Is the M37x AWD system actualy working?

[wilpark]

Bought the car last year in February and didnt get any snow driving in last year. So we Got a bit of snow in NY today and was excited to see how the AWD system works. From the second I put power to the wheels I actually wondered if my car is an AWD vehicle. Maybe it was the stock Michelins but not a lot of confidence in this system. As I pulled away from my parking spot it didnt give much traction and didnt propel the car in a straight line. Then I got more than I bargained for on the long Island Expressway. Not a ton of snow but the expressway wasn't plowed and had a few inches of dirty snow. Driving about 20MPH and the rear wanted to get ahead of me and was nervous because it didnt really want to track straight. I was actually drifted a few time and had to regain control of the car.

Im assuming the car is in RWD until slippage is detected rather than ever being in fulltime AWD mode even with the knob on snow. I thought there was active system to compensate for driving out of a straight line? Am I expecting too much? Maybe the roads were too slick for any AWD system or i really need winter tires for any traction.

Can anyone with experience in snowy weather comment on the capabilities of the M37x? I really wanted this car for my wife in snow but Im worried

[Rogue One]

Read this: AWD Doesn't Matter in the Winter. Tires Do.

[armybrat]

I read this on another forum:

The Snow-Mode function reduces throttle sensitivity and fixes initial torque distribution at 50:50, helping avoid wheel spin for smooth starts on snowy roads. At speeds above 30km/per hour, the Snow-Mode function allows the central computer processing system to take over again, continually monitoring traction conditions and changing the torque distribution as needed. When the Snow Mode Off, the throttle response is normal. It locks the power distribution to 25/75 until it reaches a certain speed (a bit less than 20km/h).

Whether the Snow Mode is on or off, the VDC will try to correct wheel spin. Snow mode tries to prevent it by reducing throttle and give front/rear equal power. However, after that certain speed is reached, the car will still transfer most if not all power to the rear wheels just like when snow mode is off, but at a higher speed.

The AWD set up does help you with traction starting out, as this is where you're likely to slip. Once you get going above 12 mph or so, then yes, it pretty much reverts to RWD unless slippage is detected. It's never in "full time" AWD like say, the Acura SH-AWD system which is full time AWD that not only shift torque front to back, but side to side on the rear axle as well if needed.

[nebojsa_o]

I've drive my M37x for two winters now. Get rid of those tires... Mine had the Michelin Primacy or something, I'm forgetting the name. I bought new rims, and went with all season tires in case I ever needed to drive this car in winter, even though I have a winter beater.
I drove it on the factory Michelin tires the first winter a few times, and it was a lot more loose and "sketchy" than expected from AWD car. I especially hated the traction control as when the car would start going sideways I would try to correct as expected, but then it would cut power and cause me to try over correcting and it just felt weird. It also understeered a couple times because the front tires didn't grip in snow/ice worth a damn.
This winter I've had it out through all sorts of icy and snowy conditions and I'm actually very impressed with it. It's more fun, and I can throw it around if I want to, and it behaves as expected. I can't imagine how amazing it would be with proper winter tires.

[wilpark]

Thanks guys for your input. Will get winter tires.

[Ilya]

IMO, top of the line all season tires like the Pirelli Cinturato P7 All-Season Plus tires, are a small step below dedicated winter tires. I don't have the desire to have two sets of wheels and do the swaps, so I go the premium all-season tire route (not your Costco or Walmart special tires!). These things are great. My driveway is up a 30% incline and if you have to stop at the top due to cars going by, it's hard to start. My car didn't have an issue this last time...my dads 2014 Pathfinder SL did (still on original tires I believe). Even after switching 4x4 on I couldn't get out...had to back down the driveway and try again like I used to have to do on my 1990 Geo Storm when I was 16 lol.

On my last two cars (07 M35x and this 11 M56x), I've tried:

1) ~3 sets of Continental ExtremeContact DWS
2) 1 set of Michelin Primacy MXM4
3) 2 sets of Pirelli Cinturato P7 All-Season Plus

The Pirelli's win hands down. Even the tirerack 'scores' are across the board better. They are ALL like 8.5+ and in the green/dark green. The Continentals were a bit sporty and did great in the summer and okay in the winter and the Michelin's were purely a highway tire...great at cruising speeds. Not as good as the other two in spirited driving, etc.

If people can deal with doing swaps, etc...then a dedicated winter tire is obviously best.

[wilpark]

Ilya. Thanks for the advise. I have a ton of tread left on the tires now. Cant justify getting new tires but the perellis arent that much more than the winter tires. EIther way ill have two sets of tires

[nnn614]

IMO, top of the line all season tires like the Pirelli Cinturato P7 All-Season Plus tires, are a small step below dedicated winter tires. I don't have the desire to have two sets of wheels and do the swaps, so I go the premium all-season tire route (not your Costco or Walmart special tires!). These things are great. My driveway is up a 30% incline and if you have to stop at the top due to cars going by, it's hard to start. My car didn't have an issue this last time...my dads 2014 Pathfinder SL did (still on original tires I believe). Even after switching 4x4 on I couldn't get out...had to back down the driveway and try again like I used to have to do on my 1990 Geo Storm when I was 16 lol.

On my last two cars (07 M35x and this 11 M56x), I've tried:

1) ~3 sets of Continental ExtremeContact DWS
2) 1 set of Michelin Primacy MXM4
3) 2 sets of Pirelli Cinturato P7 All-Season Plus

The Pirelli's win hands down. Even the tirerack 'scores' are across the board better. They are ALL like 8.5+ and in the green/dark green. The Continentals were a bit sporty and did great in the summer and okay in the winter and the Michelin's were purely a highway tire...great at cruising speeds. Not as good as the other two in spirited driving, etc.

If people can deal with doing swaps, etc...then a dedicated winter tire is obviously best.

I'll vouch for the Cinturato P7 All-Season Plus. My '13 M37x had a set of Bridgestone Potenza RE97AS on it when I bought it and they were terrible. The car tramlined like crazy and my wife wouldn't even drive it. I didn't want anything to do with them after our first snow. I put the Pirellis on a few weeks ago and the difference is night and day. The Potenzas still had half their tread left but I didn't care because I felt like I couldn't trust the car.

[SwissCheeseHead]

Ilya. Thanks for the advise. I have a ton of tread left on the tires now. Cant justify getting new tires but the perellis arent that much more than the winter tires. EIther way ill have two sets of tires

I justified getting new tires even though my stock Michelins had plenty of tread on them when I rear ended someone 10 feet ahead of me in barely a 1/4inch of wet snow. All-seasons are no-seasons IME. A dedicated snow tire will always outperform a "top-rated" AS tire. I can understand not wanting to swap out two sets of wheels each season, but I've only ever experienced bad things with AS. That was the first winter I had to car too. Best $600 i ever spent.

[Ilya]

IMO, top of the line all season tires like the Pirelli Cinturato P7 All-Season Plus tires, are a small step below dedicated winter tires. I don't have the desire to have two sets of wheels and do the swaps, so I go the premium all-season tire route (not your Costco or Walmart special tires!). These things are great. My driveway is up a 30% incline and if you have to stop at the top due to cars going by, it's hard to start. My car didn't have an issue this last time...my dads 2014 Pathfinder SL did (still on original tires I believe). Even after switching 4x4 on I couldn't get out...had to back down the driveway and try again like I used to have to do on my 1990 Geo Storm when I was 16 lol.

On my last two cars (07 M35x and this 11 M56x), I've tried:

1) ~3 sets of Continental ExtremeContact DWS
2) 1 set of Michelin Primacy MXM4
3) 2 sets of Pirelli Cinturato P7 All-Season Plus

The Pirelli's win hands down. Even the tirerack 'scores' are across the board better. They are ALL like 8.5+ and in the green/dark green. The Continentals were a bit sporty and did great in the summer and okay in the winter and the Michelin's were purely a highway tire...great at cruising speeds. Not as good as the other two in spirited driving, etc.

If people can deal with doing swaps, etc...then a dedicated winter tire is obviously best.

I'll vouch for the Cinturato P7 All-Season Plus. My '13 M37x had a set of Bridgestone Potenza RE97AS on it when I bought it and they were terrible. The car tramlined like crazy and my wife wouldn't even drive it. I didn't want anything to do with them after our first snow. I put the Pirellis on a few weeks ago and the difference is night and day. The Potenzas still had half their tread left but I didn't care because I felt like I couldn't trust the car.

They will tramline eventually...it got pretty noticeable at 25kmi. It's the nature of this car...the Y50's tramline like crazy too and when you get new tires it goes away for a while.

Ilya. Thanks for the advise. I have a ton of tread left on the tires now. Cant justify getting new tires but the perellis arent that much more than the winter tires. EIther way ill have two sets of tires

I justified getting new tires even though my stock Michelins had plenty of tread on them when I rear ended someone 10 feet ahead of me in barely a 1/4inch of wet snow. All-seasons are no-seasons IME. A dedicated snow tire will always outperform a "top-rated" AS tire. I can understand not wanting to swap out two sets of wheels each season, but I've only ever experienced bad things with AS. That was the first winter I had to car too. Best $600 i ever spent.

No AS tire will ever be as good in the winter weather as a dedicated winter tire...but a top-rated AS tire isn't THAT far below an entry level snow tire.

I have zero issues stopping or going with the Pirelli's...don't know what Michelin's you had but not all AS tires are created equally. I highly recommend them and I live in a place that gets buckets of snow most winters (this winter we've only had 4" like once).

[SwissCheeseHead]

Had the stock MXM4's or whatever they are. IME, with the snow and ice, I would never recommend an AS tire. Did that in high school when I couldn't afford any better. I wouldn't let my kids drive around with AS tires either, just not worth it to me. Different strokes for different folks as they say.

[Ilya]

Had the stock MXM4's or whatever they are. IME, with the snow and ice, I would never recommend an AS tire. Did that in high school when I couldn't afford any better. I wouldn't let my kids drive around with AS tires either, just not worth it to me. Different strokes for different folks as they say.

Yeah those are the Michelin's I had (above). They are definitely a step below the Continental DWS or Cinturato's.

If I can drive the way I do (sometimes I like to pretend I'm Ricky Bobby) in the winter with Pirelli's...someone who is more cautious than me (99% of the public ) should have zero issue. Too each his own I suppose.

[1080Rider]

Sorry, stupid question, what is tramlining?

[Ilya]

Sorry, stupid question, what is tramlining?

When the car behaves like a tram (that little train car thing in San Francisco for example) and follows every groove/crack in the road.

[1080Rider]

Ahhh... got it. Mine seems to wander quite a bit too. Not an issue once you're going a little faster, but at low speeds it's kinda weird. I've experienced it in other cars w/ wider tires (anything over 225) so I wasn't too concerned.

[wilpark]

Well I got a pair of Winter Tires. Falken EuroWinter HS449s. Seemed to get decent reviews and got 4 tires and TMPS kits for $510.99 delivered to my tire place. Hopring this would make me comfortable driving in the winter.

Thank you all for the input. once my Michelin Primacy MXV4s are done Ill definitively look into the Perellis.

On a side note when do I replace the stock tires. I bought CPO 2012 M37x with 16k miles and think they are the original tires. now I have 26k miles. Is it my mileage or by tire age.

[Ilya]

Well I got a pair of Winter Tires. Falken EuroWinter HS449s. Seemed to get decent reviews and got 4 tires and TMPS kits for $510.99 delivered to my tire place. Hopring this would make me comfortable driving in the winter.

Thank you all for the input. once my Michelin Primacy MXV4s are done Ill definitively look into the Perellis.

On a side note when do I replace the stock tires. I bought CPO 2012 M37x with 16k miles and think they are the original tires. now I have 26k miles. Is it my mileage or by tire age.

Tire wear...most tires today have tread markers built into them. Or you can do the ol Lincoln head test (put a penny in the tread upside down, if you see the top of Lincoln's head it's time for new tires). Why did you need a TPMS kit? I just had my second set of Cinturato's installed and didn't need such a kit...that kit is usually only needed if you move the TPMS from one set of wheels to another I think...

Are you also buying 2nd set of wheels?

[M37xfan]

Running Sumitomo HTR Enhance. Quiet ride. Had a good amount of snow here a few weeks ago. Performed up to expectations.

[wilpark]

Well I got a pair of Winter Tires. Falken EuroWinter HS449s. Seemed to get decent reviews and got 4 tires and TMPS kits for $510.99 delivered to my tire place. Hopring this would make me comfortable driving in the winter.

Thank you all for the input. once my Michelin Primacy MXV4s are done Ill definitively look into the Perellis.

On a side note when do I replace the stock tires. I bought CPO 2012 M37x with 16k miles and think they are the original tires. now I have 26k miles. Is it my mileage or by tire age.

Tire wear...most tires today have tread markers built into them. Or you can do the ol Lincoln head test (put a penny in the tread upside down, if you see the top of Lincoln's head it's time for new tires). Why did you need a TPMS kit? I just had my second set of Cinturato's installed and didn't need such a kit...that kit is usually only needed if you move the TPMS from one set of wheels to another I think...

Are you also buying 2nd set of wheels?

THought I needed the sensors for the tires not the wheels. opps. Well, ill have them on hand just in case. Not really looking to get new wheels.

[wilpark]

Running Sumitomo HTR Enhance. Quiet ride. Had a good amount of snow here a few weeks ago. Performed up to expectations.

Thanks for the info.

[m35xlou1]

Ilya, I'm glad I found your post! I have been loyal to Continental ExtremeContact DWS tires since my '07x days. I, like you, have a driveway hill to climb and it is amazing how it goes up with snow/ice everywhere. Became fun going out for milk/bread alongside the 4x4's when the snow came. Was looking to replace my stock tires on my '13x and researched the same information you did on TireRack. Looks like I will be giving Pirelli Cinturato P7s a try.

[M37xnut]

+1 for the Pirelli p7. I really like them.

[Ilya]

Mine did pretty dang good in the 4-5" we got the other day. And they aren't new anymore. I definitely still recommend em. We're getting another 3-5" tonight.

[jtversky]

How's treadwear with the Pirelli's? I admittedly have no firsthand knowledge, but i've always understood Pirelli's to wear pretty quickly relative to some of the other brands out there. I've got Michelin Primacys that came with the car when I bought it. They've been fine in the wet but we haven't gotten much in the way of snow just yet here in the DC area.

[Malbec 56 Beast]

Wilpark,

I hated my G37xS when I first got it, it had brand new tires but they were summer tires. Snowed like a b**** on Christmas and let's just say I was lucky to make it home. I purchased a set of snow/winter tires and wheels dedicated for winter and the car was amazing.

Buy some used infiniti wheels and get some great snows, get 17's or 18's for better pricing on snow tires. Mine are sport 19's and 19" snows are very very expensive at least in my opinion.

Good luck and happy travels.

Andy

[Ilya]

How's treadwear with the Pirelli's? I admittedly have no firsthand knowledge, but i've always understood Pirelli's to wear pretty quickly relative to some of the other brands out there. I've got Michelin Primacys that came with the car when I bought it. They've been fine in the wet but we haven't gotten much in the way of snow just yet here in the DC area.

I'm not a good person to ask since in the warmer months I push these tires hard so I wear them much faster than Granny Smith for example. For me, I got about 29kmi on my last set and I still probably could have done another 2-3kmi.

[Malbec 56 Beast]

The compounds in all season tires and snow tires are vastly different. I have a dedicated set cuz mounting and balancing is very expensive and will pay for itself in a few years. Snows are the way to go especially when it turns to ice.

Drive safe guys

[Ilya]

When I finally move into a house and have a nice big garage all my vehicles will have dedicated snows. It's the best way to go for sure.