Hey guys, this a different sort of question and i meant to post it in a “misc” forum but I couldn’t find any.

I find myself driving in snow storms quite a bit lately and they don't salt the roads or plow very well up there.

Coming down the mountain late at night in storms is pretty challenging. I’m slipping a lot even in 4 wheel.

1. 3rd gear on the automatic helps but it still goes too fast downhill. And gears 1-2 are too slow. How do you guys avoid riding your brakes down the mountain?

2. Maybe I need snow tires or something? I have AT right now. Almost new.

3. How fast can i go in gears 1-2 before it hurts the jeep? 25-30 mph seems the max.

 

4 wheel drive doesn't help with stopping. Dedicated snow tires are the answer. I run them on all of my vehicles in the winter. Its a night and day difference.

Often with 1-2 it will not lock into 2nd gear and allow engine braking, but rather just sit in 2nd with the torque converter unlocked. Next time, throw it down into 1-2 and blip the throttle to get the RPMs up. I find this can help get the TC to lock and assist in engine braking.

 

Patience. That's the BEST answer. What's more important, getting somewhere 2 minutes faster, or slowing down so you don't end up off a cliff or in a ditch...??? I have KO2's and only ever had 1 instance when my jeep began to slide out of my control. Just slow it down a bit and you wont have to worry about it all the time.

 

As said above you gotta have real, dedicated snow tires. "All season" or "mud" tires are useless on ice or wet slushy snow compared to real snow tires. I use Bridgestone Blizzicks (sp?) but there are other choices. It's a PITA because you want to take them off for the summer because they wear fast.
also as above SLOW DOWN.
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I live where we get snow from November to April.....and we get a lot of tourists ( Turons/jerks from **** etc) who show up with awd and half bald all season tires. It's a nightmare

 

Dedicated snow tires or chains. In some scenarios, chains will give you better traction than snow tires. But those scenarios are rare. If you need chains, you probably shouldn't have been driving in whatever conditions in the first place.

 

One thing that helps is lowering your tire pressure slightly. I used to run 28 psi with Michelin LT radials and had great results on Eastern OR and CA high mountains.

 

It's all very well saying slow down but how? In my experience an automatic XJ has no engine braking whatsoever (in 1st in 4low it will career down anything like a real grade) & the brakes will only stop the wheels turning, which is no help at all in "toboggan mode"

I read KJlimitedx99's suggestion with interest - & a degree of apprehension, I'm sure technique is everything but blipping the the throttle having changed down, while already going faster than you want to be iI would've thought was a surefire recipe for the back overtaking the front.

Probably explains why diesels which, I think, are all manuals, are favorite for off-roading.

100% endorse proper tyres though - been sold on them ever since the time I drove a Jaguar XJ40 over the Alps one Christmas. Trouble is snow tyres for 4x4's are not so common, although that might be different in colder climes.

 

Generally speaking, that's correct, but the way XJs are set up it actually can. Assuming a 231 transfer case or a 242 in part-time mode, the front and rear driveshafts are locked together. Most XJs don't have ABS, and the font wheels tend to lock up first. When in 4WD, the transfer case keeps the front wheels spinning, so you effectively get better brake bias for the conditions and can stop faster and more in control.

Proper winter tires definitely kick ***, though.

 

chains? I don't need no stinking chains

 

Driving snowy mountain roads is always exciting. I live in Canada and always use high quality winter tires when it’s winter. I have found that on cars the added traction from all seasons to winters is about the same as going from 2wd to 4wd.

If the snow is fresh or just packed down a bit I find winter tires are about the same as normal driving on gravel. So I typically feel comfortable going 60kph. Ice is another thing and as mentioned just requires patients and low speed.

Airing down will also make a huge difference. If I was running all seasons and worried I would go way below 28psi, at least for the sketchy parts. Semi trucks in Canada don’t typically run winter tires, I hear they just air down.

Last tip. I have found that besides ice the scariest thing is slush or thick snow as it kinda grabs you and pulls you off the road. So if it’s warm you also need to be careful of the areas of the road that aren’t driven on.

 

What everyone else said about dedicated true winter tires (not just mud and snow). True winter tires are made of a softer material that will grip better in lower temperatures. Likewise they’ll wear down in no time if you leave them on during the summer. I always keep a second set of wheels with each mounted, then I can swap them myself twice a year and not keep paying the shops. I’ve used Blizzak, Winterforce, Nokian, they’re all pretty good. Also winter tires have a lot more edges and clean out better, where all seasons will pack up and slide. “Once you go snows, you’ll never go back.”

And what everyone else said about slowing down. Don’t plan on getting anywhere fast. Laws of physics are stacked against you. Drive with a light touch on the throttle, brakes, steering. Don’t do any quick moves. Drive like you’ve got a full pail of water and don’t wanna spill it. Drive as if you have little to no brakes, anticipate everything you can.

 

"Mud & Snow" tyres aren't even legal in those European countries that require winter tyres October - April but I'm making do as I think they're still better than "summer" tyres - although I suspect this will be their last season.

Oh, & all export XJ's have ABS because by the time they arrived (in '94?) if it wasn't mandatory, it was what the target market would expect.

 

Thanks! Great info. I wish i had thought to lower the air pressure. I will try that first.

If I can only afford to get two winter tires, better on front or back?

Slow down? Who doesn’t slow down? Oh yeah, the jeep doesn’t slow down unless i ride the brakes! Ha

Well at least having in in 4H and 3rd gear helps keep it under 35 on the steep parts. 1-2 works great when i need to go 15mph down the mountain. Why cant there be a gear that goes 25? Oh well.

 

You need to go all 4 or nothing. Winters in the front means great breaking until the rear tires decides to take the lead and add excitement to your life. Just the rears and you can’t break or steer but you can accelerate great. I would take 4 all seasons over 2 winters and 2 all seasons.

 

well shoot ok. Anyone got a tip on a huge discount or a sale or something?