4H on wet pavement?

[GreyThumper]

Would you ever do it?

I've got a Ranger Raptor on stock BF Goodrich K02s. I noticed this weekend that they didn't have good wet weather grip (conditions: mountain road, up and down inclines, slippery due to a thin film of mud/soil). Would you turn on 4H in these conditions? I didn't because I was concerned about driveline windup on a paved road, but well, the tires did feel like they were slipping.

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[SafetyDan]

I would slow down. Let a little air out of your tires.

 

[HTX1811]

I turn mine on when it's slick but only for a better launch from a red light. I don't drive around in 4hi on pavement. As soon as I approach the turning point, I switch back to 2wd. With my tune and mods, there is no launch in wet conditions unless I switch to 4hi. Even on dry pavement, the tires want to break loose on an aggressive launch.

 

[Jamesb]

Great question Dino.. Interestingly the BF Goodrich K02 has an "excellent" rating in the Wet roads category. This is one of those things where I think Ford missed the ball not having a 4A option as they do on the F150.

I have the OEM Hankook Dynapro's on mine and so far so good. Besides getting "new/better" tyres (I'm not sure which would be better in rain?) I'm with @SafetyDan and check the PSI, and maybe let a little out to see if that helps.

 

[AutobotXJ]

Pavement can be slippery and require 4hi, especially if there is a significant grade, but be very careful as others noted you can cause lots of problems to your drivetrain if you have too much traction.
We actually have paved roads that require us to engage 4lo because of steep grades.
In my younger days, I’ve accidentally driven oh the hwy after an offroading trip. I didn’t realize it was still engaged until I pulled into my driveway. Nothing broke, but it certainly got me worried.

 

[geophb]

You probably woulda been fine puttin it in 4h. Ive run 4h on dry pavement in a hot tuned and modded diesel pickup to get max traction off the line. Binding only occurs in corners, not in straight lines.
And the fact of the matter is tires will lose traction before hard parts snap even dry pavement. But will cause extra load wear on the moving parts which wont show until thousands of miles of abuse daily driving in 4h on dry pavement.

Bottom line, it is hard to determine when to use 4h on pavement. Just kno it wont instantly explode if you run 4h and the road wasn't as slick as you thought.

 

[Mustangman02232]

Since when do they make a ranger raptor?

I try not to even use 4 wheel in the snow if I don’t have to, no reason to cause excessive wear and tear

 

[HenryMac]

Since when do they make a ranger raptor?

I try not to even use 4 wheel in the snow if I don’t have to, no reason to cause excessive wear and tear

OP lives in the Phillippines. European market does have a Ranger Raptor.

 

[HenryMac]

Would you ever do it?

I've got a Ranger Raptor on stock BF Goodrich K02s. I noticed this weekend that they didn't have good wet weather grip (conditions: mountain road, up and down inclines, slippery due to a thin film of mud/soil). Would you turn on 4H in these conditions? I didn't because I was concerned about driveline windup on a paved road, but well, the tires did feel like they were slipping.

No worries as long as it is truly wet and the road is indeed straight.

Here in Colorado if there are patchy slick spots on a straight run of road... I engage 4H. Did the same thing with my '02 Tacoma.

Now if you are talking twisting, turning roads, that's a whole other story.

 

[GreyThumper]

Now if you are talking twisting, turning roads, that's a whole other story.

Yup, the road was twisty indeed, so yeah, looks like 4H in those conditions isn't a good idea.

 

[GreyThumper]

Since when do they make a ranger raptor?

I try not to even use 4 wheel in the snow if I don’t have to, no reason to cause excessive wear and tear

I guess I should've specified what country I'm in. We've got the Euro Raptor in Asia Pacific too (Asia, Australia, New Zealand). Incidentally, this was the curvy slippery road I was describing. Typical Asian road that's just concrete, no asphalt. But yeah, since it was pretty twisty, I decided not to even try 4H.

 

[GreyThumper]

Great question Dino.. Interestingly the BF Goodrich K02 has an "excellent" rating in the Wet roads category. This is one of those things where I think Ford missed the ball not having a 4A option as they do on the F150.

Agree, pretty disappointing. In my country, the only compact pickup with a center differential you can lock/unlock is the Mitsubishi Triton/L200/Strada, so you can go 4H pretty much when you feel like it. I was vaguely tempted to get it just for this feature, but it's fairly mediocre at everything else (not to mention weird looking).

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