Infiniti AWD performance question

[Boonies]

I am a current 2002 Audi S8 owner and am considering the purchase of a 2008 M45x. There are several other vehicles under consideration at the same time including a couple of '08 Audi models.

My challenge is that I live in PA, and my home has a steep driveway, and I have found that AWD is necessary to get the car up the driveway, even after it has been cleared in the winter.

I also need to travel to work locations when it is snowing. In fact a couple of years ago I was out in the severe storms leading up to the state of emergency that closed the highways in PA & DE, and I always felt rock solid in the Audi.

After searching the forum (and elsewhere) I have found some interesting YouTube films on the Subaru and Acura that “tests” their AWD systems in staged situations that compare them with other vehicles. Any suggestions of articles or real world demonstrations of the capabilities of the Infiniti AWD system in the M series would be welcome.

Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

[cruzad3r]

Awd infiniti is pretty dam good and so does the 4rings. I have the mkI TT and a m35x and they both are good in the snow. Do try to get good winter or all season tires to maximize grippage

[ColoJoe]

Hi Boonies - I live in the Colorado mountains at 9,000 ft elevation - my car is a 2009 M45X, and I owned a 98 Audi A6 with quattro before, so my situation is somewhat like yours. Both cars are comparable in the snow, with a slight edge to the Audi. I have never lost traction in the M. Last February we had a 20" snow and the M had no trouble with my quarter mile long, unplowed, uphill driveway. It'll be hard to see in snow that deep, because the snow comes up and over the hood as the car plows the driveway. A word of caution - next morning I had no brakes, because the snow had frozen to the rotors - a little back and forth took care of that. It IS essential you put good snow tires on the M; I use the Bridgestone Blizzaks.

Good luck with your decision.

[Boonies]

Cruzad3r & ColoJoe, thanks much for your helpful thoughts and comparisons. Now it simply about finding the right ride at the right price. Meanwhile I will keep enjoying the forum.

[Iconic]

joe: do you run oem rims w/snow? if not what size ?

my car came w/17" snow tires+rims, I dunno if i lose ground clearance w/17" rims ?

[ColoJoe]

Hi Iconic - I'm straight OEM with 18" rims. The tire size is 245/45R18. Ground clearance is not as much an issue for me, because most of our snow is fairly dry, and the weight of the car helps push down through the deep stuff. We haven't had a really wet late spring snow since I bought the car so I don't know how it would be in deep slush. My Audi quattro A6 had no problem with the wet stuff, so I expect the M would be similar.

[EmpireM45x]

One HUGE issue with the M45x in the snow, however, is that the power is CUT to the wheels when you are stuck in snow, unlike how the quattro works. So if you end up not able to start from a stop in snow, and the wheels start to spin, the Infiniti cuts power to the wheels to eliminate spin (to the extent that NO wheels spin at all, and you remain stuck), rather than transferring power to the wheels that have grip so you can power out of the snow. I've had Audi's and Jeeps with full time AWD, and in a similar situation, all you had to do was stay on the power, and eventually the tires with grip would power you back into motion...not true with the M45x, you will get stuck. That said, this car literally has so many electronic features, that I may be overlooking a magic "get the dumbass out of the snow option", so if anyone notices that I am doing something wrong in reading this post, speak up, as you will make me unbelievably happy to discover this car is more capable than I give it credit for.
That said, I LOVE this car, put 66K miles on it last year alone, and literally find myself thinking on a daily basis how unbelievably well thought out it is...I don't PASS many gas stations, but the trips in between are a blast...

[cruzad3r]

that I may be overlooking a magic "get the dumbass out of the snow option", so if anyone notices that I am doing something wrong in reading this post, speak up,

LOL - i think the button call "SNOW"

[EmpireM45x]

Funny...THAT's the one button that seems to bog it down...I WISH it worked, but truly, this is the most frustrating car to drive in the snow. I was stuck four times last year alone, hit the gas, power gets cut, I get stuck.

[Ilya]

Turn the VDC off lol. That's whats cutting most of your power. It's on the left side near the spot for the key. This may not help in deep snow as you will still spin tires, but at least power won't be cut to them as much or at all.

I LOVE driving in snow. Here's a video to prove it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AEGwurCm ... ture=g-upl

[ColoJoe]

Page 2-37 in the 2009 M45X owner’s manual

The vehicle should be driven with the Vehicle
Dynamic Control (VDC) system on for most
driving conditions.
If the vehicle is stuck in mud or snow, the VDC
system reduces the engine output to reduce
wheel spin. The engine speed will be reduced
even if the accelerator is depressed to the floor.
If maximum engine power is needed to free a
stuck vehicle, turn the VDC system off.
To turn off the VDC system, push the VDC OFF
switch. The indicator will illuminate.
Push the VDC OFF switch again or restart the
engine to turn on the system. (See “VEHICLE
DYNAMIC CONTROL (VDC) SYSTEM” in the “5.
Starting and driving” section.)

[EniGmA1987]

Even with VDC off the system still has quite a few things active. If you truly want to turn the system off completely you can crank the wheel over and slam on the gas as you are hitting the VDC switch, this will overload the system and crash the computer and thus shut off all features relating to the dynamics control. Restarting the car will restart the computer and all will be fine. Doing this should let all power go to all wheels in all circumstances.

[EmpireM45x]

My life has been changed...thank you all for the input! LET THERE BE SNOW!!! Lol.
Boonies, sorry to have hijacked your thread by being an idiot...the M45x is an amazing car. Choose wisely...
Thanks to EniGmA, ColoJoe, and IlvaKol for pointing out the "get the dumbass outta the snow" button...

[Boonies]

My life has been changed...thank you all for the input! LET THERE BE SNOW!!! Lol.
Boonies, sorry to have hijacked your thread by being an idiot...the M45x is an amazing car. Choose wisely...
Thanks to EniGmA, ColoJoe, and IlvaKol for pointing out the "get the dumbass outta the snow" button...

No worries, I have enjoyed the discussion!

[LochDhueDude]

Where is the VDC OFF switch on my 2013 EX37 AWD, can anyone tell me? The manual mentions the switch but doesn't show the location or give any directions for use. I have a "Snow" toggle switch, but that doesn't seem to have much effect. I live on a mountain and sometimes I wonder if the way the system pulsates power to the wheels seems contrary to the objective of driving up a steep gravel drive. Same sort of thing happens when drifting into an on-ramp curve, when the power needs to go full-throttle the VDC just shuts down the power.
Thanks,
Mike

[EdBwoy]

Where is the VDC OFF switch on my 2013 EX37 AWD, can anyone tell me? The manual mentions the switch but doesn't show the location or give any directions for use. ...

Page 2-43 of the owners manual should have some discussion on it.
The switch is a vehicle with 2 squiggly lines behind it, like in a drift... generally.

[Ilya]

It's usually to the left of the steering wheel by the trunk button, etc. That being said, that's on an M. You have an EX so yours might be different.