Snow, yes - Ice, not so much... Get on a sheet of ice and start sliding around - you'll either go sideways or spin around until you hit something...

 

Ice is bad. Won't matter what you're driving, or what kind of traction aid you are using.

I had cables on my truck a couple years ago, plodding along on a snowy road. Hit a patch of ice, and holy crap did it ever come around on me quick. And this was also with BRAND NEW snow tires on.

Ice doesn't care what you're driving. Ice isn't prejudiced.

 

So ... It seems the popular opinion is ... If 4x or AWD then replace all 4, just to be safe ... If 2WD (whether front or rear) then replacement in pairs is ok ...Best ones on the drive wheels ...

 

Howdy folks, here with a couple comments / questions. Comments first, I owned 2 different Eagles, both bought new. Forget what they called the first one, it was a leftover '80 purchased in early '81. It was not the sedan, fastback, or wagon it was the other one. Traded it about a year later for a new '82 wagon, ordered to my specs. ( paint, eng. / trans., etc. ). The '80 didn't have any way to disengage the 4 wheel drive ( think it was supposed to be like a torque converter, if you started spinning, then the front axle would start pulling too ). The '82 had a little switch under the dash on the driver's side. I ran it with 2 different size tires ( not in 4wd ). Didn't have the money to replace all four & wanted a rougher tire on it. Ended up trading it in a few years later. Never had any trouble with that part of it. Question(s), as a , I don't know the difference between All Wheel Drive & 4 Wheel Drive. Could somebody please explain ( words of one syllable or less , not too good with all these technical terms )? Do know the difference between a muffler bearing & a fender pump, but that's about it. Not sure about the flux capacitator gasket, haven't found it yet.

 

Here is a link that may be helpful Why do I need to replace all 4 tires on my AWD car when only 2 are bad?

Steve

 

There was the sedan and wagon - both based on the Concord body (Hornet body with a different front clip). The Kammback - based on the Gremlin body (a Hornet body with the back-end "chopped off" at an angle - it actually helped with aerodynamics). And, the SX/4 - based on the Spirit body (SX/4 stood for "Spirit X-perimental 4WD) this was the smallest one of them all. There was also a convertible - I want to say it was called the Sundowner but I could be mistaken - It was based on the Concord body - there weren't very many of these made and are extremely rare...

All 80's and some early 81's were full-time AWD. They used the NP119 transfer case which had a viscous coupler in it to compensate for changes in speed between the front and rear wheels and make it possible to drive it on dry pavement... AMC knew at that time, based on their experiences with Jeep, that having a part-time transfer case on the Eagle would not have a significant impact on fuel mileage, but the public complained anyway, so the later models started getting the NP129 (NP128 in '85 only) part-time case. Funny thing is, the full-time cars actually got slightly better mileage due to the lack of drag on the front-end - Wonder why the Audi Quattro is full-time? Now you know...

Best way I can explain is that 4-Wheel Drive is a direct drive to both front and rear wheels - equal torque - however, since front axles and rear axles are typically geared a tad different, driving this on dry pavement can create "axle wrap" and lock up the drivetrain causing extensive damage (so I'm told). All Wheel Drive compensates for this in some manner (see my comment above regarding the viscous coupler) - it allows for a certain degree of slippage so that, even though the front and rear are geared a tad differently, it can still be safely driven on dry pavement. Even though this system allows a bit of slippage, there is such a thing as too much slippage which can cause damage, hence the importance of running the same-size tire all the way around... I don't know if viscous couplers are still being used - I would imagine these systems are pretty much all being computer-controlled nowadays...

 

Thanks for the explanation. The one I had must have been the Kammback. It wasn't a convertible & the other one is what I was thinking of when I called it a fastback. Never knew there was a convertible. Actually owned a Gremlin once too. '72 X w/304 & 3 on the floor. I was surprised at how quick it was. Guess no weight + V-8 helped it a lot. Actually surprised a few people with it. They couldn't believe a Rambler would be able to beat them.

 

Heh... People have wedged 401's in those things. IIRC, the largest engine the Gremlin came with from the factory was the 390 (which was different from the Ford 390)...

 

Never heard of one. Thought the 304 was the biggest in a Gremlin. Brother once had a Hurst SCRambler, even was painted Red, White, & blue. Now that was something that would move. 340 H.P. 390, 4 Bbl, 4 on the floor with a Hurst ( hence the name Hurst SCRambler ), & factory ram air. I remember the Hornet SC360, looked at them ( no money then ). Think they wanted about $6500 for it then.

 

no wedging required,all amc v8 blocks are the same outside dimensions. There is a guy around here with a gremlin with a built 360 in it. Looks pretty good with the tires,rims and paint job he has on it. And it hauls butt!!