Alaskan, thank you! Yes, the rear end blowing off the tires at 40mph is cool when its on the flats, during WOT, and in the summer time. Can create a pile of bricks in your seat when going uphill in winter and no road width to correct for snap overstseer.

Dumb question, why lock the hubs vs. leaving them in auto?

 

I pretty much use the 4WD system same as AlaskanEx. I'll lock them in when first snow hits and try to remember to unlock then in the spring.I drive up to 80 in 4wd many times and have not had a problem switching from 4wd to 2wd on the fly. Upstate NY has crazy weather and you could be in a storm fro an hour then drive right out of it.

 

If you leave them in auto, you have a time lapse as the vacuum system engages them. If they're manually locked, you have 4x4 as soon as the transfer case switches which is usually almost instantaneous. I never used the auto hubs on my Ex but my 2001 F350 would sometimes take 30-45 seconds for the hubs to auto lock.

 

some of us no longer have auto hubs, so if i anticipate i will need 4wd for the day, i will lock my WARN hubs first, then as i need 4wd i will switch in and out of it as i drive.

fastest i have used it is upper 70's and it has been fine, generally the Ex is heavy enough with decent tires 2wd is adequate for all but the worst stuff.

Nokian Rotiiva AT Plus so far have been a fantastic winter/all year tire. closest thing to a true winter tire w/o being a winter tire

 

Studded tires?

 

Yup I run them half the year, Cooper M+S studded snow tires.

I lock my hubs because the auto function stopped working after having my ball joints replaced about 4 years ago plus I know it's going to engage.

 

i had 1/2 worn out Firestone Transforce AT tires that the PO studded. i hate those tires but studded they were tolerable especially with the weight of the Ex. So far my Rotiiva AT Plus's are equal or better, but Transforce is just a horrible tire it isn't a fair comparison. I am getting studded Nokian Hakkapilliita's for my subaru this winter, should be amazing

 

The studs are doing far more for you than the 4wd is.

 

Ha! You're funny. The Ex is useless in 2wd with the snow tires even, it will break traction if you look at the gas pedal wrong and go nowhere. Not to mention the much better steering and stopping ability you get with the axles locked together. That has been verified time and time again.

 

 

I can go places in my 4x4 with MT tires that a 2wd with snow tires can't, so yes in my experience 4x4 makes a bigger difference than snow tires does.

 

On any other surface, you'll have no argument from me. On glare ice, the mechanical grip provided by studs has the advantage over all four tires spinning uselessly.

 

Maybe if the 4x4 has worn out tires. The company I used to work for would put studded tires on the service vans in the winter time and they did OK but nothing like my 4x4s with good tires do.

 

Quick question for verification. Us desert folk in Arizona do have occasional encounters with snow during trips to northern Arizona in the winter. Is there any detriment to leaving the 4x4 hubs in manual lock while driving in 2wd going from the dry desert valley up to the mountains? Ive tested the SOTF 4x4 on a few gravel and dirt roads around Phoenix and they seem to do just fine engaging and disengaging.

Im not sure if the front differential was limited slip like my rear (C3 axles) or if it was locked like a spool.

 

No problem at all with leaving the hubs locked in 2wd, I do it all the time.