Hello, how well does the ftype handle on ice/snow? I know it has an ice/snow drive mode but I live in Seattle where we only get ice/snow about once/year so I haven't been able to give ice/snow mode a real test yet. Does ice/snow mode really make the car safer and more drivable on ice/snow or is it more of a gimmick with minimal benefit?

 

Operating the car in heavy rain with the rain/ice/snow mode makes a significant difference and you'd have to expect it would help in winter weather conditions too. It modulates the power very well and it makes a noticeable difference on wet and slippy roads. It's not going to be a substitute for snow tires etc, but for light winter weather I'm pretty confident that it will make a positive difference.

 

As someone that has had extensive use of the rain/snow mode on my 1200 mile trip home through snow storms, I can say it does work quite well. It extremely reduces the throttle response and keeps the revs low. In all it does its best to keep the wheels from spinning but traction can only go so far. If you want to slide you can still slide it. The key is to always provide gradual acceleration and gradual braking. This was all on summer tires too, so with proper winter tires I bet it wouldn't be too bad.

We had some decent rain last week here and I used it again. No slippage while turning compared to when I had it off.

 

I wonder how well it would do in a Boston winter?

 

We have had some torrential rains with flooding since I got the car and I have noticed a significant difference in traction when using the rain/ice/snow mode.

 

It would do fine on snow tires. I drove an M3 exclusively through four Minneapolis winters, and it didn't have a "snow/ice" DSC mode.

 

MY XKR was great in the snow with snow tires, in snow mode, considering its a rear wheel drive. The only issue was getting 'high centered' if snow was over the bumper.. and we get big snow falls here.
Have not had the FtypeR out in snow, but it should be about the same.
Lawrence.

 

You can check this thread:

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/f...p-home-133019/

 

I'm about to do a 15k+ mile cross country and back trip in mine (with winter tires), so can add more data there. (start this weekend)

Seems totally fine in Boston otherwise, with the usual caveats where at some point the relatively low clearance is more the issue than the grip, with winter tires on (with summers on, the grip gives out faster than the low clearance becomes an issue).

As already noted by the guy who did snowy mountains, it is also depending on how you drive.

 

One thing that people ran into with the Audi R8 was that the body/chassis is nearly all aluminum - but things that interfaced with the aluminum (the chem reaction of aluminum and non-aluminum parts tends to go bonkers with salt) or purely non-aluminum components (radiators, usually) would be an issue due to salt/rocks leading to faster than usual corrosion.

So while they did well in the snow, they lead to faster deterioration of some parts (front radiators in particular).

Similar things may apply to the F-Type as well.

 

To be fair, we haven't had much snow in the Boston area (yet), so it looks like you can make your escape. Hope you'll start a new thread to keep us updated. My V6S will be reading with great interest - it's in shackles in winter storage, and is dreaming of the open road.

 

The snow/ice/wet traction mode helps quite a bit. But appropriate tires is always going to be the biggest safety factor in these type of conditions.

 

Hers a First Impressions review, done in the snow of Colorado...

 

how do people in condos/apartments store their alternate tires when not in use? do people store the tires with a local tire shop for something like $50/mo?

 

Please post pics if you have snow tires on the ftype. I'd like to see how snow tires affect the overall look of the car.

 

See this thread (picture in post #1).

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/f...d-trip-133900/

 

thanks for that pic! snow tires don't mess up the look of the car at all. I've read about people using different wheels for winter as well. why do people switch out their wheels in the winter? are wheels more prone to getting damaged/scuffed in the winter so people switch out the wheels with beaters in the winter? or are there special attributes that make some wheels better than others for winter?

 

Most people get a 2nd set of wheels because it's just much easier than dis-mounting, mounting, and balancing tires twice a year. Moreover, every time you mount and dismount a tire from a wheel, there is some risk (usually small) of the tire shop damaging a wheel.

I used to have a 2nd set mounted with snow tires for an M3, and it took me less than an hour to change all four tires in my garage when it was time to switch back and forth. The type of wheel really doesn't matter.

These days, I just drive a Jeep when dealing with frozen precip.

 

stack the tires 2 high in your living room, cover them with a sheet of plywood, drape a table cloth over it. Voila!. A $5000 coffee table.

 

Yes, this.. totally agree and I use a Jeep in the winter as well.
Lawrence