Another 4WD on pavement question

[Young04]

I have a Rubi and on my daily commute, there is a stop sign controlled side street that is uphill and has snow on it (these days) right before the intersection with the busy main road. I need 4H to timely pull out into traffic. Problem is that the main road is often clear of snow. I try to shift quickly back into 2H once I am moving, but occasionally, I hear/feel the front wheels bind as I am making the turn. How much extra wear am I really causing in that scenario?

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[RockyMtnHigh]

I'm not sure about how much wear you are putting on the diff, but minimizing it is always the best option. Wranglers are rear wheel drive, can you stop at the top of the hill with your front tires on dry pavement, shift out of 4HI, and then drive? I don't know how steep of a hill we're talking, but I think the rear tires, even in the snow, would be enough to get you up

 

[Young04]

I'm not sure about how much wear you are putting on the diff, but minimizing it is always the best option. Wranglers are rear wheel drive, can you stop at the top of the hill with your front tires on dry pavement, shift out of 4HI, and then drive? I don't know how steep of a hill we're talking, but I think the rear tires, even in the snow, would be enough to get you up

Can't really stop. Main road is busy and often times you have to gun it somewhat to merge with traffic. I *may* be able to get up that incline in 2WD but it would just take too long with the amount of wheelspin that would result. Or maybe not make it up at all. Depends on the day.

Also, is it ok to be shifting from 4H to 2H while you're actually on the throttle? That is basically what I would have to do (and quickly) in order to avoid the binding.

 

[Roky]

I have a Rubi and on my daily commute, there is a stop sign controlled side street that is uphill and has snow on it (these days) right before the intersection with the busy main road. I need 4H to timely pull out into traffic. Problem is that the main road is often clear of snow. I try to shift quickly back into 2H once I am moving, but occasionally, I hear/feel the front wheels bind as I am making the turn. How much extra wear am I really causing in that scenario?

Make sure you’re not shifting while turning, go ahead and make turn then shift when you get straightened out.

 

[RockyMtnHigh]

No, keep your foot off of the accelerator when shifting into or out of 4H

 

[Roky]

Can't really stop. Main road is busy and often times you have to gun it somewhat to merge with traffic. I *may* be able to get up that incline in 2WD but it would just take too long with the amount of wheelspin that would result. Or maybe not make it up at all. Depends on the day.

Also, is it ok to be shifting from 4H to 2H while you're actually on the throttle? That is basically what I would have to do (and quickly) in order to avoid the binding.

Not a good idea to shift while in the throttle, better to let off the gas as you shift.

 

[Young04]

No, keep your foot off of the accelerator when shifting into or out of 4H

Thanks. Seems like the bind is unavoidable in my scenario (or at least difficult to avoid). So would I really be causing that much wear or is it not that bad?

 

[iPooted83]

You should be ok to keep it in 4H until you have time to let off the throttle and shift.

 

[Roky]

Thanks. Seems like the bind is unavoidable in my scenario (or at least difficult to avoid). So would I really be causing that much wear or is it not that bad?

Can you make wider turn, binding probably due to maxed out turning. But not going to hurt it.

 

[mwilk012]

Can you make wider turn, binding probably due to maxed out turning. But not going to hurt it.

Binding is due to wheel speed differences in a turn and is effectively unavoidable when on dry pavement in 4wd.

 

[Foolish]

How much more wear does leaving it in 4WD all winter actually do? I have never heard of this whole change it back and forth with any other vehicle - heck the Toyota FJ cruiser manual shift edition was a 4WD all the time vehicle. I put my vehicles into 4WD the first real snow and take it out in spring. Though I will admit in spring I do vary it - my driveway is usually a mess pretty late and hills vs. town are often drastically different driving conditions.

Is this a Jeep thing?

 

[Roky]

How much more wear does leaving it in 4WD all winter actually do? I have never heard of this whole change it back and forth with any other vehicle - heck the Toyota FJ cruiser manual shift edition was a 4WD all the time vehicle. I put my vehicles into 4WD the first real snow and take it out in spring. Though I will admit in spring I do vary it - my driveway is usually a mess pretty late and hills vs. town are often drastically different driving conditions.

Is this a Jeep thing?

Rubicons are not an awd vehicle, so when you shift into 4 hi your in 4 wd all the time until you shift back into 2wd, the Sahara with selctrac is more like what your describing. They have the ability to go in and out of 4 wd as conditions dictate when 4 wd auto is selected.

 

[Young04]

Rubicons are not an awd vehicle, so when you shift into 4 hi your in 4 wd all the time until you shift back into 2wd, the Sahara with selctrac is more like what your describing. They have the ability to go in and out of 4 wd as conditions dictate when 4 wd auto is selected.

He lives in Alaska though and his roads may look very different than the rest of us living in the continental U.S.

 

[mwilk012]

All in all OP, it’s hard to quantify the amount of wear you can potentially cause in this scenario. It varies from slightly uneven tire wear to the rare broken axle or differential. What tires are you using?

 

[Young04]

All in all OP, it’s hard to quantify the amount of wear you can potentially cause in this scenario. It varies from slightly uneven tire wear to the rare broken axle or differential. What tires are you using?

The stock BFG KO2s.

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