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Love how Engineering Explained always explains things so well. This is a great summary of summer/all-season/winter tires, and FWD/RWD/AWD.
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You entirely missed the point on that. Adding weight ALONE doesn't improve traction. When you add weight, you're shifting the center of gravity to the rear of the truck, which does improve traction for a RWD vehicle. He's basically saying adding weight helps, but not necessarily why people think it does.When they say things like "Adding weight to the bed of a pickup does NOT increase traction" followed by "It shifts the weight distribution rearward which...wait for it... DOES increase traction"
You just have to roll your eyes. A lot of words to just look like you are speaking a lot of words. I am stubborn and ran a 2WD Ranger here in AR up 1.5 miles of very steep poorly maintained dirt road daily for 17 years.
I didn't miss the point at all. Adding weight increases traction for both reasons and shifts the weight distribution rearward when you do it. Defining it to the minutiae is simply unnecessary. Like defining why a seesaw works.You entirely missed the point on that. Adding weight ALONE doesn't improve traction. When you add weight, you're shifting the center of gravity to the rear of the truck, which does improve traction for a RWD vehicle. He's basically saying adding weight helps, but not necessarily why people think it does.
The whole point of the video was to explain it in detail. "Engineering Explained" is the channel name.I didn't miss the point at all. Adding weight increases traction for both reasons and shifts the weight distribution rearward happens when you do it. Defining it to the minutiae is simply unnecessary.
Other than the comment I bitched about above they actually did a pretty good job on it overall. I figured it was going to be a "snow tires on a 2WD are as good as having 4WD" because they ran it on plowed flat roads but they covered hills as well and showed some good comparison between actual traction of 2WD/4WD as well as different tire types.Anything that starts with "Do you really need ..." is 99% of the time a rhetorical question. The answer 99% of the time is "no".
What it really means is "click here for endless debate and or wishy washy info about the value of bonus feature X"![]()
Please swap "brains" with "4x4 or AWD" aboveYou only need 4x4 or AWD when you need it. But if you need it and don’t have it, you’re SOL.
Yeah sorry, not commenting on the value of the video. I just hate that any of these things are phrased with the word "Need". It just leans into arguments vs intelligent conversation about whether an option is worth it for your needs. Hot button for me.Other than the comment I bitched about above they actually did a pretty good job on it overall. I figured it was going to be a "snow tires on a 2WD are as good as having 4WD" because they ran it on plowed flat roads but they covered hills as well and showed some good comparison between actual traction of 2WD/4WD as well as different tire types.
Worth a watch.
I live in a hilly, snowy area and carried tire chains last few years and never needed them. A big improvement was Traction Control which changed it from "one wheel spin" to "two wheel drive" and front wheel drive which put the weight bias on the drive wheels.Love how Engineering Explained always explains things so well. This is a great summary of summer/all-season/winter tires, and FWD/RWD/AWD.
Yeah, a lot of it is just a sales job. Plus do we need expensive, complicated machines to take over what we should be doing, like learning how to drive? For instance, anti lock brakes. I learned how to modulate the brakes to stop well in all conditions half a century ago. Now it's "stomp on the brakes and trust the airbags ".Yeah sorry, not commenting on the value of the video. I just hate that any of these things are phrased with the word "Need". It just leans into arguments vs intelligent conversation about whether an option is worth it for your needs. Hot button for me.
And, perhaps a little technique. I was visiting a customer in Atlanta when they got 4 inches of snow. The light would turn green and they would floor it and go nowhere. I'd give it a tiny throttle and drive around all of them.For me, AWD/4WD is an absolute must be when going up 12 degree, snow covered, rutted out, gravel roads.
We watch FWD vehicles with all season tires and crappy chains slide off the road and into the ditches often.
I wouldn't dare take my wife's Odyssey up the mountain in the winter.
However, there is also a Civic with studded tires that climbs up the mountain every day with no issues, and AWD vehicles with worn or crappy all seasons can barely get past the main gate.
So the answer really depends on what type of roads you'll be on, how they are maintained - and then - a winning combination of AWD/4WD and a good winter tire.