SkaredShtles said:Got a minivan hangup?
MINIVANS rule!
Leave the hard stuff to the bikes!
awd vs 4wd
- Thread starter MtnBikerChk
- Start date
MINIVANS rule!
Leave the hard stuff to the bikes!
not a bad point. however, you can pick up a used Trooper 2 with a 4 cylinder for a grand, and have the same room and gas mileage.Westy said:
...providing it gets you there this century...or at all
I used to think I would never buy a car in it's first year, but last September, I bought an '05 Chevy Equinox and I absolutely love it! It's AWD, rides as comfortably as a car, but the seats fold flat so you can carry quite a lot of gear or whatever like a truck/larger SUV and it gets 23 mpg everywhere.MtnBikerChk said:
SkaredShtles said:Got a minivan hangup?
:eviltongu
NO MINIVAN!
Just get a AWD car or FWD car and put some studs on. There isnt really any reason to have a truck in new england for weather reasons only. The roads are always cleared within 12 hours. If you have studs your only problem might be getting high centered where a snow plow went by. But usually a Subi will pull you right out if its not too deep.
Get a Subi if your worried about all this technical crap. Audis are very expensive and depending on wich year, unreliable. Our Subi is a 90' Legacy GT with 220k miles on it. However, i used to work with a guy in Idaho who would drive his Porshe 944 to the ski shop in the winter, and Ive seen it come out of some big snow piles. And thats without studs.
Get a Subi if your worried about all this technical crap. Audis are very expensive and depending on wich year, unreliable. Our Subi is a 90' Legacy GT with 220k miles on it. However, i used to work with a guy in Idaho who would drive his Porshe 944 to the ski shop in the winter, and Ive seen it come out of some big snow piles. And thats without studs.
I just printed that for my chick, she is looking at a subie and trying to figure out what the difference is. Seeing as all I know is vehicles with 2 wheels, i couldn't help.Sandwich said:
thanks!
you're welcome
just keep in mind there are a butt ton of different differentials out there. LSDs come in all shapes and sizes, including mechanical, helical, and viscous. Viscous is the most common, and though people will tell you they aren't as good for performance driving, I have one and it spins both wheels at the same time when I want it to, but not when I don't, which I think is the point.
This makes me miss AWD, RWD is fun but when the rain comes
just keep in mind there are a butt ton of different differentials out there. LSDs come in all shapes and sizes, including mechanical, helical, and viscous. Viscous is the most common, and though people will tell you they aren't as good for performance driving, I have one and it spins both wheels at the same time when I want it to, but not when I don't, which I think is the point.
This makes me miss AWD, RWD is fun but when the rain comes
All I know is we live in Quebec..which means lotsa snow and ice from October through April. AWD is where it's at.
Before I got my audi, I was up in montreal, and there was a small storm that dumped about 6 inches on the city, leaving about 4" of fresh powder in the roadways. That pretty much sealed the deal for me getting AWD.
Also, somebody brought up a good point- tires. Tires are the single most important thing on your car. You can have 3 locked differentials and you will still get stuck if you have bad tires. If driving in the snow is even possible, buy a set of good snow tires. They don't have to be studded, just high quality. This also allows you to run summer specific tires in the summertime, which will give you better dry traction. The overall investment is worth it compared to allseasons.
Also, somebody brought up a good point- tires. Tires are the single most important thing on your car. You can have 3 locked differentials and you will still get stuck if you have bad tires. If driving in the snow is even possible, buy a set of good snow tires. They don't have to be studded, just high quality. This also allows you to run summer specific tires in the summertime, which will give you better dry traction. The overall investment is worth it compared to allseasons.
Very true. Everyone here has to have good snow tires for the winter, studs are not allowed by law. (Our roads are bad enough, I can only imagine if they allowed studs on asphalt). Good tires are $1000 well spent!Sandwich said:
Transcend said:
I just bought new tires for my 99 explorer this past April. OH WELL
take a look at the Mazda 5. new model, a non-minivan minivan if you willMtnBikerChk said::eviltongu
NO MINIVAN!
http://www.mazdausa.com/MusaWeb/displayPage.action?pageParameter=modelsMain&vehicleCode=MZ5&bhcp=1
I had an '85 T-Bird when I went to school in Northern Ny, rear wheel drive no locking diff. With regular tires I would get stuck in flat plowed parking lots. With snow tires the only thing that stopped that car was ground clearance. If you want a 4wd vehicle for winter you could save money just going with good snow tires on a cheap set of steel wheels.Transcend said:
That's quite a complex..........MtnBikerChk said::eviltongu
NO MINIVAN!
get a used Land Rover discovery, they're cheap used wich makes up for the poor gass milage, and is you ever encounter a 45 degree slope covered in black-ice you can just roll up it or go one step further and slap a winch on the front end as i have done and no matter how big the storm or the body of water in the way you will make it to work.
mmk...you might have missed the last 53 posts, but she's asking the difference between awd and 4wd, as she has apparently already settled on a vehicle. We also discussed how Land rovers are british. mmmm, lucas- prince of darkness.
To westy- I think the Tbird came with a viscous limited slip in the rear, similar to my conquest. Not terrible when traction is limited, which is probably why you made it out of so many snowbanks (plus good snow tires, duh).
Although some have suggested FWD, AWD is worlds beyond what a FWD car can do. In order,
4lo,
4hi,
AWD,
FWD,
RWD.
Why? Think of 4 lo as the granny gear on your bike. If you need torque to get out of a sticky situation, that's your goal. 4hi makes sure front and rear wheels are spinning. AWD can drive any wheel that has traction. FWD is better in inclement weather than RWD for two reasons, 1- more weight over the drive wheels. This naturally gives you more traction. 2- RWD causes the entire car to rotate when it loses traction, instead of just spinning the front wheels and having the front end slide across the pavement. This is WAY less disconcerting to an amateur driver, and 90% of the time, it's what you feel most comfortable in that's going to protect you, and protect me.
If you're trading your 99 in, buy a set of crappy used tires and swap them. Nobody will notice when you trade it in on a new car. Buy a set of 50k mi tires on alloys and swap them just before you trade it in. Put the good tires on your new car. The bolt pattern should be the same, and I doubt your resale value will drop AT ALL if you swap bad tires onto it. You should be able to pick up a set of wheels and tires for pennies after some joker put big 35"ers on his rig.
Also, if that's not possible, look at used tires. I bought a set for my audi that were near new (8/10 tread depth) mounted on alloys for $150. I got 4 additional rims and an extra, brand new, tire. Deals are out there, just keep your eyes open.
To westy- I think the Tbird came with a viscous limited slip in the rear, similar to my conquest. Not terrible when traction is limited, which is probably why you made it out of so many snowbanks (plus good snow tires, duh).
Although some have suggested FWD, AWD is worlds beyond what a FWD car can do. In order,
4lo,
4hi,
AWD,
FWD,
RWD.
Why? Think of 4 lo as the granny gear on your bike. If you need torque to get out of a sticky situation, that's your goal. 4hi makes sure front and rear wheels are spinning. AWD can drive any wheel that has traction. FWD is better in inclement weather than RWD for two reasons, 1- more weight over the drive wheels. This naturally gives you more traction. 2- RWD causes the entire car to rotate when it loses traction, instead of just spinning the front wheels and having the front end slide across the pavement. This is WAY less disconcerting to an amateur driver, and 90% of the time, it's what you feel most comfortable in that's going to protect you, and protect me.
If you're trading your 99 in, buy a set of crappy used tires and swap them. Nobody will notice when you trade it in on a new car. Buy a set of 50k mi tires on alloys and swap them just before you trade it in. Put the good tires on your new car. The bolt pattern should be the same, and I doubt your resale value will drop AT ALL if you swap bad tires onto it. You should be able to pick up a set of wheels and tires for pennies after some joker put big 35"ers on his rig.
Also, if that's not possible, look at used tires. I bought a set for my audi that were near new (8/10 tread depth) mounted on alloys for $150. I got 4 additional rims and an extra, brand new, tire. Deals are out there, just keep your eyes open.
You are my new best friendSandwich said:
and re: tire swap - great idea except the new explorer will not have the same size wheels