2WD in the snow

Posted by: aquaterra

2WD in the snow - 29/12/03 06:07 PM

i live in new england, and purchased a 2WD X last march. so far i love it, but am concerned with the snow situation. the x came from georgia and the price was right, but i hope i don't regret the capabilities of 4WD. should i consider studs on the rear? suggestions? thanks
Posted by: Anonymous

Re: 2WD in the snow - 29/12/03 08:48 PM

You could do either studs or chains...or look into a really good A/T tire, or even an M/T tire..some say that M/T's aren't good in the snow because of the open tread pattern not holding any of the snow...but I used to have Kumho Venture M/T's on my Wrangler, and man, they were bad ass in the snow...we had about a foot of snow last year here in Richmond, and it was like driving on dry pavement....

Dave.
Posted by: Anonymous

Re: 2WD in the snow - 31/12/03 05:50 PM

I did the ame thing.. i purchased my 2000 in GA .. got transfered with the Army to Baltimore and just made it back to GA a few months ago... I will tell you .. I love the 2000 but it is the worst vehicle I have ever driven, bar none, in snow... I have a 4 x 2 and it just slid everywhere and once i could not even get up in my driveway ... buy yourself the best pair of chains you can.. cheap ones are awful.. get the best .. they are about 100 but worth it....
Posted by: ChuckH

Re: 2WD in the snow - 31/12/03 06:36 PM

M/T tires are good in deep snow; where they fail miserably is on ice, where you need lots and lots of siping. A/T's aren't too hot on ice either. Neither one has an ideal rubber compound for winter use either.

Without the front wheels being driven, the Xterra is a handful to say the least (I consider ir dangerous!) when the going gets slick. If I were you I'd invest in some dedicated winter tires like the Bridgestone Winter Dueler or even studded tires. Even then it won't be spectacular, but it should at least be safe to drive.

Oh yeah...get the chains too as a backup! I like the SCC brand Z cable chains personally.
Posted by: RJ

Re: 2WD in the snow - 01/01/04 12:45 AM

I know this won't help very much but, all I want to say is the X SUCKS in snow in RWD!

We had some rare snow on the west coast in the last few days and I swear the X handles worse than a Mustang or Camaro on drag slicks in 2WD. Things got much better when I engaged the front wheels, but with the stock Long Trails traction was anything but good. It don't bother me too much, we only get one good snow a year if lucky; most times once every few years.

aquaterra, you might want to consider a FrontWD beater or an old Subaru for snow driving.
Posted by: OffroadX

Re: 2WD in the snow - 02/01/04 10:08 AM

www.greendiamondtire.com
A set in an AT pattern should be about as good as it gets short of studs or chains.
Posted by: Anonymous

Re: 2WD in the snow - 04/01/04 07:39 AM

From experience, if you're running oversized tires on your X; I don't recommend the use of chains. Running stock size you should be fine.

Get rid of the stock tire, you need A/T's, and I highly recommend Revo's over BFG K/O for snow traction.

Another big help is to keep your air pressure slightly less then you would in the summer months, for greater traction. And use about 120# plus of sand-bags thrown in the back.
Posted by: OnlyOneDR

Re: 2WD in the snow - 04/01/04 09:46 AM

My 2wd Desert Runner drove like a tank through 6" of snow with a set of Dunlop Rover A/Ts, and I did not throw any extra weight in the bed of my truck. No telling how much more snow I could have managed with just 2wd though.
Posted by: OffroadX

Re: 2WD in the snow - 04/01/04 07:36 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by MasenDixen:
I highly recommend Revo's over BFG K/O for snow traction.
Another big help is to keep your air pressure slightly less then you would in the summer months, for greater traction.
I don't know how the Revos stack up, but I'll repeat, my BFG ATs have been fantastic in the winter, from a thin glaze of freezing rain (with extreme caution) to a foot and a half of virgin snow.
As for airing down, that's NOT correct. Do a little googling, you should not lower the pressure at all, but increase it slightly to force the tread to bite into the packed snow. If anything, you may need to add air when it's cold because the pressure goes down with the temperature.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/general/pressure.htm

Brent
Posted by: Anonymous

Re: 2WD in the snow - 08/01/04 04:45 PM

I took my X (2002 2WD SE) to Colorado last year and went to my aunts cabin in the mountains. Almost the entire way (once in Colorado) it was snowing or there was ice on the road and my X never slipped or skidded once. (unless I wanted it too. he he) I have the factory tires it came with and going up the mountain passes in a snowstorm was no problem. I was passing all the other cars putting up the mountain.
Posted by: XOC

Re: 2WD in the snow - 08/01/04 05:08 PM

It probably wasn't really snowing then. I can't even get up my driveway in an inch of snow in 2WD.
Posted by: Anonymous

Re: 2WD in the snow - 08/01/04 05:26 PM

Maybe it was nuclear fallout. smile
Posted by: XOC

Re: 2WD in the snow - 08/01/04 06:02 PM

Could be smile

How much was actually accumulated on the ground ?
I do have mud terrain tires, which are useless in anything but deep, heavy snow.
Posted by: Anonymous

Re: 2WD in the snow - 08/01/04 07:22 PM

I think you had a bad case of dandruff! I agree w/Ian 2WD sucks and is not for the snow.

That or you died on the toilet that morning, and you are dreaming in heaven.
Posted by: ChuckH

Re: 2WD in the snow - 08/01/04 07:38 PM

Or it could have been super cold and powdery so it was just scattering as you drove. Happens a lot here and I imagine in Colorado too. I doubt there was significant accumulation...just no way it would have blasted through with no slipping. Seriously, I don't consider myself a snow driving God by any means, but my Dad did make me learn (fairly extensively) to drive on snow and ice in a RWD car before I even had my license and I've been driving for about 25 years. Snow + 2WD truck = BAD news and a truck based SUV isn't much better. Add the high center of gravity and it's a disaster waiting to happen. I've said it before and I say it again; my Xterra is a handful in 2WD on compact snow and ice with A/T tires, even at very slow speeds.
Posted by: Anonymous

Re: 2WD in the snow - 08/01/04 09:10 PM

It wasn't 3 feet deep or anything and by no means am I saying that I wouldn't have wanted a 4WD. There was ice on the road and most parts were not plowed and the snow wasn't deep (maybe 2 or 3 inches) but it was there and I was surprised it didn't slip and slide all over like I thought it was going to. So as far as my experience in the 2WD it was a good one. When I decide to upgrade in a couple years I will definately go with 4WD. I was too poor at the time to afford it. frown A friend of mine had a 2001 Xterra and he couldn't drive up the driveway in wet grass in Oregon so I know the 2WD can suck in off pavement conditions.
Posted by: Anonymous

Re: 2WD in the snow - 09/01/04 11:05 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by MasenDixen:
Get rid of the stock tire, you need A/T's, and I highly recommend Revo's over BFG K/O for snow traction.
I've never owned the Revos, but this winter I've had plenty of chances to try out my BFG AT's in snow and a good bit of freezing rain. The verdict: the tires performed far better than I expected for an AT tire. They really stuck well and provided outstanding traction - of course that was in 4wd.

I strongly recommend the BFG's, in my opinion they are the best AT tire on the market (but I've never owned the Revos).
Posted by: PDXterra

Re: 2WD in the snow - 18/01/04 08:13 PM

Quote:
"I'm not worried about you, I'm worried about all the other fools out there that can't drive."
Wow, ain't that the truth. Too bad the DMV can't take people through a wet/icy/snowy course. It's not that hard people, just don't go 65 MPH on an icy road!
Posted by: Anonymous

Re: 2WD in the snow - 27/01/04 08:51 AM

I just bought a 03 X 2WD thinking it would never see much snow, and within two weeks of purchase I ended up having to drive it up to NY (I'm in DC) for work. 6" of snow later and I was quickly shown how bad it handles (if you can even call it that) in the snow/slush- downright scary...almost undriveable at anything more than a VERY SLOW pace.

When I returned to DC I unloaded the stock tires and replaced them with A/T's and added about 150lbs of playsand in the rear - now it's a whole new truck in the snow! We just received 6" of new white stuff here and it handled it just fine. Those stock "AW" tires are junk in anything but dry pavement.

Steve
Posted by: Anonymous

Re: 2WD in the snow - 27/01/04 09:30 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by OffroadX:
www.greendiamondtire.com
A set in an AT pattern should be about as good as it gets short of studs or chains.
Brent, have you tried these? If they are so good, how come more people don't know about them?

-dp [Smoking]
Posted by: OffroadX

Re: 2WD in the snow - 27/01/04 01:14 PM

Haven't tried 'em, but I suspect they're not well-known because they're retreads and most people don't like the thought of running retreads.