05 T4R terrible snow performance

[baby#yota]

Hi all, Ive had my 4runner for about 8 months and have loved it. This weekend we got a decent snowstorm in the northeast and I finally got to try out the 4wd performance in deepish snow. So let me set up the situation for you. I was away vising someone and due to driveway size, I was parked in the grass just off the driveway. we got 18-20" of snow overnight with maybe 5-6" on the ground to start with. All together the snow was up to the frame/bottom of the doors. I get into the truck, get it into 4h, then 4l, lock the center diff, and start to drive. ATRAC kicks on and between the buzzing, and clicking I made MAYBE 6" of progress in the snow. I finally got free when 3 other guys gave me a push. This is a stock T4R, no lift and toyo all season tires, not a wheeling rig at all BUT I would have expected better performance. Out of the 7 cars parked mine was the only one to struggle, included was a civic, several full-size trucks, and a few SUVs. I understand that tires are a big component here but even with the path in front of me shoveled out finally the truck just buzzed and clicked away. It was just frustrating that you cant disable ATRAC altogether to just spin up the tires and get momentum. I got home, hopped in my bronco in 4l and plowed right through 26" of snow with no issue. what am I missing here people? Is there a trick to using the ATRAC system in the snow I'm not doing? And before you comment "your tires suck" understand all the SUVs and cars had all seasons, I belive this is less about tire tread and more about ATRAC disabling tire spin.

thought??

 

[Syr4RinNC]

Sorry you had trouble.

So what is the situation - your truck is just sitting flat with snow piling up around it and then you couldnt get it out?

Im from Syracuse, and we routinely get this storms that dump 1-2 feet and the 4R has always been great for us. Even pulling out HD trucks snowplowing

If youre not trying to claw your way up a big hill - generally recommended rocking the car back and forth, back and forth, farther and farther until you have good progress

I also would use 4hi if you are trying to use momentum high wheel spin in 4hi would prevent atrac . 4 lo is hi torque if you have traction

Once you are wedged with the 4runner- either high centered or you put some speed and wedged snow under the frame, its such a large powerful vehicle that if you are wedged and stuck, you are wedged and stuck

 

[Flesh Eater]

20” of snow and all season tires...

There’s the problem.

 

[Tuyrunner]

Hi all, Ive had my 4runner for about 8 months and have loved it. This weekend we got a decent snowstorm in the northeast and I finally got to try out the 4wd performance in deepish snow. So let me set up the situation for you. I was away vising someone and due to driveway size, I was parked in the grass just off the driveway. we got 18-20" of snow overnight with maybe 5-6" on the ground to start with. All together the snow was up to the frame/bottom of the doors. I get into the truck, get it into 4h, then 4l, lock the center diff, and start to drive. ATRAC kicks on and between the buzzing, and clicking I made MAYBE 6" of progress in the snow. I finally got free when 3 other guys gave me a push. This is a stock T4R, no lift and toyo all season tires, not a wheeling rig at all BUT I would have expected better performance. Out of the 7 cars parked mine was the only one to struggle, included was a civic, several full-size trucks, and a few SUVs. I understand that tires are a big component here but even with the path in front of me shoveled out finally the truck just buzzed and clicked away. It was just frustrating that you cant disable ATRAC altogether to just spin up the tires and get momentum. I got home, hopped in my bronco in 4l and plowed right through 26" of snow with no issue. what am I missing here people? Is there a trick to using the ATRAC system in the snow I'm not doing? And before you comment "your tires suck" understand all the SUVs and cars had all seasons, I belive this is less about tire tread and more about ATRAC disabling tire spin.

thought??

Look up the vsc mod on here or on YouTube. Gets rid of all of the safety nonsense that kills power to the wheels when they start spinning. It will perform soooo much better in the snow, sand, and mud.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Bassturd]

I have an 04 and I love going into the snow and playing around. I also work at a ski resort and drive up on storm days and she’s never failed me. I spend a lot of time on those days helping people get back onto the road or helping the Marshall’s getting people off of the town trail. So I definitely wouldn’t say the 4th gens have terrible snow performance.

 

[KrazedJD]

Look up the vsc mod on here or on YouTube. Gets rid of all of the safety nonsense that kills power to the wheels when they start spinning. It will perform soooo much better in the snow, sand, and mud.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I second this, I got 12" of snow but have mud and snow tires. I typically get in the truck roll back slowly a few feet then lock diff and go forward as it locks (V8 with no 2WD option). Once locked I never have issues with the snow or even ice at low speeds. The default safety systems do cause major power issues and the VSC mod has helped.

 

[Ripper238]

That's a bummer, especially since your 4R was more capable than the other vehicles.

So you activated A-Trac? its not an automatic thing.

Sounds like you weren't stuck so A-Trac was not needed initially. You just needed 4L (maybe 4H) and some momentum. A-Trac will prevent wheel spin, you want wheel spin on snow/sand to some degree. So you are on track with that concern, lol

Tires are the key, but so is utilizing the basic old school 4wd physics.

 

[jbtvt]

That's a bummer, especially since your 4R was more capable than the other vehicles.

So you activated A-Trac? its not an automatic thing.

Sounds like you weren't stuck so A-Trac was not needed initially. You just needed 4L (maybe 4H) and some momentum. A-Trac will prevent wheel spin, you want wheel spin on snow/sand to some degree. So you are on track with that concern, lol

Tires are the key, but so is utilizing the basic old school 4wd physics.

I thought atrac was automatic on most 4th gens. Know I don't have a button to disable on my GX, not that I've ever wanted to. OP, snow tires make a world of difference, but if you're getting outpaced by Civics, how much tread depth is left on your all seasons, and what's the actual pattern look like? When starting in snow it's almost always best to go crawl speed. If you don't have tread to clear spinning won't help, and if you spin in place you'll just melt an ice patch beneath the tires.

Here's a pic pulling a 5k+ lb trailer with a huge stack of soggy, frozen OSB on the front through an unplowed field, no issues - edit, backing it up to a barn actually, after doing an 8 point turn

 

[Nickname]

I'll also add that when I go snow wheeling, I always shift my 4Runner out of drive (usually in 2nd gear depending on speeds). I don't know why, when when you are locked in a gear your 4Runner won't kill power to your wheels allowing your wheels to spin and keep your RPMs up. I realize wheel spin is not always desired, but when you are already moving this can help. And as mentioned above, tires are king. I've had good luck with Falken Wildpeaks, BFG KO2s, and Goodyear Ultraterrains. Hope that helps!

 

[MikeinNH67]

Depending on year and trim level seems to dictate if you have extra buttons. My 03 does not have a button for traction control but I thought I read that it should be off when the diff is locked. Traction control could hinder things in the situation of getting started in deep snow, having the truck applying brakes to the wheels does not help one move in that stuff. I would not have used 4lo, I only use that when I need the added torque it gives or want to crawl.

As mentioned you can manually disable the system with a mod but please do realize the vehicle drives totally different in slick stuff with it disabled. The rear end kicks out way easier.

 

[Reinout]

Someone else said it as well but tires are your number one thing to do here. We have two sets of wheels: all season and our winter wheels. We did the TPMS Mod so that it's not trowing a light but braap in the snow.

 

[haro]

I have a 03 v6 limited. My 1st tire replacement were the yokohama geolander all season tires, and they would get stuck on anything. 2nd set of tires cooper discovery a/t3 great improvement. and now I have falken wildpeak a/t tires, this tires tick to the road on wet and snow like glue, best tires so far.
So tires make a lot of difference in snow and wet performance

 

[baby#yota]

wow, thanks for all the feedback guys! I drove home after the roads cleared up decently mad about the whole situation but I did a bunch of testing later. Like some of you said, TRAC cont is disabled in 4l with the diff locked, and if I give her the beans I can spin tire in 4H no problem now. Secondly, I'm coming to terms with the fact that these tires are more of a problem than I initially thought. I currently have Toyo A30's which are considered "highway" all seasons with 60% tread give or take..... After getting the rear end loose a few times just driving to the gym with the roads mostly clear this week and driving normally, I am going to withdraw my claim that it is not my tires.

I usually use 4L in my bronco to get through deep snow and have never had a car with an ATRAC-type system until this T4R. I have Bridgestone AT's on the bronco and drove that thing through 26"+ of drifted snow in my driveway in 4L with open diffs no problem.

Im looking at the Bridgestone dueler AT revo 3's for the T4R and a small leveling kit for the front rake. Bottom line, yes it's the tires and trying to use 4L when I shouldn't have...oops

 

[Flyer]

Your tires are awful. Though my 4R isn't as good as my Jeep in snow, it is really quite good compared to most vehicles. I do need to disable my VSC at times. You simply need decent tires.

 

[Flesh Eater]

I'll also add that when I go snow wheeling, I always shift my 4Runner out of drive (usually in 2nd gear depending on speeds). I don't know why, when when you are locked in a gear your 4Runner won't kill power to your wheels allowing your wheels to spin and keep your RPMs up. I realize wheel spin is not always desired, but when you are already moving this can help. And as mentioned above, tires are king. I've had good luck with Falken Wildpeaks, BFG KO2s, and Goodyear Ultraterrains. Hope that helps!

I’m going back to BFG KO2’s on everything I own.

I put a set of Toyo Open Country AT3’s on my 4Runner and did a trip out to Colorado last year. We drove 4,250 miles in one week and the tires look like they’ve lost a lot of tread.

Any time I’ve run BFG’s they last forever and perform great in everything except slick mud.

 

[Nickname]

I’m going back to BFG KO2’s on everything I own.

I put a set of Toyo Open Country AT3’s on my 4Runner and did a trip out to Colorado last year. We drove 4,250 miles in one week and the tires look like they’ve lost a lot of tread.

Any time I’ve run BFG’s they last forever and perform great in everything except slick mud.

Thats what I'm running now. Been very happy with them. I didn't want to "be like all the bros" running KO2's, but they are a great tire. My wildpeaks seamed to wear down fast similar to the Toyo's.

 

[Too Stroked]

I usually use 4L in my bronco to get through deep snow and have never had a car with an ATRAC-type system until this T4R. I have Bridgestone AT's on the bronco and drove that thing through 26"+ of drifted snow in my driveway in 4L with open diffs no problem.

I've been driving where we average 100" of snow each winter for over 50 years and I've never used 4L in snow. 4H? Oh yea, all the time. Generally speaking, one wants wheel speed in snow. 4L gives you exactly the opposite. Some folks think 4L gives you more traction, but it does not. It's strictly a gearing change.

I will agree with everyone who has stated that proper tires make more of a difference than anything else. Even the best 4 wheel drive system will struggle with the wrong (or bald) tires.

 

[Drcoffee]

I prefer to disable the nanny state when it slick out. And its fun to spin the wheel. I put a button on the center console to make deactivating it quick and simple.

VSC/TC Complete Disablement: Yaw sensor interrupt

 

[Flesh Eater]

Thats what I'm running now. Been very happy with them. I didn't want to "be like all the bros" running KO2's, but they are a great tire. My wildpeaks seamed to wear down fast similar to the Toyo's.

Well, I lied. I got a hook up on a set of Mickey Thompson Baja Boss A/T‘s that I couldn’t pass up. 285/70R17 in a C load.

 

[2003V8LTD]

Wierd. We had 20" of snow last week and although our Subaru Outback got bogged down, our 2003 4Runner V8 had absolutely no trouble. The truck has new Yokohama Geolandar A/T G015 tires, which of course are nowhere near as good as real snow tires but still are snow-rated, and has 1" of lift in front; otherwise bone stock. It's basically an unstoppable tank in a blizzard, although I would recommend staying out of Low Ratio, and I would recommend locking the center diff at least until the roads are plowed etc.

Hi all, Ive had my 4runner for about 8 months and have loved it. This weekend we got a decent snowstorm in the northeast and I finally got to try out the 4wd performance in deepish snow. So let me set up the situation for you. I was away vising someone and due to driveway size, I was parked in the grass just off the driveway. we got 18-20" of snow overnight with maybe 5-6" on the ground to start with. All together the snow was up to the frame/bottom of the doors. I get into the truck, get it into 4h, then 4l, lock the center diff, and start to drive. ATRAC kicks on and between the buzzing, and clicking I made MAYBE 6" of progress in the snow. I finally got free when 3 other guys gave me a push. This is a stock T4R, no lift and toyo all season tires, not a wheeling rig at all BUT I would have expected better performance. Out of the 7 cars parked mine was the only one to struggle, included was a civic, several full-size trucks, and a few SUVs. I understand that tires are a big component here but even with the path in front of me shoveled out finally the truck just buzzed and clicked away. It was just frustrating that you cant disable ATRAC altogether to just spin up the tires and get momentum. I got home, hopped in my bronco in 4l and plowed right through 26" of snow with no issue. what am I missing here people? Is there a trick to using the ATRAC system in the snow I'm not doing? And before you comment "your tires suck" understand all the SUVs and cars had all seasons, I belive this is less about tire tread and more about ATRAC disabling tire spin.

thought??