Have any of you used your 4WD yet?

[JExpedition07]

just curious as to if any of you New 18’ owners have used your truck in deepish snow yet, any of you use the 4WD and the modes that go along with the system and can comment on the performance? How is the rear differential? Anyone have pics?

 

[edizzle]

Does the auto mode use anything like the explorer advance track to divvy up power? One thing I loved on our explorer platinum was the AWD system. We had 18" of snow a month or so ago and that truck did killer! The hill below me is a doozy. I could not get up it in my 2006 4Runner which is normally VERY GOOD! The Explorer had trouble at first, but when I disabled traction control, it allowed it to rev up and slowly rip through it all the way up! It was pretty awesome. The AWD was working hard, you could hear it in the truck activating the brakes and such. I was the only person that got up it for 3 days!!!

 

[JExpedition07]

Yes the auto mode splits power when needed as by when rear wheel slip is detected and uses advance trac to use braking bias to act like a limited slip diff. I’m assuming it’s mostly the same other than the added modes on the new one and different style dial. 4L was standard on 3rd gens. I think the 18’ has a true locking rear option

 

[edizzle]

After thinking about this, I am wondering if 4h would have not worked better for my situation. 50 50 split. All wheels just working. Would this not have been better going up the hill than auto?

 

[rcompart]

Had a chance to use the 4wd today. 4A is pretty predictable after the initial wheel slip and it engages without the jerk I’d get with our 2017. It also tracks incredibly straight even under hard acceleration. I’m not sure yet how I feel about not having 4H but this spring we will see how capable 4A is in the mud and ruts. Locking diff is fun and I can see it being useful off road but it does nothing in the snow but help the back end step out upon laying into the pedal on the right.

 

[edizzle]

Wait a minute, so we don’t have 4H? I am confused. I thought all we missed was 4L. What modes does the platinum have?

 

[rcompart]

Nope, you get 2H or 4A with standard 4x4 package and gain 4L, locking rear diff and neutral tow with HD towing package. No more 4H. :’(

 

[edizzle]

Ahhh ok. Well I got hd tow. So I’m glad I did that. Locking diff is a really good thing to have. Not sure how valuable it is in the snow, but for gravel and other loose terrain it is great. It has gotten me out of many jams in my full size 2wd work van. It is a limited slip but you can feel it lock and it really makes a difference.

As far as the auto, like I said, if it is like the explorer, it is really good.

 

[shane_th_ee]

Does the auto mode use anything like the explorer advance track to divvy up power? One thing I loved on our explorer platinum was the AWD system. We had 18" of snow a month or so ago and that truck did killer! The hill below me is a doozy. I could not get up it in my 2006 4Runner which is normally VERY GOOD! The Explorer had trouble at first, but when I disabled traction control, it allowed it to rev up and slowly rip through it all the way up! It was pretty awesome. The AWD was working hard, you could hear it in the truck activating the brakes and such. I was the only person that got up it for 3 days!!!

Yes, auto mode will divy up power between front and rear axles on the fly. However, what allowed the expedition to ascend the hill where the 4Runner had trouble (assuming the 4Runner had 4wd) was NOT the 4wd mode. It was the simulated locking rear differential. With an open ("unlimited slip) front or rear differential, when a wheel starts to slip, ALL the power sent to that axle will be applied to the wheel that's slipping. So if one wheel on each axle is slipping, the truck ends up using all its power to simply spin those two wheels. Your Ford engineers, however, got a little smarter. They used the wheel spin sensors (part of the anti-lock braking system) to detect the wheel spin and then applied the brake to the spinning wheel, which transfers torque back to the wheel on the other side of the axle which still had traction.
The only advantage 4H would have offered over 4A in that situation is that your 4A system constantly adjusts the torque split between the front and rear axles while in 4H the differential is locked and the torque split is constant (at whatever front/rear torque split ratio the engineers designed it). So with 4A, when the system senses wheel slippage on one axle, it will apply more torque the axle where the wheels still have traction. Sounds great, except in very slippery conditions, some systems will transfer a bit too much torque a bit too quickly and spin the wheels which did have traction. This torque transfer hits the wheels very much like stomping on the gas, which every young driver learns not to do in the snow and on ice.

 

[shane_th_ee]

Locking diff is fun and I can see it being useful off road but it does nothing in the snow but help the back end step out upon laying into the pedal on the right.

Locking front/rear differentials (or limited slip front/rear differentials) are awesome when trying to get started on snow/ice. They keep all the power from being transferred to a wheel which has lost traction. So you don't get stuck if only one wheel on each axle has traction. True locking front/rear differentials should really only be used to get started in the snow not for driving 55mph down the highway in the snow, because they cause binding when you turn as the inside and outside wheels are forced to rotate at the same speed (aka, they both try to travel as far, even thought the inside wheel will travel a shorter distance).

 

[JExpedition07]

Here is an example of why true 4 wheel drive with a regular automatic transmission and tranfer case that can split torque 50/50 is important.... watch at 7:30-8:30..... CVT transmissions are pathetic lol. Ford basically ruined the Explorer with this thinking.... the 1995-2010 Explorers are so much better off road than 11+ units. perfect example of why i tell people New is not synonymous with better.

 

[David1]

biggest notable difference is in braking. In AWD the ABS constantly activates do to it controlling the independent wheels. When in 4H you brake the entire drivetrain.