2wd and Snow

Hi All!

I am going skiing this weekend and I was wondering how the 2wd X was going to handle in the snow. Has anyone had any exprience with this? Can anyone give me some pointers?
Thanks in advance.

~matt

Drive slow, don't nail the gas and give yourself more time to stop and turn than you normally would.

If you have the Crapper stock tires. I would get a different set of tires......

Sure, if you can cough up $500 in a few days.

First and foremost, make sure you have a tow/recovery strap in your truck!

Oh yea, and have fun!

id say just take it easy, dont let the truck get away from you, i have the stock tires on mine but its 4wd, but if im in snow and in 2wd it seems to get stuck easy on certain icy/heavily packed snow spots, if its a 5spd start out in 2nd most of the time and try to avoid stopping on hills or else you might find your speedometer going 45 and the truck sliding backwards

You can probably find a lot more discussion if you use the search function. In the search function, just type in a key word, and a forum that matches, (like "driving in snow" in the 2WD forum)

I am the new Search Nazi!

put on your seat belt, drive slow, take it easy on turns and switchin lanes, hold on and have some fun

Get some weight in the back of the truck. X's in 2wd (or that only have 2wd) suffer big-time trying to push the engine-weighted front tires through the snow. Throw a couple 50lb sand bags under the luggage in the back hatch and it'll help alot. If the back springs are noticeably compressed, you probably have too much weight. Of course, this advice only applies for getting the X moving. Nothing helps to slow you down or turn on the slick stuff (good tires help marginally). Like the others said- plenty of room to stop, plan your driving moves well in advance so you can just kind of "coast" to where you want to be without using the brakes.

Drive like you're trying not so spill a cup of coffee.

Thanks for all the responses. I have been doing some research but there is nothing like first hand experience.

Would anyone suggest to gear down when in hilly, snowy areas, like coming down from the mountain after skiing? It would be on a curvy nonpaved access road.

Thanks again.

~matt

You would definately want to gear down for heading downhill. Engine-braking is less likely to put you into a skid than hitting the brakes, as engine-braking in 2wd will slow the rear wheels, while brakes are proportioned more towards the front wheels. The unpaved road will probably be to your advantage, as there will be more natural "traction". The key is to make your downshifts as delicate as possible, otherwise you make break the wheels loose when you drop the clutch. As I said before, just try to plan and drive way ahead of where you are. Usually by the time you realise you're going too fast for conditions, its too late. I like the analogy of driving like you're trying to not spill coffee.

yea definetly use the engine for braking, im assuming you have a 5spd? if you do keep it in 2nd when going down, dont pump the brakes cuz of the ABS but if your going to brake, apply them gently and in intervals, if you do slide the abs will kick in so just keep you foot planted on the pedal....if you in an automatic keep it in 2..depending on the grade of the hill maybe even 1 and no sudden turns or you'll just keep going straight..i love playin in snow in 2wd in open parkin lots so i've learned alot in the short time i've had my X, when it looses traction, its gone until it either hits something or does a 180 and stops...or so this is what my x does...also FYI try to stay away from the edge of the road, generally snow and ice like to pile up and pulls the wheels off onto the side..just take it slow

Let us know how it goes too dude. Never driven my X in the snow, but we were considering a trip up to Flagstaff to check out the snow if it snows again this year.

I has a 2wd X before my recent trade up. Last winter we hit and ice storm in the middle of westrern Kansas on the way to Breckenridge. Not good. Put it this way. I got stuck in the Applebee's parking lot in Ft. Hays. Bottom line, treat your X like you would any rear wheel drive pickup.

Prepare for the worst, and you should be fine! By that, I mean take a recovery strap, borrow some tire chains, sand or salt in the back (for weight and assistance getting unstuck if you need it.)

ABS is nice, but if you "plant it" and all 4 tires lock up, the abs has no idea you are still moving.. The trick is at lease 1 tire has to be turning for the abs to kick in.. otherwise it would pulse at evert stoplight & stopsign, just to make sure you were stopped, and not sliding...
If you start to slide (and you will know it) let off the brakes (they arn't doing any good anyway) and let the truck straighten up, then reapply the brakes. the hardest thing to do is stop at a light, on a paved, ice covered, downhill, when it turns yellow on you and you don't have a choice.. Boy, that was fun... :rolleyes:

today was my first experience in it, i was lucky i was on gravel, because that gave me plenty of traction, and it was only an inch thick, but once i hit regular snow...its terrible, as someone said, just like any normal rear wheel drive car. It's kind of odd, everyone just assumes my car would be amazing in the snow, and they're like "well atleast you have 4x4" "no..." "atleast its front wheel" "no..." "oh"...

but oh well, it doesn't snow too often here for me to be worried about it, i have a 4x4 wrangler incase i need it drastically. I need to try out putting weights in the back, and is a better set of tires noticeablly better?

being 2wd you can run different tires at each end.. Might try a really good pair of AT's for the rear.. May end up just needing chains or studded tires tho...

That makes no sense. The ABS system can certainly recognize the difference between all 4 tires going from 10+ MPH to "0 MPH" in an instant vs. a gradual slowing to a complete stop, and will react accordingly to get the tires rolling again.

I've driven in the snow a few times in my X and the advice about throwin some sandbags in the back is right on
Just take it easy, stay on the road, don't try anyhting stupid and you'll be fine. And don't be ashamed to carry a tow strap and a good set of chains

someone if snow country so a test for me..
Get your rin to 10 or 15 mph in a packed snow/ice covered parking lot. Try to lock up the brakes by planting your foot as hard as you can. report back as to weather you can lock all 4 tires and slide or not.. Not the loose snow, the packed stuff.. no chains / studded tires either..

I live in Utah, so I get to deal with snow from October to March. So here are my suggestions that haven't already been said. When you start sliding (notice I said when, not if) you have to turn into the slide, even though your gut tells you to turn away.. i.e. you go around a left turn and keep going right, turn your wheels back to the right. You want to get your tread back in line with you direction your going. Other than that definately get some bags of salt. My Xterra can make it just fine up the canyons to the slopes if I do those things.

Like a one legged pig on an ice skate...

The only way I would ever depend on a 2WD Xterra (or any 2WD truck) to be driveable and halfway safe in the snow is with true winter tires...WInter Duelers, something with studs, etc.

And yes it is possible to lock all wheels at the same time and have the ABS think the vehicle is stopped if it is slippery enough, although it should only happen at very slow speeds, like below 5 MPH.

Well thank you all for your responses! I just got back from my skiing trip and everything went great! I had no trouble what so ever, on the drive there the interstate was fairly clear so I just took it nice and slow. In fact, 6" of snow had just dropped and except for the interstate the roads weren't even plowed yet but the X made it all the way to the top of the mountain even when the 5 other cars/vans got stuck half way up. Everyone thought that the X was 4wd with the way I was able to make it up the mountain. I was very pleased with the X's performance in the snow.

I kept it in 2nd gear, maintained a constant speed, had at least 150lbs of luggage in the back along with 3 passengers not included myself. I took everyone's advice and I appreciate all the reponses.
Thanks again,
Matt

the x in snow and just rear wheel drive ???
Very bad it does terrible take a honda Accord better , or a Car that its front wheel drive

All them passengers and luggage helped for sure. I have also found that letting the air down some in the rear tires helps in snow,(don't forget to air back up when on the highway).. Yes we do have snow in southern California, you just have to climb a mountian to find some. Mojave

Hey,

I was in Mammoth a few weeks ago (Jan 25-31) and we got 40in of new snow while I was up there. I drove my 02 X-SE 2wd up the mountain and she held up great. Granted, there was little "new" snow on the ground while I was driving and she's got a new pair of shoes(30in Bridgestone AT Dueller Revo's), but the X made out like a champ. Once we got there, I had to limit my driving to times when the roads were clear and there was little traffic just to be safe, but if you can handle difficult driving conditions, the X will do you fine....

Another Proud XTERRA owner,

Christiaan

Prolly the best tip ^.
I would like to add that tires make a difference. Was recently in Mammoth (weak snow compared to other areas) and there was mostly ice and little snow on the ground. I had chains and wasn't going over 25mph. I'm happy report I didn't feel any slippage. I'd like to attribute it to the tires ( Bridgestone D\'s , check out their snow traction rating), chains, & the load (5 passengers & gear).
We're going up again this weekend so I'll see how I do .

Coming from Canada and have learned to drive in the Winter on icy roads. The best recommendation I find for slowing down is frist to be in Neutral if automatic or clutch pushed in if Manual.

Downshifting can help you slow down, but if it's too slippery, the rear wheels might lock and cause the rear end to swing. I do this all the time with the hand brake on my Civic when making turns on slippery roads. It's fun when planned and controlled.

If the backend starts to swing when you push on the gas, just let off the gas and counter steer, 9 times out of 10, you will be able to get it back straight.

As far as tires, keep all 4 the same, if not you won't get even braking which can cause you to spin.

I've had a few rear wheel drive vehicles, and the best thing for traction (besides good tires) is a lot of weight in the back. Since you're going on a trip, you'll have luggage, if you're luggage is light, put more weight like sand bags. Keeping the gas tank full makes more weight too.

And the most important thing, which you probably already know, braking distance increase significantly when it's slippery so plan ahead and start slowing down ahead of time when you need to stop.

As far as chains very few people use them on passenger vehicles for snow traction. Sure they help, but in most cases, it's not worth the effort to put them on. By that, I don't mean that they are useless, I mean that in most cases you can do without. Only snowplows and tractors use them because they need the extra traction to push heavy loads.

56kz2slow.

Just reading this a month later. I been in a lot o snow in the mountians of So Calif. .. Yes we do have snow... with only 2wd you are going to be pretty limited, especially if you hit a hill. Adding some weight is definitely a good idea, and letting the air down some also helps,(don't foget to air back up when you are back on good roads). I didn't see anyone mention cable chains, they can help a lot, and don't forget when stopping 2wd or 4wd, once you are skidding they slide in the direction of the nearest tree at the same rate..

Mammoth 3 weeks ago... got out of the lot w/o chains no problem even with a manual tranny. However, to my advantage & enjoyment I was in pure powder... I was able to DUST all the snow off my X:


Out:


We would've been okay without them but we were req'd to put on chains. These are the "no roll type" by SCC which are snap to put on even for my cold little fingers:


Tread pattern: (note you can see both tread patterns, w & w/o chains)


Yay!

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