Do you need chains if you've got 4WD?

[imported_goku]

I was telling my friends earlier today that the conditions in tahoe were so bad that they required people with 4WD to have chains, is this true? Can some one explain the whole chains thing as I've never had to use them.. Also I find it funny that they mention 4WD since most people who have 4WD don't have a clue as how to use it, like me! lol :laugh: Actually I have a clue, I've just never used it and I'm scared to fsck it up..

So, when do you use chains, are chains necessary for 4WD vehicles, how fast can you go with chains, does ABS work on ICE and Snow, do you have to engage 4WD Hi with the shifter in neutal first or is that for 4 lo and if so, do you need to shift back into neutral before going into 2WD mode. I heard about people shifting into or out of 4WD mode either hi or lo, maybe both at highway speeds...

bleh, explain away please!

 

[PHiuR]

this isn't the 80's, nobody uses chains anymore. Not on ROADS at least.

oh, and use 4WD HI for normal driving.

BTW: RTFM.

 

[adairusmc]

Sometimes they are necessary, if the roads are bad enough and there is enough packed snow/ice on the road. If you don't have studded tires, then yes, chains can be a big help. You generally dont want to go too fast with chains.

Depending on the vehicle, you can get into 4Hi without putting it in neutral first. My GMC truck at work requires you to put it in neutral before putting it into any 4wd, but my personal Dodge can be put into 4Hi without going to neutral first. I always stop before switching though, I never change it while the vehicle is moving.

If you know how to drive on packed snow or ice, traction tires are usually enough though.

 

[BoomerD]

So, basically, you just admitted to talking out your a$$ with no knowledge of what you were talking about? Typical Goku thread...



BUT, actually, you may have been right...From the Caltrans website:

"During the winter months, motorists may encounter traction chain controls in the mountain areas within California. When chain controls are established, signs will be posted along the road indicating the type of requirement. There are three requirements in California.

Requirement One (R1): Chains, traction devices or snow tires are required on the drive axle of all vehicles except four wheel/ all wheel drive vehicles.

Requirement Two (R2): Chains or traction devices are required on all vehicles except four wheel/ all wheel drive vehicles with snow-tread tires on all four wheels.
(NOTE: Four wheel/all wheel drive vehicles must carry traction devices in chain control areas.)

Requirement Three (R3): Chains or traction devices are required on all vehicles, no exceptions."

 

[imported_goku]

bump?

 

[Aimster]

If you plan on going cruising in heavy snow and heavy ice then get snow/ice tires.

If you just want to make it home safe in a snow storm then you are fine.

 

[spaceman]

get the snowmobile tracks!..i think they even make ones that mount on jeeps and what have you.
i saw an absolutely beastly atv at the tractor supply store the other day.(they wanted like 10+ for it) it had treads like a sled instead of 4 wheels.

 

[shortylickens]

In minnesota: yes.
Anywhere else: probably not.

Though it is amazing mn has no permanent snow and its AFTER thanksgiving.

 

[PlatinumGold]

4wd vehicles have advantages of traction over 2wd vehicles when accelerating. a 4wd has ZERO advantages in traction over a 2wd vehicle when STOPPING.

it annoys the sh1t out of me that 4wd vehicle drivers think they are immune to stopping problems in snow/ice.

this is one of my pet peeves regarding SUV's / 4wd vehicles, it gives the driver a false sense of security because in general, i see more drivers get in trouble while trying to STOP in snow than i do while accelerating in snow.

 

[pontifex]

Originally posted by: PlatinumGold
4wd vehicles have advantages of traction over 2wd vehicles when accelerating. a 4wd has ZERO advantages in traction over a 2wd vehicle when STOPPING.

it annoys the sh1t out of me that 4wd vehicle drivers think they are immune to stopping problems in snow/ice.

this is one of my pet peeves regarding SUV's / 4wd vehicles, it gives the driver a false sense of security because in general, i see more drivers get in trouble while trying to STOP in snow than i do while accelerating in snow.

i'm with you here.

i noticed it the most last year. horrible road conditions and these guys are driving the speed limit and riding my ass. i pulled over a few times to let their dumbasses go by me because i didn't want to be rear-ended by some moron in a SUV or truck.

 

[rh71]

Originally posted by: PlatinumGold
it annoys the sh1t out of me that 4wd vehicle drivers think they are immune to stopping problems in snow/ice.

this is one of my pet peeves regarding SUV's / 4wd vehicles, it gives the driver a false sense of security because in general, i see more drivers get in trouble while trying to STOP in snow than i do while accelerating in snow.

this gets stated in every 4WD thread on ATOT. Probably every other car forum too. You'll never get rid of all kinds of stupidity.. not just 4WD people.

 

[PlatinumGold]

Originally posted by: rh71

Originally posted by: PlatinumGold
it annoys the sh1t out of me that 4wd vehicle drivers think they are immune to stopping problems in snow/ice.

this is one of my pet peeves regarding SUV's / 4wd vehicles, it gives the driver a false sense of security because in general, i see more drivers get in trouble while trying to STOP in snow than i do while accelerating in snow.

this gets stated in every 4WD thread on ATOT. Probably every other car forum too. You'll never get rid of all kinds of stupidity.. not just 4WD people.

and yet most people are still ignorant of it because of the marketing of suv's.

SUV's clearly give drivers a false sense of security.

 

[imported_JoePa]

Winter's coming! It's my favorite time of the year. What other time can you be safely driving 20MPH on a highway in a major storm and have some jerk in a SUV or minivan (seriously what do they think they are driving) run up your ass at 65, cut you off, and cause you to break so quickly that even antilock breaks or manually pumping your breaks make you skid off the road and into a ditch? Length of sentence was intentional.

 

[fuzzybabybunny]

Originally posted by: PlatinumGold

Originally posted by: rh71

Originally posted by: PlatinumGold
it annoys the sh1t out of me that 4wd vehicle drivers think they are immune to stopping problems in snow/ice.

this is one of my pet peeves regarding SUV's / 4wd vehicles, it gives the driver a false sense of security because in general, i see more drivers get in trouble while trying to STOP in snow than i do while accelerating in snow.

this gets stated in every 4WD thread on ATOT. Probably every other car forum too. You'll never get rid of all kinds of stupidity.. not just 4WD people.

and yet most people are still ignorant of it because of the marketing of suv's.

SUV's clearly give drivers a false sense of security.

Agreed. A lot of it is about personal driver skill. I was in Rocky Mountain National Park last year and the snow was coming down pretty heavy. I spent three days driving around the park at around 4AM and 9PM, just having a really fun time rallying all over the place in my little front wheel drive econocar.

One morning I got stopped on the road because there was a SUV up ahead that had gone into a ditch. I'd previously come down that same curving road at around 40 mph.

Talking with the ranger, she said, "lots of people come here saying 'Oh, I've got 4 wheel drive! I can drive like an idiot!"

Ranger: "Haha, you know what we call 4 wheel drive around here? 4 wheel sliiiiide."

 

[rh71]

Originally posted by: PlatinumGold

Originally posted by: rh71

Originally posted by: PlatinumGold
it annoys the sh1t out of me that 4wd vehicle drivers think they are immune to stopping problems in snow/ice.

this is one of my pet peeves regarding SUV's / 4wd vehicles, it gives the driver a false sense of security because in general, i see more drivers get in trouble while trying to STOP in snow than i do while accelerating in snow.

this gets stated in every 4WD thread on ATOT. Probably every other car forum too. You'll never get rid of all kinds of stupidity.. not just 4WD people.

and yet most people are still ignorant of it because of the marketing of suv's.

SUV's clearly give drivers a false sense of security.

clearly you can say most because you know the numbers... or because that's what you've seen.

Perhaps you don't care about the 4WD owners who don't turn your head so you don't count them in your "most" tabulation. If 1 in 4 SUVs speeds past you in inclement weather, you'd probably call "most" of them ignorant / stupid. Just a guess.

 

[olds]

If it gets to where chains are required on 4X4, we close the road.
R1 - snow tires on everything. If you don't have snow tires, you have to use chains.
R2 - chains on two wheel drive, 4X4 ok w/o chains
R3 - chains on everything (We'll close the road to all but locals at this point)

It should also be noted that chains are required on 4X4 if they weigh over 6500# in R2 conditions.
Anything pulling a trailer has to have chains. If the trailer has brakes, it too has to have chains.

 

[olds]

Another thing, 99.9% of the vehicles that get stuck are 4X4.
80% of those are ding bats from the Bay area that can't drive in DRY conditions. What possesses them to come up highway 80 in a storm is beyond me.

 

[BoomerD]

Originally posted by: oldsmoboat
Another thing, 99.9% of the vehicles that get stuck are 4X4.
80% of those are ding bats from the Bay area that can't drive in DRY conditions. What possesses them to come up highway 80 in a storm is beyond me.

QFT!!

 

[Kelvrick]

You guys got 4wd or awd? Difference there.

Usually, when me and my friends are in one of our subaru's, we get waived through the checkpoints once they see the subie badge. If conditions get bad enough where we need chains, the roads are generally closed anyway. Aside from that, I think chains are actually bad for the awd system.

 

[vi edit]

On flat ground it's not necessary. Hell I just drove 10 miles through 1' of snow covered interstate this morning with my 4WD truck. No chains needed. But it was basically flat with the exception of a couple exit ramps.

When you start going up and down major inclines like you see on mountain passes, the added "dig" from the chains is very helpful, if not required to get you going and stopping.

 

[Nyati13]

Originally posted by: Kelvrick
You guys got 4wd or awd? Difference there.

Usually, when me and my friends are in one of our subaru's, we get waived through the checkpoints once they see the subie badge. If conditions get bad enough where we need chains, the roads are generally closed anyway. Aside from that, I think chains are actually bad for the awd system.

If you need to use chains on a Subaru, remember that you MUST put chains on all four wheels. Chaining only two wheels will certainly ruin the center differential.

 

[kami333]

Originally posted by: Nyati13

Originally posted by: Kelvrick
You guys got 4wd or awd? Difference there.

Usually, when me and my friends are in one of our subaru's, we get waived through the checkpoints once they see the subie badge. If conditions get bad enough where we need chains, the roads are generally closed anyway. Aside from that, I think chains are actually bad for the awd system.

If you need to use chains on a Subaru, remember that you MUST put chains on all four wheels. Chaining only two wheels will certainly ruin the center differential.

It's no worse than running around with the donut, not great but your car will survive unless you are going for a long drive. While having two sets would be ideal, if you only have one put them on the fronts to keep steering (as per manual).

 

[Kelvrick]

Originally posted by: kami333

Originally posted by: Nyati13

Originally posted by: Kelvrick
You guys got 4wd or awd? Difference there.

Usually, when me and my friends are in one of our subaru's, we get waived through the checkpoints once they see the subie badge. If conditions get bad enough where we need chains, the roads are generally closed anyway. Aside from that, I think chains are actually bad for the awd system.

If you need to use chains on a Subaru, remember that you MUST put chains on all four wheels. Chaining only two wheels will certainly ruin the center differential.

It's no worse than running around with the donut, not great but your car will survive unless you are going for a long drive. While having two sets would be ideal, if you only have one put them on the fronts to keep steering (as per manual).

Yea, I'm thinking about getting a full-sized spare and running it into the rotation so they wear with each other.

 

[mrrman]

no...assuming that your tires have treads left

 

[thehstrybean]

Originally posted by: goku
I was telling my friends earlier today that the conditions in tahoe were so bad that they required people with 4WD to have chains, is this true? Can some one explain the whole chains thing as I've never had to use them.. Also I find it funny that they mention 4WD since most people who have 4WD don't have a clue as how to use it, like me! lol :laugh: Actually I have a clue, I've just never used it and I'm scared to fsck it up..

So, when do you use chains, are chains necessary for 4WD vehicles, how fast can you go with chains, does ABS work on ICE and Snow, do you have to engage 4WD Hi with the shifter in neutal first or is that for 4 lo and if so, do you need to shift back into neutral before going into 2WD mode. I heard about people shifting into or out of 4WD mode either hi or lo, maybe both at highway speeds...

bleh, explain away please!

Depends on the car. My Cherokee has SelectTrac 4WD, and you have to go through neutral on the tranny (and transfer case) to get to 4HI