| AWD MO's in snow, ice, and mud. - Click HERE for Original Thread |
| Alexost |
I know this vehicle is'nt designed for heavy off-roading, but am wondering how MO's have handled when used in snowy, icy, and muddy conditions. I am eventually going to be moving where there is snow. Details and stories appreciated!
2006 AWD SE Platinum/Charcoal gray cloth (I do not have VDC) |
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| njjoe |
Alexost-
You are correct in stating the MO is not designed for heavy off-roading. The MO is basically a 5-door sedan with 18" tires and a simple AWD system, it is by no means an SUV or a truck.
The AWD system is fine for snow-covered, icy, and muddy conditions up to the limitations of the tires, ground clearance, and driver's skill.
The OEM tires are fine for most conditions but are not the best choice for snow, ice, and mud conditions. While I had no trouble whatsoever driving in the snow, I would opt for purpose-built winter tires if I moved to a region where the roads were snow-covered more than two or three weeks a year.
Mud is a different story. While the picture in your post looks like fun (it is), the MO is not designed for that type of driving.
-njjoe |
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| manitoba murano |
I've had a Jeep Grand Cherokee, and a Subaru Impreza, so I know what real 4wd/AWD vehicles can do in the snow, but the Murano is more than adequate.
I have had it on a logging road, about 20 miles into the 'bush', uphill, in light snow, loose rocks, and a bit of mud, and it didn't spin the wheels the whole way. In auto mode, the AWD worked as well as you would ever need it to. At the summit of our climb/BBQ trip, I switched into AWD lock for a test of the handling in deeper snow, on a grass field, and it handled just like you would expect it to. Plenty of traction, and steerable via the rear wheels with a nice dose of throttle. Taking my dealer's advice, I switched off the VDC to allow the wheel spin for throttle steering. For real world on road use, I would leave the VDC on.
For the last month, we have had lots of snow, and our roads in town are generally covered in about an inch or two of hard packed ice/snow. The Murano accelerates very nicely (lots of grip) in either auto or locked awd modes. It's more fun in locked mode, as there is no lag in the AWD system locking up. I also image it is less harsh on the transfer case/clutch arrangement to have it locked BEFORE tromping on the gas and spinning the wheels. I have been able to drift the car along the road, with a bit of opposite lock, under complete control with a bit of throttle steer just like the Jeep and the Subaru.
I am just using the standard all season tires, more out of necessity at this point (I am very remote and options are limited) and they are more than adequate. Winter tires would be much better, no doubt.
In short, apart form the reports of leaks, weak transfer cases, etc., this setup works very well in the real world, and can be as fun as a good awd/4wd car in limited use and in the right conditions.
As for normal road use, it works perfectly, particularly in concert with the VDC, nearly completely eliminating all wheelspin. |
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| Alexost |
| manitoba muranos' description is exactly what I was looking for. I have also owned 4x4's and was wondering how this compared. This is what I expected and don't plan on using it off-road, but wanted to know how it handles in snowy, icy, and cold conditions. I wanted VDC, but did'nt get it due to availability, but the vehicle in AWD should be fine when needed. |
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| manitoba murano |
Further to your questions/comments, VDC seems to be a hindrance when trying to get through the deep stuff, but would be great on normal roads. As an example, I'll use the reason why I got rid of my Maxima for the Mo...
I was driving through a blizzard, in the middle of the prairies. I turned onto a sideroad off the highway (most of the highways here are free of snow during blizzards as it just blows off the roads) and into a snow drift which I couldn't see until the last second due to the blowing snow. Before I could turn the traction control/VDC off, the electronics prevented the wheels from spinning, allowing me to bog down, and lose all forward momentum, and get stuck. After digging myself out, I decided against proceeding further down this side road, and returned home--through the same snowdrift in the opposite direction. With the VDC/traction control turned off, I made it through with little to no problem. |
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| Tyler_Canada |
| Agreed it's a hindrance in deep snow. I got stuck about a week after I picked mine up, attempting to drive through a drive in a parking lot. I had no idea that leaving TCS and VDC on would reduce throttle during wheel spin. I should have been fine with the small drift if I had turned it off. |
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| njjoe |
While there is no question that ABS, VDC, and TCS are great when driving on dry or wet roads, they are very undesirable when driving on snow. You made it clear why VDC and TCS don't work well in certain snow conditions. But even ABS can hinder your ability to stop in snow. Believe it or not, but it has been proven that "locked" wheels in snow will enable a car to stop in a shorter distance than an ABS-controlled car. The locked wheels enable the tires to dig in to the snow instead of rolling over it.
-njjoe |
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| manitoba murano |
quote:
Originally posted by njjoe
But even ABS can hnder your ability to stop in snow. Believe it or not, but it has been proven that "locked" wheels in snow will enable a car to stop in a shorter distance than an ABS-controlled car. The locked wheels enable the tires to dig in to the snow instead of rolling over it.
-njjoe
No kidding.
This is particularly alarming in residential areas where you approach a stop sign at low speed. On packed snow and ice with a light dusting of snow on top, in some vehicles it can add 5 to 10 feet to the stopping distance--very significant when it would only take 25 feet or so to stop with locked wheels. This is one of the most unnerving feelings, knowing that you should absolutely be able to stop without problem given your speed and road conditions. The ABS would allow you to try to avoid a kid jumping out in front of your carby steering around him/her, but would probably still result in you hitting that kid since your stopping distance is increased so drastically.
The worst vehicle I have ever had for this was a Jeep Grand Cherokee. Thankfully, the MO is nowhere near as bad--in fact I can only recall once where I actually engaged the ABS, and that was when I tried to engage it. This is my first winter with it though, so we'll see how it measures up. |
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