Hey Fellas,

I live in the Bay Area, CA (Northern CA) and I have a 2000 Expedition XLT 4x4. It has AWD/4WH/4WL settings. I am going to upgrade to BFG 265/75/16 All Terrain KOs this wednesday.

I plan to head up to S. Lake Tahoe in a couple of weeks and I was wondering what the best and smartest 4x4 technique is for driving in the snow and possibly ICE !! Should I keep it in 4WL or just 4WH?

A few years ago we were in traffic heading up to S. Lake Tahoe and we stopped on black ice and the expy got stuck. All 4 General Grabber tires were spinning up to 40mph sliding sideways. I slid to the snow wall on the right side and the expy pushed up against it and gained traction. Hopefully the new BFGs will prevent that from happening again.

Any advice from you guys in frequent SNOW TERRAIN??

Thanks in advance.

Erik

 

Hey there and welcome to the snow. Being from Buffalo, we are used to all that white stuff. One important thing to remember: JUST BECAUSE YOU HAVE 4X4, DOESN'T MEAN YOU CAN STOP ANY BETTER!!!

I believe with the expy that if you leave it in AWD, that if the truck needs the 4x4 and detects the wheels slipping, it will automatically engage the front wheels until the sliiping stop (Please correct me if I am wrong).

4HI is used under normal driving conditions for any speed.

4LO is used under conditions where more torque is needed. (ie, pulling a boat up a slippery ramp, pulling someone out of a snowbank, or climbing a steep hill, etc) 4LO is used for low speed and NEVER should be used above 25 MPH.

Just remember to leave yourself some extra stopping room and braking distance and you should be alright.

Good luck.

 

Only those with spikes and/or chains on the driving wheels will have traction on black or glare ice. It's a common misconseption among 4X4 owners that they have better traction that 4X2's. In snow, mud, sand, etc, I agree, but on rain slick streets, and ice, we are all in the same boat (speaking from the voice of experience and a hefty jump in insurance rates from sliding into the back of a van at 5 MPH on rain slick streets)

Just remember, if the wheels spin, you don't have traction, steering or brake control ... you just have to ride it out and accept the consequences.

 

Thanks for the replies!!

You know, I have noticed that I can barely turn when i'm in 4HI or 4LO. Almost as if there's a bind? That is normal right? I have never forced turning when there's a bind. But is it OK to? I have never taken that chance in fear of breaking something. Once I disengage 4HI or 4LO i'm back to the regular turning.

Thanks again in advance.

Erik

 

Also is there a place I can go to buy chains or cables for larger tires? The regular Pep Boys or Autozone on carries cables for small/medium tires.

Erik

 

It's a common misconseption among 4X4 owners that they have better traction that 4X2's

I hope you meant when it applies to braking only, otherwise I have to say you are wrong.

I live in interior Alaska where 8-9 months out of the year the roads are covered in ice, and in my opinion I know a thing or two about how to handle icy conditions (studded tires are permitted from Sept.-May here).

Up here in Alaska we don't have the luxury of throwing salt on the roads like you guys may do in the lower 48, because it is against Alaska law. Salt seems to attract 2000lb animals to roads, and because of that the mortality rate is far higher in an accident when salt is used as opposed to when it isn't. Banning the use of salt on public roads has left us with more icy road conditions, but the amount of lives that have been saved by not using it has been tremendous.

Anyway, like others have said before me having 4x4 doesn't mean you can stop any better than someone that does not have it. It is all dependent upon what kind of tires you have on your truck. Thin tires are better than wide tires when you are going through snow or ice. Having the right tires for these kind of conditions is important, and I would recommend going to tirerack.com and looking up your tire to see what kind of snow/ice traction rating they have.

Use 4WH if you think the road is real icy, and since you will probably be going up hill keep it out of overdrive and in drive to prevent your tranny from downshifting on you. Just take it slow if you are not used to the road conditions, and be extremely gentle with the brake and gas pedals. Utilize compression braking at every oppportunity instead of just jumping on the brake pedal. 2nd gear is your best friend when you are stopped on an icy road and are about to take off, or if you are in really slow moving traffic. It provides just enough compression to help stop and just enough acceleration to prevent that back end from jumping out on you.

I absolutely love driving on the ice. Hell, I took my drivers test on the ice and got a 98. They said I didn't merge with highway traffic fast enough, but I don't have that problem any more. Just take it easy, put it in 4WH, and prevent any sudden movements. For example, don't jerk the wheel and be light with the gas pedal.

I could say so much more, but hopefully this helps you a little. Have you already purchased your tires?

 

I Laugh, thanks for the informative post.

I haven't bought the tires yet. I will be buying/installing them this wednesday locally. The price is cheaper than tirerack.com or discounttiredirect.com.

265/75/16 BFG AT KO. The stockers I have are the 255/70/16 General Grabbers. I only go to the sierras 2-3 times a year so hopefully these will be a good on-road, quiet all season tire as well.

Erik

 

stangclassic66,

I looked up your tires and it looks like you picked a very good set. You won't be disappointed with how they perform. Those tires have a great snow/ice traction rating and are great on dry pavement from what I read. It looks as if you couldn't have picked a more durable tire than that. Having a good set of tires is the key to safe driving on ice, and you look like you are all set in that department.

 

not a 4X4 however I noticed that the tire you selected is slightly wider and taller than your stock tire. Keep in mind wider is not better when you want traction, and also with the tire being a slightly higher profile your speedometer may be off slightly. Otherwise they look like great tires for the white stuff, enjoy and drive safely. Remember, 4X4 or not you still have the same brakes. Also, I agree with I Laugh in that 2nd gear makes it far easier to start out on snow and ice, I've done it for years in many different vehicle's, even a front wheel drive car or two, makes all the difference in the world.

 

Put it in 4WD and drive.....

 

You don't get much black ice do you?

 

You can order a variety of different tire chains from www.tirechains.com

As for the binding, yes it is normal to get a binding feeling when turning with the 4x4 turned on. Actually, I discovered that my bosses new truck wasn't locking into 4x4 mode because it wouldn't get a binding feeling when I turned the 4x4 on. It was a new Chevy and the factory forgot to plug in the wire harness.

 

Thanks MechE!!

I can't wait, tomorrow i'm getting the LT265/75/16 BFG All Terrains put on!! If you go up in tire size, do you guys usually re-align the vehicle?

Thanks a million everyone!!

Erik

 

When I was in the Reno-Tahoe area three yrs ago, there were road signs every three feet about NOT allowing vehicles up the mountain grades WITHOUT chains on. Better plan on buying some.

 

I can't wait, tomorrow i'm getting the LT265/75/16 BFG All Terrains put on!! If you go up in tire size, do you guys usually re-align the vehicle?

Thanks a million everyone!!


If it's been a while, it certainly won't hurt to realign, but not necessary just because you're getting new tires.

Your speedo will be off by around 5% with the new taller tires.

From my experiences when I lived in the mountains. Snow is easy to drive in and ice is not.....plain and simple. You'll be OK with sound judgment.