Winter driving observations from a first-time 4Runner owner

[Chris In Milwaukee]

So, winter came a smidge early this year in SE Wisco and I've been waiting for this day to give the 4Runner a first drive on a snowy day. When I went to clear the driveway this morning, it was a slushy, snotty mess. Figured it was a good opportunity to see if the Tire Rack reviews of the stock Dunlop AT2 on my '19 ORP matched real-world conditions. So many negative comments elsewhere on the Interwebz on them as well, but you just never know.

Short story is the 4Runner handled nicely. The factory tires didn't perform any worse than any other tire I've had, honestly. I left the vehicle in 2WD for the entire trip into work this morning and never felt that I was at a loss for traction or safety. I could certainly feel the vehicle breaking loose from a traffic light stop if I forced the issue (which I did a couple of times, just to see what its limits were). But normal stops and starts weren't a problem. Now, granted it's the first snow, 32F degrees, and the roads aren't frozen yet. So there's no ice. But I think the snotty slushy stuff is probably just as hazardous.

Cornering at a normal cautious rate didn't present any problems, nor did normal cautious braking. I did get a little aggressive with the brakes a couple of times to find that limit, and there wasn't any kind of reaction from the ABS or veering off path. So far, so good.

The weight distribution of the 4Runner is a lot nicer than my previous Ram 1500. Of course, with a Hemi, if you think accelerated thoughts you're going to spin the rear wheels. An F150 ahead of me in traffic broke loose nearly every time he started out. Didn't experience that once with the 4Runner. I feel quite safe in it so far, but will be careful not to let my guard down.

I'll report back in a couple of months when the deep freeze really starts to set in up here on the frozen tundra. When streets freeze and rubber gets hard, things may change.

~Chris

 

[JP421]

So, winter came a smidge early this year in SE Wisco and I've been waiting for this day to give the 4Runner a first drive on a snowy day. When I went to clear the driveway this morning, it was a slushy, snotty mess. Figured it was a good opportunity to see if the Tire Rack reviews of the stock Dunlop AT2 on my '19 ORP matched real-world conditions. So many negative comments elsewhere on the Interwebz on them as well, but you just never know.

Short story is the 4Runner handled nicely. The factory tires didn't perform any worse than any other tire I've had, honestly. I left the vehicle in 2WD for the entire trip into work this morning and never felt that I was at a loss for traction or safety. I could certainly feel the vehicle breaking loose from a traffic light stop if I forced the issue (which I did a couple of times, just to see what its limits were). But normal stops and starts weren't a problem. Now, granted it's the first snow, 32F degrees, and the roads aren't frozen yet. So there's no ice. But I think the snotty slushy stuff is probably just as hazardous.

Cornering at a normal cautious rate didn't present any problems, nor did normal cautious braking. I did get a little aggressive with the brakes a couple of times to find that limit, and there wasn't any kind of reaction from the ABS or veering off path. So far, so good.

The weight distribution of the 4Runner is a lot nicer than my previous Ram 1500. Of course, with a Hemi, if you think accelerated thoughts you're going to spin the rear wheels. An F150 ahead of me in traffic broke loose nearly every time he started out. Didn't experience that once with the 4Runner. I feel quite safe in it so far, but will be careful not to let my guard down.

I'll report back in a couple of months when the deep freeze really starts to set in up here on the frozen tundra. When streets freeze and rubber gets hard, things may change.

~Chris

Lower temps and ice are what make or break tires.

32 degree slush shouldnt be a challenge to any all-season. My winters (Nokian LT3s) are going on next week.

 

[WEAK_E90]

i never had a problem with the oem tires even when snow was in the 4-5" mark.

I still went all terrains and def noticed what i was missing out on.... :wow:

 

[yognabologna]

This is interesting to read for me. I'm having a ton of issues in the snow/ice right now. My ABS is engaging like crazy, even when I'm not going fast, and my entire car is rattling when I accelerate. I have a brand new 2019 SR5. I feel zero comfort in inclement weather conditions right now. There are old minivans driving faster/more comfortably than me.

youtube vid below..

YouTube

 

[Chris In Milwaukee]

This is interesting to read for me. I'm having a ton of issues in the snow/ice right now. My ABS is engaging like crazy, even when I'm not going fast, and my entire car is rattling when I accelerate. I have a brand new 2019 SR5. I feel zero comfort in inclement weather conditions right now. There are old minivans driving faster/more comfortably than me.

That sounds scary. I guess I'm blessed with driving in the flatlands! You've had winter a bit longer than we have, and our weather hasn't yet gotten to the level of sketch that you're probably experiencing right now. In another month, I may have a different opinion.

 

[JP421]

This is interesting to read for me. I'm having a ton of issues in the snow/ice right now. My ABS is engaging like crazy, even when I'm not going fast, and my entire car is rattling when I accelerate. I have a brand new 2019 SR5. I feel zero comfort in inclement weather conditions right now. There are old minivans driving faster/more comfortably than me.

Get real winter tires or slow down. The 4runner is a big heavy RWD vehicle.

 

[BobsTrail]

You live in snow country, get real winter tires, then a set of ATs for the rest of the year. Enjoy the T4 safely.

 

[IanB]

This is interesting to read for me. I'm having a ton of issues in the snow/ice right now. My ABS is engaging like crazy, even when I'm not going fast, and my entire car is rattling when I accelerate. I have a brand new 2019 SR5. I feel zero comfort in inclement weather conditions right now. There are old minivans driving faster/more comfortably than me.

youtube vid below..

YouTube

Set your tire pressure at 32psi cold for the winter, it will help the crappy stock tires grip up in the winter a bit.

 

[yognabologna]

Get real winter tires or slow down. The 4runner is a big heavy RWD vehicle.

I appreciate the advice but this is even happening under 10 MPH or in underground parking lots with no snow/ice. I promise you, there's something wrong with my car.

 

[the_fornicator]

I personally hate the ABS system. When it senses any sort of slippage, the ABS engages, but the way it engages is absolutely shit imo.

i.e. I'm coming to a turn and begin to brake, 4runner senses some slippage and engages the ABS. When ABS engages, it initially disengages your brakes for like 1s before sloooooowly engaging it again (like it's trying to simulate a retardedly slow brake pump). So, you lose any semblance of braking for a full second and it takes you a second to realize what's going on because there's no indication that is happening either -no jutting of the brakes/ABS system, no beeping, no lights, no sounds of any sort -I wouldn't want a beep (my 4th gen does this and it drives me nuts), but SOMETHING would be nice. When ice is involved, 1sec is a lot of ****ing time and distance which could mean the difference between an accident or no accident.

I notice this only happens under light braking -it happens every morning when I'm going a little more aggressively into one turn by my house where there's a bump going into the turn and the bump is right in the braking zone too. The bump makes you jump every so slightly but the car recognizes it at slippage and it does that shitty, slow brake pump so it releases the brakes for a quick second before trying to slowly engage it again. So, I release the brakes when I go over the bump and re-engage immediately after.

I've been in situations where I've had to lock my brakes up and light up all 4 tires and there was no lag or loss of braking then (last week, some old guy in a landrover aggressively changed into my lane without shoulder checking and there was only one action to take and it was to lock my tires up -gradual pressure would have resulted me driving into his rear passenger door. With a curb to my right, there's nowhere to go). So, it'd be nice to know when that shitty bit of ABS is going to kick in. I'm going to have to take it to a lake and book it around a make-shift track this winter. Pour some water on the surface to simulate black ice.

 

[JP421]

I appreciate the advice but this is even happening under 10 MPH or in underground parking lots with no snow/ice. I promise you, there's something wrong with my car.

What tires do you have?

I have MTs on right now, I do not want to find out how bad they are on icy roads.

 

[JP421]

I appreciate the advice but this is even happening under 10 MPH or in underground parking lots with no snow/ice. I promise you, there's something wrong with my car.

I just saw your other thread, your issue doesn't really count.

 

[Bruin1md]

So, winter came a smidge early this year in SE Wisco and I've been waiting for this day to give the 4Runner a first drive on a snowy day. When I went to clear the driveway this morning, it was a slushy, snotty mess. Figured it was a good opportunity to see if the Tire Rack reviews of the stock Dunlop AT2 on my '19 ORP matched real-world conditions. So many negative comments elsewhere on the Interwebz on them as well, but you just never know.

Short story is the 4Runner handled nicely. The factory tires didn't perform any worse than any other tire I've had, honestly. I left the vehicle in 2WD for the entire trip into work this morning and never felt that I was at a loss for traction or safety. I could certainly feel the vehicle breaking loose from a traffic light stop if I forced the issue (which I did a couple of times, just to see what its limits were). But normal stops and starts weren't a problem. Now, granted it's the first snow, 32F degrees, and the roads aren't frozen yet. So there's no ice. But I think the snotty slushy stuff is probably just as hazardous.

Cornering at a normal cautious rate didn't present any problems, nor did normal cautious braking. I did get a little aggressive with the brakes a couple of times to find that limit, and there wasn't any kind of reaction from the ABS or veering off path. So far, so good.

The weight distribution of the 4Runner is a lot nicer than my previous Ram 1500. Of course, with a Hemi, if you think accelerated thoughts you're going to spin the rear wheels. An F150 ahead of me in traffic broke loose nearly every time he started out. Didn't experience that once with the 4Runner. I feel quite safe in it so far, but will be careful not to let my guard down.

I'll report back in a couple of months when the deep freeze really starts to set in up here on the frozen tundra. When streets freeze and rubber gets hard, things may change.

~Chris

I too went from a Ram 2017 1500 to a new '20 TRD pro, and a big reason (besides the 4runner fitting my lifestyle better) was getting tired of the Ram getting squirelly on me every time it rained.
I've driven my 4runner twice in decent rain and have had zero issues with the stock Nittos

 

[WVhillbilly]

i never had a problem with the oem tires even when snow was in the 4-5" mark.

I still went all terrains and def noticed what i was missing out on.... :wow:

The tires that came on my Tundra were so bad that it wouldn't pull out of a flat driveway with 4 inches on snow on it in 2WD.
Goodyears on my wife's JK were the same.

 

[apohl17]

So, winter came a smidge early this year in SE Wisco and I've been waiting for this day to give the 4Runner a first drive on a snowy day. When I went to clear the driveway this morning, it was a slushy, snotty mess. Figured it was a good opportunity to see if the Tire Rack reviews of the stock Dunlop AT2 on my '19 ORP matched real-world conditions. So many negative comments elsewhere on the Interwebz on them as well, but you just never know.

Short story is the 4Runner handled nicely. The factory tires didn't perform any worse than any other tire I've had, honestly. I left the vehicle in 2WD for the entire trip into work this morning and never felt that I was at a loss for traction or safety. I could certainly feel the vehicle breaking loose from a traffic light stop if I forced the issue (which I did a couple of times, just to see what its limits were). But normal stops and starts weren't a problem. Now, granted it's the first snow, 32F degrees, and the roads aren't frozen yet. So there's no ice. But I think the snotty slushy stuff is probably just as hazardous.

Cornering at a normal cautious rate didn't present any problems, nor did normal cautious braking. I did get a little aggressive with the brakes a couple of times to find that limit, and there wasn't any kind of reaction from the ABS or veering off path. So far, so good.

The weight distribution of the 4Runner is a lot nicer than my previous Ram 1500. Of course, with a Hemi, if you think accelerated thoughts you're going to spin the rear wheels. An F150 ahead of me in traffic broke loose nearly every time he started out. Didn't experience that once with the 4Runner. I feel quite safe in it so far, but will be careful not to let my guard down.

I'll report back in a couple of months when the deep freeze really starts to set in up here on the frozen tundra. When streets freeze and rubber gets hard, things may change.

~Chris

Gotta love this record breaking Halloween snowfall! Not.
Apparently our area (I'm up about an hour north of Milwauk) hasn't got this much snow this early since 1926 or something crazy...

 

[ProLee]

I wish I had snow where I live now so I can test out my 4Runner....J/K. I hate the snow and cold of the Midwest. That's why I moved away from Minnesota, too freak-en cold. I do plan on taking it with the local guys on a snow run up in the mountains when it starts falling.:lookout:

 

[CharlesNellis]

I'm coming to a turn and begin to brake, 4runner senses some slippage and engages the ABS.

I read advise on driving on snow or ice that I try to remember.
"Braking and turning are two separate activities".

This is good for wet roads too if the path allows it.

I have played with my T4 on ice and snow and have not seen this behaviour, maybe a trip to a dealer would be helpful.

Yah.

I like to picture it as a sort shrinking circle.

You start out with a 100 percent circle which means 100 percent traction. Add a turn in and it shrinks to maybe 50 percent of its original size. Add brakes and it goes down to 25 percent. Once you get to 0, you lose traction. It's a balance that you must learn with experience for each particular vehicle and drive system. Inclement weather automatically decreases that circle to 75 percent, 50 percent, etc. You compensate by reducing speed and gaining some percentage of your circle back.

The type of surface I am most afraid of is black ice. To me that is automatically 0-1 percent. Not much you can do but hold on for dear life or if you're lucky enough to be able to have studded tires.

 

[blackened_offroad]

driving on the stock TRD ORP tires this week in all the snow and ice we've had in the Front Range has been really great. Extremely sure footed. But I'm coming from a 3rd gen with dead suspension and a ton of play in the steering.

 

[yognabologna]

What tires do you have?

I have MTs on right now, I do not want to find out how bad they are on icy roads.

literally the stock tires. car has 600 miles, I bought it 3 weeks ago, haven't done anything to it.

not sure what you mean by my issue doesn't count.

 

[JP421]

literally the stock tires. car has 600 miles, I bought it 3 weeks ago, haven't done anything to it.

not sure what you mean by my issue doesn't count.

I just meant yours isnt winter driving related. Its something else entirely.