4WD Max Speed

Don't know the Nitro, but ordinarily with part-time 4WD, you don't put it on when you're in a condition with good traction -- you'll destroy the transfer case and differentials in a hurry.

So any time you've got it in 4, you don't need to worry about the vehicle's top speed, since conditions will keep you going much slower than that. Likewise, you don't need to worry about the difference in gas mileage.

I have been in situations before where I have thought the roads are in good condition, then hit an ice patch and almost killed myself.. I guess with part time 4WD, you can't really use it until you are absoultely sure there is little traction. In other words, you can't just put it in 4WD to be on the "safe side".

What I liked about the Nitro was all of the safety features. Assuming

4WD won't save me in the above situation, how about the other safety features like Electronic Stability Control, Anti Roll Mitigation, Automatic Traction Control, etc.. Does anyone have any opinions on any of these features?

Thanks, Dan

I don't think the best full-time 4wd or AWD system would help you one iota in that case either. 4WD or AWD helps you get moving on ice and snow, but you can't stop any faster than any other car because all cars have 4-wheel bakes. What good is 4wd going to do if you hit an ice patch at speed? None.

No substitute for driving skill.

First off read your purchase invoice (window sticker) or your build sheet if you have one and post as to what type of 4wd drive system you have. As far as I know all of Dodge/Chrysler and Jeep (with exception of maybe the TJ) all currently have full time 4x4, basically they are all wheel drive, some will have a fancy shifter pretending to be

4wheel low.

If you Nitro has fulltime 4wd then you can drive as fast as you want. If it has a selectable 4wd (or true 4x4) capability then you should really read the manual for the vehicle or get ready to pay the dealer big $$$ to fix things when they go "bang".

Just keep in mind the biggest difference between 2wd and 4wd is the cost to pull you out of the ditch. 4wd (no matter what type you have) will get you stuck faster and farther off the road then with 2wd.

As for all the other crap you asked about (sway control, traction control and that) learn to drive first. All this stuff (incl. daytime running lights that only turn on front lights and nothing at the back) have been added to cars over the years because of the stupid people who drive in bad weather. These are the same stupid drivers who cant drive at the best of times and should walk or take transit.

All the extra crap socalled "safety" items put on cars are there so the stupid people will buy them and ask questions like "how fast can I go in 4wd" or "how come I got a ticket for not having my lights on, I had headlights on.. who cares if my back lights weren't, the brakes would work when I was stopping".

Snow...

1989 Caprice Wagon 1993 JeeP ZJ 2008 Dodge Caliber sxt

Can't speak for the Nitro, but as of last year the Dakota could be had with real 4WD. I've got one.

A friend of mine once gave me some really good advice about using 4WD off-road: leave it in 2. Then when you get stuck, put it in

4-low-reverse, back it out, and put it back in 2. That's only slightly facetious...

I've heard also heard that the single most common phrase after "don't worry, we're in 4" is "anybody see a place to hook the winch?"

I have an AWD van. What AWD gives you is every 80K miles or so you have to pay about $200 to have the driveline from the front transfer case to the rear axles rebuilt. Or, spend $500 to get a new driveline. Sadly, the AWD designers threw away 70 years of learned design in building drivelines and U-joints and opted to go instead to this booted CVS design like what is used in axles in FWD cars. The boots on the suckers fail at the same rate that the boots on the CVS axles do, which means that once the boot fails, you get grease slung all over the bottom of the vehicle and have to go get the driveline rebuilt.

Ted

Wow -- I don't think I've ever seen anybody go through CV boots at that rate...

That's only 2 or 3 CV joints replaced during the typical lifetime of the vehicle. But, a rebuilt half-shaft is available in the box from most auto parts places for about $50. Rather different than a driveline which you have to remove - thereby disabling the vehicle - carry in to the One Place in the city that rebuilds them, then wait a week, and if the line is torn up, wait longer for them to find another line from a wrecker that doesen't have the same parts hashed.

Call around to the driveline places if you have one of these that's older than 10 years. Your going to find that some of the repair parts for them are no longer available from Chrysler or anywhere else.

I don't know about the other vehicle manufacturers, but the AWD driveline Chrysler produced for the vans is clearly a bad design. No wonder they stopped making them.

Ted

That's only 2 or 3 CV joints replaced during the typical lifetime of the vehicle. But, a rebuilt half-shaft is available in the box from most auto parts places for about $50. Rather different than a driveline which you have to remove - thereby disabling the vehicle - carry in to the One Place in the city that rebuilds them, then wait a week, and if the line is torn up, wait longer for them to find another line from a wrecker that doesen't have the same parts hashed.

Call around to the driveline places if you have one of these that's older than 10 years. Your going to find that some of the repair parts for them are no longer available from Chrysler or anywhere else.

I don't know about the other vehicle manufacturers, but the AWD driveline Chrysler produced for the vans is clearly a bad design. No wonder they stopped making them.

Ted

The only reason the minivans dropped AWD is that it wouldn't clear Stow'N'Go seats.

The AWD systems simply moved to the Pacifica, which is really just a "compressed" minivan platform.

Rick

If there had really been the market demand for AWD in a minivan, Chrysler would have figured something out. AWD was dropped because there wasn't enough people buying them for Chrysler to spend the money and time to design it in. Obvious options would have been to not make the stow and go available on AWD vans.

I have a 94 AWD and a 95 non-AWD and have disassembled the AWD pretty far in the past. There's no difference in body design between the two. AWD is mainly a bolt-on option, it didn't take a lot of rework to add it in.

Ted