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G37x Sedan AWD Performance at High Speeds in icy conditions?
Hi there, I have a quick question for some more knowledgeable/experienced g37 owners about the performance of the intelligent AWD in icy conditions at high speeds. I live in Edmonton, Canada where we get a ton of snow and freezing rain and the roads can be very icy. I've been saving up to buy a car that will do great in this type of environment. I recently went to the Infiniti dealership and after test driving several AWD cars (Infiniti and other makes) I landed on a 2013 Infiniti g37x Sedan and purchased it and brought it home. After doing some more in-depth research I found out that it is 'Intelligent AWD' meaning that it is in 100% real wheel drive until it notices slippage and then distributes some power to the front.
I drive on highways a lot and sometimes they can be very icy and curvy. My question is if I'm accelerating through a curve on the highway (would be going roughly 100km/h or 60m/h) since it would be in RWD could or would that cause my backend to slip out? If so, as soon as it detected slippage and moved power to the front axle my concern is I would already be in a slip and/or have lost some control of the vehicle and it would be too little too late. I guess I would be more comfortable if there was a way to manually keep the car in AWD at all times instead of being in RWD and then the car reacting to a slip by putting it in AWD.
What are you guys thoughts? Am I over-thinking it? Is the car way smarter then I'm giving it credit for and it'll switch into AWD far before I lost control? I also read there system only takes 1 millisecond to move power from back to front so I'm hoping the car is smart enough and my scenario is not reasonable. I will be putting dedicated winter tires on it not just all-seasons. Thanks in advance for any insight!!
guess I would be more comfortable if there was a way to manually keep the car in AWD at all times instead of being in RWD and then the car reacting to a slip by putting it in AWD.
In addition to retarding the throttle inputs thats exactly what the snow mode button on the console does.
FWIW the AWD G is the most solid car I have every driven/ridden in in the snow....SUV's included....
TBH though, snow/ice driving is a completely different style of driving and most of what you seem to be expressing concern over is a matter of experience as it can be counter intuitive and requires adjustment... for example, I rarely drive with traction control off in the summer but turning it off in the winter is necessary sometimes..I get the impression sometimes that people drive terrified every winter because they take for granted that its so different
I don't think there is anyway to make it full time AWD. I don't know if ours is technically intelligent AWD either, I think that's more of a Q50 era feature. The only thing the snow button does is lower the throttle input when you hit the gas to prevent slipping. That being said, AWD does come on when you slip, and RWD is at least predictable in the snow.
It will be very hard to step the car's rear end out. The G37x has a beefy front sway bar from factory so the understeer is real on the AWD models. Assuming you mod the car, the only thing you could do is the get a beefier rear sway to balance it out at best.
The front and rear differentials are open styles. They slow down the wheel that has lost traction which makes bad weather driving much more manageable.
I live in MD/Baltimore and work in the DC area. DC has seen the most snowfall of any major city in the States this year. The G is a very reassuring car to drive in the snow/ice. I've yet to be in that car in any bad weather scenario and feel like it wasn't up to the task. 3,900 pds, RWD bias AWD, throttle control and on a 370z drivetrain and platform...It's capable.
OP I have a 2011 g37xs sedan and I live in Toronto. I have made the rear sway bar modification for less understeer, to the point where I do oversteer a little when slippery. We just had a huge snowstorm last night and this year was rough in general. I won't lie, it's not like the car drives in a foot of snow like it would on pavement. However it is one of the most confidence inspiring vehicles that I've driven in bad weather. You can 100% feel the rear slip out if you take a turn too hard but it's predictable (if you know RWD driving dynamics) and the second it starts feeling sketchy, the front kicks in. The car does let you slide a little and have some fun before it goes "hey buddy, cool it" which I prefer as it's more fun the 99% of the time you're not driving through a snowstorm.
In my personal opinion, the shift of power to the front makes me more uncomfortable than anything as it's less predictable than RWD alone. However I went out into an empty lot during a snowstorm a couple times and tried to get used to it so once you know how the car will respond, it was much easier to handle.
I recall reading that the snow button (other than reducing throttle input) does lock in 50:50 F:R until you're at a higher speed, correct me if I'm wrong. Regardless the button is handier than I expected.
All around, this car is a legitimate winter warrior and unless you need the space or ground clearance, there are no benefits to an AWD crossover over this.
The AWD system is the same ATTESA-ETS in the R32/33 GTR. With a way more sophisticated vehicle stability and traction control system. It’s not a 4wd by any stretch, but compared to the Haldex in my wife’s daily driver, the Nissan is much more responsive to traction change, and the primary RWD is more predictable.
I live in MN, so I’m quite familiar with the types of storms and conditions you see. Running blizzack WS80s on the car, and have a 370z Nismo S-tune rear sway bar in it. Stock the unsersteer was terrible in the summer, and down right frightening in the slippery months. After the bar swap the chassis is far more predictable, and handles the icy turns at higher speeds. For the past month I’ve been turning off my VSC and driving in sport mode which *seems* to desensitize the traction control a touch. This lets me rotate the car as I see fit. With VSC on, she doesn’t like to rotate too fare before correcting it. This is my 3rd winter with the car, and I find myself driving at the limit on plowed ice/snow and only slightly less in up to 3” of the snow on ice. This means when I’m bogged down by normal traffic, I feel almost like driving on dry pavement.
The ABS in snow mode in my 2010 is one of the better programming sets I’ve driven in recent years. When it’s just packed snow I have to almost try to engage the pump. On ice, it’s a little more touchy but manageable with the dynamics of the rear bar above. Before the rear bar, once you started to push the nose, god help you.. and no amount of throttle to slip the rear would get a recovery, must more puuuuush.
My only uncontrollable slide slide was a few weeks ago after my steeper driveway turned to a sheet of pure ice. She just pirouetted down the drive. Hope this helps, let me know if you have any questions from a pseudocanadian... eh
I don't know if ours is technically intelligent AWD either, I think that's more of a Q50 era feature.
the ATTESA E-TS used in the G has been around since the GTR in the late 80's...the Q50's uses the same system...its an old system, but it was way way ahead of its time and happens to still be really good which is why its still used
This is my first winter with my G, and i gotta say it handles very well. I have Michelin x-ices on it, and it handles much better than my dads old Acura. Our SUV is the king of the driveway still, but I prefer sedans over chunky boxes. I've driven back roads going to the ski hill (~80km/h) and never had the car understeer out on me. That being said, I drive with VSC off in the snow. If your aggressively accelerating around a bend, it's more likely you will have the car push forward than start to rotate, if you ask me.
Bonus, if you drive your car and hope a median at slow speeds, only the rusted exhaust will break!! (Your mileage may vary on that...)
This has been super helpful everyone, thank you very much. So based on what I'm hearing, my concern that the back end would slip out is referred to as oversteering (I'm new to this terminology so had to google it lol) and you all are saying that in fact the opposite is true and if anything the car has a tendency to understeer (hence beefing up the rear bar). Really good to know. I think I'll drive it for the remainder of this winter (for once i'm hoping a big winter storm rolls in) and see how it feels and then decide. I'm also getting the vibe this thing is a winter beast and i needn't be concerned based on what I'm hearing.
The thicker rear rear bar fixes that right up. The AWD sedan has the thickest front bar, and the thinnest rear.
I’d love to get my hands on a thicker rear bar, I just don’t have the time nor funds to tackle this job... I’d just like to make it more neutral to drive day to day
I’d love to get my hands on a thicker rear bar, I just don’t have the time nor funds to tackle this job... I’d just like to make it more neutral to drive day to day
You don't have to go with an aftermarket one. You can pick up a used Sport coupe or 370z rear sway bar and bushings for under $150.00 on eBay. Takes all of 30 minutes.
02-27-2019, 01:57 PM
G37x Sedan AWD Performance at High Speeds in icy conditions?
