Engineering Explained: Do You Really Need AWD or Winter Tires? (summer/all-season/winter tires, and FWD/RWD/AWD)

[JVolpe]

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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[Steve Urquell]

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.

When snow was down it never was graded, packed down, thawed the top and refroze making it an ice sheet. I put a locker in the rear axle of the Ranger, 300+lbs of weight in the bed, studded tires on it. None of that would save me from having to chain it up to get up the hills sometimes for months at a time.

Finally bought a 4WD Tacoma. I still put weight in it in the winter but have never had any problems getting up the hills on all-season tires. Buying that 4WD was the best investment I've ever made.

Chaining that Ranger halfway up the very steep 800ft long hill on ice after spinning out one dark night while hanging on to it so I didn't slide to the bottom and hoping the truck didn't slide over me while doing it was what sealed the deal for me.

 

[Bigred]

You only need 4x4 or AWD when you need it. But if you need it and don’t have it, you’re SOL.

 

[cooper]

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.

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.

 

[TJ2023]

I lived in northern Michigan most of my life. I have had fwd, rwd, and 4x4s. 95% of people will never NEED AWD or 4x4. I never got stuck in my little Escort(FWD), Ranger(RWD) or my Monte Carlo(FWD). I only used 4x4 in my Blazer a couple of times while off-roading. Having the right tires and knowing how to drive in bad conditions is way more important. It amazes me living in the city now how many people around here feel they NEED AWD or 4x4.

 

[Steve Urquell]

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.

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 don't know how a see-saw works! Click here.

 

[cooper]

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.

The whole point of the video was to explain it in detail. "Engineering Explained" is the channel name.

 

[Jman79]

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"

 

[Steve Urquell]

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"

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.

 

[Jman79]

You only need 4x4 or AWD when you need it. But if you need it and don’t have it, you’re SOL.

Please swap "brains" with "4x4 or AWD" above .

I've actually found a few simple items much more useful than 4x4 or AWD. Eg. My brother in law tearing up my lawn with his truck dropping off mulch in the wrong muddy spot. up my grass in 4 spots vs 2. What did the trick was 2 2x6's.

Other good items:
- Folding shovel
- kitty litter or sand
- anything lying on the side of the road to serve as a traction mat
- Quick chains
- Come along
- And of course some knowledge

But car salesman can't sell you the above as a $3K add on.

Talking the average bear situations here... Not those who are purposely trying to "boldly go ..."

 

[Jman79]

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.

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.

 

[710-oil-614]

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/or a good winter tire.

 

[Timothyd]

Love how Engineering Explained always explains things so well. This is a great summary of summer/all-season/winter tires, and FWD/RWD/AWD.

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.
Okay, AWD is an improvement sometimes but at a cost in money, fuel and weight I'm not willing to pay

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.

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 ".

 

[TrailMaster]

I live in Western Colorado, between Crested Butte and the summit of Monarch Pass on the Continental Divide.

https://www.uncovercolorado.com/ave...ty in Colorado,the snowiest month in Colorado.

That said, I was not in the market for a front wheel drive vehicle.

It has been an unusually dry winter so far this season, but we've got a way to go yet! March is often our snowiest month.

 

[Timothyd]

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.

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.

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