dmhscorpion
Newbie
Global warming ...
TERRIBLE slow performance in snow
- Thread starter scottydl
- Start date
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To go in the snow - momentum
to stop in the snow - lack of momentum.
spinning tires get no traction. accelerate slow to build momentum without spinning, riding the brake a little can help.
Putting it in low or reverse will cause the ties to spin.
Drive like there is a raw egg between your foot and the gas pedal.
I slip it into neutral and ride the brake carefully down hills. I also shift out of overdrive on the highway, the simple downshift at a hill can cause the rear to spin.
Without good snow only tires, not M&S, your one legged Sub will be worthless. Get a second set of rims and mount snow tires and use them only in winter.
Remember that regardless of tires and number of drive wheels you only have four tire contact patches.
to stop in the snow - lack of momentum.
spinning tires get no traction. accelerate slow to build momentum without spinning, riding the brake a little can help.
Putting it in low or reverse will cause the ties to spin.
Drive like there is a raw egg between your foot and the gas pedal.
I slip it into neutral and ride the brake carefully down hills. I also shift out of overdrive on the highway, the simple downshift at a hill can cause the rear to spin.
Without good snow only tires, not M&S, your one legged Sub will be worthless. Get a second set of rims and mount snow tires and use them only in winter.
Remember that regardless of tires and number of drive wheels you only have four tire contact patches.
454cid
Sooper Pooper
Why shift out of OD? That's a downshift just like you mentioned previously that can cause tires to spin. I engine brake a lot in the winter. It's just enough to start slowing me down, but not enough to break traction. If I need a bit more, then I start carefully with the brakes, on and off if need be. ....or did you mean the automatic downshifting while going up a hill? That's not something I've had happen that I've noticed, but then again I'm driving a big block with quite a bit of torque.
I think that's over stating things a bit. Good tires are important, but we've all run without snow tires for years and years. They've just made a come back in recent years. The suburban really should do pretty well, since it's got a lot more weight over the axle than a pickup does.
Shifting out of overdrive when you start the truck is not really a down shift, don't do it on the road. The truck automatically downshifting right after you lightly pick up the throttle to make the next hill will cause the tires to spin. Leaving it in drive eliminates this. Slipping to neutral is for slowing down to stop, not for out on the highway.
I've driven a few and know of may others with 2wd burbs or Blazers thru the years and none were good in snow. Our temps go above and below freezing a lot so we get a lot of ice under the snow so maybe this is why 2wd has trouble. I have a 1 ton square body wreckers with chains that I need to get our 4wd trucks the last mile home in winter. Shaded one lane gravel road on a steep hillside that is nasty when warm temps create water on top of the ice.
Supercharged111
Truly Awesome
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One thing overdrive can do is sneak up on you. The wheels can get spinning without you realizing it. That's why cruise control is not the greatest idea for a wintry road.
94burbk1500
I'm Awesome
I run all seasons year round in the midwest, you don' t need winter tires in 90% of the country, but worn tires will make snow awful. If you have an open diff, that isn't helping, see about a junkyard rear end swap if that is the case. I also have no clue where the idea of low gears being better in snow came from. I mean no harm by this, but this sounds like it could be partially due to inexperience in snow. My suburban is the best vehicle for the snow I've ever had and I have never even needed to put it in 4wd.
454cid
Sooper Pooper
Maybe downshift was the wrong word to use.... I mean it's a lower gear, making it easier for the engine to break traction. It could be you have steeper/taller hills around you than I do. What you describe with downshifting, I've never noticed to be an issue.
Right... and I'd rather use engine braking and time if I'm that worried about traction.
Not much does well on ice.
DetroitWelder
Newbie
Ive drivin my 97 2wd 2500 for 20yrs in michigan and snow tires and a rear locker are definitely the best solutions but weight over the rear axle in the form of sand bags or anything makes a big difference when the funds aint there. But when it comes to icy inclines 4wd wont help without tire chains but ive only used them 2times in northern michigan on back roads gathering firewood.
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