AWD and snow

[Old Ford Guy]

my theory is when the winter whether conditions are that bad it can wait. if we are snowed in for a day or two i'll just stay home. i realize thats not a choice everyone can easily make without consequences but there's many a day i drove to work at 4 or 5 (had to be there by 6am, normally a 25min commute. but in the morning B4 the roads were cleared decided that it was better to be late than stuck on the side of the road or worse, and just slowed down to what the road conditions called for.
i dont even consider snow tires where i live (northeast ohio) but i'm sure there are folks out there based on where they live that appreciate them more than me.

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[dalola]

Because there is too much miss-information / miss interpretation that AWD is a snow quick fix. Emboldening some, who really should focus on better bad weather driving skill, to drive too aggressively or at all in bad weather.

I don't think the response is aimed at everyone or even the OP. Just that this kind of question sets off alarm bells for some of us, because we've all seen too many people in ditches or hitting others that really just need lessons in how to drive in bad weather.

In my honest experience the kind of people who ask a very general "how's the AWD fair in snow" are the ones who scare me. Those who do / can drive in snow tend to ask a little more pointed questions like... "Hey does the AWD on that handle steeper snow / ice grades well because I hate to shovel my drive" or "How do the stock tires rate on snow / ice?" because we all know good tires can outshine bad tires + AWD.

Long winded... It's a cautionary response to the way the question was worded.

PS: I'm not an AWD customer, but in watching some tremor videos the AWD and trail control seems awesome. But alas not one is make use of for the $$$

While you make valid points, I think you missed the "spirit" of the OP's question regarding the AWD system. He stated he has other AWD vehicles, so I think his question was more in reference to how the Mav AWD system works in winter conditions compared to other OEM systems. It's a valid question, given the many types of OEM systems.

Anyone with any automotive knowledge understands, when all else is equal, AWD will out-perform 2WD in winter conditions. Factoring in all the possible variables is an entirely different discussion, and not what the OP was asking.

OP, please correct me if I have misunderstood your position.

 

[RLmesc]

Like Scott said… TIRES TIRES TIRES. and by that we mean SNOW tires, not all terrain, not all season not autocross track tires, real snow tires. I do not care how well you managed in the past with FWD and AS tires, you would always do better with AWD and STires. 4WD is good but has it limitations on roads compared to AWD. Full time 4WD is more valuable on the farm or back woods trails with AT tires but they do nothing for icy road compared with STires on your Maverick AWD or FWD.

 

[Jman79]

While you make valid points, I think you missed the "spirit" of the OP's question regarding the AWD system. He stated he has other AWD vehicles, so I think his question was more in reference to how the Mav AWD system works in winter conditions compared to other OEM systems. It's a valid question, given the many types of OEM systems.

Anyone with any automotive knowledge understands, when all else is equal, AWD will out-perform 2WD in winter conditions. Factoring in all the possible variables is an entirely different discussion, and not what the OP was asking.

OP, please correct me if I have misunderstood your position.

Yeah, I wasn't the person who made the exact quote you originally questioned, but I did miss that in my own first reply. My own response, while more measured, also probably didn't help answer OP's question. I was answering for the masses vs OP. In fairness someone had already steered the convo in that direction.

Apologies to the OP if we were thrown off coarse.

 

[Sage]

I hope this isn't too far off the topic but is AWD as good as a 4-wheel drive in small pickup?

 

[Snowbird]

Like Scott said… TIRES TIRES TIRES. and by that we mean SNOW tires, not all terrain, not all season not autocross track tires, real snow tires. I do not care how well you managed in the past with FWD and AS tires, you would always do better with AWD and STires. 4WD is good but has it limitations on roads compared to AWD. Full time 4WD is more valuable on the farm or back woods trails with AT tires but they do nothing for icy road compared with STires on your Maverick AWD or FWD.

The other point that is not often mentioned is the importance of how true snow tires perform better for braking and lateral traction.
It does not matter if you can go forward if you can't come to a stop or stay on the road going around a turn!

 

[colinl]

I hope this isn't too far off the topic but is AWD as good as a 4-wheel drive in small pickup?

this is a decent place to ask that, in general and also specifically because we've already veered off the original questions the OP had.

The AWD Maverick has a Power Delivery Unit, a type of center differential with an electronically controlled multi-plate clutch pack. When fully energized, the clutch pack makes the torque split between the front axles and rear driveshaft equal, but since it is using clutches, it can slip under heavy load. also some drive modes will release power fairly quickly, in normal mode you start from 0 at 50/50 split and if there's no slippage it will quickly turn off the clutches and make the truck essentially FWD.

There is no low range or mechanical locking. But this allows it to be driven safely in any road conditions because the slippage in the PDU prevents binding.

Conversely, 4WD vehicles have a transfer case with low-range and when you're in 4H or 4L the front driveshaft is mechanically locked to the rear. If there is no slippage you will get gear binding, so you can't drive in 4H or 4L on dry pavement. Driving in mixed wintry conditions with 4H is tricky because if you find some completely clear road, the transfer case can bind when you turn.

To deal with this, some 4WD vehicles offer a clutch pack so that you can have either fulltime or 4WD 'On Demand'. Ford markets theirs as 'Advanced 4x4' and you'll see a 4A indicator on such vehicles. They are RWD when moving, but go 50/50 split when stopped. Except they also have 4H and 4L you can select. There are other types of fulltime 4WD also, some use a worm gearset or viscous coupling and then slide a pin through it when you pick 4H.

 

[dalola]

I hope this isn't too far off the topic but is AWD as good as a 4-wheel drive in small pickup?

Again, LOTS of variable to that question.... Generally, for on-road use, AWD offers many advantages vs. true 4WD, due to the operational restrictions. 4WD is generally more suited to off-road situations. But there are details to consider, such as locking ability of Fr & Rr diffs, TC operating modes, AWD drive modes, etc...

But I think safe to say, for *most * people who stay on-road or light off-road, AWD is a better day-to-day system vs 4WD.

 

[Sage]

Thank you for answering my question AWD vs 4x4. In my use of the Maverick will be driving in 4 to 6 inches of snow at times. In most times with that amount of snow it will be fresh snow and not to compacted. I believe it will do fine anyway I hope it does.

 

[Ford Maverick Maniac]

Here is one of many videos I did last winter with my regular AWD and the stock Conti tires. I think the best summary of the Mav's performance is this: Even with the street tires and the huge snow year last winter in Park City, we never had to put chains on once.

 

[Timothyd]

If you’re referring to the original poster. I was just curious. Hells bells, I’ve ridden a motorcycle in the snow, I’m not worried about the offensive driving at all. I ride a Triumph Tiger or a Ural to work on a daily basis. It was simply a matter of curiosity.

A Ural? Cool! Do you have the 2 wheel drive model?

 

[Macdabandit]

We bought a rally car with a truck bed. It’s nasty out today so I did a little testing. The sport mode with traction control off was really wanting to go crazy; touching the throttle the tires started spinning. The slippery mode was the opposite and had kinda impressive traction and really slowed the inputs down to prevent tire spin.

 

[JPB17]

I chose AWD for the combination of 4k tow and winter performance. I run snow tires and always seem to end up in rural Indiana with 10 inches of snow and a hotel that doesn’t bother to plow until after I need to leave for the morning. Snow tires matter more than AWD, but the combination means I’m not stuck in my parking spot like 90% of other vehicles at the hotel. I came from that setup on a 2017 Escape and have one snow under my belt in the Mav. So far, so good, but the price of snow tires and rims was well worth it.

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