4x4 question
Thread Starter
JK Newbie
Joined: Jun 2009
Posts: 11
Likes: 0
From: Monmouth New Jersey
Toad's right. We've all gotten distracted by one little facet here and we've failed to answer the OP's question. 
Suggestions for you:
#1. Don't use 4WD on dry pavement. It will not handle all that well, and is hard on your tires and your drivetrain. your Jeep has "old-school" 4WD which means that your front and rear driveshafts will be turning at exactly the same speed when your transfer case is in 4WD. Not a good thing on pavement.
#2. You probably don't want to engage 4WD when traction is good. Nice even gravel, wet pavement, etc. Even though this isn't dry pavement, you are probably still getting good traction and there's no need for 4WD.
#3. Snow and/or Ice on pavement. 4WD will help you to accelerate, and may or may not help with your ability to turn (depends on the situation). It can be useful at times, especially just after a snowfall if one area of the road is particularly bad. My (personal) general guideline is 50 MPH. What that means is that if I feel conditions are good enough to be travelling faster than 50 MPH, then they are good enough that I don't need 4WD. If I feel that I need 4WD, I shouldn't be going any faster than 50 MPH. Turn the ESP off if you find that it is keeping you from getting going from a stop, but I would turn it back on again after that. When it comes to snow and ice, the most important mod that you can make to your Jeep is appropriate tires. A 2WD vehicle on snow tires will perform better than a 4WD vehicle on street tires.
#4. On the trail - I frequently drop into 4 low as soon as I air down at the trailhead. I may end up using 5th gear because we're moving along an easy stretch of trail, but it just makes life easier. Don't feel that you have to do this.
Flooded pavement: Be very, very careful with this. I know that driving a Jeep gives you a lot of capabilities that are above and beyond the average vehicle out there, and it's tempting to think that you can just roll through obstacles that would stop lesser vehicles...but understand that Jeeps have limits too.
Driving through a flooded area is risky. You can't see the road in front of you, and if you happen to drop your right front tire into the ditch, you're likely to hydrolock your engine. There are also a LOT of other things to watch out for, and some mods that you will probably want to make prior to trying to ford deep water. Until you've spent some time off-roading with experienced people, I wouldn't recommend fording anything that comes up past the hubs of your wheels.
I hope that helps.
Suggestions for you:
#1. Don't use 4WD on dry pavement. It will not handle all that well, and is hard on your tires and your drivetrain. your Jeep has "old-school" 4WD which means that your front and rear driveshafts will be turning at exactly the same speed when your transfer case is in 4WD. Not a good thing on pavement.
#2. You probably don't want to engage 4WD when traction is good. Nice even gravel, wet pavement, etc. Even though this isn't dry pavement, you are probably still getting good traction and there's no need for 4WD.
#3. Snow and/or Ice on pavement. 4WD will help you to accelerate, and may or may not help with your ability to turn (depends on the situation). It can be useful at times, especially just after a snowfall if one area of the road is particularly bad. My (personal) general guideline is 50 MPH. What that means is that if I feel conditions are good enough to be travelling faster than 50 MPH, then they are good enough that I don't need 4WD. If I feel that I need 4WD, I shouldn't be going any faster than 50 MPH. Turn the ESP off if you find that it is keeping you from getting going from a stop, but I would turn it back on again after that. When it comes to snow and ice, the most important mod that you can make to your Jeep is appropriate tires. A 2WD vehicle on snow tires will perform better than a 4WD vehicle on street tires.
#4. On the trail - I frequently drop into 4 low as soon as I air down at the trailhead. I may end up using 5th gear because we're moving along an easy stretch of trail, but it just makes life easier. Don't feel that you have to do this.
Flooded pavement: Be very, very careful with this. I know that driving a Jeep gives you a lot of capabilities that are above and beyond the average vehicle out there, and it's tempting to think that you can just roll through obstacles that would stop lesser vehicles...but understand that Jeeps have limits too.
Driving through a flooded area is risky. You can't see the road in front of you, and if you happen to drop your right front tire into the ditch, you're likely to hydrolock your engine. There are also a LOT of other things to watch out for, and some mods that you will probably want to make prior to trying to ford deep water. Until you've spent some time off-roading with experienced people, I wouldn't recommend fording anything that comes up past the hubs of your wheels.
I hope that helps.
JK Super Freak
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 1,116
Likes: 3
From: Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Something like that.
Under normal conditions on the trail, it doesn't take much force to get a tire to slip a little bit. That means that minor differences in how far a particular tire travels (such as cornering) aren't going to put a lot of extra strain on your drivetrain.
On dry pavement, it takes a lot of force to make that same tire slip - meaning a lot of strain on your drivetrain if you leave it in 4WD.
Under normal conditions on the trail, it doesn't take much force to get a tire to slip a little bit. That means that minor differences in how far a particular tire travels (such as cornering) aren't going to put a lot of extra strain on your drivetrain.
On dry pavement, it takes a lot of force to make that same tire slip - meaning a lot of strain on your drivetrain if you leave it in 4WD.
Thread Starter
JK Newbie
Joined: Jun 2009
Posts: 11
Likes: 0
From: Monmouth New Jersey
Something like that.
Under normal conditions on the trail, it doesn't take much force to get a tire to slip a little bit. That means that minor differences in how far a particular tire travels (such as cornering) aren't going to put a lot of extra strain on your drivetrain.
On dry pavement, it takes a lot of force to make that same tire slip - meaning a lot of strain on your drivetrain if you leave it in 4WD.
Under normal conditions on the trail, it doesn't take much force to get a tire to slip a little bit. That means that minor differences in how far a particular tire travels (such as cornering) aren't going to put a lot of extra strain on your drivetrain.
On dry pavement, it takes a lot of force to make that same tire slip - meaning a lot of strain on your drivetrain if you leave it in 4WD.
JK Newbie
Joined: Oct 2009
Posts: 56
Likes: 0
From: Vancouver, British Columbia
You can disable it,check your manual, there's an "On" mode, a "Partial Off" mode, and a "Full Off" mode. The full off mode involves some weird steering wheel dancing much like the way to get the seat belt beeper to stop going every 10 feet of driving. The Partial Off mode is when you press the button.
JK Enthusiast
Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 109
Likes: 0
From: Asheville
ESP in Snow
I was looking for a thread to post this "experience." I live in the mountains of NC and we just got blasted with about a foot and half of snow last weekend. My first real snow to test the JK in. BTW it was bad enough that the National Guard was called out.
We had downed trees and power lines everywhere, three of the routes to my house were impassable because of other idiots in the road and downed power lines and trees. I took a little known road but it goes straight up over the mountain. It had a section of untouched snow at least foot deep straight uphill for about a half mile. Tried the Jeep with and without ESP. Thought the added wheelspin would help. NOPE.
Jeep went up the hill MUCH better with ESP. When turned off, I got much more wheelspin but the jeep would sling-shot back and forth across the road as the open diff sent power back and forth in the front end, forcing me to slow down even more and defeating the purpose. With ESP on, it went up the hill straight and under control, the ESP does slow down wheelspin but performed much better in my opinion.
Side note, I've owned CJs and Cherokees (all modified for offroad) and driven a few wranglers offroad, but the JK continues to impress me and has exceeded my expectations - this last snow event confirmed it again. Now if I can just get the ESP to stop coming on tight mountain turns without completely disabling it.
We had downed trees and power lines everywhere, three of the routes to my house were impassable because of other idiots in the road and downed power lines and trees. I took a little known road but it goes straight up over the mountain. It had a section of untouched snow at least foot deep straight uphill for about a half mile. Tried the Jeep with and without ESP. Thought the added wheelspin would help. NOPE.
Jeep went up the hill MUCH better with ESP. When turned off, I got much more wheelspin but the jeep would sling-shot back and forth across the road as the open diff sent power back and forth in the front end, forcing me to slow down even more and defeating the purpose. With ESP on, it went up the hill straight and under control, the ESP does slow down wheelspin but performed much better in my opinion.
Side note, I've owned CJs and Cherokees (all modified for offroad) and driven a few wranglers offroad, but the JK continues to impress me and has exceeded my expectations - this last snow event confirmed it again. Now if I can just get the ESP to stop coming on tight mountain turns without completely disabling it.
JK Newbie
Joined: Feb 2009
Posts: 52
Likes: 0
From: Ripley,WV
JK Enthusiast
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 173
Likes: 0
From: xy
What about an area of road that is flooded, but not so much to warrant hydro-lock. As in you KNOW you'll be fine, but what that extra traction anyway, is 4hi still okay even though you're driving in pavement?
JK Newbie
Joined: Dec 2009
Posts: 83
Likes: 0
From: Portland,Tx
Not to sound like officer safety, but you should be extremely careful crossing a flooded road in a jeep. We're lighter than a lot of trucks and SUVs and moving water will carry a Jeep right off the road easier. 
That said, you probably wont need 4wd in still/slow-running water, but its a good practice to pull it into 4hi just incase.
I spent a lot of time working in the East Texas River bottoms. I've seen some real screw-ups from guys who tried to cross a flooded section of road that looked shallow and slow, but in reality were either running faster than anticipated, or were extremely deep due to the water cutting a huge washout through the pavement.
A friend of mine hydro-locked a Ford F-150 with 6in of lift and 35s because he didnt get out and check for a wash out and just eased his truck in.
After an hour of trying, we finally got him out, and the next day when the water receded, We found the wash was 6 feet deep in the middle.
Not saying you would do this, just FYI.
That said, you probably wont need 4wd in still/slow-running water, but its a good practice to pull it into 4hi just incase. I spent a lot of time working in the East Texas River bottoms. I've seen some real screw-ups from guys who tried to cross a flooded section of road that looked shallow and slow, but in reality were either running faster than anticipated, or were extremely deep due to the water cutting a huge washout through the pavement.
A friend of mine hydro-locked a Ford F-150 with 6in of lift and 35s because he didnt get out and check for a wash out and just eased his truck in.
After an hour of trying, we finally got him out, and the next day when the water receded, We found the wash was 6 feet deep in the middle. Not saying you would do this, just FYI.
JK Enthusiast
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 173
Likes: 0
From: xy
No I know, I probably never would. I just wanted to know if I ever HAD to, as in, a T-Rex was chasing me with Jeff Goldblum lying injured in my back seat and I came to a flooded street, would it be a good idea in that specific situation to engage 4hi.
Know what I mean?
Know what I mean?
