On Friday, April 9, 2004, at 10:48 AM, W S Potter wrote:
> A frequent reminder on the radio around Salt Lake during snow storms
> is that
> 4-wheel drive can get you going just fine but stopping on slick roads
> is
> another thing. A four wheel drive vehicle slides just like a two wheel
> drive when the brakes are applied. Even ABS brakes don't have much
> stopping
> power on slick roads.
Yeah, Wes, but I gotta say. . .
All of our personal vehicles are 4- or all-wheel drive. And I've got a
good ration of experience driving on slippery roads over the past
buncha years. Based on that, I tell ya- - -
When the vehicle's in every-wheel drive, 'way more often than not
you'll stop quicker -- usually appreciably quicker -- than a two-wheel
drive in the identical situation. Maybe it's because the wheels are
all linked, even if only through a viscous drive -- so any one that
might have some traction will help keep the others turning instead of
locked up. Or something...
But there's no doubt that 2wd cars slide around more while stopping
than the 4x4s, at least up here.
Jon Wennerberg
Seldom Seen Slim Land Speed Racing
Marquette, Michigan
(that's 'way up north)
211+ inches of snow this year, a foot still on the ground!
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