4X4 snow choice

[subiemech85]

4 hi or 4lo what is better to correct sliding on road

what do I want for spinning around on purpose

[subarweinie]

for spining on purpouse i find 4 hi to do good (my dads going to kill me when he reads this)( I love u dad:rolleyes: ) 4 hi is probably better to keep controle of your scubby because 4 low is for slow driving only or if your realy stuck good you can only do i think about 20-30 mph in lo range without damaging somthing.

[Meeky Moose]

for serious 4x4ing or going slow 4lo is best.. for spinning and doin doughnuts in a parking lot somewhere 4hi is best..

 

i once drove a lifted 4x D/R hatch in 4low 60 mph for 300 miles with no ill effects.. on dry pavement no less.. (didn't know it was in 4low)

[Sweet82]

Hummm...........

 

Maybe I'm missing the point here but I suggest making your hi/lo range decision based off speed. I'd base my speed decision off how slick the conditions are. And in slick conditions I'd down the good old tire pressure! (esp the rear).

 

My experience has been 1. It's easy to accelerate in slick conditions, It's hard to stop!

2. Using 4wd in a corner, it's easy to put your hind quarters ahead of you

 

 

For fooling around you'll get more wheel speed in 4hi

(try cranking the wheels all the way one direction and drop the clutch in reverse on snow)

[QuickRX]

Well... in my '85 RX, Low worked best, for 2 reasons:

 

1] Gave me better engine/compression braking- rolling off the throttle gradually - not abruptly, especially if you're not level or going straight- the brakes are used less, all 4 tires grab;

Then you can regulate rate of decelleration via the throtle. Can still steer, too, with more weight transferred to the front wheels! (Po' man's ABS...)

2] Acceleration is better. Having the extra 'squirt' that results from the quick revs that happen in the shorter gearing helped get me into and out of all KINDA stuff.

 

Once I got up to speed, if there was less of the nasty white stuff or bare/wet or only kinda sloppy, back into Hi range, but on the RX, it's not REALLY necessary until I'm going WAY faster than anyone should- in public, anyway. And my name ain't Petter, anyway, but whatever. (Sideways is OK when confident of total control, outcome and with a clear run-off area in case things go all whoopty-woop, right? heehee)

 

I kept the revs up to keep the engine in the 'sweet spot' of HP/torque, and to provide more engine braking when I did roll off of the throttle.

 

-QuickRX

[archemitis]

4lo is totaly different in an rx

 

i say 2 hi. wheels will spin faster which gives faster donuts, and you'll break less stuff in hi

[XSNRG]

To correct sliding, you would probably use 4 lo, since if you are trying to avoid sliding, you will probably be going slower. For deliberate sliding either will work but you might want 4 hi or a higher gear to get the tires spinning faster. 4 lo and 4 hi both lock up the same, so the only real difference will be at low speed or high speed. You can go slower in low range and faster in high range. I love driving my RX in low range and do it every chance I get.

[markman34]

I've read somewhere that with the 4 low option you would have the lsd rear end? is this correct? 'Cause that'd help with the intentional drifting!

 

I have a d\r 5 spd and I wonder about driving the car in 4x4 on dry roads/tight spaces. Does the drive train suffer much in 4x4?

 

I understand that there is a viscous coupling in the AWD tranny to relieve stresses caused by different wheel speeds. Does the D/r tranny have this benefit? Is it just front to back that causes problems or side to side as well?

 

Confused in Calgary

[Sweet82]

I've read somewhere that with the 4 low option you would have the lsd rear end? is this correct? 'Cause that'd help with the intentional drifting!

 

I have a d\r 5 spd and I wonder about driving the car in 4x4 on dry roads/tight spaces. Does the drive train suffer much in 4x4?

 

I understand that there is a viscous coupling in the AWD tranny to relieve stresses caused by different wheel speeds. Does the D/r tranny have this benefit? Is it just front to back that causes problems or side to side as well?

 

Confused in Calgary

 

If I'm understanding the question right,

The 4 speed dual range transmission (4 low) would not necessarily have an LSD rear end.

The only way to get the LSD in that car is to make a 3.90 diff using the internal components of a 3.7 LSD diff--which was never installed with the 4 speed D/R tranny.

 

Driving in 4wd in tight places. I'm not sure what you mean by tight places, but sharp corners on dry paved roads will force the drive train to bind up. Your 5 speed tranny is tough. Your car will take this abuse but it can't be the best thing for it. Every now and then will not mess anything up but doing this all the time...something some time will break...

 

Your 5 speed tranny does not have the viscous coupling. Side to side is where your going to find the problems...

 

Good Luck,

Glenn

82 SubaruHummer--4 speed D/R

01 Forester--5 speed S/R

[A DOG]

I rally ice in 4lo because the wheels pick up speed faster.(lower ratio) They don't get up as much speed, but they wind up faster. Ice is so much fun in a suby.

[Flowmastered87GL]

In the ice storm we had this winter, I was one of the few cars on the roads. Running mostly 4 LO in 1st and 2nd gear... maybe 3rd on a nice sanded road. Keep in mind EVERYTHING was ice. Brakes were useless as it made the car tend to slide. Compression braking in low range kept the car nice and straight all the way down to 2 MPH or so when I could apply the brakes safely to stop.

 

So for max control, use 4Lo To have fun in a parking lot use 4 hi

 

For rallycross, use 4 Lo if possible (as a change from 3 lo to 2 lo is probably easier on the tranny than 2 hi to 1 hi) Well on a 320K tranny it sure is