How bad is the open diff in the snow?

[hughesjv]

I may have a little buyers remorse because I didn't at least get the locking rear. We don't usually get bad snow here but every decade or so we get nailed. Any input on how these trucks do in 2wd in the snow?

I put Snow tires on mine and with no weight or 4 wheel drive, I was able to get around without any slippage in a foot of snow with ice under it. We have nothing but snow and only once have I used the 4 wheel drive and that was just because my wife insisted...I didn't feel like I needed it.

Jim

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[Indy650]

I may have a little buyers remorse because I didn't at least get the locking rear. We don't usually get bad snow here but every decade or so we get nailed. Any input on how these trucks do in 2wd in the snow?

I live on tug hill upstate NY we get an average of 200 inches of snow and i have FX4 with the locker. I have tested the diff lock quite extensively and I find it quite impractical for winter driving it's more for rock climbing and certain off road situations. When its locked the rear end slides all over the place and I felt it didn't give me any better traction than with open limited slip. The traction control actually works really good in these trucks I I have found in most situations it's better to just leave it on and not use the diff lock. Also, you can't use the locker over 30mph and you can cause damage using it on road. Even on a road with a full base of snow/ice driving under 30mph the corners can be very dangerous with the diff locked and like I said if you hit a solid patch of road you could damage the rear end.

I've had many different trucks and for a midsize truck the Ranger goes pretty good in 2wd you just need to be light on the throttle as the traction control will let you spin a bit but that's a plus when trying to get through snow. Most traction control takes away too much power and you lose momentum but the Ranger doesn't do that.

I hope this helps and wasn't too lengthy.

 

[Floyd]

I put Snow tires on mine and with no weight or 4 wheel drive, I was able to get around without any slippage in a foot of snow with ice under it. We have nothing but snow and only once have I used the 4 wheel drive and that was just because my wife insisted...I didn't feel like I needed it.

Jim

Tires are the key. With actual snow tires my Pinto would push snow with the bumper. (open differential)

 

[MT19RANGER]

Tires are the key. With actual snow tires my Pinto would push snow with the bumper. (open differential)

lol, true, as a kid my grandma had a mercury bobcat wagon and we would put snow tires on it and I would have so much fun no matter how much snow was on the ground. It got buried in one storm and all I had to do was clear the snow from around the driver door and then I took off. The good old days.

 

[chuck stein]

I emailed them days ago and no response yet.

Well, I did suggest to call them.

 

[chuck stein]

Neither traction control nor limited slip will work well on a uniformly bad surface where the traction is equally low on all of the wheels. They need to have a wheel or two with better traction than the others to divert power to. Without that, you'll need to increase the actual traction with better tires, airing down, or possibly adding weight.

It really needs to be true "Torque Vectoring" in order to get power to the one wheel that is not free wheelin. Wheels that are not touching the ground at all should have zero power put there. Maybe in the future Ford will have such?

The video of that blue FX4, did he put it into 4x mode to climb the ant hill?

 

[Dokkenmire]

Well, I did suggest to call them.

I really don't care what you suggest...

 

[Indy650]

IDk if they still make them but pacemark snowtrakker tires are the best snow tires I have ever had. They were really cheap too. I think they only came on up to 15 maybe 16 inch rims and had only a few truck sizes. It's a shame because they were amazing. I had them on a 96 f150 straight 6 and I went all winter without 4x4

 

[2.7EcoBoost]

It really needs to be true "Torque Vectoring" in order to get power to the one wheel that is not free wheelin. Wheels that are not touching the ground at all should have zero power put there. Maybe in the future Ford will have such?

The video of that blue FX4, did he put it into 4x mode to climb the ant hill?

While I agree that the traction control should have done more in that video, a simple application of the brake would have likely transferred the power to the other wheel. I had a 2012 Jeep Wrangler that was simply amazing when it came to traction control. I forget what Jeep called the system, but it was basically an electronic limited slip via traction control. It almost made the need for lockers a thing of the past. I could literally go up a steep snowy hill in 2wd and the wheels would alternate spinning and power transfer back and forth and just claw it's way. I don't know when Jeep implemented the system, but Ford's is nowhere near as effective 7+ years later. I can't say for sure if that system was unique to the Wrangler, but it would benefit any vehicle.

 

[Dokkenmire]

thats not really "snow". more like a heavy frost. I would hope any 2WD car could handle that even with all seasons on it.

Of course any car could handle. It was still traction limited and worse than wet roads. I still slid and spun when driving normally, but it hooked up and went just fine with light input.

 

[Deleted member 1634]

Of course any car could handle. It was still traction limited and worse than wet roads. I still slid and spun when driving normally, but it hooked up and went just fine with light input.

I think some of that stuff can be deceptive. Depends what kind of snow it was, how cold the road surface was. If it was nice wet slushy flakes and the road was just cold enough to keep it cold, it could create some nice slick nastiness. More/deeper snow isn't necessarily worse. In fact, I'd much rather drive in 12" of fresh snow than 1" of slushy sleet. The tires I have on mine (Hankooks) are great in the snow, but rubbish in the sleet, ice, slush, and churned up snow.

Still a good test.

 

[chuck stein]

I really don't care what you suggest...

Did you get a email reply yet? Or are you still waiting for it?

 

[chuck stein]

Funny though, 2rwd vehicles do have better control in snow when both wheels are not spinning at the same time. Hence, a locker really sucks on slippery ground. Traction and control are two totally different things, but if you have traction you definitely need control.

But then begs the question, if you are worried about snow and bought a 2rwd vehicle, then you bought the vehicle with wrong type of driveline.

If it's a 2rwd open diff vehicle, the only option is some really good winter/snow tires, and drive like a snail. Or, just stay home. Or, call a friend who has a 4x4 to tote you around.

 

[chuck stein]

i'm sure he doesn't care...

Well then, "he" is the OP, so perhaps the original question is no longer valid?

 

[chuck stein]

While I agree that the traction control should have done more in that video, a simple application of the brake would have likely transferred the power to the other wheel. I had a 2012 Jeep Wrangler that was simply amazing when it came to traction control. I forget what Jeep called the system, but it was basically an electronic limited slip via traction control. It almost made the need for lockers a thing of the past. I could literally go up a steep snowy hill in 2wd and the wheels would alternate spinning and power transfer back and forth and just claw it's way. I don't know when Jeep implemented the system, but Ford's is nowhere near as effective 7+ years later. I can't say for sure if that system was unique to the Wrangler, but it would benefit any vehicle.

The Ranger description for "Traction Control" says the vehicle will apply the brake for you. So why would the driver have to apply the brake?

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