How do you use/utilize 4WD in your Ram?

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corneileous

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Using four-wheel drive for rain? That's certainly a new one..[emoji50] I think once, maybe twice - I've broken the rear tires loose (front-wheel drive car included) taking off on wet pavement when I actually wasn't trying to spin them on purpose....[emoji12]

Living down here in Oklahoma my four-wheel drive rarely gets used anymore unlike when living in Colorado but I've still had to use it from time to time ranging from getting out of my driveway and to pull out one of these stubborn 2-wheelers that get stuck who don't think they need that transfer case enough to justify buying a 4x4...[emoji41]
 

grizzstang

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I haven't used it at all yet since I just bought the truck at the end of April but "winter is coming" and I will use it a lot then.
 

CrispyBacon

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I've never used it in the rain...Never needed to on any of my trucks. I guess it might be different for different people, but if you're tired of spinning your tires, just press the gas pedal a little lighter.
 

corneileous

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I've never used it in the rain...Never needed to on any of my trucks. I guess it might be different for different people, but if you're tired of spinning your tires, just press the gas pedal a little lighter.



Kinda what I was thinkin...lol.

My Ram and my Stratus I had before are the only two vehicles I've ever owned that had traction control and I never needed it on anything else prior. But then again, I don't treat wet pavement like dry pavement either.
 

WilliamS

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Didn't know that. I wonder why? Gotta be an explanation. I am more curious than anything.

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2 reasons really.

1) when it rains it poors. We will get a inch of rain in half hour which will flood the roads almost instantly. The amount of old construction and poor planning the roads go under water quick. There are areas in downtown Tampa which is a top 10 city in terms of price, and they will be without exaggeration 8 inches of water.

2) the condition of most Florida cars is laughable at best. They all leak something, so you add oil and water you get a fun situation at the intersections. Its slick like ice where an open differential you dont need any throttle to spin a tire. In 4auto these trucks move as if it were on drag radials on a prepped track.
 

smurfs_of_war

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Skerj and WilliamS- that makes sense to me now. Thanks! And Skerj- pretty spot on. Half the year spent driving in crap.

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adrianp89

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Lol @ the people not knowing what it's like in FL.

Literally can barley touch the gas during or after a thunderstorm and can spin tires, especially with the SR-As. 4 Auto is a lifesaver in the rain here, would never even consider a truck without it now. Maybe our roads just hold a lot of oil, I don't know, but it really takes nothing to spin the tires. Even the Terra Grapplers still spin, not as much as the SR-As but they spin easier than I expected here.

I was driving my Charger two days ago, it had stopped raining for a few hours, and I floored it (already doing 55) to make it through a light, lost all traction in the rear for a second. Probably not the best example, but the 5.7 in a Charger should not completely loose traction at that speed (tires with only 6k too)

With that being said - I use 4Auto in the rain, - 4 Low in soft sand... those are about the only times I have needed it. No mud or snow for me.
 
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Firebird

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2) the condition of most Florida cars is laughable at best. They all leak something, so you add oil and water you get a fun situation at the intersections. Its slick like ice where an open differential you dont need any throttle to spin a tire. In 4auto these trucks move as if it were on drag radials on a prepped track.

That's one lesson I learned with my 04 Hemi and 05 Cummins, never ever buy a truck with an open diff in Florida, it is literally an unusable truck! I would have to wait for huge gaps in traffic before I could ever pull out in one of those 1 wheel wonders! I'm sure it pissed a lot of folks off too. I have passed on a number of nice new trucks because they had an open diff.
 

corneileous

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That's one lesson I learned with my 04 Hemi and 05 Cummins, never ever buy a truck with an open diff in Florida, it is literally an unusable truck! I would have to wait for huge gaps in traffic before I could ever pull out in one of those 1 wheel wonders! I'm sure it pissed a lot of folks off too. I have passed on a number of nice new trucks because they had an open diff.



Hmm, guess I won't be ever cruisin' my rig to Florida then since it has an open diff because of the traction control.
 
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metalmancpa

metalmancpa

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As others have said, just because some people have zero issues in the rain doesn't mean others don't. Some of the roads here in the NE get real slick just being wet. I mean I can "take off" from a stop like Granny Smith and still get spin. Last night came through a torrential downpour. I experimented at a stop light, and on green accelerated like a normal person (not racing and not trying to inch along) and a jump in the rear. Next light went to 4WD auto - made a difference. Maybe it's a placebo effect, but in inclement weather the 4WD auto makes me feel safer. I drove for almost a decade in my AWD 300 and never once had any issues with spin.
 

corneileous

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I guess I'm not trying to say anything is wrong with automatic four wheel drive per say, I mean hell, if ya got it, use it, unless you just don't want your front wheels to have traction at all. Auto 4x4 is much different from 4x4 Lock and a lot like AWD.

I'm just saying even here in Oklahoma we get some killer rain storms ourselves with ****** roads and more than our fair share of redneck-ified leaky cars and as long I ain't trying to take off too fast, I don't never spin a wheel and as I said earlier, I even have an open diff. Still don't even activate the traction control.

Now, pulling on to the street on a sunny day after leaving the car wash, I DO have to be careful when them tires are wet and that concrete is not. Lol. The traction control light will be like a strobe light if I ain't careful...[emoji41]
 
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Skerj

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After all this discussion, I found about 4 inches of standing water following most of the day rain and got everything nice and wet, then stopped. "Brake boosted" to around 2.5k RPMs, then let off the brake while putting the right foot to the floor. I got a little traction control love at around 4k when the power really shows up, but it was just noticeable and didn't cut power beyond that, and I let off at redline. Also did the same thing again without revving up first, with similar results. This is all in line with the 11 Outdoorsman 5 speed I previously owned as well. Stock Wrangler ATs, 3.92, anti spin, Hemi, traction on, 2WD; is there anything else I'm missing that's relevant or should have done? About 200 lbs of gear in the front of the bed and back seat cab and around 200 lbs including my dog and myself this time, and likely similar weights in the 11.

To everyone spinning in rain in 2WD; what is the common denominator? The crappy stock 20" tires? No anti spin diff? Constant pedal to the metal? Because the whole 'issue' that I see comes back to controlling the skinny pedal. Driving open diff vehicles (94 F150 4WD, 05 Dakota 2WD in my case) in snow and ice (and rain...) in MI, and in the FL rain (in Tampa/St Pete) only presented difficulty when I goosed it too much. I'll add again that if I had the 4WD auto/AWD transfer case, I would probably not switch it from that. But it's a truck with at least all seasons, not a Hellcat in performance rubber. No need to add sand to beds or touch 4WD until offroad or snow/ice rolls around.
 

corneileous

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When I had them stock, ****** GSA Wranglers on, I never had an issue really with getting and maintaining wet traction but damn, those were some of the worse hydroplanin' sonsabeeotches I ever seen when I moved to Oklahoma with some of the torrential downpours we get here. Mine were only a little past half worn out but after like the second time them tires scared the crap outta me, I got rid of them and put on some Cooper Discoverer AT/3's and put an end to that crap...lol.

Those GSA's were probly some the worse tires I've ever drove on.
 

Tim7139

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People may say that 4x4 use should not exceed 35 or even 55mph. That is just a safety thing because if u need 4x4 then it is presumed you are in bad weather and slower speeds are suggested for Safety.
I think some of the 35/55mph advise comes from confusing the available systems and settings.

There are two different systems on the 1500, one with clutches, one without.

High speeds or turns with the version without clutches (no auto setting) on high traction surfaces is potentially damaging to the truck. Warnings in manual, posts on destruction from doing so, etc..

On my truck I find the use of 4 high is often counter productive. Turing on snow my truck with 4 high causes at least one wheel to loose traction by design. In some situations I have less traction with 4x4 engaged then I would in 2wd, it have to be slick enough to be a benefit. So much so I only turn it on when I'm experiencing wheel spin issues.

I get to use trucks with 4auto fairly often. I flip it into 4auto whenever it's not bare, dry, pavement.
 
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