Crawl control worth it?

Love to see brand new trucks taken on some hairy trails! And great demo of Crawl Control
Ive tried Crawl Control very briefly on my GF Trail Edition 4runner, and if anyone who has not experienced the crazy sounds it produces have no idea how wrong it sounds. If you didn't know that it was normal for the crawl control to sound that way you would think the engine was about to explode!

 

Yah, thats true, I forgot DAC does make crazy sounds too.

 

This was with a 4Runner and not even talking about the same part.........just saying the transfer case actuator was inside the housing .....not an easy job. So I get nervous when I hear, "oh it's inside."

in our area, it's a dealer mandated option. Which means, you get it regardless. It there fore becomes standard but the price goes up. It makes sense because of our terrain and climate.

 

Isn't it a hydraulic brake booster? (Or is the hydraulic pump electric?) Got me wondering if this could contribute to the TRDOR's apparently lower mpg.

 

No one should get upset at you for being wrong. That's your right. It's the same debate people had when they think that abs is a gimmick, traction control is a gimmick, ATrac is a gimmick and now CC is a gimmick. They think they can ALWAYS do a better job with the pedals then a computer with sensors can. You never control the speed of your Toyota Tacoma 2016 with your pedals. You are making suggestions.

 

I totally get that. I'm a technophobe and I prefer my own vehicle to be as low-tech as possible. But we will most likely replace my wife's CR-V with a 4runner and I'm not well-versed on the different 4WD/AWD systems they have. I'm a sucker for part-time 4WD, but something that requires no driver input would be a lot better for the spouse-mobile.

 

Exactly. That point was made by Sweers in interviews. In the interest approach angles, they eliminated it. Since a great portion of a cars total aerodynamics are the under carriage, you have just eliminated a key ingredient. It seems pretty straight forward. May be they can be bought and reattached.

 

I think you hit the nail on the head. This stuff Works OK, including IMO CC, but is limited. When you watch the demos, trucks go much slower then they have to. They are, over cautious if you will. That is why they have shut offs and with experience, you know when and how to shut off your ATrac, and later your CC. CC is unimpressive because guys who just bought team are rightfully cautious about where they try them out. Trac control engine cut off, often needs to be shut off too climbing a steep hill in deep snow...you need wheel spin then.

Guys racing live by a diffenrtial set of rules...caution and even safety take a back seat. I bet some traction controls they will use and some they don't in some situations....I would not equate what they do to a weekend fun run where your truck is your daily driver to work the next day.

 

Also no driver can independently control the movement of four wheels.

 

The AWD feature is in the limited only now with a lock and low range, but doesn't give you 2 wd. Personally, the mileage loss is OK to have full time AWD. Other then the limited,the rest are part time systems. If you live in snow country, I would replace the CRV with a Subaru or Highlander. A 4Runner limited would be next....but a huge increase in $$$$$$$.

 

Yep ! Let me rephrase that...you can stick your foot out the door and have your other three passengers do the same on your commands.

 

Maybe, but how long can you drive with both a front and rear wheel locker in place?

 

You can go as long as your truck doesn't rip itself apart.

 

Maybe I am wrong, but I don't use the locker in my truck, the two on the tractor or snow plow in place of too many other aid's . I bet I use it like most do.The steering compromise is too important to use it a lot or continuously or instead of ATrac.
It is the last, not the first lever or button I reach for.

 

I'm not sure exactly what the terrain is like on your desert runs, but if it's sand, I'd say you are putting considerably less stress on components while locked front and rear than someone would if driving on more solid terrain. Glad you have not had any trouble driving as you have with lockers engaged, but I'll take my chances with the brakes overheating any day.

 

Simple. The same reason manufacturers are moving away from hydraulic power steering to electric power steering: mpg. If there is hydraulic pump working all time it will decrease mpg and from the sound of crawl etc. it sounds like it might be pretty powerful. Vacuum brake boosters usezero energy when brakes are not in use.

Not saying it is the only reason for the apparent mpg difference; but that it may contribute.

 

For an off-roader like yourself, taking chances is part of the fun. I'm just looking for traction on steep grades on dirt roads that might be snow and ice covered. I have a 2016 OR, so have a locker in the rear. But on snow and ice, I have low expectations for either the locker, CC, and MTS. MTS doesn't even have a selection for snow, which probably answers the question about its usefulness on that surface. Most useful will probably be weight in the bed, 4x4, and good snow tires or chains.

But if I were an off-roader, I'd want two lockers, 4x4, good off-road tires, weight in the bed (unless on sand), and anything else, including CC, MTS or any other gimmick, that might help. For the fun of it, I might disengage some of these to see if I could overcome any given challenge without them, but if I got stuck, I'd want to have anything that might help get unstuck. For me, getting stuck is never fun.

 

Even while driving in a straight line at highway speeds?

 

somewhat local place here in the GTA

 

My experience with driving a vehicle without power steering on the highway and braking in a car without brake boosting tells me you are wrong. All this is beside the point.

If the TRDOR is using a hydraulic pump for braking that is always running, it will reduce the fuel economy as compared to one using vacuum boost. The question, then, is how much?

"Makers are moving aggressively to [electric power steering] because eliminating an engine-driven hydraulic pump increases gas mileage by about 1 mpg" (from http://www.caranddriver.com/feature...ering-a-comprehensive-comparison-test-feature)