4X4 Bad at highways speeds?

lolwut?

 

More miss information. Read it yourself page 178 in the book. Basically what has been said here. Careful on slippery surfaces.

 

Hmmm....
I was delivering firewood this past Saturday in Chicago's first snow of the year. The streets were plowed but still wet. While backing my trailer into a driveway with a full cord of wood on it, I wasn't able to push the trailer over the snow piled on the street so I put it in 4x4L to get some leverage and to gear down the truck so I could back more precisely without feathering the clutch. It involved a hard turn in the street, with the front wheels on the pavement and the back ones in the snow. When I got out, I smelled some nasty burned fluid that was definitely a different smell from roasted clutch (which I sampled a few days before after letting a buddy give it a test drive).

Reading the article above makes me wonder if I didn't put some serious stress on my transfer case & 4wd equipment by using it in this way. It seems to go in and out of 4wd just fine now, it's definitely got me thinking I need to be a lot more deliberate about using 4wd...

 

Agreed ^^^ 4WD does help steering in snow as the front is pulling itself in the direction you want it to go , rather than ploughing and hoping for some traction .

 

How is that possible?
Every time you take your foot off the gas, you're engine braking (essentially).

 

I was thinking the same thing... I'm hoping he's referring to downshifting using the shifter in an auto to slow you down. Otherwise, I think that guy is

 

Hey Demoncleaner... I heard your getting awesome lake effect snow on the trail boards! Do you have the DOO out yet????

I drive in 4wd at highway speeds but nowhere hit the maximum I'd be joining all the dopes I saw yesterday smashed off the interstate (and Counting Jeep Grand Cherokee, Nissan Titan, Toyota 4Runner).
All big beautiful 4WDs with not a panel left unscathed. The roads were slicker than snot yesterday people...slow the freak down!

On a side note...the studded tires were awesome
And all the towing done in the wintertime....I have never ever towed in 4LO & if I ever need it there will probably be more to worry about than towing..

 

We always used to use 4lo in the old landscaping trucks when backing a stump grinder or chipper into a tight spot. We just left the front hubs so we'd be geared really low and have plenty of power for manuevering. I miss manual hubs

 

yes I can understand using it that way for sure & have use it around the house similiarly. Also used it a couple of times when the truck has slipped into a tough spot. Not with the snowmobile trailer hammering down the highway. Never thought of using it when manuevering around the house, that is a good tip.

fwiw Stump Grinders & chippers scare me ....

 

I still have yet to use 4lo in my '07, haha. So far there's been no need since I don't own a house so no yardwork. I still don't believe they rent chippers and stump grinders to anyone who walks in, I was trained pretty extensively before I was allowed to use one for the landscaper I worked for. They're extremely dangerous even if you know what you're doing with them.

I finally broke down and bought studded snows also for my gf's car. Still have yet to do it for the Taco but I figure she needs them more than I do, haha.

 

She will love them ah what a sweet bf you are! Just don't let her spin out ha ha.
yeah I do not use those things, my neighbor owns a 3rd generation tree business & does all the tree work & plows the driveway. I love him.

 

It's not essentially it IS engine breaking every time you let off the gas. I laugh at this whole discussion. We went from is it ok to use 4 wheel drive at ‘speed’ to vehicle dynamics while using 4 wheel drive…. Everyone needs to separate the discussion into two categories, under power and not under power. Underpower, I would like to see anyone really say 4 wheel drive does not improve vehicle drivability in slippery situations. Overall vehicle stability is greatly improved because of the power balance between all 4 wheels. This includes starting out under power or maintaining speed especially on mixed roads including steering situations. Having power under power to the steering tires will improve steering. Overall stability is also improved.

Under breaking (engine or brakes) it’s a different story. I think the mechanical breaks are self explanatory, 4 wheel drive isn’t going to help, its all about traction. Under engine breaking, 4 wheel drive can actually hurt. Engine breaking to the front wheels will want to slow the front quicker than if in rear only drive. This can result in a spin easier than in 2 wheel drive. Downshifting should be done with caution.

I am not going to play anyone’s father. Everyone can choose to do what they please as long as they don’t harm others. The bottom line is that as long as you slow down to engage 4 wheel drive you aren’t going to hurt anything driving at speed. It’s there to use and definitely has advantages in slippery weather. You paid for it, use it. But it doesn’t make you superman, you still have to drive in control and use caution…..

 

Demoncleaner Thats what I wanted to hear.

 

dam guys, last weekend i went up to denver and the whole way there i used 4 hi.. went on 4hi for about an hour going 80 :/
then there was bad weather, but still dam..

 

Just realized the author of this book/website is a friend of mine (Harald) who I have camped and four wheeled with, in Baja. In fact, he lives in Baja... a 4x4 paradise. He mostly drives a Mercedes G wagon now, but I think he also has a Toyota for crawling stuff? "Four wheel drive, it's what's for breakfast"!

 

Sorry to revive such an old thread but curious what kind of damage would be caused by switching into 4hi on dry pavement? Switched to 4hi the other day on the highway for a few seconds to try to diagnose driveline noise. Was under 60mph like placard says. Don’t know if a few seconds will matter or if that’s more extended driving on dry non-slippy surfaces?

 

People on TW:
I heard you aren’t supposed to let your gas tank get below 1/2... or at least that’s what I thought I heard... so I’m repeating it here as fact.

 

When you corner each of the 4 wheels is taking a different path and need to travel at different speeds. The difference between front and rear axle is the greatest. When you shift into 4X4 all 4 wheels are locked together and turning at the same speed. When you corner the inside wheels have the least distance to travel, especially the front inside wheel. Since it is turning at the same speed it MUST be able to slip and spin slightly on the ground. If traction is good your risk breaking expensive parts of the drivetrain. If there is snow, gravel, loose dirt etc. the wheel spins harmlessly and does no damage.

I read through most of this thread from 10 years ago and there were a lot of idiots posting. 4X4 is for harsh off road conditions, not wet pavement. Even on ice and snow it should be used sparingly as needed to get moving or up/down inclines. If it is safe to drive over 25-30 mph you don't need 4X4.

As long as you were not cornering you did no damage. But I STRONGY advise not doing this. The damage is cumulative. It may not break today, but doing stuff like this will over time lead to premature parts failure.

Years ago we just had 4X4. Today there are a lot of vehicles with AWD which is different and it confuses drivers. AWD sends power to all 4 wheels, but uses sensors to figure out where traction is needed and will still allow wheels to turn at different speeds. AWD is a much more expensive system that works well in all conditions except extreme off road situations. When things get really tough the old school 4X4 systems that simply send power to all 4 wheels is much better. Most trucks use 4X4. AWD is more common in cars like Subaru and SUV's.

 

My manual says 62mph is the maximum speed to shift into 4wd. But I personally wouldn't drive over 50mph while in 4wd. But, that is me. I don't use it on the highways anyway. I stick with 2wd 99% of the time. I use 4wd in low speeds only, to get going.Them switch back to 2wd.

 

Max speed to shift into it, not to drive in it.