4wd in the rain?

4wd =/= awd

 

Using 4wd in the rain is a no no.if u catch traction on a turn u could be saying bye bye 4wd. i ran in 2wd in the rain w/ no tread at all, litterally 2% or less and was still fine at 65-70mph. just dont be a lead foot nd u should be fine

 

All I know is dirt has even less grip than wet pavement so people should be blowing out their 4wd all the time. Come on people please only respond if you know for sure, people try to get valid answered a d get misdirected all the time on here, it is frustrating.

 

this is true that dirt has even less traction than wet pavement. but saying that pavement is a high traction surface. so if you slipped on pavement and caught traction (More than on dirt) you sheeeet snaps.

 

to stay on thread with the ORIGINAL POST!!!!!!!!!! the way its worded is 1 question. yes its a BAD idea because it will not prevent you from hydroplaning. 1 Q. 1 A.

 

This is just not true at all. I am not trying to be a dick but I have been reading through this thread and It seems to me that most people dont understand how 4wd really works. People, when you are in 4wd it is really only 2 weel drive! thats right, only two tires have power to them, the back right and the front left. When you are in 2wd its really only 1 weel drive, meaning only one tire has power to it. So if you were going around a corner in a turn like you said and caught traction thats fine, nothing would happen because your front diff is no different than your rear diff. They work the same, the inside tire rotates faster than the other and there is no binding even if you "catch" some traction. Its not like we have lockers in the front like some of us do in the rear. With a locker, you have true 4WD and all 4 wheels are turning. Now If we had a locker in the front, then thats when you dont want to be using it on the road, because then you could have some dammage.

I drive 4Wd all the time when its raining as an extra safety precaution, not because I want to drive faster but because you have better traction when both front and rear axels have power to them period!

As for the hydroplaining issue, when your truck hydroplains, yes there is no traction front or rear, but when you come out, or stop hydroplaining if your truck is in 4Wd, you will regain controll instantly faster than if you were in 2wd therefore facilitating the purpose for the added benefit of 4wd in the rain. Try this out sometime as I have, and you will see what I am talking about....

I also drive in 4wd on dry pavement once a month (yah you heard right, DRY PAVEMENT) to lube up the diff,as the manual says to, because I understand how 4wd works and I know it will not hurt anything in the least bit. Sure, you dont want to take crazy fast tight turns on dry pavement, but normal turning on dry pavement will not damage your truck.

 

^^^ what ppl are saying about driving in 4 wheel drive. or actually 1 front wheel and 1 rear wheel on wet roads and catching traction is.....first off... have you ever broke an axle shaft? if not than i need not go on. but you have noticed the (bind) on the front end while turning on pavement. the rear does not do this because tracks straight and does not have the leaverage trying to break the dayum knuckle off. also because of the pull of the front end its magnified vs. the pushing of the rear end. if you have a rear steer rockwell it will not bind in 2 wheel because of the pushing motion instead of the pulling.. with that said. take a better look into how 4 wheel drive works.

 

http://www.4x4abc.com/4WD101/def_turnpart.html maybe this will PROVE why you DONT use 4 wheel drive on pavement. Here is why part time 4WD should never be used on dry pavement:

Eventually you will break parts - expensive parts.
All caused by driveline windup http://www.4x4abc.com/4WD101/axle-wind-up.html

 

1) Right... but nobody is saying to use 4WD on dry pavement... no need or traction improvement there in most situations.

2) 4WD in the rain on curves or making turns, uphill acceleration, etc. IS better than 2WD, specially for pickups... If the road is slippery (wet, icy, gravel, dirt) then 4WD will not be damaged. Sure, you could get by without it... but the traction control is superior. Why do you think AWD sports cars do so well?

3) AWD IS FULL TIME 4WD, WITH A CENTER DIFFERENTIAL so driving on dry pavement won't damage driveline parts as the binding between the front and rear axle is eliminated.

FOUR WHEEL DRIVE is DOUBLE TRACTION (twice the traction)... and that is good!

4WD with limited slip differentials (TRAC) is even better as torque is routed to tires with traction if others lose traction.

Active Traction Control (A-TRAC) works like having lockers front and rear as rotation speed between tires on the same axle is matched.

 

Short answer. With or without 4wd or awd, don't exceed the speed that the tires can no longer displace the water.

 

Right... otherwise you are hydroplaning and out of control... and out of traction, too!

 

I don't know why you are talking about traction. The OP asked about hydroplaning, which has nothing to do with traction. It has to do with driving too fast on water and your tires not touching the pavement, becuase they are moving too fast to break the surface tension of the water they are over.

ATRAC is only enabled in 4lo, and you wont be hydroplaning in 4lo. And ATRAC is not like having lockers on both ends. It uses the brakes and puts power to the wheel that is not slipping. Lockers do not do that.

Wet roads are not slippery in most cases, if they are coated with oil and wet they may be slippery. Put your truck in 4wd on a wet day drive on pavement and start making turns and then compare this to 2wd. You will see 4WD makes things harder to control and harder to negotiate the turn, as the truck wants to go straight.

If you understood AWD vs 4WD you would understand it is like comparing apples to oranges. I don't understand why you are even mentioning AWD. Our trucks are not AWD. We do not have a center differential. Yes, I agree that AWD is an improvement in practically all conditions, but we don't have AWD.

I am not trying to be argumentative, but I think it is important you understand what makes things safer and do get a false sense of security when you are in 4WD.

 

3) AWD IS FULL TIME 4WD, WITH A CENTER DIFFERENTIAL so driving on dry pavement won't damage driveline parts as the binding between the front and rear axle is eliminated.

when you posted awd is like 4 wheel drive with a center diff. you are correct but... 4 wd and awd are not the same. look at the links i posted if you dont understand y.. you did seem to notice that they have a center diff and 4 wheel does not. thats y awd can do it. 4 wheel drive will bind up unless the tires slip very very often.

 

I still say driving straight lines in the rain with 4WD engaged is an effective way for those of us without regular access to offroad sites to keep our systems operational. Toyota wouldn't recommend the 10 miles a month if they didn't have some data to back it up, plus, the more you use the system, the easier it is to engage.

 

i dont see a problem driving in a straight line. it when you turn that the binding happens.

 

http://www.4x4abc.com/4WD101/axle-wind-up.html

 

^^^^^ atleast sum1 looked at the link i posted..

 

Good read...thanks for posting!

 

this thread is getting old and boring