Those are more like Cow-Mistress/Dominatrix boots.
Changing from 2WD to 4H
- Thread starter Kip100
- Start date
I think Subaru does a nice job with how they implement their AWD in the Outback model. I rented one for a trip to Crater lake (Central Oregon) in Feb 2020 (just before the covid shutowns started) since 4 of us were going and it did marvelously well on just all season tires due to the AWD going over the snowy/icy mountain passes.
We reached the cabin we booked late night and woke up to a full on winter wonderland. It had snowed a LOT and we got holed in for a day inside. The next day, I cautiously drove to the lake .. and apparently it had snowed 15ft at the lake the night we reached the cabin!! They had plows working but we kept getting more snow on and off. Roads were icy and I could feel the tires spinning and the AWD kicking in to compensate. Braking was not easy but the ABS worked pretty well too.
Crater lake with fresh snow is one of the most beautiful sights to behold. It made for a truly memorable trip.
The only AWD vehicle I've ever owned was a BMW 3 series xDrive, and it was far and away the best snow/ice vehicle I've ever owned. I had it for a year in Oklahoma and then about 3 more in Colorado.
Subaru's are just jeeps for lesbians
I second the opinion that Subaru is the way to go for winter weather. Selling cars Ive driven a variety of different rwd fwd awd and 4wd cars in the snow with various tire types and conditions. The most fun I had in the snow was with a legacy and bald all seasons. It was very easy to do controlled drifts and slides and still return straight. Snow tires would have been way too easy to maintain control and too hard to get into a slide. Still to this day I have to tell people not to buy snow tires. Most people in my area assume they need snow tires to go anywhere. They get winter tires and then proceed to drive 30 mph everywhere because there's a light layer of snow on the asphalt. 
In my experience with the TJ even with a few inches of snow it winds up the driveshaft very easily on a turn. Unless there's like half a foot of snow I drive in RWD up to 45 mph. Past that speed Id rather not be in a TJ in the snow in the first place: a high center of gravity short wheelbase vehicle. Driving in ice you simply don't do it unless you have chains and studs and still only if you have no other choice.
In my experience with the TJ even with a few inches of snow it winds up the driveshaft very easily on a turn. Unless there's like half a foot of snow I drive in RWD up to 45 mph. Past that speed Id rather not be in a TJ in the snow in the first place: a high center of gravity short wheelbase vehicle. Driving in ice you simply don't do it unless you have chains and studs and still only if you have no other choice.
When I bought the Soobie, the dealership I bought it from told me at least three times that it was previously owned by a lesbian couple (they traded it in on a SL 55 AMG, so good for them!). Being a champagne colored Outback sedan, I certainly didn’t think it was previously owned by a lumberjack from Alaska. The salesman didn’t seem rude about it and I honestly think he was trying to sell how it well it was maintained (the had a binder with all the service records, in chronological order!), as well as the low mileage and practicality...
Of course, that didn't stop me from playing along with the stereotypes
(this made so many people laugh that I got into the habit of watching my rearview mirror at stop lights, waiting to see their reaction!)Anyways, that thing was great and kept the Mrs. safe as she got plowed into by a tow truck, pushing her sideways into the car in front of her... here's the last time we saw her. The insurance company gave me $400 more than I paid for it 2.5 years (and 30,000 miles!) prior to the accident.
My daughter starts driving soon, so another Soobie is likely on the horizon!
It's absolutely breathtaking, isn't it?
Photos simply do not do any justice. I have been there 3 times, 2x in summer, once in the winter. Just the drive to the park entrance is stunning in itself.
First time I crested the snow-covered rim of the crater, it quite literally took my breath away. Gorgeous place!
No camera is good enough for that view ..
This is how much snow we saw that day - the people in the frame are my buddies. The previous day, we did not know if the snow would ever stop. The next morning, the sun came out and the clouds fully cleared and we decided it was worth risking the drive. And it paid off! There were *very* few people on the road and in the park. We snowshoed for hours and it was wonderful.
I went back in 2015 on a work trip (in Medford, OR - same week that the Shakespeare festival was going on nearby, which was also quite amusing!)
The scenery is indeed breathtaking. The photos never do it justice and certainly cannot capture the scale of it all... I told the Mrs. I'll need to take her on a PNW road trip one day and this will certainly be on our stop list.
Everyone with a Subaru, stand down. No one is denying they are outstanding vehicles in the snow/ice. At least I’m not denying it, anyhow.
It’s the f*cking morons that think because they are so capable that they can do 70 over the pass on compact snow and ice and still stop. You truly haven’t seen stupidity en masse until a ski session lets out and what should be a two lanes of a four lane highway suddenly become 5 or 6 in one direction because: hey! snow covers the lane lines! Let’s make our own!
Hence the crack about ski racks. I just pick on Subarus because there’s so goddamn many of them.
It’s the f*cking morons that think because they are so capable that they can do 70 over the pass on compact snow and ice and still stop. You truly haven’t seen stupidity en masse until a ski session lets out and what should be a two lanes of a four lane highway suddenly become 5 or 6 in one direction because: hey! snow covers the lane lines! Let’s make our own!
Hence the crack about ski racks. I just pick on Subarus because there’s so goddamn many of them.
Last edited:
Even I have the 3 peak stamp on my tyres and I am in West Australia! closest thing to snow we see is the ash from bush fires.Hmmm. That doesn't look like something that is on my tires but since I haven't crashed/overturned/got stuck yet I guess they are ok??
Must be a regional thing…
When we went to Durango, it was all Range Rovers and Escalades doing this.
Back in my younger days in PA, it was always dudes in Grand Cherokees or AMC Eagles.
The Subarus are thick along the front range (I-25 corridor) and i-70 from Denver to about Aspen.
Beautiful! I've never been there in winter.
I was lucky enough to take this pic with my phone a few years ago:
Wow! And that is exactly why I moved to the PNW this year. Despite now being utterly broke and struggling thanks to the outrageous cost of living, and now my poor jeep is falling apart. But hey at least nature is free! #priorities
Similar threads
