Yeah, you really do need 4WD in the snow!

[Chris]

It's quite a rare occurrence for it to ever snow in Portland, Oregon. It was snowing today and it was sticking quite a bit. I decided to take the Jeep out an somehow had myself convinced that I didn't need it in 4WD since the snow wasn't that deep on the roads. First turn I take out of my neighborhood going about 15 mph and the rear and completely fishtails and I end up doing a 180 and facing the other way.

Good thing there were no cars around, haha.

Anyways, put it in 4 High and pulled out of the embankment I was in and got on my way. I guess the moral of the story is that rear wheel drive really does blow in the snow!

 

[Basiasadie]

It's helpful. I've been able to drive without 4 wheel most of this winter, but I've also been driving in the snow regularly.
The 4x4 helps a ton though if they haven't had time to plow or the snow is getting to bad.
I haven't spun out in my jeep yet, it never let's the ice win. I almost ran over a little Nissan that slid, luckily good reflexes and the painful amount of training my dad put us through saved that driver(no way his pos would have made it if I hit him or went over him)
How much snow did ya get?

 

[05LJ]

The biggest problem Chris is the lack of weight. We have had quite a bit of snow here since Christmas and more coming this week. If it is fresh snow, these STT Pro's are fantastic is deep snow but really blow on ice or hard packed slick snow without being in four wheel drive. The correct tires for snow and ice aren't necessarily what we use for our offroad adventures and I'm not buying 2 sets of tires for a toy. I have an F150 crew 4x4 that goes just fine if I need to get somewhere and don't want to take the jeep.

 

[john arata]

What hurts the jeep i think is the short wheelbase very prone to fishtail in and out of 4 wheel drive

 

[Chris]

I agree wth you guys, the short wheel base is hurting. I would think all that extra weight from the heavy spare tire would add to the weight in the back.

Once I put it in 4WD it's not so bad.

 

[UPJOHN]

Winter tires would make a big difference, but they only come in smaller sizes.

 

[Chris]

In all honesty we did 200 miles through the mountains (through packed snow, lots of it) with my Duratrac tires and the Jeep did excellent. I think that yesterday was such an issue because of the 2WD start out and the fact that there was some ice involved.

 

[UPJOHN]

The nice thing is that you just have to pull on the transfer case lever and your in 4x4.
I had winter tires on my Caliber srt4, and it was a tank in the snow. It made me a believer in snow tires, because with the stock tires it would not move on a flat road with just a dusting of snow.

 

[Chris]

The nice thing is that you just have to pull on the transfer case lever and your in 4x4.
I had winter tires on my Caliber srt4, and it was a tank in the snow. It made me a believer in snow tires, because with the stock tires it would not move on a flat road with just a dusting of snow.

Oh, I have no doubt at all. Snow tires make all the difference in the world. Like you said though, it sucks having to have an extra set of tires unless you're somewhere where it just snows relentlessly half the year.

 

[Ron505]

All this talk about snow.......BRING IT ON MOTHER NATURE!!!!!!

 

[Chris]

All this talk about snow.......BRING IT ON MOTHER NATURE!!!!!!

Be careful, or you might end up flooded like Missouri!

 

[UPJOHN]

I've had three TJs in the last ten years, a 97 4cyl 5 speed with new 30x9.50r15 Goodyear gsas , an 04 4.0 auto with 30x9.50 Yokahama geolanders, and my current 97 4.0 5 speed with a cheaper off brand tire, Wild Country xts 31x10.50 15. I use 4 wheel drive less with my current tj. It seems the cheaper tires are softer tires and have better traction. None of these tires are winter tires though.

 

[Chris]

I've had three TJs in the last ten years, a 97 4cyl 5 speed with new 30x9.50r15 Goodyear gsas , an 04 4.0 auto with 30x9.50 Yokahama geolanders, and my current 97 4.0 5 speed with a cheaper off brand tire, Wild Country xts 31x10.50 15. I use 4 wheel drive less with my current tj. It seems the cheaper tires are softer tires and have better traction. None of these tires are winter tires though.

I've found that my Goodyear Duratrac All Terrain tires perform very well in the snow. It's the ice where they start to not do so well, but that's to be expected since even the best tires are going to have issues with ice.

 

[StG58]

And we have that snotty, lubricated ice here as well. Drove home from Tacoma yesterday in this stuff. No issues at all, other than the wife's weather updates every 15 minutes. (Yes Sweetheart, I know it's snowing and the roads are a little slick) Let's just say the Jeep did way better than she did in the snow and ick. Pulled the lever a couple of times for insurance reasons, but all-in-all it was a good, safe trip. The little Jeep does just fine in inclement weather, short wheelbase and old school BFG AT's notwithstanding.

 

[billiebob]

In all honesty we did 200 miles through the mountains (through packed snow, lots of it) with my Duratrac tires and the Jeep did excellent.

Spoken like someone who has not yet tried proper winter tires.
Sort of like why do I need lockers, I do fine without them.

Buy winter tires during a snow storm and you will find out what a compromise DTs, KOs, .... are.

 

[Chris]

Spoken like someone who has not yet tried proper winter tires.
Sort of like why do I need lockers, I do fine without them.

Buy winter tires during a snow storm and you will find out what a compromise DTs, KOs, .... are.

Not enough 'Winter' here to justify the purchase. If I lived somewhere that it snowed I definitely would. Here in Portland, Oregon though that's a very, very rare sight.

 

[Basiasadie]

Not enough 'Winter' here to justify the purchase. If I lived somewhere that it snowed I definitely would. Here in Portland, Oregon though that's a very, very rare sight.

This is the second year I've gone without buying snow tires. All season tires work pretty well for the most part.
It's now illegal to drive on i70 from Grand Junction to denver without 4x4, snow tires or chains now, so I'm glad I got the jeep this year since last year I had front wheel drive only in the camry.
Although snow tires are amazing and make driving so much easier, it just wasn't in the budget to get a second set of tires.

 

[Chris]

Although snow tires are amazing and make driving so much easier, it just wasn't in the budget to get a second set of tires.

Not to mention it's a pain in the ass having to store 4 wheels and tires!

 

[Basiasadie]

Not to mention it's a pain in the ass having to store 4 wheels and tires!

I live in a tiny studio apartment with no garage or anything. It would be hell to figure out how to store them

 

[Chris]

I live in a tiny studio apartment with no garage or anything. It would be hell to figure out how to store them

Yep, then you're even more out of luck! We have a huge garage, but even then storing them would take up valuable space I'd use for other things instead.