Johnny O
Well-Known Member
This usually ends up being a discussion on several boards I belong to this time of year.
IF this is your first 4x4 and you are not familiar with driving one in snow, keep these things in mind:
1. When you are turning on a snow covered road, it will want to go straighter than what you have the steering wheel turned for. The front tires, because they are turned, will break traction long before the rear tires will. This will cause the vehicle to "push", as the NASCAR drivers say. Go easy on the gas in turns.
2. 4x4's GO better in snow than regular cars but they do not necessarily STOP or TURN any better. It is easy to become overconfident and this is why you will sometimes see more 4x4's in the ditch than regular cars. 4wd works by letting you power your way out of problems, however if you are already going too fast, it won't help and now you've got more problems...like guardrails, utility poles, trees, oncoming traffic, or parked cars.
3. Tires matter. Dedicated snow tires are best, and all-terrains are better than all-seasons or mud-terrains. The all-season tires that came on my Sport Trac new were utterly awful and downright dangerous in snow. After the first winter with the ABS working overtime, I got all-terrains before the second winter. Much better. I run Blizzaks on my wife's Taurus in the winter and it goes as well in snow as my truck and turns and stops better.
4. Ice. Not much you can do except brace yourself for impact. Dedicated snow and ice tires help a little bit.
IF this is your first 4x4 and you are not familiar with driving one in snow, keep these things in mind:
1. When you are turning on a snow covered road, it will want to go straighter than what you have the steering wheel turned for. The front tires, because they are turned, will break traction long before the rear tires will. This will cause the vehicle to "push", as the NASCAR drivers say. Go easy on the gas in turns.
2. 4x4's GO better in snow than regular cars but they do not necessarily STOP or TURN any better. It is easy to become overconfident and this is why you will sometimes see more 4x4's in the ditch than regular cars. 4wd works by letting you power your way out of problems, however if you are already going too fast, it won't help and now you've got more problems...like guardrails, utility poles, trees, oncoming traffic, or parked cars.
3. Tires matter. Dedicated snow tires are best, and all-terrains are better than all-seasons or mud-terrains. The all-season tires that came on my Sport Trac new were utterly awful and downright dangerous in snow. After the first winter with the ABS working overtime, I got all-terrains before the second winter. Much better. I run Blizzaks on my wife's Taurus in the winter and it goes as well in snow as my truck and turns and stops better.
4. Ice. Not much you can do except brace yourself for impact. Dedicated snow and ice tires help a little bit.
