4lo or 4hi for mudding

Great video. In Oregon we have some nasty thick mud, that is considered sand here. I mean no offense, just saying Crawling did not get you unstuck, wheelspin did, with a locker added to the situation. Open diff and you probably would have been stuck, Thank Toyota for the Factory locker. But those without a locker will have much more trouble in mud, opposed to the ones that do and must use momentum to get them through the slop. Kind of like fording a river, you must keep the wave pushing forward, unless you have a snorkel.

 

To OP: How deep is the mud? I can do an inch or 2 in my gfs corolla ;p

 

I dont have lockers and have gone through more shit than a guy that has a 88 4runner on 38s! DRIVER SKILL plays a lot of part in it! Some of yall seem to know what your talkin bout cause you live around mud! Tha more you do something the better you get at it

 

Tuttle Creek last October, using 4hi.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iGw9iPlZ5-8&hd=1

 

2wd is where its at and a lot of momentum.

 

I am new to this but I try to use 4HI and go slow when the going is rough. My truck is new enought that I don't want to break anything so slow and mindful of things that can hurt under or on the paint.


As I understand it.
Without the "yellow wire mod" 4HI has LSD front and back and 4LO does not. (the yellow wire mod gives you LSD front and back).

 

4 lo if im climbing a mud slide hill but 4 hi through puddles/lakes.

 

I thought there was in 09 and later, but just learned from reading here.

All i know for sure is I have way more traction than I ever did in my VW, no matter which drive or slip settings.

These truck are like tractors

 

4hi unless you are bogging down... unless I am crawling or tugging I start out in 4hi

 

So far, most of the videos posted are you guys just driving through big puddles. If this is what the OP intends to do then 4hi or lo doesn't matter all that much. Just line it up and give it some gas.

I had a TJ with 35 mud terrains for many years and on sanctioned trail rides you wouldn't even be allowed on the trail without 35s and at least a rear locker.

If you are going to spend hours in the slop on trails and not just running through some big puddles then you NEED good mud tires and will want to be in 4LO most of the day.

If you are just playing around or you have some monster truck in the swamp with boggers then 4hi is fine. It really all depends on the terrain as to which one to use, but for really muddy trails you want 4lo and good tires.

 

neither i just lock the rear and laugh at the people behind me

 

If it's a no-biggie puddle then 4hi because it's not worth switching gears. But to me it seems if it's gonna be thick and possibly a SERIOUS mud thicket I swap to 4lo. It's a fantastic torque multiplier, and you can do 35-40+ in low anyway so you get the added torque and if you feel you NEED the speed you can still get it. 4hi can bog due to lack of torque if it gets a bit serious and then you're gonna be in a world of hurt.

 

I see what your getting at Bob. Your point is Valid, although if you start in a low gear in 4hi and keep speed you should have enough low gearing from the clutch to keep momentum.

Also those big giant truck's with 64" Michelin XML's need 4lo and all the torque the crate V8 and deep gearing can produce in order to get those babies just to roll. 4hi would never create enough low-end to move those beasts.

Its all apples vs oranges..whatever works for you and keeps you having a fun time, and away from the headaches of being stuck or stranded.

 

Using the clutch to mimic lower gearing = premature clutch failure. I mean it works but it's not as effective and can lead to bad things in bad places. There'd really mo "downside" to using 4lo

 

Dont go in the mud

 

I don't understand how you are "mimicking" the gear ratio? You are definitely lowering your final crawl ratio by starting in 4lo, 1st gear, opposed to 4hi, 1st gear. As for premature failure, doubt it. how would it fail, unless it is slipping? and torque creates slip. The lower the gearing the less slip, unless you hammer down, causing more torque due to the low gear ratio. 4hi is for much higher speeds, where wheel spin is needed. Driving in 4lo and trying to drive fast is counter productive. It is way more effective to lower your final crawl ratio by starting in 1st and 4lo too. The cold hard fact is that 4lo is called " 4 wheel drive Low" for a reason, tada...Lower gearing, lower speeds and less wheel slip. Thats why rock crawlers use 4lo and not 4hi.
Touche` about staying out of the mud.

 

And just to think . . . . All this arguing came out of such a simple question, "which is better"
You shouldve just made a fucking pole and told noone to respond! Haha

 

Bump just cause.

 

I'd say tires play the biggest role. Next to that, know what's in the mud and how deep it is. Then select proper transfer case gear which is 4LO.




Then turn on A-trac and lock the rear diff.

Follow this and you'll be good to go in most cases.

 

It's all about the tires getting cleared of mud so they can grab the next rotation. Depending on the mud hole you go through will tell if your in hi or low. If your rolling a manual I like low.