Look at these photos - Would you be in 4wd or 2wd?

Title says it all,

Would you be in 4wd or 2wd in these driving situations:

Highway


Street 90 degree angle turns, plowed snow, no pavement



Highway, wet, -1celcius



6inch powder on friends ranch



twisty road, speed limit is 70km/h, uphill no turns over 50 degrees



Straight away no pavement speed limit 70km/h

 

4wd on all of them. I never like to risk it. I would rather slow down and get bad gas millage then crash.

 

Yes.

 

agreed

 

4 wd

 

haha smart, i'm expecting you high post counts to lead the way with knowledge! Any wisdom?

 

2wd on highway, 4hi on all the rest. (except when i wanted to cut donuts off road)

 

2wd even if you are spinning out on the highway? or is that more of a tire issue?

 

X2

 

if i can barely see any part of the road i will be in 2wd. if its straight away and fairly packed snow i'll take it a bit slower and if its deep but very slow i would give it a go in 2wd as long as there arent immediate threats of hitting something. other than that id go 4. however the other day i did go down a road in 4"-6" of powder in 2wd with rugged trails and she pulled through just fine-including a full 360 degree turn.

 

deal with pavement for 500 feet then snow then pavement again. was wondering the same thing. dont want to fuck up my 4wd but want to be safe too

 

when i turned into the snow in the ranch picture, immediately sunk in in 2wd and got stuck. Turned to 4wd and away I went.

His driveway includes a loop, am I doing damage to the drivetrain by ripping around the loop in 4wd, or am I ok because the tires can spin however they need to in the deeper snow?

 

in pic 1 i would have to say that i would be switching in and out. it looks like the type of winter road that has its moments when it fine in 2wd as long as you're not heavy on the throttle but then sometimes it may require 4wd e.g. colder looking sharp corners coming up, needing to pass someone etc...

#2, 3 & 4 I would be in 2wd. its wet and just at freezing. really shouldn't be a problem as long as you watch out for those areas that don't get the sun as much because they will be icy. just don't throttle it.

As for pic 3 usually that is when you have your best traction especially at the speeds i would assume to be legal in that type of area.

And the ranch...well your just driving around in the lower gears not really picking up any speed and you should get traction enough for that just fine in 6" of powder.

Everything else i would be in 4WD. Of course tires and your level of winter driving expertise play a big part in this decision...

 

Everybody chiming in with 2nd gens saying 4hi, in my truck 4hi is 2wd and I have a push button 4wd.

Your 4hi = my 4wd?

 

I would do it all in 2WD, which is also conveniently is my only option. But drove through 4 winters in NH, and never had a problem. As long as you know how your vehicle handles the snow, you adjust and drive according to your capabilities. Having 4x4 on doesnt make all the other drivers on the road safer, I am more worried about getting hit by somebody else than hitting them or ending up in a snow bank.

As long as you are gentle on the gas and brakes, increase your follow distance, and increase your braking distance, you wont have any problems with only 2 wheels pushing you.

Edit: Also, try not to lose momentum. Its easier to get going from a slow creeping pace than from a dead stop, no matter what wheel drive you have. When the roads are packed snow and not plowed properly yet, I just roll through signs as safely as possible, and slow down very far away from stop lights.

My 2 cents anyways.

 

YOu are not doing any damage...as long as there is terrain in which the tires can slip freely then you are fine. 4wd would even be fine on gravel. just as long as the tires can slip a bit.

 

4WD would be okay on the driveline in all the pictured conditions. You can drive on the highway in 4H even on dry pavement. Lane changes and off-ramps are no problem. It's the tight turns on city streets that can hurt the driveline.

 

2wd on all until I actually need the 4x4. I drive in 2wd all the time and I live in Alaska. I hardly ever drive around in 4x4. I have a lot of experience driving in snowy and icy conditions though. I have been in those conditions since I started driving.

 

2 wheel drive unless i get stuck or slide out, then you need 4 wheel drive, then i like to say, when you see black you need to go back... to 2wd.

never use 4wd on pavement

 

If the road is covered in white stuff, 4Hi. There's always going to be enough slip between the tires and snow that it will help control the vehicle more than 2wd.

If pavement is visible but temps are below freezing, I start in 2wd and push my luck a bit. I wait until no one is around then give the rear a little shimmy and see if the ass gets loose. If it does, into 4Hi we go.

4Hi and 4low are transfer case ratios. 4Hi is 1 to 1 with the third member, meaning your vehicle will travel the same speed in the same gears as 2wd...this is for high speed or low-torque conditions.

4low is around 2.5 to 1, meaning you will be traveling at a much lower speed in any given gear, but torque is multiplied. This is typically used for maintaining control and slow speed over difficult terrain where higher than usual amounts of twist are going to be needed to move the truck (rocky, uneven trails, hill climbs, etc.)