I used to drive FWD and AWD trcuks on slippery roads. The most difficult is to drive full time AWD. My futher drives '03 ranger with auto. It is not so good on snow, like aero and I can not use handbrake to correct the traction, becouse there is pedal there..... How to drive FWD car without the handbrake - it is the quation.... I use hanbrake often.

 

All I can say is that if I never own a front wheel drive it will be too soon.

My stable:
1992 rear wheel drive Aerostar 3.0 with 117,000 miles
1995 rear wheel drive F150 4.9L with 138,000 miles
1997 rear wheel drive F53 chassis motorhome with 7.5L and 48,000 miles

Rear wheel drive has served me well for 33 years and I ain't about to switch now.

 

The AWD system is really pretty good for high performance dynamics, especially considering when it was developed. The combination of its nominal torque distribution with a slip limiting feature helps to set the handling balance similar to that of a RWD car and still have the traction of AWD. There's actually a lot of potential there. As for how the rest of the Aerostar chassis and suspension would work in rally, well, that's another issue...

 

I have found my aero to be exceptional in the snow. I have never driven a jeep, but going through deep snow is no problem at all in my Aero.

 

Hell, Khanty, if you have some weight in the back, the RWD will go through about anything. Put pax in the rear seats and my '97 is pretty near unstopable. Nothing like driving by those who have ditched their SUVs.

 

nothing quite like 4 wheel drifting in an empty parking lot in an awd aerostar!

 

My 94 short body spins the rear wheel easily on wet roads.Is this a common thing with aerostars........whats the cure for it

 

cut 1 foot off right leg

 

My RWD with open diff does that as well. The problem is very common with the open differential in the rear end, and I'm not sure if there is anything you can do about it short of changing the open diff out for a limited slip from Ford or Torsen. (Rick?) They will all require disassembly and then set up of the gears. A company called Trachtech makes a diff for the Ford 8.8' rear end they call Detroit TrueTrac that works a lot like a Torsen, and is much cheaper.

This can help a lot with traction in the rain, but it will not solve all the problems. If the road is slippery enough, or you apply too much gas, a limited slip rear end will get BOTH wheels spinning, which could be worse because now you have no traction at all. If the road is sloped to one side, your rear end will head that direction, whereas an open diff will leave one wheel stable while the other spins.

The AWD will again improve on the RWD with LSD by adding at least one more drive wheel to the vehicle, and divert some of that excessive torque from the rear to the front. But I've gotten my AWD Aero to fishtail on a wet road before, and it's just way too exciting.

The next level is to install some kind of traction control. The later Aeros have RABS, so they have electronics to sense rear slippage. If you can reprogram the RABS computer, it can control the RABS valves to gently activate the rear brakes when slip is detected. This is how most of the modern traction controls work, except they apply the brakes independently to each wheel. But lightly applying the rear (parking) brakes is an old trick for getting your RWD car with open diff unstuck from the snow. This method of traction control tends to overheat the brakes if the driver is unaware of how agressively he's trying to drive. So a lot of modern cars also reduce engine output at the same time.

The best and safest solution is to drive carefully.

 

Tires. Tires make a big difference. I am useing a non-studded snow tire and it makes a big difference as compared to all season tires. Deep treaded offroad tires also work well in snow and wet weather, but they don't have a very quiet ride, and are not quite as good as snow tires.

 

Bosch makes ABS and EBS kits for every car and truck. WABCO make ABS (VCS) and EBS kits for air brakes. Yes, it costs about $700 for this kit to update any car or truck. + Requires to replace front rotors and calipers (updated for wheel speed sensor), and read drums (ore to install rear disk brakes). Work greate! I sow this system on old UAZ truck... yes it works!

 

Well
From my BoL in Oakville design. The Aero is a multi frame as stated. It has a boxed frame welded to a body. This gave it strength and the nice ride. He still gets calls from ext Aero owners, about replacing the Aero.
But Pablo-UA if you live in the Ukraine. Try to get the Canadian version. It has all the nice winter driving package. It will come complete with the all the goods Advance Trac® (including Brake Assist and Traction Control) with Reverse Sensing System. Cold weather package ie extra heater, block heater, etc etc.

 

But unfortunatly I can import truck not older then 5 years..... And it no 2002 Aero....

 

There are a lot of limited slip diffs out there for the 8.8" axle, only a few for the 7.5". A good LSD will help your traction under any conditions - to say that it will just make both wheels spin leaving you worse off is at best misleading and at worst inaccurate. It is true that you can now potentially make both wheels spin instead of just one - if you apply enough torque to overcome both tires. But that's just it - with an LSD, you need to overcome the traction of two tires instead of just one, so in truth, the differential has doubled your traction, not made it worse.

If you overcome both tires, there isn't a differential, locker or spool in the world that help out because the problem isn't in the axle, it's the tires. People don't tend to realize it, but your tires are the most important component of your vehicle. Every single thing a car does dynamically is done though the tires. If you find your tires spinning constantly, either 1) spring for tires better suited to your driving or 2) go easier on the throttle. Or both.

 

I agree. A buddy of mine had a Ranger that kept spinning out, and he though a limited slip differential would solve his problem. I never thought it was a problem, minor tire squeal if he took a turn too sharp while putting on throttle, or if he had his trailer, it would aslo squeal, and/or throw gravel. But once he got the limited slip, he started having both rear wheels spin out and it would fishtail. He then got different tire, and the problem went away. The problem is, he wasted his money on the limited slip, and it din't help anything. Limited slip or a locking differential is great if you want to be able to spin the rears for say racing or offroad racing purposes, where being able to control slides is important. But better tires is a more important investment. Also, if the rear is lightweight, the vehicle may be prone to slipping. You can try adding weight over the rear axle.