Do you really need four wheel drive for winter...

[AsphaltAnihil8r]

I know dumb ??? seeing as I live in Chicago... I drove my fathers Tahoe a few yrs back and never use the 4x4 in the winter ,I think the truck was heavy enough that it had good traction,,,I was thinking of buy a newer Tahoe that is 2wheel drive and has traction assist ,,what do you think??

 

[FlyinGN]

The way I see it if you are gonna pay that much for an SUV and get the so so gas mileage, you may as well get 4wd. The resale value will be wayy better too. Thats the main reason for suv's.. If it snows bad rwd aint gonna cut it..

 

[Reaper]

IMO trucks. (F@*k the term SUV) are useless with out 4wd. apart from that the resale on a private party sale is crap in AZ atleast.


they are not that much more just get it. you will be happy with it in the long run.

oh and the 4wd has the traction assist also


Dathan

 

[salvageV6]

No.

 

[Quick6'n'-K.C.]

Originally posted by salvageV6
No.

agreed


i purchased a 2002 DODGE H.O. CUMMINS TURBO DIESEL 3500 april 2002, the reason i purchased a 4x4 is because it was only $1,000 more and the resale is better for the 4x4.

we havent had a bad winter yet, but if i do drive the truck in the snow at least it wont get stuck like a 2wd....

and i can go out and do 4x4 burnouts

 

[blackbuick87]

Get a limited slip rear and you can probably get away without 4WD. You will be spinning at the lights while the 4WD's leave you in the dust, but you will get there eventually.

I always get 4WD because:
Its fun in the winter
I go in the woods
I need it sometimes to pull my boat out of the water
Its fun
I go in the mud


If you dont do these things skip it. You will be able to sell it when the time comes to some kid wanting to make it a low rider

 

[Little6pack]

Around my part of the USA the plows do a good job & I would say NO. Anyway what good is 4wd if you have 2wd drive cars in front of you blocking the road?

But if you are a fireman, or some type of emergency worker that needs to get out in blizzard conditions then I would say go with 4wd.

 

[SilverSleeper]

Need 4wd? maybe not.
Want 4wd? heck yeah!
What did I get? AWD! Even better!

Think about it. Its like big brakes, or z-rated tires. You probably wont need to push their limits. But, you know you have it if you need it. You might be a good driver in winter weather, but you never know when you need to get out of the way of someone who isnt! You can never have too much traction in bad weather.

I ran through the same decision when I was looking for a truck/van/suv.
The Astros with AWD have a huge resale advantage over the 2wd.

 

[scottyb]

Not around here.
Unless you want the redneck status symbol or wanna go muddin' with the good ole boys!

 

[gn85]

Go with 4WD

As everybody has been saying, go with the 4WD. It's like another thread in here is saying about racing WRXs.... if you're going to race, go on KILL. Same with 4WD. You probably don't NEED it if you can wait for the plows, but it's nice to have when you realize you put yourself in a bad situation like being in the woods or on a slippery boat ramp.

When in America, I was driving a new Trailblazer with locking diff rear. I actually had a hard time getting it to break lose in dry and wet. I'm sure on snow, I could do it a little easier, but I was very impressed with the amount of traction. 4WD and better yet, 4lo just takes the cake. Also, you have to remember, you get better ground clearance, different suspension capable of taking larger tires and in some cases skid plates.

Only way I'd only go with 2wd is if towing was the BIG priority. I'm talking about doolies that need to pull houses. Because with the added weight of a transfer case and front axle, that reduces the tow rating.

But like everyone else said, I've had two trucks in my life, both times I insisted on 4WD and locking diff.

 

[turbov6joe]

Back in 1995 I bought a new Lightning and got around pretty good with the posi and a few sand bags in the bed. Since I moved out to the country 4x4 is almost a necessity. The first winter I got the house I didn't have a 4x4 and was stuck about all winter and hated it with a passion (figures this was the first time I didn't own a 4x4)!! After a few times being totally stranded and having to have a BIG road grader push me out, I bought a 4x4 and ended those worries....will NEVER be without one now. Matter of fact I bought a Subaru for the wife for the AWD and decent MPG it gets over the larger SUV's.

 

[gn85]

Tell you what a ranger told me once....

"A four wheel drive is only good for getting you stuck further back in the woods!" -- Department of Natural Resources Ranger


That was after one of the rare times I ever got stuck.

 

[salvageV6]

A Turbo Buick and 4 Blizzak snow tires will suffice.

Spend your money on more mods., you may need a few extra ponies to pull out those 2WD pickups from the woods.

 

[bruce]

Leave the Macho at home, to feed it extra fuel all year round for the 1-2-3 days when you might need it is just being wasteful.

If the weather is bad, stay home, wrecking a car/truck/moped to go to work on a really bad weather day just isn't worth it, IMO.

I've lived in the snow belt for most of the almost 40 years I've been driving, and never needed 4WD.

Be sides, FWD and 4WD just give you a false sense of security so you're going faster when you do crash. On Ice there is ZERO traction, and that's when 90% of people crash is due to ice, so what you really need traction for, 4WD doesn't even work.

Good Tires, and a few bags of salt for ballast work well.

Get a 3/4t 2WD, instead of the 4WD 1/2t. Then you at least have a real chassis and drivetrain. Not to mention brakes in case you actually want to tow something sometime.