Quote:
Originally posted by Will Antoniou:
Does anyone remember that blizzard we had in New York about a month and a half ago? Well, I took my X on the beach, during this blizzard. Believ it or not, (amazing vehicle that the X is), I was doing great! But then I decided to drive through a 6 foot snowdrift. Bad choice, I know. But here's my problem: I obviously got stuck. But when I did get stuck, I put in low 4 wheel drive, and when i pushed on the gas I was only getting movement in the right front wheel and the back left wheel. Call me crazy, but isn't that only 2 wheels? I have to say, it was disappointing at the least to witness this.

So, 300 dollars and winch later I was out. But I can't help but think maybe I could have gotten out myself if all 4 wheels were moving.

Any comments would be great! thanks -Will
Ah, the open diff. Your X did exactly what it was designed to do. Open diff rigs, like our Xterras, send all the power to one wheel on the front or rear axle. The only way to eliminate this altogether is to install lockers. They will "lock" the axles so both wheels on a single axle will spin together at the same rate thus improving traction. Of course driving with lockers is harder in some situations. The other option is an LSD. Not as good as a locked axle for traction, but it is more forgiving and easier to drive. Some X's come with an LSD rear, you'll have to check yours. Of course it's debatable how well the factory LSD works, but mine seems good enough for now.