Snow duty

[Orangeoutlaw]

Well for the first time my 97 Mountaineer was on snow duty . It did horribly in the 12 inches of snow. My old 94 Ranger super cab with 31s never ever had the problems this thing did. The tires were just some generic at but it was awful. It felt and drove like a 2wd most of the time. So I looking for suggestions. My take is at least 31 inch tires and a TT to get a lil extra height. I also would like to ad heated mirrors. Has anyone ever put heated mirrior on Mounty s? Also please suggest changes I should make. This is my first excursion with AWD and snow . I didnt get the same seat of the pants feel with it as with a part time 4x4 system.So fire away I am open for any and all suggestions .

 

[patrick112390]

well i have to say with my mods there isnt a chance in the world i could have gotten stuck today...i should have taken pictures but my AWD mounty pulled a semi-tractor trailer out of the snow this morning....

 

[5.0B2]

In snow like you were experiencing I shift mine from auto to 4hi. In auto, the transfercase tries to judge how much front axle power you need from the amount of rear wheel slippage and above 35 mph disconnects the front completely.

 

[patrick112390]

In snow like you were experiencing I shift mine from auto to 4hi. In auto, the transfercase tries to judge how much front axle power you need from the amount of rear wheel slippage and above 35 mph disconnects the front completely.

he (we) have AWD. no switches, its full time

 

[techieman33]

the awd system is very capable in the snow, it sounds more like a tire, or driver issue.

 

[Orangeoutlaw]

the awd system is very capable in the snow, it sounds more like a tire, or driver issue.

Tires very well could have been the issue but I have had worse and had a better feeling . I just didnt have that positve feel.

 

[yellowford]

The power seems to add a feel to it, with the v8 it seems to always want to kick out in the back with the limited slip. Tires seem to make the biggest difference as the tires I have now are almost balled and sucked in 5inches of snow, but when I had 31in stt on my old explorer it ate up the snow.

 

[unclemeat]

Tires and snow. The snow at my house is thick and dense. It was like driving in sand. Lots of throttle was required. If your truck is not pulling well in this snow, try dropping you r tire pressure to 20-25-psi.

 

[storlied]

Even when my truck was stock, I felt it did best in snow. With the 31's it's even better. How exactly did you feel the truck wasn't performing?.. The AWD has gotten me outta quite a few messes.

 

[volver]

The Icelandic people have something like 20 different words for snow. Have you seen some of the trucks that they have converted to snow machines. They are ridiculous.

The performance of your explorer is going to depend on the type of snow. The other day I got 5 inches of wet snow. I got good traction in the fresh stuff. After cars had packed it down it was like ice. The next day i got 5 inches of light fluffy snow. The X drove like there was nothing in its way.

If you are on a sheet of ice it doesn't matter if you have 10 wheel dive, you still going to have no control.

 

[Orangeoutlaw]

When taking off from a dead stop the rear end would slide all around like a 2wd. I stuck my head out of the window but the front tires would be spinning . However it went great in reverse with no issues . It was like the front end wasnt pulling until rear tires broke loose and even then you had to be aggressive with the throttle

 

[Blazepet7]

my x was a tank this morning its gotta be the tires are the tires inthe front a little more bare

 

[gijoecam]

Tires, tires, and tires.

 

[Orangeoutlaw]

OK thanks guys

 

[storlied]

Think of it like this... this AWD is like a combination of 2WD and 4x4.... it has 60% of the power to the rear and 40% of the power up front... it's not a perfect split and depends more on the rear,... keep that in mind.. And yes... tires tires tires.

 

[trj360]

Think of it like this... this AWD is like a combination of 2WD and 4x4.... it has 60% of the power to the rear and 40% of the power up front... it's not a perfect split and depends more on the rear,... keep that in mind.. And yes... tires tires tires.

That's what I was thinking, the rear wheels do most of the work with an AWD, the front just help out.

For what it's worth, we just got 2 feet of snow and my explorer had zero issues. I even slid off an icy road into a ditch with 2+ feet of snow and worked a little driver magic and got out in a couple minutes. 33" mud terrains and lockers.

 

[storlied]

I went off into 2-3ft a couple winters ago... once I got my engine started and my accessories to stay on.. lol.... wtf.. I drove right out of it... while at the same time, scared as hell that an MP was gonna drive up but yeah... 31 BFG A/T's pulled me right out.

 

[wpurple]

My Mountaineer AWD is awesome in the snow...and I live on a street that gets plowed last.