A friend is looking at the jks and was asking me about how they handled on icy roads. I told him the 2dr was like any jeep I had driven in the past and how the ESP system worked but wasn't sure about the 4dr.
So you 4dr owners that have owned 2dr in the passed help me out. Does the 4dr handle better on slick roads than a 2dr?

While we are on the subject the jeep has always been notorious for swapping ends on slick roads. I have always been told is was because they are short and/or light weight. Is this true or is it something else in their design?

 

I live in central New Hampshire where we have just concluded the worst winter in history (broke every record for snow on the books). I can tell you that my four door performed flawlessly. Not so much as a single scary moment. That said, I've been driving in this crap all my life and do not exceed the vehicles limitations (read that I drive like your grandmother). My only complaint is that when you want to have a little fun and slide it around on purpose, the ESP won't let you.

 

That is the truth. I tried it and when it corrected itself, it felt like it jumped onto a set of rails. It is a good system, within its capabilities.

 

Thanks all!

 

At 3805 pounds curb weight for a 2 door and 3999 for the 4 door, I wouldn't categorize this as a light vehicle. Perhaps in years gone by, but this current model is pretty heavy. To put that into perspective, a full size Chevy pickup, regular cab, short bed has a curb weight of 4453 pounds.

 

What Skibum said, except I drive like HIS Grandmother. Damn it was a long snowy winter up here this year.

 

Before I had my 2D Sahara, I had an 06 Nissan Frontier 4 Door 4WD NISMO. It was a pretty heavy truck, but, both my Unlimited & my 2 door perform 1000x better in slick conditions than the Frontier. I think the Unlimited and 2 door are just about equal.

 

Something I didn't think to add but I was meaning in two wheel drive.

 

I had a 97 TJ when I was living in Minnesota. I remember driving almost sideways down 694 on the way home from college. Oddly enough it didn't feel unpredictable, but the short wheel base definitely is looser in those conditions then anything with a longer wheelbase. I imagine that's moot now with all of the control systems in the JK. (My TJ didn't even have anti-lock brakes.)

 

I'd tell him not to worry to much about it. I did have a couple interesting moments during this winter in my 2 door though. But it was when the highway was completely covered in a layer of ice. For instance pulling out of my gravel driveway onto the road I spun 90 degrees right just from shifting from first to second gear while still turning (esp kept me from going farther), and I experienced a little sideways driving while going up a steep hill (no esp light there). But as mentioned it is strangely predictable. There were two days like that this winter where I had to get to work, the exact same thing happened both times. Snow is not really a problem though and I have never seen the ESP light come on above 50km/h, probably because the 2dr is fairly stable to begin with.

The 4dr will be initially more stable, but once you lose control it will be more difficult to get back on track.