Snow and ice performance

[Deviant]

How so, what tires are you running?

Everything that makes the Rubicon good off-road makes it bad on-road in snow/ice. Tires are too wide, CoG too high, too light in the rear, short wheelbase, wide stance.

The best car in the snow will be, well, a car - not an SUV, with a low CoG, skinny tires, and AWD with a decent traction control system. Like a Subaru for instance.

There's a reason rally cars are cars.

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[Yogi1956]

Nice! Do you have the rock-trac or selec-track transfer case?

Rock-trac. Hated to sell it but the 2 door was a pain with the grandkids

 

[Ridgway Jeeper]

There's a reason rally cars are cars.

There is but, it isn't because they are better than a Jeep in the winter

 

[Greymatter]

I have a Willys with the LSD and live in Oregon where it’s obvious wet most of the year. should I be running in 4 high all the time?

 

[Caveman044]

I have a Willys with the LSD and live in Oregon where it’s obvious wet most of the year. should I be running in 4 high all the time?

Only in snow and ice or other slick conditions. Wet roads are generally considered high traction and can cause binding and potential damage in 4hi.

 

[Bikemobile]

I have a Willys with the LSD and live in Oregon where it’s obvious wet most of the year. should I be running in 4 high all the time?

No, It is best to drive in 2 wheel drive until conditions dictate 4 wheel drive. If you head out and the roads are snow covered you can proactively switch to 4 wheel drive but drive much slower. Your 4 wheel drive system can handle higher speeds but your tires on snowy icy roads cannot.

If you still have the mud tires the willys came with then please use extreme caution on snowy icy roads. They are less than good in those conditions.

 

[robokopp138]

If you still have the mud tires the willys came with then please use extreme caution on snowy icy roads. They are less than good in those conditions.

Is this for real? I have a 2020 Willys that I bought back in May so I have yet to experience the MT's in a Minnesota Winter. I'm more worried about ice than snow.

 

[rallydefault]

I wish people would listen to some of us cautioning that wranglers just aren't as good in typical snow/ice conditions as many people think. I would wager there have been quite a few avoidable accidents from new wrangler drivers who thought they were invincible because they're in a jeep.

As @Deviant said, anything with a lower stance and intelligent AWD system rather than just an on/off transfer case is gonna be better in the snowy/icy conditions most of us drive in on serviced roads.

If you're going offroad and plowing into fluffy, deep snow, then yea - the wrangler freakin' rocks. It's also mostly fine if you can move very, VERY slowly (tractor speed). But I'll be honest and say that I'm more comfortable in my wife's Kona in moderate ice and snow than in my jeep.

 

[jeeptrailrunner]

Great discussion so far. Hopefully some feedback from my snowtire+LSD+6pd+2door experience may help……

I had bought some Hankook iPike snow tires mounted on separate rims for my past JK Willys for the winter in Wisconsin. The rims came off an old Liberty (I think), so they were 255/17R18 paired with the LSD and a 6MT on my 2 door Willys. Not too much snow SE Wisconsin, but paired with icy roads and slushy conditions they were worth their weight in gold. Having separate rims saved me $ on mounting/balancing and made the swap a breeze.

Compared to any non-snow tire/all season I could definitely tell the difference in acceleration…..but the biggest difference was in the stopping power and turning like many of you have said. Deep snow was amazing. With the crazy amounts of road salt used it also made for slushy conditions most of the time. This is where they really did well with the extra siping. There was less of the “floating feeling” when driving around.

Obviously everyone has their unique driving conditions, but this was worth it every season. I usually keep them on for 3 1/2 mo max then switch back to my regular tires as it warms and snow melts more quickly. It also kept the mileage on them low. I only got snow 4 tires and threw a cover on the spare with factory rim during the winter time

While were on the subject……… Now that I have my JLR with 33s and high fenders. I wanted to check if the rims and snow tires fit, which they do. But as the JK snow tires are 255/17R18 and my new JLR tires are 285/17R17 I was worried on how they aesthetically look on the vehicle with the high fenders. I think they work for a few years, but they do have a “pizza cutter” look (which Im fine with). They still have tread left, so I didnt want to get rid of them quite yet. The pics only have one mounted for fitting purposes.

 

[Ridgway Jeeper]

Is this for real? I have a 2020 Willys that I bought back in May so I have yet to experience the MT's in a Minnesota Winter. I'm more worried about ice than snow.

No way I would run those MT's in a Minnesota winter, they will be dangerous on icy roads, nothing short.

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