Snow Driving (paved road) tips - Gen3 Montero

[taybrynn]

Hi,

We have a new to us 2006 Montero Limited and yes its mostly going to be for the wife around town ... on PAVED ROADS ... esp. in snowy/icy road conditions.

Any tips on your preferred 4WD gearing (4H or ??) and how you drive based on increasingly worsening conditions of snow and extreme ice.
Speed, which gear for best traction, etc. ?
I know the 4H is basically computer controlled / AWD ? and then you can lock it for more true 4WD hi ?

We have a couple hills near the house that are short (few hundred yards) ... but are steep and can become horrible if they turn to ice. Half the town gets stuck
on them and while my 4wd dually truck has faired fine ... my wife has been among those stuck a couple times. Thus the Montero, plus its a sweet ride.

The traction control, does it need to be turned on ?

Thanks in advance.

Scott

 

[plh]

Traction control default mode is on. There is a switch to turn it off, but with a key ignition cycle it will go back to default. 4H on snow covered roads unless you are really in a difficult situation.

 

[Smileyshaun]

First thing that should be done is the air down your tires the larger footprint leads to more traction

 

[Buddha.]

First thing that should be done is the air down your tires the larger footprint leads to more traction

On icy roads or in deep snow?

 

[chadzeilenga]

Originally from Chicago, one my best tips is to drive slow in snowy/icy conditions.

Although pretty flat land, I did drive an 04 civic for a few years and didn’t have too much trouble even in heavy snow. My technique was to keep my momentum and avoid spinning tires.

That won’t help you on the icy hills, but mostly snow.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Smileyshaun]

On icy roads or in deep snow?

both

 

[DetroitDarin]

Skinny dedicated snow tires are the best option for snow-covered streets or roads. Invest in dedicated winter performance or studdless ice and snow. Tires will make more of a difference than 4WD in terms of safe operation of any vehicle in snow. As a general rule, nobody's "car" goes well in the snow...their 'tires' do.

I have experience using these on a F150 4x4 SCrew. They, for the money, worked very well.
https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=General&tireModel=Altimax+Arctic&partnum=665QR7AMAXAS&vehicleSearch=true&fromCompare1=yes&autoMake=Mitsubishi&autoYear=2006&autoModel=Montero Limited&autoModClar=&cameFrom=WinterSection

I have experience with Blizzaks (different model however) on a ~375hp Subaru Legacy - the car was only stoppable due to snow depth.
https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Bridgestone&tireModel=Blizzak+DM-V2&partnum=665R7DMV2&vehicleSearch=true&fromCompare1=yes&autoMake=Mitsubishi&autoYear=2006&autoModel=Montero Limited&autoModClar=&cameFrom=WinterSection

Tires will fix/impact/help any electronic wizardry. And non of the electronic aids or even 4x4 will help you stop and steer - both essential to winter survival.

Basic test showing how dedicated winter tires can save your life AND help you get where you need to be

 

[Michael Brown]

I have used my 05 on snow/icy roads. Use 4H (AWD) for most of the driving. Traction/stability control will help keep everything smooth with careful driving. If a point is reached where the 4H is slipping, 4HLc can be used to lock the center diff into true 4WD. This will behave just like your truck when used. 4LLc is a low range 4WD, but probably won't give much benefit unless it is deep snow.

Good tires will help with the snow/ice traction as mentioned above, but the traction control will work to maintain forward motion as long as steady throttle is applied. The transmission can also be manually shifted through gears if needed to maintain an engine speed for engine braking or torque flow.

 

[coffeegoat]

Several of the AT tires generally recommended for these rigs include the severe snow duty rating, for instance the BFG KO II and the Falken Wildpeak A/T3W. If I were going to buy a new set of tires, I'd make sure that I picked one that had these ratings, I have the Toyo Open Countrys and they've worked great in the snow, but don't have the rating (which means I'm not chains except in certain conditions).

We ran experiments on our Subaru Crosstrek and Honda fit, snow tires beat AWD w/out snow tires every time, and snow tires with AWD were brilliant.

 

[Smileyshaun]

another tip, in ice when coming to a stop put the vehicle into neutral. Depending on the rig some will be still trying to move tou forward even at a idle .

 

[taybrynn]

another tip, in ice when coming to a stop put the vehicle into neutral. Depending on the rig some will be still trying to move tou forward even at a idle .

I always thought that staying in gear was best? Maybe even downshift to prevent using brakes on the ice, let the transmission slow you without braking?

 

[Smileyshaun]

it is untill your almost to a stop say under 5 mph , especially if you are in 4 Low or have a rwd rig

 

[Smileyshaun]

There is so many factors into driving in Winter conditions it's almost mind-boggling. From the weight your vehicle to your tires, the type of snow or ice , if it's been driven on , plowed , graveled, probably the worst condition is when it's been icy and it just starts to melt. Having that layer of water on top of the ice is just horrible for traction .

 

[2.ooohhh]

A lot of the prepping on how to drive in the winter depends heavily on where you are and how the local town handles the weather. Here in TN most towns don't have plows to speak of, so if we get heavy snow(for us) it means i'm airing down to get to work, solid or patchy ice means I'm installing the chains. Good news is that most of the city shuts down in the rare event of winter weather here so it's just a few of us out ont he roads that have to get to places that don't close like the local hospitals. Now where my friend lives just outside Toronto, preparing for winter includes swapping to snow tires for the season on her vehicle. They are expensive, and you have to store them somewhere when they aren't on but they work great if you get enough snow/ice to justify them. So that's my advice it depends on your location and the expected local weather response.

 

[taybrynn]

it is untill your almost to a stop say under 5 mph , especially if you are in 4 Low or have a rwd rig

Ok, that makes sense -- thank you!