Makin Trax
Active Member
sorry if I offended you.....should have read (or re-read)more i guess.. your right they can keep the electronic stuff, our escape has that too and i have to shut it off.
4WD Trac sucks in snow!
- Thread starter Gavin Allan
- Start date
Help Support Ford SportTrac Forum:
Makin Trax
Active Member
BTW JohnnyO I didn't realize you were the thread starter, i was replying to that, not just you personally.
Johnny O
Well-Known Member
No offense taken. I was not the thread starter, I just meant my first post in this thread. Most Gen 1 owners are not aware of the traction control (TC) and electronic stability control (ESC) in the Gen 2's and the difference it makes. Hard-packed snow-covered roads, I like it better. When all four wheels are in deep snow, I don't. Like I said, I've owned a Gen 1 (with a limited-slip rear) and now a Gen 2.
Basically if one wheel spins, the TC will apply the brake to that wheel. Okay fine. When all four wheels want to spin, the TC cuts power to the engine. So you turn the TC off, but now you have two open diffs because a limited-slip is not available and one front wheel and one rear wheel want to spin while the other wheel sits there doing nothing. In that case, the older design works better. I don't like the way 4-Auto jerks you around either so a lot of the time I lock it in 4-Hi and may or may not turn the ESC off depending on road conditions. But I'm 52 and old-school.
[Broken External Image]:
Basically if one wheel spins, the TC will apply the brake to that wheel. Okay fine. When all four wheels want to spin, the TC cuts power to the engine. So you turn the TC off, but now you have two open diffs because a limited-slip is not available and one front wheel and one rear wheel want to spin while the other wheel sits there doing nothing. In that case, the older design works better. I don't like the way 4-Auto jerks you around either so a lot of the time I lock it in 4-Hi and may or may not turn the ESC off depending on road conditions. But I'm 52 and old-school.
[Broken External Image]:
Last edited by a moderator:
Makin Trax
Active Member
I'm not a fan of the Electronic stuff either our 09 escape is set up like that ,and exactly like you said hard pack snow and ice it works great but deep snow i shut it off and then it does ok but you have open diffs and well you know the drill huh... lol
blksn8k
Well-Known Member
My previous truck was 2002 Ranger FX4 that had the Torsen rear differential and 4.10:1 gears. Since that truck had the same chassis as a Gen 1 ST I feel I can make a decent comparison between the Gen 1 and Gen 2 Tracs. I ran BFG All-Terrain TAs on both the 02 Ranger FX4 and 07 Sport Trac 4x4 LTD. For pure off-road traction and control the FX4 was definitely better. However, for all-around use both off-road and on, the suspension on the Sport Trac is far superior. With equal tires and a sensible driving style I can go nearly everywhere in the Trac that I did in the FX4 and the Trac has so much better road manners that it isn't even a fair comparison on the highway.
