am I doing something wrong in snow/ice Winter driving?

[Not2Late]

I have the same tires on my JT and experience the slipping issues. I have to remember this is a pick-up with a light back end. I put it in 4-hi at certain times to help.

I think this is one of the downsides to the open-diff (but with a locker) axle. My previous JK had the limited slip (but no locker)in the rear and it did fantastic in slush and snow.

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[jac04]

I was unaware that tight turning would be bad in 4HI, yet that's where in other vehicles I have most benefited from 4 wheel traction... eg RHS loses traction, LHS maintains and compensates.
...
... first truck in Winter conditions.

Since this is your first truck, I'm assuming that it is your first vehicle with 4H part-time 4wd. You are definitely experiencing the difference between the AWD systems used on most cars/CUVs/SUVs and 4H part-time. 4H part-time forces tire slippage during cornering, leading to bad handling characteristics in slippery conditions.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

I have the same tires on my JT and experience the slipping issues. I have to remember this is a pick-up with a light back end. I put it in 4-hi at certain times to help.

I think this is one of the downsides to the open-diff (but with a locker) axle. My previous JK had the limited slip (but no locker)in the rear and it did fantastic in slush and snow.

I've had Falken and General tires on mine - I found the Generals were better in our winter conditions here. The Generals have a bit better ice and snow pack grip, and I found myself driving through a winding, hilly, snowy rural highway one night and decided to take the truck out of 4H when I hit the clear - only to find those tires had gotten me through in 2 - I was already in 2H. I was pretty impressed.

Snow and conditions vary a lot with location. What some get in one state won't always compare to what is in another state. I wouldn't begin to compare our last snow to a VA snow - very dry, very cold, and the drifts were hard and wind-packed. Below it, it was warm and packed so hard plows can't touch it. When I shoveled our steps off the snow came up in huge blocks. I had to break the drifts. The prior snow was crazy wet and heavy and sloppy.
It's all different. And as a study I have from PM from years ago showed - miles on a tire matters!
They tested two identical cars on ice, etc. with both open and limited slip differentials and found that the tires with 0 miles actually performed better than those with 1,000 miles. Granted, that was with tires in the 1970s, but still............ you may think the tires are fine - but in certain snow conditions, even some missing rubber can count. .

Anyway, direct testing of multiple tires on my JT - the Generals win on snow pack, ice, and generally snowy road conditions HERE, over the Falkens.

 

[Redleg37]

I’ve got 11 years experience driving in South Dakota winters in a JK with the same binding issue; It hasn’t been anything worse than an annoyance so far.

Ive Gotten stuck bad enough that I couldn’t self recover twice, once on the original 29” tires and once on 32’s. Both times were in snow deep enough that my airdam was making snow angels.

for whatever it’s worth, I’ve used KO2s for the last 8 years and they have been great on our packed snow, ice, wet snow, and everything else we’ve had here.

 

[Sting-Gray Neutral Pres.]

This is where I love SelecTrac.
CV axles, no binding or jerking when you are making turns or parking.

I had to choose between a diesel, a manual, or AWD (selec-trac). I chose the diesel but I want all 3 on the same vehicle gosh darn it!

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Both times were in snow deep enough that my airdam was making snow angels.

for whatever it’s worth, I’ve used KO2s for the last 8 years and they have been great on our packed snow, ice, wet snow, and everything else we’ve had here.

Love that description!

Our JLU Rubicon has KO2s on it, factory, and while out and about with it recent days, it's done very well. Only some slipping on snow pack that was basically rough ice and even my wife said she should have gone a bit slower at that intersection. Otherwise, they seem fine.

 

[Ryan...]

30 psi in my 35's, and this truck handles nearly as well as my Land Rover with ATs did.

And that's pretty high praise in my opinion, because there are very few things on this planet that handle snow as well as a Land Rover.

 

[jac04]

... there are very few things on this planet that handle snow as well as a Land Rover.

Depends on the Land Rover. I've owned 4 of them, and they all kinda sucked on-road in the snow. But, in their defense, they were 1963, 1969, 1971, and 1974.

 

[OHJeeper]

I had to choose between a diesel, a manual, or AWD (selec-trac). I chose the diesel but I want all 3 on the same vehicle gosh darn it!

Ha! Same boat here... I chose the manual, but considering putting RCV's on the fronts to get some of what selec-trac has to offer.

 

[jac04]

Our JLU Rubicon has KO2s on it, factory, and while out and about with it recent days, it's done very well.

I'm running a set of JL Rubicon take-offs (with KO2s) as winters on my Selec-Trac equipped JT Mojave. It is great in the snow on-road.

 

[OHJeeper]

Love that description!

Our JLU Rubicon has KO2s on it, factory, and while out and about with it recent days, it's done very well. Only some slipping on snow pack that was basically rough ice and even my wife said she should have gone a bit slower at that intersection. Otherwise, they seem fine.

I liked the KO2's on my 2018 JLUR so much that I added them to both my JK's (33's and 35's) and immediately upgraded to 37 KO's when I got my JT

 

[Wheelin98TJ]

4 wheel drive is not going to help on ice.

Throw some weight (250-400 pounds) in the bed of the truck.

When in 4x4 all tight maneuvering is out the window, front wheels are locked together trying to make a turn at the same speed, bounce, hop, skip.

I think 4wd helps on ice. It's a little easier to keep it straight with the front tires also pulling instead of only the rear pushing.

When we have ice drag races on the lake, 4wd definitely helps there.

 

[Jobofly]

is there different hardware involved with selectrac?

 

[Sting-Gray Neutral Pres.]

is there different hardware involved with selectrac?

Yes.

1. Transfer case - an electronically controlled clutch pack that varies slip/lock up, vs an old-school on-off mechnically locking transfer case.
2. CV axles in the front. See my previous post.
3. Comes with a limited slip rear differential (as do all diesels, max tows, and available as on option on orders) (this may be different for Selec-Trac on Rubicon and Mojave with the rear locker, IDK)
4. various other bits and bobs with different part numbers, computers, etc....

 

[ShadowsPapa]

is there different hardware involved with selectrac?

Different transfer case, different front axles (with CV joints instead of cross-type u-joints)
The SelecTrac is a rather complex animal in some ways as far as how it's controlled by the electronics..
The CV joints up front smooth out the tight turners in 4H.
It's a lot nicer plowing with it, that's for sure, especially in really tight areas like I have to deal with where I need the truck to turn as tight as possible and still be in 4 wheel drive, be nimble, but sure-footed.

I think 4wd helps on ice. It's a little easier to keep it straight with the front tires also pulling instead of only the rear pushing.

When we have ice drag races on the lake, 4wd definitely helps there.

Years ago my first father-in-law demonstrated how it could help by deliberately making their IH slide a bit, then applied throttle and there was just enough grip on the front tires on the ice it pulled that IH straight again.
There are times nothing can help, but it does make it easier to go up ice.
I've proven it here as well, after an ice storm. The photos of my driveway are around here somewhere - it's all up hill from the time you leave the approach immediately in front of the garage - it's enough up hill that many people can't get out when it's icy.
I've had times with my 2020 that the only time I could get up out of our driveway was in 4 wheel drive. Weight on the rear didn't matter.
Stopping is another animal, though.
And the temperature of the ice really matters a lot! Ice at 30 degrees is slippery as puppy poop or baby snot. Ice at 0 gives you some grip. So ice isn't ice isn't ice. Temperature matters.
i'll never forget the day I had our 84 Eagle in town running a couple of errands for my wife - who took a part time job off the farm in the winter. I ran into town, pulled into a lady's driveway, delivered a package, got in the car, backed out of the car onto the street, came to a full stop and all of a sudden it felt as if I'd had a few too many. I wasn't moving, and yet I was.
Car was full stop, foot firmly on the brakes, and there was enough crown to the road that the car slid very slowly sideways onto the shoulder. I put it in drive and drove away ok, but there was a case of ice in the upper 20s or around 30 being so slippery and even a stationary object would slide on a slight slope.

Yes.

1. Transfer case - an electronically controlled clutch pack that varies slip/lock up, vs an old-school on-off mechnically locking transfer case.
2. CV axles in the front. See my previous post.
3. Comes with a limited slip rear differential (as do all diesels, max tows, and available as on option on orders) (this may be different for Selec-Trac on Rubicon and Mojave with the rear locker, IDK)
4. various other bits and bobs with different part numbers, computers, etc....

Yeah, it's still called RockTrac on the Rubicon, and it's lockers and not LSD on the Rubicon, sorry to say in our case.
I would trade the locking axles under our JLUR for a setup with LSD any day.
But there's still no LSD on the Rubicon even with Rock-Trac Automatic transfer cases. Lockers only.

The Selec-Trac with LSD under my JT Overland makes it a snow plowing demon.

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