the worst tire ever made. Had 2 punctures, 1 blowout, poor traction, cornering. After 10k replaced with Yoko Geolandars - what a difference.
My current '05 runs great on Michellin XTs. Decent all-season tires, no complaints so far. After 2.5 years of daily driving, thread is almost intact, traction is fine.
When I looked at '07, the first thing I noticed was the Michellin Latitude tires did not have a deep thread, hardly an all-season tire.
I just checked the tire rack, and the ratings on them are awful for heavy snow/ice handling. Shame on Acura. :3:
Tire rack also lists Bridgestone Dueler H/L 400 tires as OEM tires. I'm curious, how many owners and from what region have them as originally equipped?
If '08 comes with the same tires, it's another extra $600-800 to factor in the price (costs of replacing them with something decent) |
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