turboace
Well-known member
4 wheel drive
Why don't they just teach that every car, SUV, truck, whatever has 4 wheel stop. Yes, 4 wheel stop, brakes on each wheel. No one has an advantage at stopping. The only advantage 4 wheel, or all wheel drive has is that it gets you going more quickly in slippery situations, therefore makes things more stable feeling and imparts a false sense of security, along with all the electronic wizardry in modern cars, makes even the most unskilled driver feel invincible. These misled drivers go careening around in their big SUV like idiots trying to get a parking space at Walmart on Black Friday. My only hope when I see one is that they don't take anyone else out when they crash and that they have lots of car and life insurance to take care of the ones they leave behind.
Those of us who learned to drive in Chicago in our parents rear wheel drive olds and Buick big ass, low tech station wagons know how to drive in the snow and ice. If it was slippery enough, sometimes the beasts had enough torque at idle to break the rear drive wheels loose on even the tiniest grades. You had to apply the brakes and gas like there was an egg between your foot and the pedals, at least that's what my mom taught me. And you had to "feel" with the seat of your pants when a skid was going to start and then correct for it with the uber power steering. One of the most useful tips I will never forget from mom, most probably because our driveway was a hill, was that you could lock the rear differential by partially applying the parking brake. If you got stuck, you put it down about halfway and both rear wheels would get equal power to help you get un-stuck. That and the fine art of rocking, was about all you needed.
While today's cars do most all this for us, I feel better I knowing I know how to do it and why the car is doing it for me. My favorite thing today's cars can do, that we couldn't is to brake one wheel at a time. My car does this cool trick that if your in snow or ice and input the command for a sharp turn, I.e. Crank the wheel, it will brake the rear wheel of the side that is the direction you are turning and basically slide you around your turn. It's a little disconcerting the first time, but after you realize what it's doing you really appreciate it.
Drive safe, y'all!
Why don't they just teach that every car, SUV, truck, whatever has 4 wheel stop. Yes, 4 wheel stop, brakes on each wheel. No one has an advantage at stopping. The only advantage 4 wheel, or all wheel drive has is that it gets you going more quickly in slippery situations, therefore makes things more stable feeling and imparts a false sense of security, along with all the electronic wizardry in modern cars, makes even the most unskilled driver feel invincible. These misled drivers go careening around in their big SUV like idiots trying to get a parking space at Walmart on Black Friday. My only hope when I see one is that they don't take anyone else out when they crash and that they have lots of car and life insurance to take care of the ones they leave behind.
Those of us who learned to drive in Chicago in our parents rear wheel drive olds and Buick big ass, low tech station wagons know how to drive in the snow and ice. If it was slippery enough, sometimes the beasts had enough torque at idle to break the rear drive wheels loose on even the tiniest grades. You had to apply the brakes and gas like there was an egg between your foot and the pedals, at least that's what my mom taught me. And you had to "feel" with the seat of your pants when a skid was going to start and then correct for it with the uber power steering. One of the most useful tips I will never forget from mom, most probably because our driveway was a hill, was that you could lock the rear differential by partially applying the parking brake. If you got stuck, you put it down about halfway and both rear wheels would get equal power to help you get un-stuck. That and the fine art of rocking, was about all you needed.
While today's cars do most all this for us, I feel better I knowing I know how to do it and why the car is doing it for me. My favorite thing today's cars can do, that we couldn't is to brake one wheel at a time. My car does this cool trick that if your in snow or ice and input the command for a sharp turn, I.e. Crank the wheel, it will brake the rear wheel of the side that is the direction you are turning and basically slide you around your turn. It's a little disconcerting the first time, but after you realize what it's doing you really appreciate it.
Drive safe, y'all!
