Disappointing 4WD performance on snow.

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Expedition Dave

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Welcome to the gentrification of almost all mainstream trucks (especially SUVs). The tires that are selected for your milquetoast 4x4 vehicle when new?
I can't--but feel like I can--almost guarantee when chosen by the parent company, purchased and installed bulk at the factory--overall traction was their least concern. Bulk $$$ cost & CAFE are the first to duke it out for the top dog, with initial road noise (first 5-10K of life) probably tailing last place right back there with traction. YMMV.

And as far as "dude, where'd my 4low T-case go?" Yeah, same with the Tahoes/'Burbans. The reality is, most people who have 4low, NEVER EVER EVEN EVER ENGAGE IT.
Remember--not like the 30 of us here represent--well 30 of a bazillion people who would be putting diesel in their gas SUVs if it wasn't that the nozzle don't fit.

Where your 4low went? Here is an actual tape, from the ExpyDave Undercover files (no not THOSE Under Cover files):
"You know what? We can save money, drop 50-75 pounds of dead weight, increase fuel economy, reduce a wear/warranty item--and nobody will ever know the difference! And those that do, we are 'gonna make them upgrade to a higher $$$ package to get it!"
 

shane_th_ee

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Got some snow and ice recently and figured the Expy should do well with 4WD auto...

My other vehicle (also on all seasons) has a selectable 4-hi mode that locks the differential and it has zero issues.

I think the issue with the Expy is that it waits for a lot of slip to occur before actually transferring power to the front axle, and by then it is too late.

Kind of disappointed that the Expy does not offer a manual 4-hi mode option as standard.
You figured wrong, but you're exactly right: 4A does nothing until AFTER a wheel has started to slip*. DSC00356 (2).jpg DSC09902.jpg You need to change the drive mode from "normal" to "snow" or "mud/ruts/sand". "Mud/ruts/sand" is 4H with all the usual downsides for winter driving (propensity to spin the vehicle on ice, potential damage to the drive train when turning if there's too much traction). "Snow" is going to let the vehicle do it's best to give you as much low traction performance as possible while mitigating the problems of using 4H.

*Well, ok, it'll do torque vectoring and some other neat tricks, but it won't help with traction issues until after a wheel has started to slip...
 

sjwhiteley

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With regards to the Hankook OEM tires: there are two kinds of the 'same' tire. Those made in the US and those made in Korea (If I recall; not the US, anyway). The US made ones are more expensive and have the 3 peaks snow symbol, the Korean ones - fitted as OEM tires - do not.
 

Gillbrak

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Anerbe

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With regards to the Hankook OEM tires: there are two kinds of the 'same' tire. Those made in the US and those made in Korea (If I recall; not the US, anyway). The US made ones are more expensive and have the 3 peaks snow symbol, the Korean ones - fitted as OEM tires - do not.

Checking Tire Rack, Only two specs for Hankook 285/45R22 - One is the Dynapro HT, other is Dynapro AT2, both produced in Korea according to the site. I don't see options for a second US production spec.
 

5280tunage

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I would highly doubt that OEM tires would ever show up on an external site. They would 99% of the time be direct order between manufacturers. Just my .02.
 

sjwhiteley

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Where do you see this info? I only see one option

https://m.hankooktire.com/us/tire/passenger-cars/hankook-dynapro-ht-rh12.html


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Checking Tire Rack, Only two specs for Hankook 285/45R22 - One is the Dynapro HT, other is Dynapro AT2, both produced in Korea according to the site. I don't see options for a second US production spec.

Sorry, should have said I was referring to the OEM Hankook AT-M in 20". There are Korean and US tires.
 

Anerbe

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I would highly doubt that OEM tires would ever show up on an external site. They would 99% of the time be direct order between manufacturers. Just my .02.

For all the OE marked tires: BMW Star, Mercedes MO, etc... which come on their vehicles, are you saying that none of those are available in the aftermarket? All of the star marked BMW runflats to buy from Tirerack are actually a completely separate developed runflat marked with BMW?

Simple way to verify is check the full DOT codes of the tires you receive as aftermarket and compare to the original tires on the vehicle (or the P/N). I'm sure you'll find most of the same size / product line specs have the same DOT code as what was found on the vehicle (except the date code obviously).
 

Jimmer

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So as it pertains to driving in the snow (in normal mode) and 4A not engaging front wheels until the rear wheels slip- from my experience that is not always true.

Watching the power distribution screen on the dash, I have noticed that "for a while" after the rear wheels slip and the front wheels engage, the 4A system will actually send more power to the front wheels than rear wheels when you toe into the throttle. Again, this is based only on my observation of the power distribution screen, but I can't imagine why it would be feeding false information. From my observation, the system seemed to default back to "rear first until they slip" after coming to a complete stop or after a prolonged (few minutes) period of driving without any slip. I am not sure if the computer takes temperature/windshield wiper use or other factors into account when making the decision to push more power to the front axle on toe-in. That is certainly a possibility- Every time I had the aforementioned observation, the temp was below 32 f and my windshield wipers were activated.

When in the snow mode, my observations mirror what others have said. The snow mode selection seems to default the power to a 50/50 split front and rear to mimic what a traditional 4H mode would do.

Would be very interesting to know what factors the computer takes into consideration to decide how to allocate power after slippage has happened, and for how long that decision stays implemented. I suspect we'll have to learn from anecdotal observations though, unless someone has a friend who's a ford engineer.
 

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