hello again

On Wed, 14 Feb 2007 20:58:42 -0800 in , John in Vegas graced the world with this thought:

check groups.google.com and use the name of this group as a parameter

Hey John, what's new? How's the newest Jeep going?

Not much going on around here... Got a little snow, didn't even need

4x4 to chew out through the driveway snowbank...

I was up North in Ontario Canada to a cottage on a lake a couple weekends ago in the old Cherokee and it was 4x4 for several hours each way on the highway.

Nasty Nasty Whiteouts coming back, We got 'stuck' in a line going 30 mph behind a row of plows in the worst of the whiteouts with 8" fresh down so that worked out just great. Slow and steady wins the race, no accidents.

Driving a 4x4 is a learning experience. They handle like no other vehicle when in 'part time' 4x4.

To stop when in part time 4x4, my owners manual says to 'stay off the brakes' and to use the gears and steering for slowing down or avoiding something. I have found that my Jeeps will stop amazingly fast like that and practice it off road all the time. Just need the brakes for the final stop. Folks are always told to stay off the brakes and use the gears when in PT 4x4 off road. Same deal when in PT 4x4 on road in a snowstorm!

The problem with using the brakes is the front and rear axles are locked together. In a normal 2 wheel drive vehicle when you hit the brakes in snow, the steering usually just locks up so you track straight ahead. Jeeps and most SUV's have a combination or proportioning valve that is supposed to prevent rear wheel lock up to avoid the vehicle swapping ends for this.

However when you are in part time 4x4, when the front wheels lock up... so do the rear wheels because of the nature of the locked center differential.

This means a Jeep or any vehicle in part time 4x4 will slide sideways faster than you can blink with all 4 wheels locked up. Instant off the high side of the curve ditch fodder.

I highly recommend folks use their 'shift on the fly' at any legal speed feature of the 4x4 so they get used to treating it 'just like any other shift'. See snow coming, shift into 4x4, see clear coming shift back to

2 WD. This way in an emergency, shifting into or out of 4x4 comes naturally.

I find 2 WD better when doing left turn at snowy or slushy intersections. I use 2WD then as I come out of the turn, I hit 4x4 to pull me into the straight. I find this because when turning in PT 4x4 one wheel has to scuff the ground because the front wheels and rear travel different distances around a corner. When this happens, the front wheels tend to get up on top of the snow and the Jeep just wants to go straight around the long corner unless you goose it to grab which isn't always a good thing to do.

I highly recommend an empty parking lot or open trail come first snow to find out just how your 4x4 does handle.

On our last New Years trip last year it was insane the number of SUV's that passed me in a snowstorm on the highway only to be found in the ditch off the top side of a corner aways along. I think we counted 8 in about a hundred miles. I was doing a nice 55-60 mph in 4x4 part time or keeping with the transport truck's speed.

Then if you see 'all' the transport trucks parked at the truck stops, it's time to rethink the timing of the trip and maybe stop for a break too.....

Mike

86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail in '00 88 Cherokee 235 BFG AT's Canadian Off Road Trips Photos: Non members can still view! Jan/06 (More Off Road album links at bottom of the view page)

whoops, that was a reply to something else about winter driving that got tagged on there instead of my sig line.

Mike

Howdy, howdy, good to hear from you!

-jenn

Unless they have changed the google groups, I don't like them. Im using netscape and started to get the posts after the one I posted, so I should be ok now.

Jeff, its me, minus White Trash. Right now, I have a 99 TJ (I had it the last time I got on here) Its all stock except it has an Atlas II, 4:88s and f/r lockers and 33s. Something is bent in the suspension, it keeps on eating the control arm bushings. Im going to put a long arm kit on it to eliminate the existing mounting points, if I ever save up enough $$.

Lately, I have been going motorcycle riding. I have an 06 WR450, which I made platable, so I don't have to tow it to the trails.

I am going to try to stop in here more often, and try to get the JEEP going again.

John in Vegas