Rep Power: 682

i drive a 02 jimmy with 4x4 and snow tires , its great in the snow , and 4x4 just makes driving in the city easier but i dont really think it does much for the highway, only thing is i find with it in 4x4 it feels like the steering tightens up and it is less wobbily.(could just be my old shocks tho lol).but i totally agree with parts of this thred MOST suv drivers think they are invincible in the snow, and 4x4 can only make you go , cant make you turn or stop. i think 4x4's should come with a warning on the sunvisor for this just like it has the "caution tipover" warning lol

also think its kinda ironic that suv drivers have them mostly for the snow, but they are the ones causing global warming...

 
Rep Power: 714

I remember coming down the 404 last year during a bad winter storm. Bastard in a big *** SUV, spinning round like a ballerina, coming straight at me. After successfully avoiding it, my heart still didn't settle down until after arriving home half an hour later.

Ninety five percent of SUVs are never driven off the highway, but are purchased by people with poor driving skills because they think they are safer, Idiots. They are probably in more accidents, but the people who get killed are likely the innocent victims they smash into.

 
Rep Power: 748

man, you dont drive anything with a 4x4 mode above 40 kph. lol. itll eat up your t case in no time. especially on the hiway, its the worst thing you can. if you have a vehicle with awd its a different story. the biggest problem with a 4x4 with awd is that the awd has a center diff that doesnt give you that tight steering feeling your talking about. with a 4x4 on anything dry while turning youll start feeling binding and itll feel like the wheels are skipping. cause they are. and that will in turn usually result in you putting lots of wear on a front axle or even breaking it. i used my 4x4 mode rom time to time but only to keep things lubricated, ill drive it down my street for half a km just to make sure that when we get dumped on, if i need it itll work and it wont be seized up. like the last snow storm we had, well really the only one. i needed it to get out of my damn driveway and across town because the plows hadnt come to remove the 30 cm of snow we had. lol.

 
Rep Power: 703

I thought they fixed that problem with 4L and 4H. I remember my old expedition had that.

 
Rep Power: 748

it doesnt matter, 4l and 4h both arent meant to be used on pavement. unless its on slippery surfaces dont use either. 4lo obviously kicks the t case into low range and shoulda be used over 20 kph. problem is that anything with a 4x4 feature lacks a center diff which distributes power from front to back make it so you can turn lock to lock and not get any kind of axle bind. with a 4x4 vehicle you dont have that, jsut the t case sending equal power front to back. even on slippery surfaces, mud, snow, ice, its not advised to turn the wheels all the way and give it too much gas. with vehicles like the envoy or the trailblazer you have the 4lo, 4hi, a4wd feature which only kicks on if it notices traction loss. but from my understanding that only engages the hubs in the front so your t case is still sending power out front its just not putting it through the wheels. so still not good to drive around on

 
Rep Power: 703

true, well thank god I traded that in when I got the escalade lol


awd ftw

 
Rep Power: 682

not sure how it work but my jimmy has the 4x4 auto.. i use it sometimes, i rarely put it in 4x4 unless it is snowing hard.. put it in 4x4 once and a while in the summer also just to keep things moving.
my owners manual says i can have it in 4x4 hi at over 80... i think it was 100 ill haveto check. but i remember it sayin that 4lo is for under 40k, i only tried it once and it was just in a snow covered parkinglot the first week i got the truck...just to see that it works.
definately gonna be moving into the AWD soon too tho.. g35x im thinkin,.. maybe bmw x5 but i dont know how their drive line works? 4x4 or awd?

 
Rep Power: 748

if it has an auto mode then its probably the same thing as the trucks i mentioned, where itll engage if it notices tires are loosing grip. it nice for snowy city driving but it still has the t case engaged full time which is still putting wear on it.

ive been looking at awd cars aswell, not sure what i wanna get next. i was thinking a higher end used audi. at the same time i was inquiring last nite about the g35 coupe, sell all my toys and buy one of those. havent decided yet. what i do know is the next vehicle i buy is gonna replace my suv and my mustang, so id like somethign quick, awd, 6 spd, with a sunroof, heated leather if i end up getting leather again. and any other un needed gadget i can get my hands on. lol

 
Rep Power: 682

i heard that the g35 2 door comes in awd now.. im not sure if this is new or not but i thought it was only the 4 door before...
im in the same boat, i want something kinda fun 2 drive and awd... not to bash anyone elses cars but i think 2wd is stupid in the winter... the g35 isnt awd all the time tho.. it is rwd dominant and as it sences it slip it powers the front wheels up to 50% its supposto be the best system of its kind and smooth when it engages the front wheels

 
Rep Power: 682

kinda like a cintriphical (unsure of spelling) cluch idea from what i have read...not 100% sure tho but it sounded cool, and since its elecrtic there has got to be a way to tap into it the computer and have a dile so you can pick how much power you want going to what wheels.. i think i heard that subaru had a system that you could pick the amount of power to what wheels..(STI ???).. but reer hasto have minimum 50% of the power i think?

 
Rep Power: 748

yeah the sti has a variable center diff. its got an auto mode and also you can select how much power goes where. i hear though if your putting too much power to the back you tend to snap axle at redline clutch drop launches.

im thinking of getting a nice audi, maybe i can find a nice used s4 for a decent price. my buddy works at a dealership and they offered me 10g for my trucklast nite, not bad considering i paid 6700 taxes in for it, so if i trade that in and sell my mustang, id have a really nice downpayment on something fancy. i might go by there next week and talk some numbers

 
Rep Power: 682

audi's are sweet, my buddy actually just smashed up his a6 awd...i dont know how bad it was tho i think its gettin fixed. you should see what they would give u for the stang and the truck, remember you get a tax credit and only pay taxes on the diff between what you trade in and the purchase price of your new car.

what kinda truck do you have?... also the cts-v and a few other caddys are now avaible in awd... o heard the 09 cts-v is a 6.2L supercharged V8 @ 550 hp ... its a de-tuned ls9 motor and the 09 vette with the same motor is pushin 620 hp for the ZR1 i think they called it

 
Rep Power: 748

i think im gonna go with somethign not north american this time around. right now ive got an 01 ford explorer sport. love the truck but im just looking at options for the future. a cts v would be cool but im not too interested in one anymore, i was a while back but they just arent doing much for me these days. i think ill visit the audi site again and see whats on there

 
Rep Power: 682

bmw has awd cars too..i havent driven a bmw in a few years and it was a 91 ish 2 door rwd...it was fun.. so i cant really speak much about how the newer ones are...
i think audi is probably a safe choice but you should probably get a warrenty on it... the 04 ish jetta 1.8t i had as a rental was almost bran new at the time and i had it for about 3 months... well at the end of the 3 months it wasnt starting all the time and just didnt seem rite anymore, but i beat the hell out of it..was slideing that car on dry pavement with the e-brake...lol gotta love rentals, but dont buy a used 1 lol

GL with finding a new car. hope you get somethin nice...

 
Rep Power: 723

judge dont get an audi unless it is under warranty, im telling you this from experience. Very unreliable and parts are not always cheap cause of the name lol. As much as I would love the 2.7t s4, my next car is going to have to be Japanese for reliability reasons.