Which Provides Better Traction?

[Steve Barker]

Front wheel drive car up to 6". Deeper than that, i'd take the 4x4.

[Bob F]

Yep. 4 wheels just makes you think you have more traction than you do. When it comes time to stop, you find out.

Bob

[Larry]

IME there's a noticeable difference between 1" and 4" of snow as far as driving in it goes. At 1" most any vehicle will have little problem (Snow, not ice) At 4 or 5 inches, depending on consistency of the snow, some vehicles will have trouble. My old 3/4 ton 2WD pickup did not have the greatest traction compared to our tiny Ford Aspire, but when the snow is more than about 6" or so and sloppy, the limited ground clearance of the car lets it to just sink into the snow and get stuck. On the other hand, the pickup, having 16 1/2" rims, large tires, and about 15" of ground clearance, could usually be coaxed to move with a little finesse. FWIW that truck had a posi rear axle too. Anyway, to answer your question more directly, if it was less than 4" of snow the FWD car would probably be superior to a 2wd pickup.

[Ashton Crusher]

Ah memories. I had a 1960 Corvair and drove it up hill thru mud so deep you wouldn't want to walk thru it. And thru flooded streets were the water was about to come over the door sill. They were unstoppable.

[Tony Hwang]

Hi,

4WD is only on snow. If you use it on pavement it can be damaged easy. Even 4X2 PU trucks will do OK with some weight on the cargo bed. Could use some sand bags.

[Joseph Meehan]

We had a 1961. I was driving my father to work once when the front end floated up but the wheel still worked as rudders and got us through.

[HeyBub]

"Ever wonder how the guy who drives the snowplow GETS to the snowplow?"

[Bill]

A truck with weight in the bed (sandbags or whatever) will get better traction.

4 wheel drive will get better traction than 2 wheel drive.

Limited slip "Positraction" will get better traction. This makes both wheels turn even when one wheel is slipping.

Traction tires or snow tires will get better traction. (Studded tires will get better traction on ice, but they can still slide on hills!)

And then there is something about a Jeep... For some reason these tend to get better traction than a pick-up. I've seen them in pulling contests in mud. They seem to do better, but I have no idea why?

[Steve Barker]

Until they ran out of oil.

[Bob F]

LOL. There's an image.

Bob

[Goedjn]

Part of the problem is that the instincts that you learn for handling a rear-wheel drive car in snow are wrong for a front-wheel drive vehical.

The trouble with rear-wheel drive is that it doesn't often come with rear-wheel steering. So you can go, but you don't get to pick where.

The trouble with 4WD is that it convinces people to be stupid.

[Steve Barker]

Because the tinny little pos's don't weigh anything. And they have better front to rear balance, and they have a short wheel base.

[Charlie Morgan]

...and you can lock the differentials. In fact, you have to UNLOCK them to drive on pavement.

CWM

[Everett M. Greene]

Amen, brother! I ran around in the mountains of Colorado in my father's 2WD 1950-something International pickup with no great problems.

Now try getting through some deeper snow in a 4WD with one of the front wheel hubs disengaged...