Greetings -- as My Uncle Sam used to say....
I like my 4lo option that gives me low gear and locked diffs in my Cherokee Sport 2000.
So on the newer Jeeps with that little dial instead of a big hand lever, what are the differences among Snow, Sport, Sand/Mud and Rock modes?
I am especially interested in how and why Snow would be different than Sand/Mud? For that matter why is Sand/Mud different from Rock?
Anyone want to provide me with education?
Kap

 

Going to take a guess here and say it offers different levels of computer assisted traction control. In slippery stuff it is going to limit throttle/acceleration, less so in rocks where you likely need more power.

 

Its one of those foreign car things to confuse matters, you don't have that on real American cars

 

Just another example of the dumbing down of America. Instead of forcing you to learn how to drive in those conditions with the tcase lever in 4lo, we will just make the vehicle infinitely more complex by adding different modes that force the car to do what you should have learned. So are you on snow? Just turn that dial to "Snow" and drive like you normally do....no need to change your driving habits based on the conditions, the vehicle will adjust and compensate for you....

Why waste time learning a skill when technology can just improvise for you......I hate it. Like those commercials for the cars that parallel park for you, and they have some guy (not a man, or he would know how to do it his dang self) talking about how he never learned to parallel park, and now he doesn't have to worry about it.

 

dont the new grands have adjustable suspension? So rocks for example the suspension would raise. Normal and street driving it drops

 

I'm going to agree. It's probably the traction control settings not the 4WD settings. FWIW most systems just use the abs brakes to stop/limit wheel slippage.

In regards to the OP's question of how snow is different from sand or mud... Snow will have less friction than mud or sand, the system will most likely stop wheel slippage sooner on the snow setting where it will allow you to "fight through it" more in mud or sand.