4WD Lock on Pavement

[SteelGrey]

Just went from a 16MY to a 19MY and love the new truck. I saw the steel grey on the lot and went with that over the granite since my last truck was granite. I just wanted to see how the 4WD High would handle on dry pavement, so yesterday I drove 4 miles to and back from the gym with it engaged. I was surprised that I didn't get any wheel hop from the fronts.

Yes, yes, I know, I know, about the risks of 4WD lock on dry ground. But a few times I've caught myself driving my old truck on dry ground in 4WD High and only noticed because of the wheel hop. Normally I keep it Auto except in snow/sleet or heavy rain. So I just wanted to see what it would feel like, and I never got any wheel hop. I can hear an ever so slight gear whine that I have to listen pretty hard to hear with the radio off when in High. But that's it.

So anyway, there is a question to all of this...

How fast does the Auto system engage the fronts when the rears slip?

In my 16MY, if I put it in auto in snow/ice, I would say the truck was dangerous to drive in its final 3rd winter that I had it. The tail end would kick out with the slightest bit of slippery conditions. That's with 25k on the original factory tires. Literally I could not tell the difference between AUTO and 2WD.... same result every time = tail end swingout out.

So the 4 Auto mode was NO WHERE near as good as the 4 High.

 

[Believemeustink]

What is a MY?

 

[devildodge]

What is a MY?

Model year

 

[Believemeustink]

Model year

I feel silly now, thank you

 

[devildodge]

I feel silly now, thank you

Nothing to feel silly about.

The auto 4wd is supposed to detect slippage and then direct power to a wheel with traction.

It is possible that it could be unable to react fast enough in some situations.

The 70's Dodge trucks with full time 4wd were often hated because people didn't understand how that worked. And some didn't realize when you got in snow/mud/ sand you needed to engage 4wd high/low loc.

We got the speeds of 26 mph and higher disengage and 20 mph and lower reengage for the eLocker, so I am sure someone or the collective group will come together to get this answer soon enough.

 

[ExcursionDiesel]

Just makes me wonder why they don't use the Jeep Quadradrive II system like the trail rated (ORA2) Grand Cherokee uses. My Jeep weighs 5400 lbs and has the 8HP70 ZF trans just like the 18 and older Rams. It's fulltime 4WD and torque transfer is instantanious and imperceptable. Its the EcoDiesel version and has more torque than the Hemi. So why not Ram? I hate losing that always sure footed capability. It's world class.

 

[SteelGrey]

Just akes me wonder why they don't use the Jeep Quadradrive II system like the trail rated (ORA2) Grand Cherokee uses. My Jeep weighs 5400 lbs and has the 8HP70 ZF trans just like the 18 and older Rams. It's fulltime 4WD and torque transfer is instantanious and imperceptable. Why not Ram? I hate losing that always sure footed capability.

I almost went with the GC for that reason. But the cost of the GC lease for the V6 was the same as Hemi truck, so I leased the truck for 2 years. Every time I was behind the wheel of the Jeep I felt like I was in a penalty box by being so underpowered.

So a set a Falken AT3 will be ordered soon and I'll weight down the bed with some Home Depot sand bags and it should be good to go for 2 winters.

The thing about the Auto setting in the 16MY I had was that it was literally useless whenever I thought that I needed 4WD. Just simple things like turning a corner on an icy road or trying to go from a dead stop to as fast as possible in a round about to avoid getting hit.

I really noticed now useless Auto was in the round about scenario in rain. The back tires would spin god knows how many times before the fronts would engage and pull me through the round about. Auto is more like the truck is thinking "Hmmm, the backs are spinning so I guess I might as well engage the fronts now."

There is no reason they can't build an AWD Ram. Hell I would be a customer for life but after this lease is up I'm looking elsewhere at other vehicles.

 

[Neurobit]

Not sure I understand your logic...

Why would you risk binding something by driving the truck on dry pavement in anything except 2WD or 4WD Auto?

To each their own, but that's just not a wise decision IMO.

Cheers,

 

[SteelGrey]

Not sure I understand your logic...

Why would you risk binding something by driving the truck on dry pavement in anything except 2WD or 4WD Auto?

To each their own, but that's just not a wise decision IMO.

Cheers,

Why would I risk it? As I said, I wanted to see how it would behave compared to my 16MY.

Experience by accidentally driving in 4WD on dry pavement with my last truck for extended miles and nothing ever broke. Experience with people I know with Wranglers that do the same thing and nothing breaks. Honestly, I've never seen anyone break their vehicle by driving in 4WD on dry pavement once in a while. That's why I got the truck because I know its tough enough to take some occasional abuse.

 

[VectorZ]

Why would I risk it? As I said, I wanted to see how it would behave compared to my 16MY.

Experience by accidentally driving in 4WD on dry pavement with my last truck for extended miles and nothing ever broke. Experience with people I know with Wranglers that do the same thing and nothing breaks. Honestly, I've never seen anyone break their vehicle by driving in 4WD on dry pavement once in a while. That's why I got the truck because I know its tough enough to take some occasional abuse.

I believe that there is a screen in EVIC that shows where the power is being routed to each wheel in real time.

 

[DeanKing]

I have owned awd systems from just about every major manufacturer. They are not even close to being the same. Most suck. The best I have ever used was on older Subaru’s and grand cherokees with viscous couplers. it is almost instant and provided a very natural feel of grip if that makes sense. The vehicle just went exactly where you wanted no fuss. Newer Subaru’s use electronic clutches and it’s still pretty good but a both lower IMO.

One thing that helps quite a bit is a limited slip rear. I highly recommend them after I got stuck in a one sided snow bank and learned why. I have also found that turning OFF traction control is actually better for reducing slip if you know how to drive. All they do is cut power. When the power cuts my instinct is to give it more gas to keep moving. I have actually had traction control get me completely stuck cause there was no off switch and I couldnt keep momentum through the snow (2008 RAV4). With it off, the vehicle behaves the way I learned to drive. Ease up and steer through it but stay off the brakes.

I have driven a variety of Ford trucks that had awd in 4h at highway speeds in the rain and never had a problem with them.

 

[SteelGrey]

I had a Subaru WRX 10 years ago. Damn, when it snowed and people were scared off the roads, I would jump in and hit roads for fun. Awesome and incredible AWD handing in snow! I had after market tires and one time in the snow I found out after I got home that I was driving on a flat. That's how good the Subaru was. But its a rinky dink compact.

I'll have to look into the EVIC thing after I get Android Auto set up.

Awesome truck. I had doubts about the steel grey when I was signing the papers, but the more I see I'm the only one in that color the more I like it.

But this will be my last truck unless someone comes out with an AWD truck. Hell even US Army Humvees are AWD, and for good reason.

Again I was just driving in 4WD High and no wheel hop turning the corner. I wonder if the engineers changed something. When my 16 did the hop that was it telling me "Hey idiot you're in 4WD."

 

[Biga]

Running 4 wheels burns a lot more gas so I'm sure epa fuel economy numbers have something to do with it. I run in 2wd 95% on the time so for me it would be a waste. I use 4 Auto when the roads are dicy in the winter, if it gets bad I will put it in 4 high.

 

[CornTrucks]

I always find it interesting how people drive differently and use something like a 4wd system differently. There’s nothing really right or wrong to it, as most of it is just personal preference and driving style. Personally, I love the 4auto setting, and that’s what I end up using for almost everything, including driving through the mud all summer for irrigation season. I’ve never heard of using 4wd for rain at all, unless it’s a dirt road, in which case we are back to mud again. I’ve also never felt a need for a limited slip or locking rear axle, as a regular 4x4 system can get you through a whole lot of nasty situations.

I agree on the AWD comments. My 2014 Jeep Cherokee has been my favorite AWD/4WD system I’ve ever had for snow or ice. Even if you get it to slide, you still feel in control.

I think the new 2019 Chevy RST trim has a true AWD system for full time use, with a lock mode for 4wd high, but you give up the low range mode with that setup. I could see something like that coming to RAM eventually, as it is probably a lighter and system anyways that could boost fuel economy.

 

[ExcursionDiesel]

I agree on the AWD comments. My 2014 Jeep Cherokee has been my favorite AWD/4WD system I’ve ever had for snow or ice. Even if you get it to slide, you still feel in control.

I think the new 2019 Chevy RST trim has a true AWD system for full time use, with a lock mode for 4wd high, but you give up the low range mode with that setup. I could see something like that coming to RAM eventually, as it is probably a lighter and system anyways that could boost fuel economy.

Yep. The Grand Cherokee fulltime 4WD is IMHO the best available at any price. It is inspiring. It also has a fully locked 4-LO. If they offered that in a Ram, I'd pay 10k more for it. It's just that good. It would make the Rebel (or any Ram) the most sure footed, capable off road machine available. 100% torque to any wheel instantaniously is amazing and makes a huge difference on ice/snow/mud...even wet roads and hydro-planing. The GC feels like it's on rails.