ok let me start by saying im from the greatest state in the world, TEXAS
But we have one of the worst ice road crews.. whatever yall up north call em.. lol

now to my actual question.. say im driving on the road and its really icy; well, in an emergency situation, would it be better to thow it in 4hi and ride the grassy median (assuming there isnt a bunch of snow)? if not, why? Thanks guys!!

 

In an emergency situation, do you honestly think you'll have the horse sense to throw it into 4hi? Human nature is to hit the brakes... Best thing to do for icy roads? Slow down. Don't do anything drastic. Easy on the gas, easy on the brakes. If you have to go off the side of the road (assuming you can get there, ice has a way of not letting you go where you point the wheels) by all means, ride the grass...let off on the accelerator, point it where you want it to go, and LIGHTLY brake. If you start sliding, release the brake. The real key is to GO SLOWLY. Hope this helped.

 

Leave it in 2wd, slow way down, and drive very very carefully like we all had to do 40 years ago with RWD vehicles. Use 4wd if you have to get up a steep hill, or get out of a ditch.

I don't know what you mean by an "emergency situation" ??? That you absolutely have to get somewhere or you are sliding out of control...? You should avoid getting into the latter, and the former also by keeping supplies (food etc) at home.

My current opinion is that it is better to stay in 2wd/rwd on snow and ice until you need more traction to go. That way when you let off the gas, the engine compression tends to slow down and straighten out the back end. Also, you are reminded to drive real slow and easy because your real wheels spin if you get too hard on gas pedal.

There are some exceptions like going down a steep icy hill, where the best thing would probably be to put it in 4-low and the lowest gear on your transmission and just creep down. Well, the best thing would be to just stay home

 

4 full time if you have that option. and gear down manually does help a bit to slow down with control.

just remember, with the added traction, you can accelerate a lot quicker while in 4wd, but slowing down or stopping is the same as any other car.

be careful out there

 

When the road conditions are slippery, go with 4wd Hi, part or full time, doesn't really matter when the conditions are slippery!
Your XJ will track straight with a much much reduced tendancy to swing the tail around.
I run in a lot of ice, 8 months winter, 8 weeks cold wet spring 2 days summer, 8 weeks cold wet fall, lolololol, so it sometimes seems.
Slow down, that really works best!
4wd allows you to go, it will not stop u, so slow down, and make it through to journeys end.
There are some really nice home siped tires in the forum, you could consider some siping on a mud tire to improve wet and ice grip.

 

"If GOD met for Texans to ski he would have made cow pies white"


Truth is it's relative to what your used to, Texans can't drive on snow or ice,
Arizonian's cant handle a rain storm, Coloradoans don't do ice but go like hell in snow.
I grew up driving in all weather conditions & can handle any and all of it, but since I have no idea where your from I stay home, it's safer that way.
That's why I never go out on New Years eve--too many amateur drunks on the road ways----

 

yep, it's all relative.
Here by DEEtroit, seems like first snow of year most everybody forgets how to drive in/on snow/ice, after that it's not bad.
Was in the upper peninsula once, they got freezing rain, everybody drove like it was dry pavement.

Biggest thing is avoid sudden changes, 4w, panic brakeing, etc.
Kinda like the AA slogan, easy does it

 

Thanks for all the replies!!! Yall really did help me quite a bit.

 

U r kidding, right? Why else would God give Texans New Mexico. And u really think people only drink on New Years? U must never get out.

 

1st thing to remember when driving in snow/ice.......loose the SFB driving syndrome.

 

Slow on turns...saw a car last year try and turn off the main road. If you're making a 90 degree left turn off the main road, your jeep still wants to go straight. You may turn the wheels left and still go straight, or diagonally left (and right into the snowbanks at the end of the driveway). Basically you might not be able to turn if the front wheels have no traction...And you'll definitely feel it when they regain traction if you're sliding forward with wheels turned 90 degrees left haha

 

To me driving in adverse conditions I will leave it in two wheel drive for the first part of my journey to test just how bad the conditions are. then use 4wd at the speed two wheel drive will do and just take more time to get where I am going safely. Most people drive their 4x4 way to fast in conditions that we have here in Colorado. That may be ok if you have the whole road to yourself but we don't and it is not right to drive as fast as they do in traffic.

 

4WD gets you into trouble on ice much faster than brakes can get you out of it.
4FT is good because you don't get that understeer from the locked TC but you're still relying on your tyres for braking.

 

I'm similar to you. I'll run 2wd until conditions require 4wd. If I feel confident with the traction I stick with 2, if I feel I'm slippin' & slidin' I'll go 4wd.

I've been stuck in front wheel drive for many years before my XJ and I'll say I'm my opinion it's not really better than rwd in snow. Terminal under steer is as dangerous (or more dangerous) than terminal oversteer. Furthermore, oversteer can be corrected with throttle and steering input. Under steer you just have to hope you stop moving or start turning before you crash straight into whatever you were trying to turn away from.

When it comes to stopping and turning on ice, everything has 4 tires and 4 brakes. Having 4 wheels pushing you forward only helps push you forward.

 

Yep

Front wheel drive cars are the biggest farce ever foisted on the driving public, at least for anything other than smooth dry pavement. We all got around pretty good in the winter with rear wheel drive cars back in the old days before 4wd became more common, and FWD became the rule. At least with rear wheel drive, you can put on tire chains or run snow tires just on the back, and the more weight you carry the better you go - which is the exact opposite with FWD.

If I lived in town, I wouldn't even bother owning a 4wd except possibly for recreational purposes. Out here where we live, it isn't just the snow/ice but the mud that causes the most problems. We lived for years in the Colorado mountains driving just 2wd Suburban and pickup. We carried tire chains for if we really needed them. I used them on the pickup a lot because I was driving up on logging roads in the winter for work, but I only recall putting chains on the 2wd suburban once when retrieving a trailer from an unplowed parking area.

Our little FWD Chevy HHR hasn't been out of the garage for a month now. I'm wanting to trade it for a nice Cherokee so that we can have a smaller 4wd.