Passed the Ice Test!

Koz

Koz

New member
Well, yesterday was the real test for my new 4runner, and it passed with honors. Yesterday, Northern NJ got caught with its pants down. We were expecting rain turning to snow. Well, we ended up with snow turning into a one inch sheet of ice covering every road, at rush-hour. What a mess. I couldn't believe, in my wildest dreams, that a vehicle could be so good in these conditions. I work ten miles from home, and it took one and a half hours to get home (usually takes 15 min.) because of the ice and accidents (I seen at least a dozen). I went around so many car and trucks that were trying to get up inclines, that were just sitting spinning. At one time I had to stop, on a hill, back-up and let a car slide backwards. Then, start up the ice covered hill from a dead stop, like a walk in the park.

All can say is, the 4Runner is an AMAZING vehicle!

Koz
 
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koz

I know what you are talking about. I was on the garden state pkwy, and i had to get off on 46 cuz it was a dead stop. But i too had to bascially come to a stop on 280 and the traction control only kicked on for a sec, then it was smooth sailing. Gotta love the rig. So, even with all those xtra ponies there wasn't a lot of slip causing the traction to kick on. Very impressed
 
So, even with all those xtra ponies there wasn't a lot of slip causing the traction to kick on.
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Traction control (TRAC) should only become active when different wheels have _different_ amounts of traction. When all wheels are on ice and thus all have the same limited traction the wheels may all be slipping but TRAC is of no help.

I see this misconception frequently, most recently in a link Thai posted to a Jeep forum, wherein people are trying to compare Quadratrac, Quadradrive, TRAC, locking differentials etc. Someone will say "my ... system works just fine, I can create 4 wheel rooster tails in the sand/snow/mud", not understanding that none of these systems has an effect when all of the wheels have the same low traction.

Where locking differentials, Quadratrac, TRAC etc. have an effect is when only some wheels have lost traction. The most common example of this is when crawling over rocks or ruts and diagonally opposing wheels are hanging in the air.
 
AHA. learn something new on this forum everyday.

Ok here is one for you. What is the difference b/w all wheel drive and 4 wheel drive


And sorry for hijacking this thread
 
I live in the south, so no ice problem here. My question is, how would a 2wd 4runner fared in the conditions Koz mentioned. Just curious because I have a 2wd(I wanted a 4wd but could not justify the need for it :( )
 
What is the difference b/w all wheel drive and 4 wheel drive
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I asked that question here a few months ago. The consensus opinion was that having a 2-speed transfer case with low gear (4-Lo) was what made an AWD into a full-time 4WD.
 
chunderboy said:
AHA. learn something new on this forum everyday.

Ok here is one for you. What is the difference b/w all wheel drive and 4 wheel drive


And sorry for hijacking this thread
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AWD is when all 4 wheels are turning all the time and 4wd is part time/ or all time so you get the best of both world with 4wd?
 
My question is, how would a 2wd 4runner fared in the conditions Koz mentioned.
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Even though the traction control system will not have an effect when all the wheels are on a slippery surface, still, with 4WD you have 4 wheels providing traction instead of just 2. So 4WD will still give you twice as much traction as 2WD - even more actually since 2WD is rear wheel drive.
 
So, basically for our rigs, AWD is kinda like having it in 4WD HI with the diff. locked?
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With center differential unlocked then you have a typical AWD. Also, I believe that an AWD system may also not have any sort of traction control system - leaving it useful for driving on ice/snow but not for any sort of real off-roading where diagonally opposed wheels may end up in the air.
 
The 4Runners have the Torsen brand Limited Slip center differential which is able to adjust the proportion of torque being sent to the back/front wheels.

The Toyota webs site is really less than satisfying in explaining the operational range of the 4Runner LSD. The web site says:"can ... redistribute torque to the front wheels or rear wheels as needed." The associated animation shows normal distribution being 60/40 back/front changing to 70/30 back to front. This seems not a very aggressive redistribution.

http://www.toyota.com/4runner/key_features/limited_slip_diff.html
 
I was stuck on Route 18 South yesterday in the biggest traffic jam I have ever seen in my life. It was like a parking lot there were so many cars. A ride that usually takes me 30 minutes took me 2 hours yesterday. Once I got moving, the 4Runner was EXTREMELY impressive. The traction light did not even come on once and the roads were very icy. The only problem with my commute home were the other drivers on the road who can't control their sedans. I was so impressed, that I even went out to eat at around 6:00 when the roads were not treated.

It doesn't matter to me, but New Jersey was definitely not prepared for this. Route 18 South in Tinton Falls was closed this morning, at least 12 hours after the storm, due to severe icing. The country roads and township roads were passible, but the state roads were really bad. Talk about getting caught off guard!!
 
Mark86 said:
It doesn't matter to me, but New Jersey was definitely not prepared for this.
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you can say that again! i went from south brunswick to west windsor and it took about 30min (for a 10 mile trip). compared to most on here, i had it easy. one lady was driving 15mph (15mph!!!) on one stretch of road
 
I was out in the storm coming home in the ES300, I think it has alot to do with experience and just driving slower, all the added systems the trucks or cars have do help cause I did notice more older vehicles where the ones that caused the accidents or where sitting sideways in the roads.

I took back roads home which I realized was not the best route to go but they where snow and ice packed roads and I had no problems at all, I did notice several smaller cute utes that where oddly parked on some bends, people have to learn the 4wd does not mean you can enter a curve at dry road speeds in ice and snow.
 
I don't think it made a difference what type of road you were on, except if you were lucky enough to get on a road/highway without an accident.

Koz
 
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