Fishtailing tacoma in the snow

Which is why, engine braking in 4 wd in slippery conditions is more dangerous. You want LESS braking on the rear wheels which abs does for you in all conditions when the rear looses traction and especially when slippery. There is no abs at work when engine braking. Loss traction on the fronts, and the truck plows. Loss traction on the rear if it loss up, the truck wants spin out and totally loose control.

 

ffirg, imagine you've got your very own '02 Tacoma up on a lift, and all four wheels are spinning forward just as if you were going down the highway.

Imagine you are in 2wd, and you telekinetically pinch the front brake pads against the front brake rotors. What happens to the rear axle? It keeps right on spinning, because the front and rear axles are not connected.

Now imagine that you shift into 4wd and do exactly the same thing - what will happen to the rear wheels? They will slow down and stop at exactly the same moment that the front wheels do, because in 4wd the rear axle and the front axle are forced to rotate at the same rate.

Part time 4wd forces your brake bias to be 50/50 front and rear, for exactly the same reason that it makes your torque bias 50/50 front and rear- The axles are locked together. And that's exactly what you want for maximum control on slick surfaces like ice - You want your braking forces and your acceleration forces spread out between all 4 wheels.

 

One gripe about the test, probably a bit nitpicky, but they should have kept the jeeps in the same "lane" for both tests. It's entirely possible for road conditions to be different enough to skew the results.

Personal experience leads me to put it into 4 hi in snow. Both of my trucks feel more planted and responsive to my inputs when in 4 hi. I also have canopies and strap down a couple hundred pounds of ballast over the rear wheels.

 

I honestly can’t even believe this is a thread. Lock the hubs, 4hi, pick the high line and have weight in the bed over the axle. Jesus Christ.

IBTL

 

Damn truth hurts. Must be lot of confused people tonight.

OP. If you want any type of 4 wheel drive, hubs need to be locked.
Good luck

PS: My taco sucks in the snow with my mud terrains. Even with 4X and rear end locked. Proper tires is the way to go. Forget all the round abouts that fcked me in Bend Oregon.

 

Getting stuck and driving at highway speeds are two different things. My 4 Runner never got stuck in deep dry snow when in awd, but struggled in mud and heavy wet snow. A modern awd will apportion up to 50% of the torque from and rear, just like 4 wd, but it’s just not continuous. The difference is, it’s variable which is not good in mud and sand and won’t spin enough to clear the treads which is good for low speeds but poor for highway speeds. Modern traction control with awd doesn’t mean one wheel drive. All the tires can receive torque. The problem is, it limits torque, not boosting and maintaining it like locking diffs do. Again, one is better in slippery conditions and higher speeds, one at lower speeds ( 4 wd) with more drag where spinning is advantageous.

One of the plow trucks I use, has both auto awd and locked 4 wd.
Traveling from one job to another, it’s in awd, but actual plowing, it goes into 4 wd. I’d be all over the place driving too fast in 4 wd with a plow hanging ff the front. The awd system constantly balances the traction needs and keeps better control while traveling.

 

Learn yourself. Lots on Google: https://www.artofmanliness.com/articles/gearhead-101-how-part-time-four-wheel-drive-works/

 

Just thought id share my experience w/ snow in our trucks. I just recently drove up to Big Bear in the San Bernardino mountains last friday when they got 56 in. of snow in 2 days. The roads were horrible, icy and slushy. I had chains on the rear tires and was in 4hi the whole way up the mountain. I am a careful driver, so it was slow going most of the way but the truck never lost traction for more than a split second before regaining. This is with AT tires as well so not even close to the best setup. Fastest i went all weekend was 25 mph, but the truck performed amazing. Going right thru all sorts of tough shit. I was super impressed and kinda of proud actually haha since i saw a few 3rd gen tundras getting stuck on the way up.

 

I think you just emphasized how important moderate speeds, experience and chains are. Chains are a great equalizer.

 

You just turned back automotive technology decades. Abs works because it treats every wheel separately in slippery conditions. This along with open diffs of awd, allows awd cars to stay under control while stopping and accelerating in slippery weather. Other then following a Zamboni on an ice skating rink, never will all four wheels of any car face exactly the same conditions when traveling in slippery conditions. Computer monitoring with abs and traction control with awd does what no driver can do; control each wheel separately during braking and accelerating. Locking them all together on ice is a recipe total loss of control. Deep snow.....different story.

 

There are some good posts here on how four wheel drive and all wheel drive systems work so I am not going to be redundant by going over these points again.

First generation Tacomas are pick-up trucks. They have one huge fundamental problem when being used in snowy conditions. They are poorly balanced. They are heavy in the front, and lite in the ass. The best way to utilize them in the snow is to completely stay out of the throttle.

Our old 1999 Tacoma has seen its fair share of snow, and it has gone places that even surprised me, but it is driven extremely cautiously in the snow.

Hope that helps,
Paul

 

I hear you. The best Toyota trucks in snow for me, have been the 4 wds with four cylinders.....studded shows, 2-300 lbs of tube sand in the back, and they were awesome. The sixes require more weight in the back....much more. The fours were so underpowered, staying off the throttle was “ natural.”

 

Definitely would have been super sketchy w/o chains. Another thing to note is i have maybe 100 lbs in the bed. Idk how much that helps but its a factor.

 

I got a shell, roof top tent, and a drawer system full of crap. The fish tailing went away, but the whole steering was AWFUL, given why I started hating roundabouts. I was crawling at 5mph or so and weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee. I usually love them.
I'm on the look out for new tires once these die. Don't want a dedicated snow, but something better than these crappy mud terrains (Snow wise).

 

Right on Dagosa, I guess this is why I have chosen to drive a decades old truck

Our 1st gen Tacomas never came with that stuff as far as I know, so it's a little outside the point I was trying to make. (4wd stops faster than 2wd)
But you're right - there are some real benefits to the driver aids you're referring to.

Personally, I drove a '19 for a while and I just hated what I thought of as electronic training wheels. I like to do all my own driving.

To each their own!

P.S. Laughed when I read "Following a Zamboni on an ice rink".
Shut off the arena lights and throw in some moose and you've described my morning commute.

 

Sounds like your tires are already dead to me.

 

Tread wise there's plenty left. It's just the tread and tire compound. Just not designed for snow. No good. I'd say worse than an all seasons tire honestly.

 

Honestly, it wouldn't be worth it to me to run a tire that I felt was subpar for the conditions. I just wouldn't care to run out my tire life if it was sketch to drive on. I get trying to save money, but is it really saving you money if you wreck?

 

Well I don't live in the snow. So I'm keeping em. If I lived in the snow then yeah I'd have a winter set. They are great when there is no snow.