Impressed with the 4WD system

[Upthewazzu]

I've seen a few threads about the 4x4 boxes in these Ram's and more than a few have poo-poo'd the capabilities. After about 8" of freshies this morning I can say all is good in my world. I put it in 4wd auto and away I went. This area has tons of hills, so it's no easy task. I had the factory Goodyear Wrangler's siped by Les Schwab, but otherwise everything is stock (2015 1500 Big Horn with 20" rims).

 

[7777xm]

Im impressed for the most part with mine too. There has only been a couple situations where the 44-44 transfer case didnt seem to perform the way it should, but under most conditions, its been great!

 

[MikeEMT]

Agreed, I've been pretty impressed. We got dumped on earlier this week (13+inches over night) and the truck did great on the stock Wranglers. I was a little worried I was going to be disappointed since my previous vehicle was a 4runner trail with offroad tires, but the Ram did great.

 

[Informal]

My stock Goodyear's were terrifying in the rain, I didn't have 4x4 enabled, but I really shouldn't have needed it either.

 

[14hemiexpress]

My stock Goodyear's suck in the rain under acceleration at highway speeds preform decent. But the shocker was early this year when we had a good few layers of ice, not snow solid ice. I pulled a Chevy out of the ditch and didn't even spin a tire I was very pleased.

 

[Sportram1500]

Mine works fine. Love it.

 

[GreenClassic]

My stock Goodyear's were terrifying in the rain, I didn't have 4x4 enabled, but I really shouldn't have needed it either.

I've noticed this, too. I was getting on the freeway and could feel the rear end trying to step out of line.

 

[Upthewazzu]

Interesting comments about the Goodyears in the rain. We don't get very much out here so I haven't really had to deal with it.

Not sure if siping the tires helps with winter traction, but I figured it was worth the $75 instead of spending $900+ on dedicated snow tires.

 

[develand]

I think I drove in the rain a couple of times with the stock tires before I threw took them off and spent the money to swap tires. Night and day difference. I did not even want to see or feel them in the winter.

 

[Hemi395]

Surprisingly, my stock Goodyears were pretty decent in the snow. Horrible in the rain though. Like downright dangerous in the rain...

 

[j cal]

Glad to hear OP. Any pics/vids?

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

 

[roastpuff]

For us that have it, 4WD Auto is nice to have as it saves us the switching between 2WD and 4WD and lets us concentrate on the driving if conditions are variable/not great. So far I haven't noticed any engagement delay like people were complaining about, and it's done great with the Blizzaks that I have on the truck now.

I haven't taken it into any really deep stuff, just about 4-6 inches here, but that's more due to a lack of time than desire.

 

[6.7CumminsDrvr]

I believe most of the complaints about the 44-44 (I have one and yes, I have complained about it) are centered around "offroad" use. I fully believe the tcase works well for inclement weather, not so much in traditional offroad scenarios.
I was stuck on the road for 12 hours during snow-pocalypse 2013 here in Atlanta and my truck performed exemplary, so much so I drove 95% of the way home in 2wd. The traction control system works well IMHO and it pains me to say that.......I am an offroad enthusiest at heart and love locking diffs and airing down. Having said all that, the tcase works well for what it's intended for, the rub is Ram purposefully misleads folks in how it operates per their own print.

In print it states that when in 4lock or 4lo it operates the same as the on-command (44-45) and as many have discovered, it clearly does not.

 

[BigDaddyRam]

I don't have the Auto, just the 4lock and 4low. And....I don't get snow! I did have it on the beach this past summer in the sand and was happy. With the stock craptastic tires I put it in 4lock and cruised right on down the beach. It was in bad shape too. They had big tractors and graders out trying to smooth the sand and make it drivable. There had been some nasty storms too and it washed out some places to the point they had pumps out trying to empty out the washes so they could fill them in and grade them smooth. I was happy while you could see and hear other trucks revving up and spinning trying to get through, my family and I just smiled and cruised right past them. The funniest thing was a Ford F2****ty Super ******* got stuck trying to turn around in the sand and a half ton Ram saved the day!

 

[Upthewazzu]

Glad to hear OP. Any pics/vids?

Best I can do is her parked outside the building today. Snow has been mostly plowed/compacted/melted in the intervening 24+ hours. Snowing again now so maybe I'll have to use 4wd auto on the way home!

 

[Hemi395]

Honestly, the 44-44 has yet to let me down. I was part of the thread on here that identified the weaknesses of the 44-44.

Ive driven it in a blizzard and it worked very well. I also put it in 4low on some compacted snow and tried to power brake it to get the rear wheels to spin while the fronts were stopped and the truck just kept lurching forward. Maybe its because I dont have the 8 speed with the really low first gear or that I only have the 3.55s. Either way I don't plan on doing any serious off roading with my $42k truck so I guess it will be ok. I do like the 4 auto feature as well...

 

[Upthewazzu]

Does the limited slip have any affect on 4wd capabilities?

 

[Hemi395]

Limited slip gives you better traction overall with or without 4wd...

 

[roastpuff]

Limited slip gives you better traction overall with or without 4wd...

Agree. I have the 3.92 with LSD and going up a slippery hill I can feel the rear end trying to get a grip. It wiggles side to side as each tire finds and loses grip. The truck climbs the hill, but it is much easier in 4WD as it should be.

I don't have any off road experience with the truck as it is relatively new to me but I hope to correct that in the spring.

 

[CF_Smith]

Does the limited slip have any affect on 4wd capabilities?

4WD with open diff = One front and one rear wheel spins.

4WD with LSD = One front and two rear wheels spins.