4H on the highway safe???

[Joaquim]

I suppose I view this as part of getting lucky. When I hit patches like that I reduce speed so I can better see them coming even when the road clears back up. If I go a few miles with no more issues, then I’ll speed back up.
That first second of hitting poor traction is all it takes to send you off the road, or into another vehicle. Even when I had an AWD Subaru I’d slow down. People would pass me, and it was not rare to find them in the ditch a few miles later.
I have no experience in Colorado though. It’s one of the 9 states I haven’t driven in/through yet.

Sometimes rough patches are completely unpredictable - unless you want to be driving at 40 mph for 8 hours straight - I just don’t understand why jeep didn’t put a full time 4WD system option for all wranglers

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[OSCAR II]

Looking for 70's Quadra trac ads,...

No matter how you look at something has to give! Unless you are driving in a perfectly straight line the wheels are turning at different speeds and even the slightest turn of the steering will strain something. Not saying it will instantly grenade but will cause excessive wear on the drivetrain.

Then there is the people buy 4wd and think they are invincible.

 

[Some Random Guy]

Sometimes rough patches are completely unpredictable - unless you want to be driving at 40 mph for 8 hours straight - I just don’t understand why jeep didn’t put a full time 4WD system option for all wranglers

If you hit one the conditions are right for more. Slow down, observe. If you don’t see any more for a few miles, speed back up. Just like I said in that post. You only lose 1-2 minutes that way and prevent causing a pile-up.

If you hit a bad patch, you don’t get to claim ignorance when you hit another. If you cause an accident, you’ll probably be at fault.

AWD or 4WD, part time or full time, none of it makes a difference at 60+ if you need to turn rapidly, get pulled into a rut, or start to skid. It just makes people take more risks.

But keep being obtuse. You clearly are only interested in 1 answer, so I’m not sure why you’re continuing with this thread. It’s mechanically fine, enjoy.

 

[ColoradoMike]

Yeah this is exactly my issue - the conditions vary constantly so it’s often inconvenient to switch from 2 to 4H (so I often just leave it in 4H) - do all rubicons have the AWD function?? And also I’m planning on switching out the axles either way so I don’t think it’ll be too much of an issue

No, not all Rubicons have the AWD function. Most of them do not. My current one does not. The '22 that I ordered, I ordered with the AWD option.... and then I cancelled the order. (Sad, long story).

 

[ColoradoMike]

If you hit one the conditions are right for more. Slow down, observe. If you don’t see any more for a few miles, speed back up. Just like I said in that post. You only lose 1-2 minutes that way and prevent causing a pile-up.

If you hit a bad patch, you don’t get to claim ignorance when you hit another. If you cause an accident, you’ll probably be at fault.

AWD or 4WD, part time or full time, none of it makes a difference at 60+ if you need to turn rapidly, get pulled into a rut, or start to skid. It just makes people take more risks.

But keep being obtuse. You clearly are only interested in 1 answer, so I’m not sure why you’re continuing with this thread. It’s mechanically fine, enjoy.

I've driven over half-a-million miles, all my life in climates with plenty of winter, and I have never skidded off the road in snow and ice. I did 233,000 miles in an AWD Subaru, and have done some 200,000 miles in Jeeps, and I can assure you, you can do a lot more/go faster safely with that AWD in snowy conditions than you can do in a Jeep with a part-time 4WD sys. I've experienced it extensively. Love my Jeep... but the t-case is inferior to a good AWD (especially a Subie) on a snowy road.

 

[Dyolfknip74]

Ok, 4WD auto mode isnt AWD. It's bad practice to say it is. It's literally not even close.
You can absolutely use 4wd at speed. I'm talking like 80kph whatever that is in freedom units. But there is also a learning curve. Hence my first comment. 4WD auto is not AWD and has completely different driving characteristics.
That's on you to know how to use all the tools in your tool box.

The jeep can handle it all day long. Shit, the 392 doesn't even have the option of 2wd stock. I'm sure they're fine in the winter on the highway. Lol.

 

[IdahoJOAT]

No. You should not use 4WD on the highway in snow.

If you are capable of reaching highway speeds (including snowy highway reduced speeds) 4WD does nothing but cause you to possibly lose control in curves. Once you reach around 35 MPH, 4WD is no longer "invincible mode" in snow. It's detrimental to maintaining traction.

Sorry brah, but the 2005 Dodge 1500 I used in Seattle to go get a Scout top begs to differ.

We were on our way from Lakewood to Salem when on the way it started to snow. Then didn't stop. Then we saw cars slid off the road. I had traction and was cruising still at 60 mph.

Then when the back end slid ever so much, I reached down and popped er in 4Hi. No more slipping. And we went the rest of the day in that.

2008 was one of the worst storms to hit, until 2012.

 

[Joaquim]

If you hit one the conditions are right for more. Slow down, observe. If you don’t see any more for a few miles, speed back up. Just like I said in that post. You only lose 1-2 minutes that way and prevent causing a pile-up.

If you hit a bad patch, you don’t get to claim ignorance when you hit another. If you cause an accident, you’ll probably be at fault.

AWD or 4WD, part time or full time, none of it makes a difference at 60+ if you need to turn rapidly, get pulled into a rut, or start to skid. It just makes people take more risks.

But keep being obtuse. You clearly are only interested in 1 answer, so I’m not sure why you’re continuing with this thread. It’s mechanically fine, enjoy.

I’m not quite sure you understand the road conditions I’m talking about… if you go slower than semi trucks you will cause a lot of problems in heavy traffic… road conditions change mile by mile - weather changes constantly - you can’t always see ice ahead, and there is no need for rapid turns… I’ve also noticed it has been fairly useful during long steep hill climbs in the mountains in these conditions… Even if it is snowing and the roads are a bit rough traffic still goes 60-90 mph and if you go significantly slower than traffic you’re a hazard

 

[OSCAR II]

2088 was one of the worst storms to hit, until 2012.

Yea but you were driving a Delorean

 

[Reinen]

Sorry brah, but the 2005 Dodge 1500 I used in Seattle to go get a Scout top begs to differ.

Then you may end up being one of the many typical "brah"s that we haul out of our canyons every winter.

Here's an example of a classic "shouldn't have been in 4WD" accident, losing control in the latter half of an icy curve and sliding off the road. Right after many 2WD & AWD vehicles make the same curve at the same speed in the same conditions. The truck was traveling downhill where there was zero need for the additional acceleration traction that 4WD provides and it succumbed to the traction loss that 4WD causes in curves.

 

[IdahoJOAT]

Yea but you were driving a Delorean

My bad, 2008. I'll fix the original. :D

 

[Remorseless]

Personally, I just slow down in 2WD. With a standard chain-based part-time system I don't like the idea of running 4H on pavement, even if I'm avoiding tight turns and such. If there's deep enough snow/ice that I'm not making forward progress, then I'll pop it into 4H until I get moving, and then back to 2WD.

 

[word302]

Yeah but the types of turns I’m typically using 4H for are at around 60mph on I70 through vail pass or on roads like highway 40 to steamboat through winter storms - so very slight turns, nothing drastically quick

Driving 60mph in a winter storm is just plain idiotic, especially in a Jeep or anything else with a high center of gravity.

 

[word302]

I think the issue is for mixed conditions. Sometimes you're going along (often in Colorado) and there has been snow, but this stretch of road is generally dry and 60MPH is PERFECTLY safe... and then all of the sudden, there's been some blowing snow and you need to slow down as you hit the snowy stretch... it sucks if you are in 2WD when this happens, and you need to shift into 4H as you get into the snow, and then you're past the blowing-snow section and back to mostly dry and 60 is safe again.
In an AWD car, these conditions are easy. With Jeep's part-time 4WD system, you are forced to make sub-optimal choices... i.e., driving way slower than you would need to if you were in a Subaru because you're in 2WD, or just constantly shifting back and forth sometimes suddenly and under stress.
That's why the T-cases that have all of the options: 2H, 4H, 4H-auto, and 4-Lo are best, and I wish they were the standard.
OP; it doesn't need to be a 392 t-case; you can order a 4:1 HD full-time sys with the options above for a regular roob and probably a Willys, I imagine. But as for aftermarket retro-fit... I don't know. I think John VanJeep was saying that these t-cases are also paired with different axle joints, etc...

The auto transfer case is not best by any stretch of the word for most of us and Jeep will never make it standard.

 

[word302]

Sometimes rough patches are completely unpredictable - unless you want to be driving at 40 mph for 8 hours straight - I just don’t understand why jeep didn’t put a full time 4WD system option for all wranglers

Because a good portion of us have no desire to have AWD. That’s why we bought a Jeep.

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