Sponsored
Soon after my break-in oil change in the next week or soTake it out of Eco mode and you'll feel 10 years younger
Though you can't really tell from this photo, it was pretty slick yesterday especially where the road was in the shade all day. Went out in 4A and back in Mud/Ruts. Could not tell the difference.
Definitely should have been in 4H for some of this drive last night, but 4A saved my ass at least twice.
Absolutely.
My Bronco doesn't have 4A but my wifes Explorer does.
We have a 35 mile drive to work and work in the same town.
So I was driving and when I left the house the roads were clear. It was 5AM or so.
When I got on the hwy the roads were still good.
I'm cruising 60 and come across a truck pulling a trailer ahead of me, he was doing all of 30.
I go to slow down and it's black ice. I had no recourse but to pass him. Thank God no one was coming. He stayed in his lane and I swerved a bit but got around him doing 45 or so.
Moral of the story. 4A even more so than 4x4 handles the roads great but it doesn't help you stop lol.
Sponsored
My favorite part of 4A is that it eliminates the CAD in the front axle.
I dont like how it does all the behind the scenes stuff and masks road conditions. Just because you can go doesn't mean you can stop or turn.
My trucks have never had it and aside from deleting the CAD nonsense I won't go out of my way to get it.
I dont like how it does all the behind the scenes stuff and masks road conditions. Just because you can go doesn't mean you can stop or turn.
My trucks have never had it and aside from deleting the CAD nonsense I won't go out of my way to get it.
I love how when people move from the warmer to the colder/snowy climates the first thing they do is trade their car for a big 4X4. Invincible at 65 mph during a snowstorm.......until they try to stop.
You can always tell how many new arrivals are in the area by the number of slide offs reported in the nightly news.
- Joined
- Dec 16, 2023
- Threads
- 47
- Messages
- 763
- Reaction score
- 1,458
- Location
- Washington DC
- Vehicle(s)
- 24 OBX, 20 GLS 450, 14 VW Tiquan
- Your Bronco Model
- Outer Banks
Not knocking it, it has its place and folks definitely seem to like it. But I personally didn’t want it on mine. I didn’t want the added complexity of it, and when I’m that high up (center of gravity), I want to have 100% total control, feel and expectations on what the car will do in an emergency situation. When in RWD, I know and will react to a fishtail or spin out. I don’t want to fight the car to get the front/back moving in the direction of momentum. If I’m going to spinout, then I want to allow the car to put the rear in front and go backwards to a stop. That’s the one thing I don’t like about AWD. It wants to correct itself and that usually means you’re sideways longer than you would like. With a high center of gravity, that’s not a good thing.
Pardon my ignorance, but what is CAD? I’m assuming it’s not Canadian dollars, I can see why an American wouldn’t want those.
Central axle disconnect. Basically "breaks" one axleshaft so the entire front driveline doesn't turn with the wheels in 2wd. Historically a weak point in every 4wd system it graces.
Sponsored
Yeah, exactly. Not only that but the people who "prefer" the simplicty of what they bought versus something they've never even driven berfore. Especially when they go on to mention a situation that 4A actually has helped on lol.
Delusional insanity is real.
Well just for fun, I tested 4A in an alley behind my house, that is unplowed, and after a few inches of snow a week or two ago followed by melting, and re-freezing it is totally ice coated.
With all the nanny’s on, I tested the acceleration and braking in those conditions. In agreement with many other comments about 4x4s in ditches in snowy conditions, I conclude that 4A is excellent, but can lead to over-confidence.. On sheer ice ‘safe’ but aggressive throttle application leads to a very stable acceleration, no swerving or any indication that traction is limited, only when braking do you feel the car telling you traction is bad, ABS comes on and slight uncommanded changes in direction are noticeable. It doesn’t make sense I guess, but it felt to me that the car accelerated at a higher rate than it decelerated on braking.
Whenever I drive in snow (or even massive rainstorms) when it’s safe and no one is behind me, I always test the braking action of the vehicle I’m driving to get a real sense of the most important aspect of safe driving, the ability to stop. I think this is more important than ever when using 4A in this car. It’s too good to really let you know what the traction situation really is.
With all the nanny’s on, I tested the acceleration and braking in those conditions. In agreement with many other comments about 4x4s in ditches in snowy conditions, I conclude that 4A is excellent, but can lead to over-confidence.. On sheer ice ‘safe’ but aggressive throttle application leads to a very stable acceleration, no swerving or any indication that traction is limited, only when braking do you feel the car telling you traction is bad, ABS comes on and slight uncommanded changes in direction are noticeable. It doesn’t make sense I guess, but it felt to me that the car accelerated at a higher rate than it decelerated on braking.
Whenever I drive in snow (or even massive rainstorms) when it’s safe and no one is behind me, I always test the braking action of the vehicle I’m driving to get a real sense of the most important aspect of safe driving, the ability to stop. I think this is more important than ever when using 4A in this car. It’s too good to really let you know what the traction situation really is.
Oddly, BBs and OBXs with the 4.27 axles don't have FAD (or CAD as you will.), I feel I lucked out there. All others with Part Time 4x4 have it. Also oddly, Raptors which do have 4A also have Individual Wheel Engagement (IWE). I'll never figure Ford out.
Sponsored
