Dear fellow 2WD Xterra owners,

Has any one of you drove your X's through snow or slush, yet? I know they will have a hard time going through it unless you got the 4WD. I am planning to visit an old college bud of mine up in Denver sometime after Christmas, but I will be coming out of Central Texas driving through New Mexico and up to Colorado.

How did your Xterra manage the white stuff, especially if you got the Limited Slip Diff. like I do? Your experience and suggestions will greatly help. Thanks!

yellowX
'01 SE 2WD Auto

PS: I never used tire chains before. Will I need them, even if I have the LSD??

A 2WD will suck in the snow, any rear wheel drive vehicle will.

Don't worry about Colorado though, we only have about 12 days a year here where there is actually snow on the roads in the Denver metro area.

Put a couple sand bags in there or any kind of weight and that should help a lot.

until you actually start to slide. Then you have to fight the momentum of the added weight to get control back.

i have a couple times...

not much trouble... definately better than my old prelude... must be the tires

just dont do anything stupid...
baby it...
dont gun it or stop in any deeper stuff...

common sense really...

in snow, if you have to worry about the limited slip dif... your probably already stuck

Drove mine up here in New England during last year's very snowy winter. Although I live on a hill, I only got stuck once trying to do a three point turn in 8" of snow on top of 3" of solid ice (I don't have an LSD, so one wheel started to spin!). I actually tried driving up and around an unplowed dirt loop on a hill behind my house after each storm to test the X. I never got stuck once! I use 2 tubes of sand (60lbs each) and drive carefully using momentum when you need it and not gaining too much when you don't want it! Stomping on the gas will definitely put you into a spin (which is awfully fun in empty parking lots!)

Hey Todrick,
Have you used chains on your Xterra? Would you recommend getting them if you know you are going through snow filled streets, passes, and highways? Using tire chains will be a first for me and I will only get them if going through snow country will help me a little.
:rolleyes:

i have not used chains... dont go to the snow enough to justify the cost...

However... i would strongly recomend them... chains are a great help. probably the single biggest thing you could do to improve cold weather traction...

one more thing, when driving the roads, watch for "black ice"... probably the most dangerous thing about a 4x2 in cold climates

I have before....and lemme tell you...that was some fun stuff! Talk about 360's! all the while going to school....just take it easy on the gas....

Hmm, coming from a New Englander (and while I have a 4wd now, I didn't until July of this year)...and I'm going to assume you have little to no experience in snow drivg, so here's my bits of knowledge (and I apologize if I have underestimated your knowledge on the subject)

Make sure you put the sand between the rear wheel wells. You want the weight being pushed onto the rear tires.

Also, bring Kitty litter with you. If you get stuck on ice, you can spread it out and get traction (also, non-corrosive, so you don't need to worry about sealing the bag back up). If you can get a 30' recovery strap, you might want that as well (a 4wd vehicle might come along and be able to tow you out, you never know)

Don't forget to get a good icescraper, and wipe down your headlights when you gas up (to get road salt off of them).

Leave extra room for stopping, and ease on and off the gas/brakes. If you have fogs, use them when it snows.

Also, airing down your tires a bit will help gain traction in snow and on ice. But don't over do it...anyone have any low tire pressure experience in there X...in my olds and tracer, I dropped to 22-24 psi and it helped. With the X, I usually run 30-32 psi, and I will drop down to 26-28 and see how that works.

Well, stock tire pressure for the X is 26, so you might think about dropping it down a little bit more. But not much, I usually air down to 20 taking her off-road. Just a thought.

I went down to 12 psi yesterday on trip to the mountains for a Christmas tree. The whole road up was just littered with stuck full size trucks. About every 500' of elevation there was at least another 6" of snow. The X just charged right through it. When I could reach out the window and scoop snow with my hands, I turned around and got out of there! This was with the stock (crappy) BFG tires. I wouldn't have done this in a 2wd, but on the street you would have no problems with a 2wd.

Charlie

What, you think he would put it in the back seat? The cargo floor of the X isn't long enough to really make much difference where you put the bags, the weight will be pretty much on top of the axle regardless.

Brent

Hmm I don't really understand your post. All he was asking was how the traction was with the 2wd not what he should do before driving in the snow. As far as the weight, where else did you think I meant to put it in the front seats? And I have a lot of experience driving in the snow but thanks for your help on anything I missed.

Jeffrey,
Thanks for the tips! It has been almost a decade since I have last drove through any type of snow. Back in west TX, it snows in my home town at least once a year. When it does, it averages about no more than 2".

After living in central TX for nearly 7 years, I became pretty rusty driving through that white stuff. The only place I see snow out here is in a snow cone machine!

The good news is, I do have a tow strap and an ice scrapper already in my Xterra. The kitty litter stuff and lowering your tire pressure a little are things I never really thought about, but thanks for your suggestions. I will make sure to keep these ideas in mind before I head out to Colorado after my family visit in West Texas.

Yes, but the closer the wieght is to the axle the better off you are (more direct application of the weight). However, you are right, and the difference in an X is minimal.

I think the chains would do better at traction on snow...but if I remember correctly, the manual said about using cable instead of chains?
I apologize if I am mistaken.