Okay, here's a dumb question for you: When/how do you decide to go into 4wd in snow, slush, etc.? What triggers that reach for the shifter? I've had 5 Jeep Grand Cherokees (1993, 1994, 1995, 1998, 2005), all with one variety of Select-Trac (4 of them) or Quadra-Trac (1) or other, so I've never (except with my old 1991 Isuzu Trooper, but that's another story . . .) had to do much thinking about it. With all of those GCs it was safe to be in 4wd on dry pavement. But now I've been driving my 07 JK Unlimited (Rescue Green Sahara, stock (so far)) for 6 months, 2 of them snowy here in central NY.

I know 4wd is a no-no on "dry pavement" but i can't find much in the manual or on forums beyond that. What about wet pavement? Can't imagine I'd need it in rain--haven't so far. What about a dusting of snow that makes the road a little squirrely? 1 inch accumulation? 2?

So far, my rule of thumb is that when I'm looking at a couple of inches of the kind of slushy stuff you slide in, I go into 4hi; other than that, I've kept in it in 2wd. That sound right? Too conservative? Crazy? Opinions?

Thanks in advance,

gr

 

My father taught me to drive in 2WD in drive accordingly.
4WD is for getting out of a jam, not for getting stupid or overconfident.

 

I'll put mine on when there's at least 2 inches of snow on the roads, and it's unpaved, and I'm losing traction left and right.


I also may use 4wd to get up my neighborhood (a series of up-hills to get to my street), when it's very slick.

Otherwise, on road, it's 2wd all the time.

 

4wd only when the road conditions cause the Jeep to misbehave. If it's reasonable under control in 2wd leave it there. You're better to learn the road conditions from a bit of wheel spin than from the ditch.

SV

 

yeah, for the most part i don't use 4wd unless there is over say 4 or 5 inches on road, otherwise it doesn't do all that much....ive been in a storm where there was about a foot on the road (actually that was near Syracuse this winter) and i popped it into 4hi for a bit, drove real nice...but i was fine before in 2wd, but it did slip around more than i wanted around curves and also while accelerating.

then again, ive drive a fwd car my whole life in this deep snow so 4wd is a huge luxury

 

i think its a user preference thing. i will admit that with the traction control and the esp watching our backs in these things, 4wd hi in the snow is almost useless. the only advantage i got out of it in the past few snow storms we've had was that the esp wouldn't kill the throttle power when i was 4wd due to excessive slippage.

I still don't know what the big fuss is about driving these things in 4wd hi other then they burn gas like a freaken H2. I admit that dry roads are not good for it, but in the rain, it should be ok, but usally not needed. So its really up to you. if you feel like the conditions are to slick and the esp is really working hard to keep you on the road, maybe its time to pop it in 4wd, otherwise it probably doesn't matter.

 

I just had my JK up in some icy and snowy conditions.....hoping to be able to use 4WD for the first time in it....I found that 2WD with the ESP was just as effective in these conditions....no deep snow on the road....just packed snow and ice. It stops well, the esp really works too....I didnt feel any "safer" in 4WD, so I left it in 2WD except when I had to climb a pretty steep switchback driveway, and even then I didnt need it....I went up it fine again later in 2WD....with the help of ESP of course.

 

I've only been driving my new X for 3 weeks now, but I found that adding a little
weight in the back end helps a lot. After storing my tool box and a jumpstart box just behind the rear seat, I felt an increase in stabilty on slippery road conditions.
I drive mostly in 2WD,onroad, only shifting to 4WD-Hi when I have to slow down,in traffic, on a steep hill.
I guess this habit comes from driving rear wheel drive pick-ups , that I used to drive before my new Jeep.

 

If the backend of the Jeep breaks loose on a slick road first I slow down.

I then flash the breaks to get the ID10T's to back off.

It I can't get moving without the tires slipping I put it in to 4x4.

I go slow as I can in 4x4, it's fun to watch surburbans spin around in 4wd cause the drivers think 4wd makes it possible to do 60 on ice.

 

For me (owning many differant vehicals in differant parts of the country) i have always been keep some weight in the back of a 4x4 and go into 4wd when 2wd does get you where you want. Here in WA. when doing the pass issue, i will put the jeep in 4wd when i hit the chain up areas when there is snow in the road. As far as in general, icy conditions 4wd can help go and stop, stopping requires you to get off the gas pedal and let the engine slow down the vehicle which means more stopping distance and hitting the breaks can cause you to loose control and CRASH.

Snow, i will usually wait till even the tracks where tires ride are covered or the 2wd starts to loose traction. The ESP program is VERY intutative and can make an unknown condition feel like it was not even there unless you are very intune to your vehicle (seat of the pants sort of thing).

Rain, here in western WA. we get more than our fare share and with Ruby the only thing i had to get done was get the BFG MT KM's siped due to the big lugs and lack of traction. As far as the other tires that come stock on the JK's they should due just fine.

just a girls 2 cents worth,
Kat