Effing 4x4s

[Lacquer Peel]

 

In the legacy of the first generation Subaru is the first time a viscous coupling center differential one with self. Basically, the structure of the transmission the same as the XT, but the visco-in center differential locks depending on the size of the speed differences between front and rear axle automatically and continuously until the full closure of the differential. This construction - center differential with visco is - still used today in the current models with manual transmission.

 

Odd translation, but I think that's saying the Legacy has a viscous coupling centre diff.

[OwdChina]

This is the weapon of choice in 12 inches plus of Massachusetts snow.

35 x 12.5 x17 mud claws combined with 4 wheel drive and diff lock. Living in rural Mass this was a vital

bit of kit for getting to work in winter. Not a lot of use in California though.

 

[dollywobbler]

Odd translation, but I think that's saying the Legacy has a viscous coupling centre diff.

 

There you go then. Can't say I ever encountered conditions sufficient to test it. The viscous diff in my Rangie was impressive though. As in you just got through stuff without having to wonder if it was working.

[purplebargeken]

Never been stuck in snow or ice 'cos I is a driving god*

 

Heyhey, Beetle has winter tyres. Oooooooh.

[xtriple]

I've never been a fan of 4x4s (except Sierras of that ilk!) and I've driven fookin' loads of the bastards. They always seem to be vague and wallowy and completely pointless - exception being the new FFRR (405) which I thought drove rather well....

 

But, many years ago there was a bit of a witch hunt on 4X4s as they were 'falling over' and it was in all the news  and on tv and right old scare fest it was. In reality, it was one of the little Suzuki jeeps that fell over but it was tarring all of them and for a time, the bottom fell out of the market. So, as I am an astute sort of fellow and not one to follow the herd, I bought as many as I could get my hands on!

 

Bought a mint (and it really was) Safari LR with a big six cylinder petrol motor (2.6 ?) for pennies as the one previous owner couldn't give it away and I paid £500 and he was delighted. I even drove it voluntarily a few times and it was a lovely old thing... Anyway, the scare got forgotten and I was busy flogging all these 4 wheel drives I'd bought and one of the last was this old Landie, mainly'cos it was parked elsewhere and I'd sort of forgotten it in the rush.

 

I took £2800 for it and an old Range Rover. Well, the RR wasn't that old but it was a 'proper' one with vinyl and no carpets and was all a bit 'basic'. As it owed me less than nothing, it got used for everything and the lads used it for towing stuff around, tip runs and general crap. When winter came it was still being used and getting a bit abused so I put it through the workshop nd got the valeters to do their stuff, service, MOT and all that sort of stuff. I'd hardly ever driven it but had got sort of  'fond' of the thing just for being useful.... One of our customers had his garage down the steepest lane I've ever seen (1 in 3 at least) with a really tight and sharp left turn into his garage at the bottom. His old car had died in the garage and nothing could get it out of there - even the AA had had a go and failed.

 

I went with one of the lads (also called Dave) who was a bit handy when it came to driving to have a look, we were in the RR and he reckoned it could be done... pissed it! He and the car made it look so easy it was a tad embarrassing. So as it was the one and only BAD winter I have ever known down here I started using the Rangie myself. My, we did have some snow that year and I spent many happy hours pulling people out of ditches and up hills and pulling them back onto there wheels when they had fallen over, towed horse boxes out of muddy fields for my then wife and her horsey friends and all in all, got rather impressed with the old heap. Nothing seemed to phase it in the slightest and i can't recall it ever getting wheelspin or even slightly stuck no matter what was on the back of it.

 

Only real downside to it was the fuel consumption as it was a tad dypso, I took it to Exeter towing a trailer with some piece of crap on the back to punt through the auctions and even though it was snowing and I was doing speeds up to ridiculous (90) I thought single figure to the gallon was stupid! You really could see the gauge moving.... Oh, and on that run, the oil pressure started dropping alarmingly as it got hot- heater was good though

 

When early in the spring, some punter expressed an interest in the old dollop I was reluctant to let it go so asked, what I thought was silly money and he snapped my hand off. Prices had rebounded somewhat from the previous year and even at the couple of grand I wanted, it was very cheap.

 

So, my one and only real ownership of 4X4s. For what they were originally designed to do, they were great but even that I thought was atrocious on the road you needed to send any request for a change of direction in writing at least fifteen minutes before you needed to turn as it took it that long to sort out its body roll and take up the slack in all the steering components. And this one was, by all accounts, a 'good one'!

[forddeliveryboy]

I think this is one reason Northern Europeans can deal with these conditions much better than we can. A relative told me of a time they were visiting friends in Northern Europe and he told me it took him about two days of being a passenger with the locals driving before he stopped panicking & reaching for the brake pedal that wasn't in front of him while they just drove around as if there was no snow at all.

 

An inch or so of wet snow on top of a frozen road surface is the worst usually - we experienced that the other night when the road had stranded the 4x4s. Most frozen snow is really grippy, helped if it's ploughed but leaving a good few inches, with no intention of trying to melt it with sun or salt. 55 to 65 mph is quite normal on grippy snow, with the right tyres. I've seen cars which work well in snow going a good bit faster than that! I've found that cars which are happy at speed in snow work are the most relaxing to drive fast in all weather.

[sutty2006]

I think this is one reason Northern Europeans can deal with these conditions much better than we can. A relative told me of a time they were visiting friends in Northern Europe and he told me it took him about two days of being a passenger with the locals driving before he stopped panicking & reaching for the brake pedal that wasn't in front of him while they just drove around as if there was no snow at all.

 

This is also helped by the fact that come the end of September most european countries are required to have "winter" tyres on their cars. And I think in Holland, some cars over a certain age arent allowed on the road (i could have misheard that but my dutch friends do speak good engrish)

 

This adaptation of winter tyres should be done here, in the UK.

 

 

I find they hurt my back and right elbow before I get a chance to actually spend money on them   

 

This is a true statement. They also hurt my head/patience/and will to live.

 

The Sprinter 4x4 we have at work gets around this with a 35/65 front/rear split.

 

What's the centre diff setup like on simpler Subarus, is it similar to a Torsen diff or something simpler?

 

I had a frontera with a limited slip diff and locking front hubs. Was awesome off - road, even with road tyres on.

[Asimo]

Odd translation, but I think that's saying the Legacy has a viscous coupling centre diff.

 

My Legacy has a 50 : 50 Torsen diff. in parallel with the viscous coupling, and it is jolly effective.

[Pete-M]

I'd say it's all to do with image and trying to tell people you're a rich bastard.

If you can afford to spend £100k on a car then more often than not you ARE a rich bastard.

 

The whole thing about judging cars by the people who buy them is a total mystery to me. Especially on here where the dull repmobile is revered so highly.

 

I buy stuff like Range Rovers etc normally when they're 12-15 years old. There's not even a whiff of footy player or rich bastard about them then. They're just very useful old cars.When the new alloy body Range Rover has lost £95k in depreciation is when I'll be able to afford one, and I will buy one. I'll also thank the "rich bastard" who bought it new and made it possible, years later, for me to own one.

[red5]

My Frontera(s) are ace off road - no centre diff means no 1wd lolling available. I'd go so far as to say in my experience, only the R-R has been the equal of it in off-road grip. Loved the old girl, went everywhere in a 100mph capable armchair...@11mpg..

 

Ps, got 60/40 mix decent tyres. makes huuuge difference, as does having a modicum of driving ability.

[mat_the_cat]

There are times when 4wd with an open centre diff has more traction than with it locked - for example manoeuvring a trailer in a muddy field all 4 wheels have similar levels of traction available (i.e. very little!) but you don't want to break that traction and dig in. If diffs are locked, it forces all wheels to turn at the same speed which if you are turning, means that some wheels have to lose grip...a number of times I've knocked OFF the diff lock and re-gained traction! Other times it's better with it engaged - like if one wheel has less grip than the others.

[forddeliveryboy]

I had to lock my diff earlier today (there's only one) to get up this slope, which the gamekeeper had spent almost half and hour wasting diesel on with his 4x4. It involved a sharp dab of the middle pedal whenever the nearside wheel got too excited (there's ice under snow and it's steeper than it looks). Just wish I had a proper grippy tread pattern instead of the slightly compromised one of the WinterTacts..