4A necessary for Iowa?

[l88m22vette]

I like 4A, and use it for sloppy or very cold snow/ice, and heavy rain conditions. But, after having three previous vehicles be full-time AWD, I don't actually use it as much as I thought I would. I stick with RWD on dry pavement, and if there is a good amount of snow it's 4H. We got dumped on last winter, and my Badlands was a BEAST in 4H, heck I didn't even use the GOAT snow setting.

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[JinKat]

One question not asked is, where are you driving? Are you driving country roads (gravel/rock), or on paved streets, Interstate, etc? I'm across the river from you so we have similar weather. Last winter I used 4H for a grand total of 4-5 days, and 4L once for like a block. If you're driving in town on pavement, you'll be fine with what you have. If you're in the country, 4H and 4L will get you out of most road conditions without needing a tractor to pull you out.

Driving in town for the most part with some highway travel. Definitely not off-roading in the winter.

 

[Lcubed]

5 vehicles over a million miles, this bindings at highway speeds on a straight road, is highly exaggerated, mostly spoken of by a generation that always had 4A.

the straight road is fine w/ 4H until you try to make a turn or a large lane shift...

 

[mpeugeot]

Driving in town for the most part with some highway travel. Definitely not off-roading in the winter.

You should be fine.

This last winter I was driving through the snow (in 2H sport mode) when it was pretty nasty, ended up fish tailing pretty dramatically at one point... Not out of control, but very out of shape.

Decided to put the truck in 4H and slippery/snow, it was like magic, the traction control did an amazing job and I was able to go significantly faster with greater control.

I have to give Ford credit, the computers are better than me and I am not half bad dancing on the edge of traction.

 

[Oldhippie]

AWD is a “new” thing…many Subarus in the ditch because folks think it is magic…I have many miles of rain & snow in 4hi without destroying anything…yes it improves forward traction & steering some but it sure ain’t a magic bullet…braking is not improved…just put it in slippery goat mode and push the 4wd button when it gets sketchy…party on!

 

[Brian_B]

You should be fine.

This last winter I was driving through the snow (in 2H sport mode) when it was pretty nasty, ended up fish tailing pretty dramatically at one point... Not out of control, but very out of shape.

Decided to put the truck in 4H and slippery/snow, it was like magic, the traction control did an amazing job and I was able to go significantly faster with greater control.

I have to give Ford credit, the computers are better than me and I am not half bad dancing on the edge of traction.

My experience exactly.

Once the snow got over about 4" the Bronco was a bit worse than a pickup truck in 2H - squirrely, but not "in the ditch" bad, just had to really pay attention. Put it in 4H (or Slippery mode) and the snow may as well not existed. At least until it was over 2 foot deep, but then you are plowing it rather than driving in it.

Another good link:
https://www.bronco6g.com/forum/thre...ilability-for-each-model-trim-projected.2521/

 

[JinKat]

Thanks everyone!

 

[SeptuagenerianSasquatch]

I added 4A since my SAS didn't come with it for the roads in PA during Winter. Peace of mind for me. I went out and tested it in snow covered roads and snow drifts and wouldn't go without it now. For me it was a no brainer. I could go without some of the other options but 4A is really nice.

Are you saying you added 4A? Because your Squatch didn't come with it?
With Forscan?
Goodness, if that's possible, that's the solution for JinKat and anybody else who's missing it. After all, you can add "Sport" to the Badlands G.O.A.T. system with Forscan.
(I posed this question on a related thread.)

 

[Beachbum]

Are you saying you added 4A? Because your Squatch didn't come with it?
With Forscan?
Goodness, if that's possible, that's the solution for JinKat and anybody else who's missing it. After all, you can add "Sport" to the Badlands G.O.A.T. system with Forscan.
(I posed this question on a related thread.)

Yes. I added 4A using Forscan. My SAS did not have 4A.

 

[Ducati1098]

I added 4A since my SAS didn't come with it

Yes. I added 4A using Forscan. My SAS did not have 4A.

This doesn’t make any sense.
The advanced transfer case (4A) is standard on the badlands and all Sasquatch packages.
You’re saying your badlands doesn’t have the 4A button on the goat mode dial?

You can’t just add 4A with forscan if you don’t already have the advanced transfer case lol

 

[Brian_B]

Yes. I added 4A using Forscan. My SAS did not have 4A.

The GOAT dial has a few buttons on it - trail mode (either hill descent or 1 pedal or something depending on your setup) in the middle - 4H and 4L along the top, and ~only~ if you have the advanced t-case, it will have 4A along the bottom

You can use those buttons to manually shift your 4WD mode without using the GOAT modes - you don’t have to have Sport mode to use 4A

That said, if you have 4A, Sport mode will use it. If you don’t, it obviously can’t but you can still use Sport mode for the other toys (shift points, accelerator and steering changes, etc)

 

[Beachbum]

The GOAT dial has a few buttons on it - trail mode (either hill descent or 1 pedal or something depending on your setup) in the middle - 4H and 4L along the top, and ~only~ if you have the advanced t-case, it will have 4A along the bottom

You can use those buttons to manually shift your 4WD mode without using the GOAT modes - you don’t have to have Sport mode to use 4A

That said, if you have 4A, Sport mode will use it. If you don’t, it obviously can’t but you can still use Sport mode for the other toys (shift points, accelerator and steering changes, etc)

That makes sense. Thanks for the clarification. There was another thread last year I was reading about 4A and it made it seem like you needed Sport mode to get 4A but your explanation explains it much better.

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