CNY_Dave

The test seems perfectly valid, the narrator is just a little short on knowledge (and/or is grandstanding). Too bad the cars that failed couldn't lock their front-rear differentials, they'd have done fine. Or maybe even if they had traction control that could sense the spinning wheels and just plain lock 'em like the VDC system obviously can. Shows the value of VDC! The full-time 4wd cars are full-time 4wd, just so long as all 4 wheels have traction. Dave

I read (here?) that there's an OD lockout on some of these auto trans to get the engine warmed up faster- engine warms up, then it allows it into OD. Dave

No, I tried that, and have tried it othertimes. Sometimes it does help, usually when slowly creeping over terrain. Dave

I could be something like that. I didn't get any spin at all when I released the brakes, but the mechanism you describe would still be valid. What's interesting is I've driven a *lot* of different vehicles in a *lot* of different scenarios and either didn't try this, or tried it and it didn't have much effect. Most of those vehicles were standards, but not all. One was 4WD, some were FWD, some RWD. I've read a fair number of getting-unstuck stories and hints, but I don't recall seeing this method mentioned. Dave

Well, I'd expect no heat buildup powerbraking it with no wheels moving- but that doesn't mean the powerbraking didn't affect the LSD action in some other way. I did try spinng the wheels for a bit, just to see if I had a limited-slip rear, and it sure didn't seem like it. On that cars-101 page, it said the beaners in '03 had lim-slip, BTW. Also, neither front wheel slipped while using this method, so whatever was at work affected the front traction as well. Dave

Yeah, auto (forgot to put that in). I don't think any duty-c magic would have helped on this one, 1 front and 1 rear spun at the same time as all the weight was lifted off the tires... even at my slow pace, the gracefully sloped underside of the nose just lifted the car right up, all 4 wheels. I've done a fair bit of testing on the yard test-track and can tell pretty well when I've got just 1 front (or rear) tire spinning, vs. 1 on the front and 1 on the rear. So far I've had good opportunities with grass, wet grass, and snow. Ice next! I really can't overstate how well this method worked- I mean, tires were spinning uselessly if I gave it beyond just a little throttle, but powerbraking it a bit and then releasing the brakes was like getting a tug from a buddy with a towstrap. That's why I'm a bit perplexed- the car really had no right moving at all, judging by the lack of traction and lack of weight on the wheels. Dave

In that respect, I'm pleased with my Dunlop Graspic DS2 tires- awesome in the snow (have yet to try ice), don't suck on dry pavement. I've been doing extensive parking-lot, steep-hill, and hilly yard-with-snowdrifts testing. These tires keep going until you're high-centered and its time to dig. I do about 40 miles of interstate and 10 miles of backroad a day. Dave

Managed to high-center on a packed snowdrift (already thinking 'gee, if the front was a bit blunter, it'd stop instead of riding up and getting stuck', but of course then the approach angle would suck), did some extraction digging under the car, tried 3 methods to rock it out: 1) R, ease on the gas, get a few fractions of an inch forwards, starts to spin slowly, stick it into 1 and repeat. 2) Same as (1) but give the gas a bit of a stomp. Both left me high and spinning (1 front, 1 rear.Thought the LLBean had LSD in the rear?). Occurred to me to try 3) Put it into R, foot on brake, increase gas until its pulling 1500 or 2000 or so. Release brake quickly without letting off the gas. HOLY COW, I shot back a whole foot! Did the same in 1, repeated a few more times, and I was on my way. I'm telling you, using method 1 or 2 the car would not move even one inch. I think with method 3, I might not even have had to shovel! Is this a quirk of the AWD? Maybe this method was the only way to get the limited-slip diff in the rear functioning (assuming I have it)? Any thoughts why this was so much more effective? Dave

I have seen this lotsa times (in other vehicles) due to a bad/loose plug wire, or a cracked plug, etc. Dave

The clutch pack is slipping? Is this a common failure mechanism, I thought for the most part they worked, or they were bound up? Dave

There's a small switch connected to the ebrake lever in almost any car used to turn a 'brake' light on in the dash- use that switch to drive a relay that puts 12V to the AWD fuse. That switch prob. only gets power when the key is on, so that part of the job is already done. Anytime the ebrake is up and the car is running, the duty-c releases, all set for rally turns! Dave

Would be a simple mod, though Very simple! Dave

In the snow, it'd be great if the ebrake helped brake the front, but that's not the case (tried). Does the ebrake disable the clutchpack on the outbacks? Good question, anyone know? At low speeds, with low traction all around, with the duty-c solenoid functioning as designed, I'd bet you could yank the ebrake quite a bit without damaging the front-rear clutchpack, as long as you were not on the gas. Do it on gravel, or dry pavement, at speed, likely a different story. Anyway, I'd call sliding through a stop-sign an emergency! Dave

We need a USMB-mart of used tires so we can always find the right brand/model, with the right tread depth! Dave

It's reported putting it in neutral helps, but it does not disable the ABS. Next time it snows, practice - using the Ebrake, or - turning the key off, or - braking to below the threshold, releasing the brakes, and then stomp on 'em. Dave

Sounds like it was not working before, and now is working as designed. Dave

If the circumference isn't within 1/4 inch, you have to get new ones. Even if the circumference checks out to be close enough, its tough to say how a funky wear pattern will translate into the actual rolling circumference. Now I'm a cheap bastard, I might mount 'em all up, find a big open parking lot, chalk mark all the tires, and roll it a few hundred feet and count the rotation of all the tires. That'd be the only way to be sure. You could buy 2 new ones, and have them shaved down to the size of the un-funky ones. I hear there are places that will shave tires, but they'll only shave a tire that's never been used- as soon as it gets used, it picks up enough crud it'll ruin the shaving knives. Maybe you can find someone with a front-wheel drive to buy your set? Dave

Often, a quick way to check the adjustment is to put on the emergency brake (while stopped), then press on the brake pedal and see if the feel is improved. If so, the rears likely need adjusting. Rear drums are supposed to be self-adjusting, the kicker is that they usually only do so when you come to a complete stop (using the brakes) while going backwards- if you never back up, they never adjust. Stopping while going uphill is probably enough to get them to adjust, as well. Dave

Took a big leap of faith, took the subie down into 'the bowl', a flat, low area in my yard that has a moderate hill exit, and steeper hills. Moving around on the flat in about 6" was easy, I went to leave on the moderate hill and realized there were snow drifts that way- thought I was boned when the snow started coming over the hood at walking speed (its windy in my neck of the woods, I get some sweet drifts), I did have to back-and-attack a few times but I got right through. Yeah! Dave

After some more experimentation last night, it seems that: 1) In 1st, threshold speed is about 10mph 2) Not sure, but in D I think its even lower 3) You can use the ABS to get down below threshold speed, then release the brakes, then lock 'em up IF you have it in 1st (to get the higher threshold speed), BUT, you must leave your foot off the brakes for about 1/2 second to allow the ABS to be come 'disinterested'. 4) As a last resort, just turning the key to 'off' works just fine, but will be a detriment if you need power again quick. I didn't check threshold speed in 2nd, the folks on the street were looking at me funny enough as it was. If I were going off-road a lot, there is no doubt in my mind I'd put in an ABS kill-switch, for going off-road. In the interests of science, I'd love to put an LED on the ABS solenoid (or whatnot) for each wheel. I'm not sure there's any exposed wiring, though. Dave

Except for that 1st better 'dig in' that you get before the ABS can figure out something is up, and can get the solenoids, etc. activated. It doesn't get you much, but can have some interesting effects at speed. Dave

But, with an auto, in neutral, will it still creep is the question. On a steep enough hill, it might. You know, if you could just get the ABS to shut off for a split second, and lock 'em up right then, the ABS could be re-enabled because if the wheels are locked up, it doesn't know you're moving. BTW, I did try stab-braking in this situation, you might get the speed down a skosh less, but not by much. Dave

Yep. For me a defeat mechanism would be something to activate only after finding myself in the situation where the ABS was causing a problem. But, if going slow enough for this to rear its ugly head, most situations would be covered by yanking the Ebrake, albeit that only slows the rears. I wonder what the duty C solenoid does when you're in neutral? If its in the 50/50 state (not being pulsed, or pulsing only enough to eliminate bind) that would transfer braking force from the rear to the front. Hmmmmm... You know, I bet you could get an idea what the duty c solenoid is doing by slapping a good 'ol analog dwellmeter on it, since that (mechanical points) is also a system where the wire is at gnd most of the time, with brief pulses to +12V. Or maybe just a good RMS AC voltmeter. Dave

My test-hills are outside Groton- not as steep as what you have near you, but one or two good ones to get to know the car. Dave

Overall, I find ABS useful, and I'm glad I have it. I consider it a tool in my arsenal to drive well, effectively, safely, and in conditions that would make most run for mommy. I also consider it my job to find where it does not help (or actively works against me!) and find effective strategies for dealing with those situations. I hear rumors your insurance company may not pay if you have a switch to disable ABS and then you have an accident? If the ABS fuse is in the passenger compartment, maybe I should tie some dental floss to it so I can yank it if need be? Or have some devious mechanism to deliberately blow the fuse... Dave