2WD is better in the snow than 4WD - what ?!
Discussion
Upon looking at a popular auction site for some MPV style vehicles I noticed one that I looked at in more detail. It proclaimed that it was the better, rarer, 2WD diesel version. The blurb that went with the advert went on for some time and then proclaimed that as it was the 2WD version it was better in the snow than the 4WD would ever be. Intrigued by this realising I might have misunderstood everything I have ever read on Pistonheads I hurriedly contacted him asking why the 2WD model he was selling was so much better than the 4WD model I was interested in,
To be honest I was surprised I got an answer but all credit to the seller as this explains everything -
"this is because i have tested it and used it in heavier snow..the reason is this.. lucida only has 100bhp or so... so not alot of power at all and its rwd.. its auto as well so its cannot LAUNCH or have immediately acceleration like manual cars etc..it drives in a way where the vehicle is kinda of gliding or floating but enough grip to stick on the road and it feels much more lighter on steering wheel being rwd and it never got stuck in snow at all.. if anything it just walks over the snow being quite high in suspension wise and also low power band and easy on the foot when driving so it works all together and drives without any issues.yes 4wd is ment to be the best but when it struggles you get all kind of noises.. centre diff, rear diff and front diff start making noises .. you have wear on your gearbox and also the moving parts eventually get worn out like this as it fights the snow etc and you get lots of understeer where the front wheels slide away from the direction you try going... you turn left normally as you do the car ends up turning left but going acrross on coming lane and eventually hitting the curb on the oncoming lane passener side.. ( very dangerous)... rwd run power to the back wheels while the steering turns in to road etc and has no power at front wheels as these are use to steer only..thanks anyways."
So there you have it - I never realised 4WD was so bloody dangerous.
BEWARE.
To be honest I was surprised I got an answer but all credit to the seller as this explains everything -
"this is because i have tested it and used it in heavier snow..the reason is this.. lucida only has 100bhp or so... so not alot of power at all and its rwd.. its auto as well so its cannot LAUNCH or have immediately acceleration like manual cars etc..it drives in a way where the vehicle is kinda of gliding or floating but enough grip to stick on the road and it feels much more lighter on steering wheel being rwd and it never got stuck in snow at all.. if anything it just walks over the snow being quite high in suspension wise and also low power band and easy on the foot when driving so it works all together and drives without any issues.yes 4wd is ment to be the best but when it struggles you get all kind of noises.. centre diff, rear diff and front diff start making noises .. you have wear on your gearbox and also the moving parts eventually get worn out like this as it fights the snow etc and you get lots of understeer where the front wheels slide away from the direction you try going... you turn left normally as you do the car ends up turning left but going acrross on coming lane and eventually hitting the curb on the oncoming lane passener side.. ( very dangerous)... rwd run power to the back wheels while the steering turns in to road etc and has no power at front wheels as these are use to steer only..thanks anyways."
So there you have it - I never realised 4WD was so bloody dangerous.
BEWARE.
With a really trivial 4wd system I suppose it might just about be true - a 2wd car with an open diff will lose drive if any one of two wheels loses traction; a 4wd car with open diffs will lose drive if any one of four wheels loses traction.
I can't see it being true very often though, especially with modern systems which tend to at least use the brakes to limit slip.
I can't see it being true very often though, especially with modern systems which tend to at least use the brakes to limit slip.
SimonTheSailor said:
To be honest I was surprised I got an answer but all credit to the seller as this explains everything -
"this is because i have tested it and used it in heavier snow..the reason is this.. lucida only has 100bhp or so... so not alot of power at all and its rwd.. its auto as well so its cannot LAUNCH or have immediately acceleration like manual cars etc..it drives in a way where the vehicle is kinda of gliding or floating but enough grip to stick on the road and it feels much more lighter on steering wheel being rwd and it never got stuck in snow at all.. if anything it just walks over the snow being quite high in suspension wise and also low power band and easy on the foot when driving so it works all together and drives without any issues.yes 4wd is ment to be the best but when it struggles you get all kind of noises.. centre diff, rear diff and front diff start making noises .. you have wear on your gearbox and also the moving parts eventually get worn out like this as it fights the snow etc and you get lots of understeer where the front wheels slide away from the direction you try going... you turn left normally as you do the car ends up turning left but going acrross on coming lane and eventually hitting the curb on the oncoming lane passener side.. ( very dangerous)... rwd run power to the back wheels while the steering turns in to road etc and has no power at front wheels as these are use to steer only..thanks anyways."
So, basically, 4wd is dangerous because putting drive to the front means you'll understeer into oncoming traffic."this is because i have tested it and used it in heavier snow..the reason is this.. lucida only has 100bhp or so... so not alot of power at all and its rwd.. its auto as well so its cannot LAUNCH or have immediately acceleration like manual cars etc..it drives in a way where the vehicle is kinda of gliding or floating but enough grip to stick on the road and it feels much more lighter on steering wheel being rwd and it never got stuck in snow at all.. if anything it just walks over the snow being quite high in suspension wise and also low power band and easy on the foot when driving so it works all together and drives without any issues.yes 4wd is ment to be the best but when it struggles you get all kind of noises.. centre diff, rear diff and front diff start making noises .. you have wear on your gearbox and also the moving parts eventually get worn out like this as it fights the snow etc and you get lots of understeer where the front wheels slide away from the direction you try going... you turn left normally as you do the car ends up turning left but going acrross on coming lane and eventually hitting the curb on the oncoming lane passener side.. ( very dangerous)... rwd run power to the back wheels while the steering turns in to road etc and has no power at front wheels as these are use to steer only..thanks anyways."
Right. Gotcha. Just remind me what proportion of vehicles on the road have driven front wheels?
When we had heavy snow around here a few years back, BMWs and Mercs were abandoned everywhere - in the middle of roundabouts, on the shallowest of slopes, and with some incapable of even getting their back wheels out of the gutter.
The R32 we had back then was solid as a rock and weaved through the carnage of deserted 2WDs without a care in the world.
If we had similar snowfall again, I know which of the two I'd rather be driving.
The R32 we had back then was solid as a rock and weaved through the carnage of deserted 2WDs without a care in the world.
If we had similar snowfall again, I know which of the two I'd rather be driving.
SS2. said:
When we had heavy snow around here a few years back, BMWs and Mercs were abandoned everywhere - in the middle of roundabouts, on the shallowest of slopes, and with some incapable of even getting their back wheels out of the gutter.
The R32 we had back then was solid as a rock and weaved through the carnage of deserted 2WDs without a care in the world.
If we had similar snowfall again, I know which of the two I'd rather be driving.
put the winters on a bmw and become a rally driver!The R32 we had back then was solid as a rock and weaved through the carnage of deserted 2WDs without a care in the world.
If we had similar snowfall again, I know which of the two I'd rather be driving.
Type R Tom said:
Makes you wonder how Eastern Europeans and Russians managed to survive the winters in their Ladas and Moskvitch
Let alone all the U.K. Residents that managed there cortinas etc in the 60's and 70's when we still had snow I remember my old man battling the snow on the country lanes around Banbury when I was a kid without to much concern
In a marina estate, the trouble today is that people don't no how to drive unless its dry and bright, even a bit of rain today causes kaos on our roads
CABC said:
most people in the alps don't have 4wd.
i've seen plenty of uk 4wd vehicles in the alps sliding all over the place.
and the answer is....
Actually, most people living in the alps have normal 2WD cars. We holiday there most years and the lack of 4x4s is very noticeable. Not only that, but we tend to holiday in remote regions with gravel tracks and tiny lanes. Everyone seems to have Yarises and Kas with the odd 2WD 3 series or C Class.i've seen plenty of uk 4wd vehicles in the alps sliding all over the place.
and the answer is....
loose cannon said:
Type R Tom said:
Makes you wonder how Eastern Europeans and Russians managed to survive the winters in their Ladas and Moskvitch
Let alone all the U.K. Residents that managed there cortinas etc in the 60's and 70's when we still had snow I remember my old man battling the snow on the country lanes around Banbury when I was a kid without to much concern
In a marina estate, the trouble today is that people don't no how to drive unless its dry and bright, even a bit of rain today causes kaos on our roads
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