Winter driving and electronic aids

KCcarguy

KCcarguy

New member
Nasty weather is fast approaching and this will be my first winter in the 4runner. My last 4WD ('93 jeep wrangler) didn't have all these electronic gizmos, so I was wanting advice on when and how to use various features in snow and ice. I read the manual over, but it's a little overwhelming and it would be nice for one of you experts out there to lay out some simple rules. Maybe by situation:

-mixed snow/ ice
-deep snow
-moderate snow
-stuck in snow/ ice

Here are my questions:

Should I deactivate TRAC at any time? In deep snow?

If I'm in 4LO, will VSC and TRAC automatically disable?

In what situation would ATRAC help?

Do any of you guys have a "formula" for winter driving electronics-wise.


**and yes, I know these features are not a substitute for common sense**

Thanks! :cheers:
 
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I have had 4WD vehicles all my life. Some with drive systems like the SR5 and some more AWD. Where I live we get a lot of snow, it melts, we get more, it melts, etc, so we don't ususlly have it on the road for months, just 6" for a few days, then 12" a few days later and so on. I drove this past Feb, Mar and Apr with this vehicle and I simply put it in 4HI when slick. Very simple. I did turn VSC off a few times when I was creeping up hills and needed the ability to stop and start in slick situations meaning I might need to spin to get forward momentum. I never had to put it in 4LO and we had 18" fresh snow at one point. I think the longest I had it in 4HI was 5 days continuous as we had new snow every night. When it was salted and plowed I simply put it in 2HI and waited for the next snow. Hope this helps.
 
1engineer said:
I did turn VSC off a few times when I was creeping up hills and needed the ability to stop and start in slick situations meaning I might need to spin to get forward momentum.
Click to expand...

I assume you meant TRAC as VSC does not control wheel spin off the start like that, TRAC does.
 
westwind77 said:
I assume you meant TRAC as VSC does not control wheel spin off the start like that, TRAC does.
Click to expand...

You can deactivate them separately, correct? I think TRAC goes of with a single push of the button, then TRAC/ VSC both go off if you hold the button. Am I right?
 
westwind77 said:
Yes 100% (VSC can not be deactivated on its own)
Click to expand...

But VSC is never really off - it will be less sensitive when the VSC is "off".

We have a Maxima with true LSD and traction control. I believe there were two times when I had it off - in Feb 2008 driving from Hope to the Okanakan along Route 3 in British Columbia, and Hope had just received a fresh delivery of 12-14" of snow with little time to clear the pass.

The other time was December 2006 in Seattle. It was in the 50's when the Seahawks game started, and it dropped to 20 and dumped a few inches during the game. The roads were literally skating rinks, with the extended buses jacknifed here and there.

Prior to that, I drove a RCMP-issue Chevy Caprice, with rear wheel drive, a real touchy throttle, no ABS or anything, and 65% of the weight up front.

My strategy with the 4R will be to hit 4wd high when the traction control at the rear starts clicking or when the front end starts feeling dodgy; actually, I'll probably shift when I am reasonably sure that the road traction approaches that of gravel. But remember, 4 wheel go does NOT mean 4-wheel stop. Just because you can out-accelerate everyone does not mean you stop better too - you stop just the same.
 
homeyclaus said:
But VSC is never really off - it will be less sensitive when the VSC is "off".
Click to expand...

Ummmm off is OFF. If you have it ON and try a 360 in a snow filled parking lot you are lucky to get a few degrees before it activates. Turn it off and you can spin 360 wil no activation. (I tested, I know, I like to know how my systems work)

Just like when you turn TRAC off it is OFF. You can spin your tires as much as you want as high as you want on rpms, it will not activate or limit you.
 
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westwind77 said:
Ummmm off is OFF. If you have it ON and try a 360 in a snow filled parking lot you are lucky to get a few degrees before it activates. Turn it off and you can spin 360 wil no activation. (I tested, I know, I like to know how my systems work)

Just like when you turn TRAC off it is OFF. You can spin your tires as much as you want as high as you want on rpms, it will not activate or limit you.
Click to expand...

yup, had it off the past few days at the beach. Off is off and its nice that it doesnt come back on at a certain speed too.
 
westwind77 said:
Ummmm off is OFF. If you have it ON and try a 360 in a snow filled parking lot you are lucky to get a few degrees before it activates. Turn it off and you can spin 360 wil no activation. (I tested, I know, I like to know how my systems work)

Just like when you turn TRAC off it is OFF. You can spin your tires as much as you want as high as you want on rpms, it will not activate or limit you.
Click to expand...

Mtn.Rush said:
yup, had it off the past few days at the beach. Off is off and its nice that it doesnt come back on at a certain speed too.
Click to expand...

Good to know. Someone else on the forum mentioned they still had something activate when they broke into a skid, but I am too tired to look up the post now. Considering everything clicks at the wheel ends when the computer decides it needs to do something, it's hard to tell what causes what.
 
4hi and 4lo are only for slick surfaces as I understand. Running on pavement where traction is available could cause mechanical probems, or am I wrong. (The Limited with AWD is a different.)
 
KCcarguy said:
Nasty weather is fast approaching and this will be my first winter in the 4runner. My last 4WD ('93 jeep wrangler) didn't have all these electronic gizmos, so I was wanting advice on when and how to use various features in snow and ice. I read the manual over, but it's a little overwhelming and it would be nice for one of you experts out there to lay out some simple rules.
Click to expand...

Unless your stuck or just want to do some donuts I'd leave it on. For day to day driving it's got more advantages than disadvantages if there are any...
 
Jensent said:
4hi and 4lo are only for slick surfaces as I understand. Running on pavement where traction is available could cause mechanical probems, or am I wrong. (The Limited with AWD is a different.)
Click to expand...

This horse has been beat to death on several other threads.
 
KCcarguy said:
Here are my questions:

Should I deactivate TRAC at any time? In deep snow?

If I'm in 4LO, will VSC and TRAC automatically disable?

In what situation would ATRAC help?

Do any of you guys have a "formula" for winter driving electronics-wise.
Click to expand...


You want to deactivate TRAC when you'll need your wheeels to keep spinnning even if there's no traction. It might be helpful in situation when you going uphill or stuck in the snow (or think that you can stuck if truck stops moving). If you for example parked on a show hill and when you trying to back out wheels are not even trying to spin - it's TRAC you want to turn off. And you're right when you in 4LO TRAC and VSC are disabled.

ATRAC is Toyota electronic implementation of LSD, I always turn it on when I'm in 4LO. ATRAC is clicking as crazy but steady moves your vehicle through deep snow or mud and usually getting you out of trouble. Or getting you in the bigger trouble because the further you go the longer you'll have to walk back fro help : )

Aanyway that was my take on that folks here will correct me if I'm wrong.
 
Thanks scanny! That's exactly the advice I was looking for. I was a little confused about using ATRAC in these types of situations. I didn't know if it would help or just make things worse by not allowing any wheel-spin.
 
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