I LOVE watching idiots try to drive on snow or ice around here .A good show. Had a snow last year , jammed traffic in front of my shop for hours ! Tow trucks were not able to get there . A Farmer down the road finally came to the rescue with his tractor ! Idiots in Tn. have no clue of how to drive on snow !

 

Idiots around here have no idea either. Snowing here now, about 1-2" so far. I was just out for about an hour trip, took twice that because of the ill-prepared *******es. Had one Olds Alero coming towards me all over the road, as I got closer I saw the front wheels pointed in 2 different directions. She was still trying to drive it. Moving, but pretty slowly

 

We had at least 6-8" this morning, just quit now. from the same system.

 

I have used the hill decent control on my F250 in a similar situation. I was on top of a rather large hill (for South Texas) in the middle of a thunder storm. The rain made the hill slicker than snot with about 4 inches of mud slop. I could not help from sliding sideways with my heavily loaded down rig and could not gather any speed due to the sharp turns and flooded banks of the road. Having thought about every conceivable option, I decided to enable the hill decent control as a last ditch effort. The system work flawlessly and allowed me to navigate the roadway when others could not.

I too am extremely pleased with the technology in these trucks. I could not imagine navigating some hairy situations without them.

To the op: thanks for the writeup. Glad to hear that you made the trip safely.

 

Glad to hear you made it out ok Pool...we just got rain here in Vacaville. I was thinking about going up to the snow to try out the Platinum but got busy doing other things. I would be one that is not very experienced driving in the snow...so for me it would have been a trial by fire drive...lol

 

Yeah, no prob guys. This trip proved a couple things to me, that these trucks could be nearly unstoppable with the right tires for the task. I bet with a good set of tires, I could have got by in mostly 2wd and with the locker. What was Ford thinking with these Pirelli Scorpions? They look better suited for a Mustang or Camaro. Even just a few years ago, you could get some trucks or SUV's with BFG, All Terrain KO's as OEM equipment.

I also always wondered in what situations, would I have a use for these various systems? E-locker, Hill Decent Control, Traction Control etc... And now have a clear understanding of when each is required or useful. I am really glad I have those tools now. At first I thought they were just gimmicky.

 

its not luck its common sense to let it slow it self and not stand on the left peddle.
that's what I was saying people panic then hit the brakes and spin out. and no I didn't say down shift.

 

LOL! That's not what you said. But we can pretend you did if that's the way you want it.

 

Glad to hear that the truck preformed well.

Overall, would you say that you find yourself leaving traction control on in the snow, or off? Winter is creeping up in Ma. Thanks

 

For the least drama and to just get where I needed to go, I left it in 4-Hi range, Traction control on.

 

good deal. thanks

 

Of course 2wd and locker on, was more fun though lol.

 

Well, I had to use 4x4 for the first time today after posting in this thread, not snow, but mud while picking up an x-mas tree. Worked great, no drama just pulled right through. Looking forward to trying it out in the snow.

 

You and me both Robb! Sadly I think I'll get to try the loaner C-Max in snow first.

 

glad you made it home safe and so did the truck

I find it interesting reading peoples thoughts on winter driving around the country. I know conditions can be so vastly different that what works for one person may not work for another..ect but i have grown up with the teaching any time its slick put it in 4x4 that's why you have it. many like to say it does not help with braking but this idea is wrong, once you lock the front and rear together the rear end slows at the same speed as the front. I've seen way to many guys for whatever reason think its a good idea to run their 4x4 truck in 2wd in winter conditions only to end up in the ditch, doing 360s on the highway or worse when the rear end brakes loose. when trying to make a turn and slow in 2wd all the truck wants to do is understeer/lock up the front but when its in 4x4 it reacts much more like you would expect or at least i would since that's what i'm used to and the front tires keep rolling/pulling and you don't break traction nearly as easy. only time i take it out of 4x4 in the winter is after a warm spell and the parking lots have a lot of pavement showing i pop it out to make it into tight parking spaces otherwise its in 4 high.

idk just what i've been taught and what I've experienced with good snow tires and a 4x4 for 6+ months of ice/snow....with roads that look like hot mopped ice rinks alot of the time.

typical winter roads here, black sections are ice if your lucky there is some gravel at the intersections