To Select-Trac or not?--Found one without it for a steal...

[npgeorgeuw]

I have (from what I can tell) a great deal in the works for over 10% off MRSP on a well-equipped Mojave (First time Jeep buyer, yay!) but it does not have Select-Trac... I'm assuming keeping it in 4 high when driving in inclement weather (snow/slush) would be equivalent and it would just require a little training with the Mrs.? She's used to our Outback and snow tires so there's not a ton of thinking that's required, she just slows down as needed and the Outback does the rest. Does anyone know or think that we will be losing anything significant from a safety standpoint as long as we are vigilant and shift when needed? I could probably get a Mojave built with the same features and Select-Trac but I don't think I'd ever get this kind of deal... As far as I can tell from the dealer and online, it probably won't be possible or sanely priced to upgrade it to Select-Trac later.

I will say that we drive a LOT in the mountain passes here so are at freeway speeds (but slow down for conditions unlike so many others I see screaming over the passes) and road conditions can go from wet and passable to slick and slushy in less than a mile.

Thoughts?

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[Kevin_D]

Read this thread:
https://www.jeepgladiatorforum.com/...ding-in-your-2020-gladiator-for-a-2021.39621/
...and then decide.
You shouldn’t run around in 4-Hi all the time: it puts undo stresses on the drivetrain.

Kevin

 

[npgeorgeuw]

Read this thread:
https://www.jeepgladiatorforum.com/...ding-in-your-2020-gladiator-for-a-2021.39621/
...and then decide.
You shouldn’t run around in 4-Hi all the time: it puts undo stresses on the drivetrain.

Kevin

I'm not saying all the time. I'm saying when needed and when it's needed it's usually lower speeds at that point. It's pretty clear when things get a bit dicey on the passes. It's just that things can change quick.

 

[Kevin_D]

4-Hi isn’t the same as AWD.
Read that thread: it has a lot of good information.

Kevin

 

[npgeorgeuw]

4-Hi isn’t the same as AWD.
Read that thread: it has a lot of good information.

Kevin

Reading it now, i had read it a while ago but there are a lot more informative new posts. There's an owner that lives in the PNW like me and I think his view is going to be the most applicable to our climate. Thinking I might have to figure out how to get a better deal on a custom build or on the other only two vehicles I found in all of WA state that have it and are already built.

 

[Kevin_D]

Reading it now, i had read it a while ago but there are a lot more informative new posts. There's an owner that lives in the PNW like me and I think his view is going to be the most applicable to our climate. Thinking I might have to figure out how to get a better deal on a custom build or on the other only two vehicles I found in all of WA state that have it and are already built.

I live over on the other side, and I've driven both 4WD & AWD vehicles.
While AWD is more of a, "Set it & forget it," feature, 4WD works just fine in ice & snow, once you learn how to use it.
You might be just as happy with 4WD and a limited-slip (Trac-Lock?) rear differential, which should be easier to find, and is a lot easier to install after purchase.

And don't forget checking out dealers in OR and northern ID, especially Dave Smith Motors in Kellogg: huge inventory.

Kevin

 

[Mac]

IMO, if I could have got the Select
Trac I would of, it was not an option when I purchased. Where I do not have it , for me if there is ice and snow on the road I am in 4wd, I am willing to take the additional wear of being on dry pavement in 4wd over the risk of not being in 4wd if I come across ice and snow. I have had and driven 4wd trucks for about 40 years, if I start to feel binding in the driveline, which is pretty rare, I just go to the side with a little snow or ice without slowing to give some slip. YMMV.

 

[npgeorgeuw]

IMO, if I could have got the Select
Trac I would of, it was not an option when I purchased. Where I do not have it , for me if there is ice and snow on the road I am in 4wd, I am willing to take the additional wear of being on dry pavement in 4wd over the risk of not being in 4wd if I come across ice and snow. I have had and driven 4wd trucks for about 40 years, if I start to feel binding in the driveline, which is pretty rare, I just go to the side with a little snow or ice without slowing to give some slip. YMMV.

Thanks for the input. It'd be our first truck so I have no idea what to expect. Right now there just is no selection for models already built with it, so I'm looking to see what kind of deal it'd take to get one built with the features and color we want. I've never had a car built at factor so have no clue what if any discounts you might get?--I'd assume any discounts are going to be way less than 10% under MSRP, maybe 2-5% under MSRP...

 

[j.o.y.ride]

I don't understand how people are spinning tires and fishtailing in basic wet roads, unless their stock tires are garbage. Even my mud tires, which aren't great on the road, have never exhibited the slightest bit of being squirrely. Extremely planted and composed. We havent had any rain in a long time and just got rain, so it was at it's max slickness. Zero issues.

I think tires is going to be the best fix for this instead of using the drivetrain to compensate for crap tires.

 

[Mac]

Snow and ice are a lot different that just water IMO

 

[npgeorgeuw]

Snow and ice are a lot different that just water IMO

Agreed, although tires are a large part of it, snow, slush, ice and the famous "Cascades Concrete", (compacted snow on ice) are a hell of a lot different than just water especially when you are dealing with elevation and hills. In the Midwest, I was fine in eight inches of snow in my 2WD sedan with all season tires, but here in my sedan with new Blizzaks, a few inches was almost impassible with the elevation of our roads and neighborhood. There are a lot of things that are all part of it including awareness (aka slow down), tires, drivetrain, terrain, experience, etc. When it comes down to it, if I'm buying a new car I'd like to stack the odds in my favor always keeping in mind that I'm not the only one that will be driving the truck.--Since the Mrs. is the primary money-maker for our family-owned business, she gets a large vote in ease of safety, if that makes sense?.

 

[ZTMAN]

If I had the option, I would go with the Selec-Trac. I said in the other thread, identified above, that I use it all the time in the winter in my Ford.
I am actually eying up a 2021 Mojave now with the Selec-Trac and going to drive it once the Covid calms down. If the dealer gives me a good trade value on the JTR, done deal.

P.S. 10% of MSRP is pretty standard in our area

 

[Deadeye]

I am in a place with frequent snow/ice on the roads. Not my first truck or jeep, but I wouldn't consider myself any more than an average driver. I do a lot of insterstate travel, but also country backroads. If I start to slide a little, I shift in to 4H. Have never had to go to low. I have a rubicon, with the stock falken tires. We have had a few horrible ice storms in the last 1.5 years, and I have rarely even needed 4H, due to the tires. 4H is very safe.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

IMO, if I could have got the Select
Trac I would of, it was not an option when I purchased. Where I do not have it , for me if there is ice and snow on the road I am in 4wd, I am willing to take the additional wear of being on dry pavement in 4wd over the risk of not being in 4wd if I come across ice and snow. I have had and driven 4wd trucks for about 40 years, if I start to feel binding in the driveline, which is pretty rare, I just go to the side with a little snow or ice without slowing to give some slip. YMMV.

Yup - would have bought it in a heartbeat if it was there in 2019 when I ordered. You still have 4H locked for tough situations - like my Chevy had- but it's a lot more sure-footed with the automatic mode for sure. If you've ever had a fun experience with sudden, totally totally unexpected and unpredicted black ice, you'd appreciate it. Around here the roads are so "ice, clear, snow pack, clear, ice, clear, ice, snow pack, clear - and the clear spots may be 1/4 mile then suddenly you see every car ahead of you spinning out on an incline - but you see nothing on the road - black ice, and we even have ice fog here....... you step out the door onto clear steps and, uh, that ain't clear, that's iced - but it's not visible.
I like the Grand Cherokees when the roads are so spotty - otherwise you are either driving 1/4 mile or so in 4H on bare pavement then suddenly having to shift to get through the next 5" snow drift, whatever. We typically get wind either during a snow, or right after, so even a plowed road will be like a checker board of clean pavement, then deep snow, then snow-pack/ice, then clear again. Shift in, shift out, shift in, shift out, every half mile or so.
OR, like my Chevy - put it in auto and forget it.

P.S. 10% of MSRP is pretty standard in our area

MSRP is pretty standard in our area. Bunch of hard-nose dealer "sales managers" giving sob stories and crying they can't sell for any less. And guess what - unless you drive miles, they gotcha - almost all dealerships in this area are owned by the same out of state corporation.
Never again - going with Motor Inn if I ever want a deal other than MSRP. that 8 hour round trip was worth a few thou on my wife's GC.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

I am in a place with frequent snow/ice on the roads. Not my first truck or jeep, but I wouldn't consider myself any more than an average driver. I do a lot of insterstate travel, but also country backroads. If I start to slide a little, I shift in to 4H. Have never had to go to low. I have a rubicon, with the stock falken tires. We have had a few horrible ice storms in the last 1.5 years, and I have rarely even needed 4H, due to the tires. 4H is very safe.

I put Rubicon take-offs (Falken A/T tires) on my Overland for winter driving. What a difference!

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