Adrenalin on ice

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Jeff Schroeder 2

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Had my first experience with the 2010 Adrenalin AWD last night on slick icy roads. The whole St Louis area had freezing rain last nite, that sheeted the roads with ice...had the ST in AWD auto for the last few days when we had the snow, and it did very well. When we had the nasty ice last night, had problems getting any traction what-so-ever...so I switched her into 4X4 "locked" mode, and that made a big difference. Still, nothing is going to grip very well on the ice, but I was impressed on how well the Adrenalin did. A lot of neighbors on the street couldnt even pull up their slight incline into their garage...way too slick. In AWD, the ST had problems as well...but in 4X4 locked...she went right up no problem. Decided to take it back out of the garage to play a little, and the locked mode made a huge difference for me as I experimented back and forth between the two modes. Looking forward to a nice blast of deep snow to see how she does next!!
 
Hockeyfan, just drive it up to MN we've got plenty of snow laying around here!



One of the stupidist things I did on the ice was try to park on a ramp in the back of a business (I had a side job shoveling doorways/sidewalks). When there is a good amount of ice on an incline, your truck will slide backwards while you are in park.



The other stupid thing I did (actually at the same business) was went to whip a doughnut in the front parking lot, but I had just gotten new tires. they gripped to well when I slid just a touch and my tires hopped up on the curb and my truck started going sideways while the back tires were spinning on the curb. Good thing the curb was there because the front bumper on my F-150 was 2' from the front of the building...
 
from all the vehicles i had, my tracs always performed very well in snow and ice. here on long isle we had some good storms and i never had an issue getting around. i felt very confident driving in those horrible conditions.

just my 2 cents
 
I agree, Fords do well in the snow and My ST has out performed any of the other 4wd Fords i ever owned..



also Fords Traction control smoked all the others in the testing the outside companies did...



Todd Z
 
I have tried and tried to get my ST stuck in the snow, and have yet to accomplish the task. It is like the energizer bunny it just keeps going and going..:driving:



However steep hills with mud and wet leaves, are another story.
 
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We've been hit with a lot of snow over the past month, and my Adrenalin works much the same. I absolutely love it on snow and ice; even with a slight fishtail, the traction control kicks in and bam, back in line with no issue.



I used to hate driving in the winter, with the ST.... I'd go for a drive just for the hell of it.
 
I used to go driving on the ice just for fun in my 1968 LTD when in college. I was amazed at how I was able to pass others who were stuck in various odd ways and unable to move. Even the one guy in a Chevy Nova standing next to the car in the middle of an intersection trying to figure out how to get the car to go anywhere, while the car just sat there in gear at idle, not moving, with the back tires slowly spinning on the ice. Maybe it was my own amazing driving skills:driving:, but with that car I was always able to find a way through.
 
When it comes to ice, it's 90% in the tires. Tires with the "mountain/snowflake" symbol are designed specifically to handle ice. ("M+S" etc. have no official certifications, and are therefore meaningless.) The tiny microgrooves in the tread blocks, silica (sand) embedded into the rubber compound and other things make true snow/ice tires perform far better on ice than any other kind of non-studded tire.



AdvanceTrac RSC is THE most advanced 4x4 traction control system, and will give you an edge over old fashioned 4x4 designs.
 
I thought the awd was automatic, Is there a switch to turn on for awd i dont see one?

and if im driving in the snow should i keep on the traction control swtich?
 
Rich, the AdvanceTrac RSC system that's on later model 4x4 Sport Tracs is completely automatic. It is enabled when you start the engine, and (unlike some traction control systems) cannot be disabled by flashing the PCU with an OBDII port tuner.



Unlike old-fashioned full-time 4x4 systems with a center differential, AdvanceTrac applies no power to the front wheels unless/until it's needed. Unlike old-fashioned part-time 4x4 systems, power is transferred to the front wheels without the need for driver intervention, and it's done progressively. In other words, in "4x4 Auto" mode, varying amounts of power go to the front wheels as conditions dictate. The last official documentation that I've seen says that power is routed in 10% increments, from 0% to 100%, with 0% being equivalent to RWD only, and 100% being equivalent to full lockup between the front and rear axles.



I would keep the traction control in its default on mode, unless there's deep sand or snow where the "spinning through" technique is more effective.

 
I have found one type of snow that the Trac will get stuck in while Ice fishing last year. The lake we were on (Upper Red Lake in MN) has plowed roads on the ice and off shoots on each side so you don't have to dig throw 3' of snow to get to the ice. We saw one offshoot to the left that was clear in the back (it was angled back at us at a 45 or so degree angle). I gunned it to get throw the drift that was in the front of the offshoot. The only problem it had been wind blown and was very crusted snow. It was so crusted that my frame was pretty much sitting on the snow. All 4 tires were just spinning on the loose snow below the crust. Luckily some guys in an F-150 came over and pulled me out instead of the Silverado.
 

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