Does slippery mode and 2wd work in the snow

[smoot618]

Snow/Ice on the road without any trucks plowing the streets, 4A has been fine. I could probably get away with 2H but I enjoy 4A for the peace of mind honestly

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[JimboSlice]

Mine goes into 4H when I put it in slippery mode automatically. I use it in snow and ice. The main roads are fairly clear as it hasn't snowed in a week or two. I switch back to normal mode when I get off the ice.

 

[NorthShoreBronco]

I would use 2H on cleared roads, and 4H on roads with actual snow on them.

Keep to a lower gear than you would on dry roads for better control.

This.

We have two Broncos. My Badlands I put in 4a when there's snow on the roads. My wife's Black Diamond, she leaves in 2H unless it's snowing and the roads are snowpacked, then she goes to 4H.

 

[smoot618]

This.

We have two Broncos. My Badlands I put in 4a when there's snow on the roads. My wife's Black Diamond, she leaves in 2H unless it's snowing and the roads are snowpacked, then she goes to 4H.

Pretty sure we're twins with our answers! haha

 

[freebob]

We got 3ft plus snow in my area. with up to 6ft drifts..,So I got to play with my bronco .I found that 2wd seems ok in 6 to 8 inches of snow before having problems.(stuck in drifting snow.) I also found 4a ak in snow 12 inches plus .But will get stuck before the auto front would kick in..4 high seem the best when in 36 inches plus..But over all the bronco plowed thru most of the snow in 2wd until the drifts came along..

 

[UncleBrad]

I've got a stupid question. My new Bronco is a 2.3L, manual transmission with open diffs. In addition to throttle response and altering timing, do the GOAT modes use wheel braking (aka the AWD paradigm) when engaged? Without limited slip or locking diffs, it would seem to me to be of limited usefulness at best. After all, one can't do 4 wheel torque vectoring on a while with a free-spinning axle. So what is left that GOAT modes can do which would help?

 

[Brian_B]

I've got a stupid question. My new Bronco is a 2.3L, manual transmission with open diffs. In addition to throttle response and altering timing, do the GOAT modes use wheel braking (aka the AWD paradigm) when engaged? Without limited slip or locking diffs, it would seem to me to be of limited usefulness at best. After all, one can't do 4 wheel torque vectoring on a while with a free-spinning axle. So what is left that GOAT modes can do which would help?

The short answer is no. And it is a good question.

Without 4A and the clutch vectoring it does (which only affects the front end as a whole, not per axle) - per-wheel vectoring/braking only kicks in once you get to some extreme slipping - and then it's rough as it's just using ABS/traction control. The traction control on the big Bronco is very crude, and mostly just seems to kick in if you start to fishtail or turn aggressively. I find that most of the time it's a hindrance, not a help.

The best thing the GOAT mode does for you is limit throttle response, which helps when trying to prevent wheel spin when starting from a stand still. It isn't a magic bullet though, it just helps a bit.

If you don't have a locker... yeah it's fun. Your stuck with fully open diffs. Once one axle starts slipping, better hope the other one can get enough traction to pull you out. And starting from a stand still on packed snow/ice is often challenging.

Oddly enough - the Bronco Sport has ~excellent~ AWD/wheel braking.

On the 7MT, and without lockers and other HERO toys (which is what I have too) - yeah, the goat modes are mostly just for show. The pedal response changes (and steering changes, they kind of go hand in hand) are about all it does for you, other than engaging 4Hi or 4Lo. Oh, and Eco mode can shut the intercooler damper for you - for whatever good that does?

 

[UncleBrad]

The short answer is no. And it is a good question.

The braking only kicks in once you get to some extreme slipping - and then it's rough as it's just using ABS/traction control. The traction control on the big Bronco is very crude, and mostly just seems to kick in if you start to fishtail or turn aggressively. I find that most of the time it's a hindrance, not a help.

The best thing the GOAT mode does for you is limit throttle response, which helps when trying to prevent wheel spin when starting from a stand still. It isn't a magic bullet though, it just helps a bit.

If you don't have a locker... yeah it's fun. Your stuck with fully open diffs. Once one axle starts slipping, better hope the other one can get enough traction to pull you out. And starting from a stand still on packed snow/ice is often challenging.

Oddly enough - the Bronco Sport has ~excellent~ AWD/wheel braking.

On the 7MT, and without lockers and other HERO toys (which is what I have too) - yeah, the goat modes are mostly just for show. The pedal response changes (and steering changes, they kind of go hand in hand) are about all it does for you, other than engaging 4Hi or 4Lo. Oh, and Eco mode can shut the intercooler damper for you - for whatever good that does?

Thanks for confirming what I suspected. I've had open-diff Jeeps for 25 years, and they always did great in the snow and slush, which (in addition to the cost-savings) is why I opted for open diffs. If all that experience means anything, knowing how to drive on snow, and having the appropriate tires are the most important things.

It was interesting to see in this thread that - in at least one GOAT modes - diff locking is disabled above 25mph. Kind of a confirmation.

I'm anxious to get my new Big Bend with manly DuraTrak RTs out in the snow to see how it compares to those Jeeps.

 

[Brian_B]

It was interesting to see in this thread that - in at least one GOAT modes - diff locking is disabled above 25mph.

I think it does that all the time, not just in GOAT modes, but I can't confirm. I know it would drop the locker in my F150 if I hit 20 mph.

 

[Sgt Badlands]

I’m going dual locked locker as soon as we have half an inch of snow. Look out

 

[dgorsett]

I think it does that all the time, not just in GOAT modes, but I can't confirm. I know it would drop the locker in my F150 if I hit 20 mph.

Rear locker will stay engaged in Sand, Baja, Mud and Rock Crawl (not Slippery) at any speed (had to look it up in OM). But using a locker on slick pavement is not a good idea as it can adversely affect steering. To the OP: Running in Slippery and shifting to 2wd would be a good strategy, but don't be afraid to shift to 4wd, at speed, if you anticipate slushy, snow packed or icy conditions are immanent. I mean that's why we paid 2x what we could have gotten an econbox, right?

 

[UncleBrad]

Rear locker will stay engaged in Sand, Baja, Mud and Rock Crawl (not Slippery) at any speed (had to look it up in OM). But using a locker on slick pavement is not a good idea as it can adversely affect steering. To the OP: Running in Slippery and shifting to 2wd would be a good strategy, but don't be afraid to shift to 4wd, at speed, if you anticipate slushy, snow packed or icy conditions are immanent. I mean that's why we paid 2x what we could have gotten an econbox, right?

Thanks for looking that up. I seems to me that having a rear diff locked while moving through snow wouldn't necessarily help - and can potentially cause a problem if there is a camber in the road surface. But, of course, if one is stuck, a locking rear diff would sure beat digging out with a shovel and using traction boards.

Someone on this thread mentioned the Bronco Sport. I traded mine in last month for its bigger brother. One of the reasons is that magical (but goofy) center front-to-rear power distribution. It was air-cooled, and those heat sink fins were sitting uncomfortably close to the ground. Those clutches are sure to get hot and loose grip (or fail) under hard use. A proper transfer case seems a better bet.

When we get a good snow, I'll be sure to have a report on your desk...

 

[Uhdinator]

The only time I would ever use a locker on the road is to pull someone out, or get out of the ditch... your steering will be fighting against a locked rear axle, and if there are patches of clear pavement and patches of packed snow (not 100% snow covered) even with the locker not engaged, 4H can even get twitchy at times.

When the 2003 Rubicon was introduced, many were damaging the lockers because people would get on a logging rd (didn't really need 4WD) and lock everything up. I had a 2003 Rubicon and only used the lockers a few times......to get over an obstacle an then disengage it.
Ive seen ball joints blown out and broken U-joints......(front lockers you wanna have the wheels straight, engage, get over the obstacle and disengage)
Imagine using Mud/Ruts mode all locked and you blast through a mud hole.....wheels churning......and a front wheel encounters a stump or rock and stops spinning while the other is spinning. That's how you break a u-joint, or blow a ball joint right out the the A-arm!

 

[UncleBrad]

The only time I would ever use a locker on the road is to pull someone out, or get out of the ditch... your steering will be fighting against a locked rear axle, and if there are patches of clear pavement and patches of packed snow (not 100% snow covered) even with the locker not engaged, 4H can even get twitchy at times.

When the 2003 Rubicon was introduced, many were damaging the lockers because people would get on a logging rd (didn't really need 4WD) and lock everything up. I had a 2003 Rubicon and only used the lockers a few times......to get over an obstacle an then disengage it.
Ive seen ball joints blown out and broken U-joints......(front lockers you wanna have the wheels straight, engage, get over the obstacle and disengage)
Imagine using Mud/Ruts mode all locked and you blast through a mud hole.....wheels churning......and a front wheel encounters a stump or rock and stops spinning while the other is spinning. That's how you break a u-joint, or blow a ball joint right out the the A-arm!

You're making absolute sense.

I'm sure a lot of us have stories of how we've pulled out of bad situations with them. I don't do any real off-roading, but used my Jeeps on the untreated county roads, hunting trails back to the woods, light towing and work on the farm. Snow and slick roads never stopped my open-diff Jeeps the past 25 years, which is why I opted to save some money not get them on my new Bronco.

It seems to me that if we are in the unlikely situation where guys like me would get stuck, a manual winch, traction boards and a shovel will get the job done. Really looking forward to seeing how the 6th-gen Bronco compares to the YJ, TJ and JK Wrangers I've had - all with open differentials.
If I do

 

[Brian_B]

It seems to me that if we are in the unlikely situation where guys like me would get stuck, a manual winch, traction boards and a shovel will get the job done.

This is all true.

Lockers won't get you out of everything, but it is nice to just hit a button and get out and over, rather than have to drag all that stuff out, hook it up, pull, unhook it all, clean it all up, and re-stow it.

If it's just a once in a blue moon - yeah, all that stuff is about half the price of adding a locker. I get that. If it's a few times a year, dragging that winch cable out ~again~ or throwing traction boards in the back covered in mud ~again~ does get to be a bit old.

All a matter of perspective. I've used my locker quite a few times since I got it working last year. And it's like @Uhdinator says - lock just to get out, then turn it off. But I was going places that would likely need it - lots of loose soil or rock, steep climbs, etc. I did grab a winch this fall, thinking I would probably never need it, but figured if I bought it I definitely wouldn't need it. I was up in the snow not too long ago and lost both my locker and the FDU (long story posted elsewhere) - the winch got a workout, as did I.

But if I weren't an idiot going places I probably shouldn't be going, yeah, I totally get what you are saying. But I kinda like going to those places.

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