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Winter driving tips?

basicGlad

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Yay! Snowed on early this year!
Answered an important question... Will it drift? Yeehaw.

I've been wondering though, how much snow on the roads to use 4wd?

Also anyway to have ABS on but traction control off? I learnt to drive in cars and vans in the snow so I'm fine correcting slides. The gladiator keeps.... Chunk chunk chunk chunking and cutting throttle (I really don't know what it's doing, but it's annoying).
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Karnivoolfan

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Yeah I'm following this and I don't wish to hijack your thread but if anyone can answer if All-terrains are suitable for snow then let me know.
 

Rocksalt

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I have a sport s with with 285 70 R 17 BFG KO2 tires. It is safe to engage 4wd when there is snow on the road. I think even wet pavement as well. I havent tried disabling the traction control yet(used to hold the button in on my JKU).
I also puta few sandbags in the bed for better traction in 2 wd.
 

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Tim

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Yay! Snowed on early this year!
Answered an important question... Will it drift? Yeehaw.

I've been wondering though, how much snow on the roads to use 4wd?

Also anyway to have ABS on but traction control off? I learnt to drive in cars and vans in the snow so I'm fine correcting slides. The gladiator keeps.... Chunk chunk chunk chunking and cutting throttle (I really don't know what it's doing, but it's annoying).
I never use 4 wheel drive unless I am loosing traction. I keep it in 2 wheel drive as long as I can maintain reasonable speed and control. Once conditions deteriorate to the point where the rear tires are just spinning and I am not moving forward much I engage 4wd. Due to the vastly different types of snow, slush, ice and how that can all develop there really isn't an amount of snow that triggers it. I base it off of how the vehicle is handling. I have driven through 6"+ in 2wd but needed 4wd to get through 2". Every storm is different.

I heard you almost never do 4wd on asphalt.
No. You NEVER use 4wd on asphalt.
 

PyrPatriot

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Has anyone played around with the AutoStick feature of the automatics? Manually down shifting to slow down and upshifting for difficult climbs seems like it would be useful.
 

furrymurray

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I use 4H when its raining really bad and the asphalt roads are unstable. Much more control through collected water in 4H. I suppose its kinda the same as snow or slushy ice which I get hardly any to none of here in Louisiana. LOL
 

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I would never use 4H on rainy roads. There is still too much friction and you could destroy the transfer case.

If it snows enough to cover the road, so that it's very slippery, then you can safely go to 4H. You can shift at any speed but your rear tires cannot be slipping as you shift.

I wouldn't turn off traction control unless there was a serious risk of being stuck. And it takes a really deep snow to get to that point.

I've been running AT tires in winter for 25 years. Some winters I ran MTs. Granted, we don't get as much snow here as folks do near the Great Lakes.
 
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88mmm

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The best tip is to get real snow tires, not all season or even 4 season (like the Falken ATs). The cheapest dedicated winter tire will be 100% better in the cold and snow then any of those. Although the Falken's are winter rated they are not a true winter compound. If they were they would not last through the summer as the rubber would wear too fast. I had them on my Ram thinking I could get through the winter and not have to change tires. Although they were better then the stock all season HTs I still got stuck in my driveway spinning all 4 tires. Never happened again once I switched to Nokkian snow tires.
 

furrymurray

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I would never use 4H on rainy roads. There is still too much friction and you could destroy the transfer case
I have owned multiple Jeep 4 wheel drives and other 4x4 trucks and have never had a problem with any of the transfer cases. I currently drive a Ford F-350 4x4 diesel and use 4H all the time when it rains really bad. It currently has 300,000 miles on it and the transfer case works like a champion.
 

Tim

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It's fine to use 4WD on snow and slush covered asphalt, if the wheels are slipping engage 4WD.
We agree on this point. If there is enough snow to make the road slippery you aren't driving on asphalt anymore.

I use 4H when its raining really bad and the asphalt roads are unstable. Much more control through collected water in 4H. I suppose its kinda the same as snow or slushy ice which I get hardly any to none of here in Louisiana. LOL
Rain is not a good reason to use 4wd.

I would never use 4H on rainy roads. There is still too much friction and you could destroy the transfer case.

If it snows enough to cover the road, so that it's very slippery, then you can safely go to 4H. You can shift at any speed but your rear tires cannot be slipping as you shift.

I wouldn't turn off traction control unless there was a serious risk of being stuck. And it takes a really deep snow to get to that point.

I've been running AT tires in winter for 25 years. Some winters I ran MTs. Granted, we don't get as much snow here as folks do near the Great Lakes.
You are right on with this. The "babysitters" (traction control, ABS) in modern cars is very good and will keep you out of most trouble. Turning off traction control would be a last resort to get out of a jam AFTER being stuck.

I grew up and learned to drive in Wisconsin so I'd like to think I know a thing or two about driving in snow. :fingerscrossed:
 

Tim

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I have owned multiple Jeep 4 wheel drives and other 4x4 trucks and have never had a problem with any of the transfer cases. I currently drive a Ford F-350 4x4 diesel and use 4H all the time when it rains really bad. It currently has 300,000 miles on it and the transfer case works like a champion.
:facepalm:
 

InvertedLogic

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I have owned multiple Jeep 4 wheel drives and other 4x4 trucks and have never had a problem with any of the transfer cases. I currently drive a Ford F-350 4x4 diesel and use 4H all the time when it rains really bad. It currently has 300,000 miles on it and the transfer case works like a champion.
Do you have forward traction problems in the rain? That's about the only thing 4x4 will help with. Part time 4x4, like that in the JT/JL, will actually only hurt handling on a rainy day.
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