Drifting in snow w 4wd

Hey all, with the big storm coming to an end in the Midwest, took my taco to an empty parking lot and experimented. Was in 4wd in thick snow (10' at least), drifting every once in a while, and a couple times the truck felt like it was going over small sequential bumps. There were no parking curbs or anything like that in the parking lot. Any idea what's causing the bumpy ride at times?

 

Traction control?

 

Check to see if the backside of your wheels are packed with snow. Sounds like your issue.

 

Stability control, hold the traction control button down for ~10 seconds while parked and watch both the drifting lights turn on!

 

Had a winter storm a couple weeks ago and experimented too with some odd results. Pretty similar. Sure doesn't seem to like going from slippery to traction when getting on it so I won't be doing that anymore. Also the ABS is weirder than anything I've driven before. All in all, I had no fear while in 4x4. Held great even with factory tires.

 

its the abs

 

Snow is slippery! Bumps maybe the edges of your tires catching on the asphalt. Careful you can damage your transfer case.
10 feet of snow? Your lucky you could move at all

 

im sure he meant 10"

 

Lol my bad bro, meant 10 inches (")

 

Abs

 

I was in 4wd and held the traction button down until TRAC OFF appeared. Is there another light that pops up if I hold it longer?

 

I do this all the time but my truck has zero electronic or mechanical intervention besides the rev limiter. I'd imagine a form of traction control was messing with you, my neighbors 2nd gen pulsates when he slides it.

 

Multiple people have quoted the abs. Might be the issue then. My tires were packed with snow as well like someone was mentioning.

 

Nah you ran into the stability limits, it never 100% turns off. Only true way is to disable the ABS motor.

Sadly Toyota doesn't want us spinning around like nuts.

 

ABS ... it goes nuts on snow and ice sometimes ... 4x4's and 4x2's both do it ... in different ways.

 

Makes sense. Thanks man

 

I'm assuming you meant 10"? And traction control I would think

 

Might be your abs or traction control. On my 2015, I have to stop, hold the traction button down for 3+ seconds, then all systems will turn of. Depending if there was a base below the fresh snow, you might very well have been grabbing the pavement. In our area I always wait till theres a base of snow to ensure the 4wd system can slip before I engage it

Also why are you drifting in 4wd? hehehe 2wd is way more fun! Theres a few bush roads which I drove everyday for work, so when I would leave at night (ensure that nobody is coming around the corner), id turn off the traction control and most of the corners I had the truck completely sideways and drifted right around one after the next...a great big smile appears on your face when that happens, although you have to know the road and lots of practice to know how the vehicle will behave. Also needed fresh snow though to ensure the rear end didnt grab too soon

In response to comment above about not being able to disable the traction control system, at least on our 2nd gens, the traction control system can be completely diabled, just a pain having to come to a stop every time

 

I stepped out of the truck to make sure there wasn't a bump in the road or something, and my tracks didn't seem to hit pavement yet. And I also thought the same thing about drifting, that 2wd would be better; indeed, on much fresher and thinner snow, i was doing donuts with 2wd with everything off after holding the button, but in that thick stuff i was talking about, i couldn't move in 2wd at all, so had to bump it into 4wd.

 

I agree, without weighting the rear end our trucks wont go very far without 4wd lol. Just thinking about your situation again too, depending on the snow conditions, perhaps it was packing up under the wheels, then with 4wd and full lock, it was making it grab and slightly bind? I know that has occured nurmous times for me turning around in our driveway which is ice and snow packed 6 months of the year up here in the great white north hehehehe