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Snow Driving

I've only used the snow mode once this winter, when we had 6" of unplowed snow. Otherwise, the normal setting works well along with my winter tires.
 



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Driving in Snow...

We have had a seriously dry Winter, and only had our first decent snow last week, which was around 6-7 inches of wet snow. Shortly after that the temperatures dropped down below zero.

I noticed that our '15 Sport had the intake, located down by the air dam, completely caked with ice. So solid that I couldn't poke through it with an ice pick. So I am guessing the engineers realized this was going to happen, and it won't adversely effect the vehicle...???

I also notice lots of very strange sounds, which seemed to be related to ice and snow buildup around the engine and suspension. The car sounded noticeably louder, and had a light tapping noise that increased with engine speed. We also noticed that we would get a hot rubber smell after driving on the highway at different times.

Now that things have warmed up, and all the snow is melted, the car seems back to normal, but it makes me wonder if all that is normal, or if they don't test it in adverse conditions.

On another note, it really gripes me that they don't put a substantial bumper on cars anymore. When driving along I try to dodge the large chunks of frozen snow that have refrozen. I just wish they would design these with a rugged steel bumper, like the one on my truck.
 






It all comes down to mpg, And steel bumpers take away mpg because of weight. Trucks have more reasons to have steel bumpers bigger engines etc...
 






I've had my 15 Ex SP for a month. We see a significant amount of snow each week. The car is garaged and I warm up 10-15 min prior to driving in -15 to 20 degree weather...pretty much all winter. So I really haven't driven in warm temps yet to make a determination. I have to say I don't see any of the things you mention above. No ice, No smell and the engine seems smooth and quite. But our gas up here is the winter blend. Not sure if that makes a difference.
 






The intake you're talking about is a passive channel that leads to the oil cooler radiator. It almost seems to be an afterthought so I imagine that it's only/most important when towing heavy trailers in hot weater.
 






I noticed that our '15 Sport had the intake, located down by the air dam, completely caked with ice. So solid that I couldn't poke through it with an ice pick. So I am guessing the engineers realized this was going to happen, and it won't adversely effect the vehicle...???

If you are talking about this intake

sport.jpg


It is a air channel that sends air to help cool the rear turbo.
I'm guessing in winter time it is needed less than in summer.
 






If you are talking about this intake

It is a air channel that sends air to help cool the rear turbo.
I'm guessing in winter time it is needed less than in summer.

That channel exists on every Explorer with the 44C transmission; basically every Sport and Base, XLT and Limited models with factory tow package.
 






So how did everyone's explorer hold up during the storm this weekend? I only got stuck once and that was due to bad decision making on my part. thought I could make it through a snow drift that even a serious off roader vehicle would have probably got stuck in. I was able to go wherever I wanted the rest of the time though. This is with the OEM hankooks too! Thoroughly impressed yet again with the explorer!
 






29" of Snow - even my Jeep Wrangler sat on the sidelines for this one.
 






My 06 was great, even with worn all season tires in DC. Was really impressed with AdvanceTrac
 






Got to check out the Ex in the snow today

Had to make a trip today for unimportant things and we got a pretty good dowsing of snow today. We don't generally get snow at this time of the year here and so it gave me the opportunity to check out the Ex in the snow and ice mode on the TMS. The drive was about a 10 mile round trip over hills and on main rural/town streets with the build up of slippery ice at the signals. I was a little surprised ice had generally formed on the road in most of the entire length of the trip. The county had not put down the 'sand' yet so, it was just snow and ice. Everybody was driving sanely as well so the drive was unremarkable in that respect.

I'm fairly impressed with how the system works in these conditions. No slippage at all in starting or stopping. It was more like there wasn't any snow or ice at all. I noticed others in their SUVs and for the most part they seemed to have no problem as well except for maybe all the older Jeep Cherokees. They eventually were able to get going after spinning their wheels and getting sideways a bit but, seemed fine after that. I was really quite impressed with starting on slippery ice. The Ex just rolled out as if there was no ice at all. This on these crummy Hankooks as well. Anyway, it was an interesting experience. Good job, Ford! :chug:
 






They did do a good job with the electronic controls, its almost perfect, not too much or too little assist from the vehicle, actually makes you feel like you know what you're doing till you switch it to sand mode and it takes traction control off, I think I set the record time for switching it back lol:laugh:
 






We got our first 10” blast a few days ago. Took my wife’s 15 Sport out for a snow cruise. I forgot how much of a beast it is with the 20” Blizzak’s. Continue to like her sport ....especially in deep snow
 






Hey folks!

Another year, another winter! Just wanted to add my own personal EX-perience...

We're out here in rural South-Western Ontario with a 17 XLT AWD and Arctic Claw winter tires (2nd to none in terms of performance/price).
Last night we got about 50cm of snow-fall on top of the ~20cm from the last few days. The top ~40cm was really light and loose, but under that slightly packed.

Anyway, I had very little trouble driving through the deep snow in Snow Mode. Just took it nice and steady, not stopping or turning too sharply. Sometimes I felt the wheels spinning, but never enough to gouge in and get stuck, and kept moving nicely.

I had to pick out snow after that from the front grilles and a bit from the lower parts of the engine bay that had collected there, but nothing untoward.

Can't wait to have some fun with Sand Mode, though! Just need to find a nice open lot.
 






Hey folks!

Another year, another winter! Just wanted to add my own personal EX-perience...

We're out here in rural South-Western Ontario with a 17 XLT AWD and Arctic Claw winter tires (2nd to none in terms of performance/price).
Last night we got about 50cm of snow-fall on top of the ~20cm from the last few days. The top ~40cm was really light and loose, but under that slightly packed.

Anyway, I had very little trouble driving through the deep snow in Snow Mode. Just took it nice and steady, not stopping or turning too sharply. Sometimes I felt the wheels spinning, but never enough to gouge in and get stuck, and kept moving nicely.

I had to pick out snow after that from the front grilles and a bit from the lower parts of the engine bay that had collected there, but nothing untoward.

Can't wait to have some fun with Sand Mode, though! Just need to find a nice open lot.
Did you happen to try driving it in those condition in 'Normal'? Just curious about the difference. Only received 17 cm here in the Ottawa area. My brother lives in London. I wonder if they got dumped on too?

Peter
 






I tried snow mode the other day in very deep snow and couldn't figure out the difference. It might have shifted a little sooner than usual, but I can't be sure. Normal worked just as well in my experience.
 






50 cm = about 20", right? That's a lot of snow!

No wonder you guys need snow tires.
 






Did you happen to try driving it in those condition in 'Normal'? Just curious about the difference. Only received 17 cm here in the Ottawa area. My brother lives in London. I wonder if they got dumped on too?
Didn't try Normal, actually, but there's a stretch of lawn next to our driveway that I'll go through to see if there's a difference.
I'm only about 30 mins north of London and know that they did get quite a bit (this area is called the Snow Belt, after all), but since they plow and salt heavily, it'll be mostly a slushy nasty mess by now.

I tried snow mode the other day in very deep snow and couldn't figure out the difference. It might have shifted a little sooner than usual, but I can't be sure. Normal worked just as well in my experience.
I think the main difference is the throttle is much softer to try and prevent wheel spin. I'll try and see what I find.

50 cm = about 20", right? That's a lot of snow!
No wonder you guys need snow tires.
Yes, about 20" - hasn't snowed this much here in a long time though. Winter tires sure make a difference. I was also able to get through the same tracks the XLT made in my '17 Jetta FWD with Michelin X-Ice3s. Only got stuck once on a portion where a deeper layer of snow had compacted too much and the Jetta kinda beached itself on it, removing weight from the wheels.

Drive safely, folks!
 






I tried snow mode the other day in very deep snow and couldn't figure out the difference. It might have shifted a little sooner than usual, but I can't be sure. Normal worked just as well in my experience.

Like futureboy said, snow mode reduces the sensitivity of the throttle, so 1/2 throttle input in snow mode is more like 1/4 throttle input in normal mode.
Yes, the transmission should shift to the next higher gear at a much slower speed.
The traction control is much more intrusive. If you get the wheels to spin, you notice the traction control is very active in preventing wheel spin.
Last, I believe the snow mode will more readily transfer power to the rear wheels to have move even power distribution.

All this is to reduce/prevent wheel spin in the snow(or slippery surfaces).
 



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Weird, I didn't note any of that save for a single shorter shift. Throttle felt the same as did the AWD calibration.
 






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