I work 3rd shift so I'm always on the road hours after they've pulled the plows off and have driven to work in damn rotten conditions.
My experience is:
1. If I think I might need 4wd, I put it in 4high.
I never bother with 4auto.
I might lose 1-2 mpgs but it's a lot cheaper than missing work cause I'm in the ditch and tow truck bills aren't cheap either.
2. Any 4wd, (jeep, truck or SUV) is only as good as the tires you put on it.
If the roads are that bad, you’re probably better off in 4HI anyway, than Auto. I think auto is only really for the roads not being too bad. But keep in mind, due to the nature and design of these auto transfer cases, even in 4HI-lock, and even in 4-LO, they aren’t in a full time four-wheel drive.
If the roads are bad enough to justify full time 4WD, no one’s worried about losing gas mileage. The only reason for that talk was in response to driving in virtually non-slippery conditions with the transfer case in 4WD Auto. When you’re
only in 2-wheel, the front part of the drivetrain is how it always has been. Axle shafts only.... are turning with the front wheels. When Auto is engaged, the front diff is now fully locked, along with the front driveline, creating a lot more drag, but there is no power going to the front due to the clutch pack system in the transfer case.
But yes, tires do make a difference in a 4x4 but the thing that gets a lot of people the most, is over confidence. Back in my 20 year span in south-western Colorado, the majority of the people off in the ditch when the roads got slick was the fools with four wheel drives that thought they were invincible and could drive as fast as they wanted too...lol.
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