To 4WD high or not to 4WD high

[Brian Alcorn]

Saw a post the other day on a different forum and the general consensus was when riding trails like hills rocks mud ruts wash outs crossing streams ... you know wheeling .. or they were saying 4hi is only for desert or snow on the highway .. it serves no other purpose and when wheeling use either 2hi or 4lo never 4hi ... is this correct

 

[L J]

That consensus is BS. I generally don't use 4HI because the 4.0 is weak.

 

[billiebob]

Pure bullshit. 4L is for speed control, 4H is when speed is not a factor, 2H when traction is not a factor.

With the dreaded 3.07s in my YJ I ran up the mountain in 4H in second gear and came down in 4L in third gear. Pick the gearing which gives you control.

With my TJR, I will often pick 4L towing a trailer across flat solid rough ground just to keep the trailer in control.

PS, 4WD and lockers let you TREAD LIGHTLY and drive without disturbing the watershed, without needing momentum, without tire spin. 4L and lockers are the holy grail of TREADING LIGHTLY. 4H does the same thing.when you drive quicker. 100HP to 2 rear wheels is 50HP each. 100HP to 4 tires is 25HP each...... which one is more likely to spin a tires, destroy the tera firma, piss off the locals and get the road gated.

THERE IS NO HARD FAST RULE. Drive to avoid wheel spin, use the gearing available to maximize traction.

 

[Blackjack]

Well you can only go so fast in low range so if the terrain requires additional speed how do you achieve it? Mud for example often requires wheel speed and being in low range limits how much wheel speed that can be obtained.

 

[dale5150]

Pure bullshit. 4L is for speed control, 4H is when speed is not a factor, 2H when traction is not a factor.

With the dreaded 3.07s in my YJ I ran up the mountain in 4H in second gear and came down in 4L in third gear. Pick the gearing which gives you control.

With my TJR, I will often pick 4L towing a trailer across flat solid rough ground just to keep the trailer in control.

PS, 4WD and lockers let you TREAD LIGHTLY and drive without disturbing the watershed, without needing momentum, without tire spin. 4L and lockers are the holy grail of TREADING LIGHTLY. 4H does the same thing.when you drive quicker. 100HP to 2 rear wheels is 50HP each. 100HP to 4 tires is 25HP each...... which one is more likely to spin a tires, destroy the tera firma, piss off the locals and get the road gated.

THERE IS NO HARD FAST RULE. Drive to avoid wheel spin, use the gearing available to maximize traction.

Correct. I rarely use 4 low where I drive. Plus I am glad to se some people actually care about not damaging nature and habitat. Most people near me try to do as much damage as possible sometimes it seems. Tread Lightly.

 

[RubiconRic]

Saw a post the other day on a different forum and the general consensus was when riding trails like hills rocks mud ruts wash outs crossing streams ... you know wheeling .. or they were saying 4hi is only for desert or snow on the highway .. it serves no other purpose and when wheeling use either 2hi or 4lo never 4hi ... is this correct

I don't think you can make that generalization. Each has its purpose and depends on the terrain / geography.

I've never had my Jeep in snow, but have used 4HI in desert, hills, mud, wooded trails, etc. Basically wherever I can maintain a higher speed and don't want to tear up the earth with spinning along in 2H.

 

[Brian Alcorn]

When I say trails I mean where there are ohv trails like Uwharrie or wind rock ... I'm not going off road where it's not legal and we stay on the trail .... trailblazing is not allowed

 

[Jerry Bransford]

4Hi is rarely needed, it's primarily only for when you need speed which is rare when conditions are bad enough you also need 4x4. Like typically if a highway is completely covered in snow or if you're trying to get through deep mud or snow and and you need lots of wheel speed to keep going.

For typical offroading where you have uneven terrain, 4Lo is best. Especially when you need good control where 4Lo really shines, it gives you more power due to higher engine rpms while at the same time giving you a low enough speed on the trail so you're not driving too fast for conditions which is how things get broken. Especially use 4Lo when you're trying to climb up & over obstacles or up steep terrain.

 

[Goatman]

2h is basically an 'one's road selection, or where there is no lack of traction on a trail. 4h is for most all trail conditions WHERE I DRIVE. 4l is when speed is your enemy. And control and finesse is what is required. Most guys out West will use 4l a lot more than East coast types of trails. Many 'trails' by me are more like a 2-track. I think most 'trails' out West are rocks or dunes. The vernacular of the word can change which transfer range is best. Spinning tires is not (in my area) considered correct offroading. If you are spinning then you need to find the correct speed and locker setup.

 

[JEEPCJTJ]

I have no idea what any ratio in my CJ5 was but back then I was usually in 4lo because 4hi was just too fast even in 1st gear. In 4lo I started out in 2nd gear and kept it there. Once in a while I shifted to 3rd. 1st gear was used some but very rare.

Now I have a Rubicon with the 42rle. It will only start out in 1st gear and wants to shift too quickly into the next gear, especially with it's 4lo 4.10 ratio, but I usually stay there so I can lock the rear axle in mud to try to save the factory limited slip which still does work.

After typing that I need to get off my ass and change how/when the lockers work.

 

[Jerry Bransford]

Now I have a Rubicon with the 42rle. It will only start out in 1st gear and wants to shift too quickly into the next gear, especially with it's 4lo 4.10 ratio

All you have to do to prevent that is to shift the transmission into 1 or 2 to prevent it from upshifting.

 

[L J]

2Hi 4Hi is rarely needed,

 

[Grant Lasson]

...4hi is only for desert or snow on the highway...

I use 4 hi a lot--much more than 4 lo and it is usually on a snowy or icy road (w/o 4WD the TJ would spin out of control) or in sand on a desert mesa. Lots of (maybe even most) desert roads can be 2WD driven. I might use 4 lo more often if I had 2.72:1 but the Rubicon 4:1 discourages its use in intermediate terrain. Very happy for 4 lo when things get dicy or technical.

4 hi and 4 lo both have their places. Is there some question of that?

 

[Brian Alcorn]

I run 2hi till I'm stuck but to say 4hi is not useful off roading in general is kinda stupid .. 4lo when needed

 

[1o1proof]

I think it's the terrain you wheel in. A lot of people in the west or more mountainous areas will say 4lo for the win. Where I am at it is mostly flat and muddy, and I find myself in 4hi most of the time. Find the gear that works for where you are and get after it....

 

[DaveF]

The only correct answer is, it depends.

Depends on wheeling style, terrain, etc.

Here in the PNW (which everyone forgets is also the West, and far different than more southern western states) I use low more often than high, but we're usually wheeling in very rough terrain where going faster than 5 miles per hour will bounce you out of your rig. I still shift into high though whenever I need more speed such as fire/forest service roads since the 4:1 gearing limits me to like 15mph lol.

If you're moving slow, and having to press too hard on the go pedal to move the Jeep, shift to 4-low.

Really it's as simple as listening/feeling what your Jeep is doing and choosing the appropriate mode.