4x4 Questions - ECT vs VSC vs 4HI vs 4LO vs MTS vs Crawl etc?

New to 4x4, but does anyone have an easy to understand breakdown of all this. I've read through the manuals, and quite frankly, it's all greek to me.

I don't understand when and how to use all this stuff.

Is there an easy to digest, comprehensive guide or video for all this stuff?

Thanks.

 

I think I've got a pretty good handle on the MTS and Crawl features based on a few vids, but I'm still confused about the ECT and VSC.

Also, dumb question, but in my car, when tires slipped, the system automatically compensated. Does the Tacoma do that by default or is there something I have to do manually to activate?

Thanks in advance

 

don't use any of it. you are going to break it

 

DON'T USE THE 4x4 ON PAVEMENT

 

Why not on pavement? I've heard of not using the locker when turning but haven't heard of not using 4x4 on pavement.

 

On pavement the front wheels will grab the pavement not able to turn at a different radius. And the gears in your diff will get destroyed... Only on icy/snowy pavement. In 2wheel the tires turn at there own rate... Because the tire inside the turn will travel less than the tire on the outside of the turn diff is freely spinning. In 4wheel the gears are locked in togethor for even power displacment and when turning the inside tire will hop and skip to compensate the outside tire turning wider.

 

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=zSfCIjO3FoY

 

He's telling the truth.

 

So if you're in 4LO with MTS off, what kind of traction control do you get? Does it not allow any slip? I assume MTS kind of takes the place for VSC in 4LO and if you have MTS off, you're basically turning off the traction control system? Man this is confusing.. I feel like I'm learning to fly a plane!

Also, it seems weird that you can't drive 4LO on pavement. Now I'm going to be all sketched out when driving in 4LO. But it is safe to use 4LO on gravel/rocky trails? Is this just because the inner wheel can spin a bit on the gravel to match the rotation of the outer tire while turning? Are you not supposed to use 4HI on pavement also?

 

Only use 4 wheel drive when its necassary or when tire slippage can make up the difference. If on pavement 4hi/4lo is still 4wheeldrive if the conditions are not "slippery" the tires will grab the ashphalt and cause damage . If in a straight line drive all you want... Or make very wide turns like a semi!

 

This is not rocket science!!!
Mud, rock/gravel, sand, snow, monsoon, = 4wd hi/low.

Pavement, rain, = 2 wheel drive

Rear diff lock= only below 5mph i beleive and only in a straightline/short distance...
Used as a last resort to give equal power to the rear so both tire spin and not only the one with less friction.

Auto lsd/vsc button= hold for 5 seconds to turn off abs etc ( for donuts in your jackass neighbors front yard)

Hope this helps.

 

Haha! Yeah, this makes sense now. Just a bit overly complicated as a newbie, but the table in this thread helped:

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/a-trac-trac-auto-lsd-explained-easy-to-understand-i-hope.70551/

Just curious how 4LO operates when you're not using the MTS? Would it operate more toward the high-slip setting (mud/snow) or toward the no-slip setting (rock). I'm assuming it will try not to allow slip when MTS if off in 4LO... can anybody provide any insight into this?

 

You are open diffs in 4lo