Aussie in D30, snow/ice first time review...

[beakie]

I've never tried the whole braking in neutral thing, but i'll give it a shot this winter to compare. In the deep stuff i've always driven in 4lo and i always drop it into first gear and 4 lo. It bites hard but NEVER breaks loose. and i feel i have more control.

In regards to your comment, i dont know about you, but whenever i'm coming down a steep face or hill, i'm in 4lo first gear. Try it. Go down a face in 4lo, first gear, and you can crawl down (if your gearing is good). Do the same thing, but put it in neutral, and see what is easier to brake/control.

Thats why i use this same reasoning when "engine braking" in the snow. But like i said, i'll give it a shot.

oh, and someone else said that engine braking doesnt work at slow speeds around 10mph, but it in 4lo and first, it will bite like hell at this speed. Again, i usually drive in 4lo in the deep stuff so that i can control my speed better.

I whole heartedly agree you will move slower downhill in 1st, 4lo or whatever gear really, it won't allow to tires to roll as fast.
But as you said (bold print) 'it bites hard' and thats with tires probably deflated a bit, 12" wide and on dry rock or dirt. But when you do this on snow/ice/slippery roads that bite has nothing to bite into, properly inflated tires wet or cold icy roads and that hard bite will cause your tires to slip a bit. I am not saying it means you loose control and ditch it everytime, hopefully it never happens, I just mean you have to be more careful of how you downshift while on these type of roads. I never knew the extent of it until a car full of us ended up in the ditch after a light snow on a steep hill.

I'm glad you'll give it a shot this coming winter, if it works for you, its another feather in your hat and a helpful way to stay out of trouble, if it doesn't and you don't feel it helps you at all... well life is no worse off and you have an educated personal experience that not everyone else on here has.

 

[Billfaceeee]

If you put the car in Neutral and give slight gas while breaking it might help breaking power by increasing the engine vaccum, is it enought to make a difference, I dont know just a thought.

 

[ifoundastick]

just dump the clutch and floor it in the snow Its bad ass.

 

[beakie]

If you put the car in Neutral and give slight gas while breaking it might help breaking power by increasing the engine vaccum, is it enought to make a difference, I dont know just a thought.

If your in neutral and give a shot of gas, or floor it, it shouldn't make any difference as none of the torque created is put towards the wheels. I guess it could put a bit of torque onto the front tire that the engine rotates towards increasing its grip... but I think it would be negligable, and you'd have to stand on the gas for a while to make any difference.

 

[beakie]

just dump the clutch and floor it in the snow Its bad ass.

Last year after I got back from overseas my first day driving my Jeep I put it in the ditch. I couldn't hold back from a little slide around a corner in the parking lot... slide right off the road and my two pass side tires just went into some deeper snow... but because I slide into the snow I couldn't go forward or back... had to walk back into work and get a shovel n salt to get myself out.
I must say as much as I enjoy offroading, I just love swinging the ass end around corners at slow speeds and trying to see how far around I can get it, and stay in control. I don't do this on public roads, just parking lots, my road (private) and out on smoother trails... sure is fun. More often than not I lose it tho, dang!

 

[cumorglas]

If your in neutral and give a shot of gas, or floor it, it shouldn't make any difference as none of the torque created is put towards the wheels. I guess it could put a bit of torque onto the front tire that the engine rotates towards increasing its grip... but I think it would be negligable, and you'd have to stand on the gas for a while to make any difference.

I am pretty sure you missed where he was talking about engine vacuum. Unless you have modded to hydroboost it is what provides the added power to your brakes.

in the slick stuff more power is not what your brakes need. your brakes can outperform the limited traction you have. one of my good friends is a crew member for a canadian pro rally team. they spend as much on the suspension as i did on my house, but they run the stock brakes. when i asked why he said "there is never enough traction to use those to their potential. why waste the money?"

what your brakes do need is to be balanced properly and to not be overpowered by you rdriveline. this seldom happens with your front brakes because they are discs and proportioning favors them. but in definitely happens to the rear when you are in 2wd on the slick stuff. especially if your rear adjusters are a little sticky(which mostly happens to those of us who live where we drive in salty slush five months a year)

so yes in the slick stuff slam your auto tranny in neutral when you stop. this also helps when doing a full lock up panic stop on dry pavement, but my honest advice is to avoid needing to do that as much as possible. modified vehicles do wierd things in a full lock up panic stop. some of those things are quite unpleasant.

 

[beakie]

ok I understand now, the engine creates the vacuum for the braking system... not the drivetrain drag.
I have very little knowledge of engines, braking and such, so I definitely misunderstood what he meant, appreciate the help.

 

[98XJSport]

First Ive heard of dropping to neutral... usually the lag between you trying to screw with your gears or hitting reverse and stalling it is worse than the "improved braking".

How is the Aussie when not in 4wd? I always hear its supposed to be about the quietest and least noticable when in 2wd.

 

[stewie]

I love my D30 Aussie. almost silent in 2 wd. sometimes it clicks when in parking lots etc

 

[beakie]

First Ive heard of dropping to neutral... usually the lag between you trying to screw with your gears or hitting reverse and stalling it is worse than the "improved braking".

how do you hit it into reverse?
you'd be surprised how easy it is to slap the shifter up, (it won't go into reverse) once you've been taught, it just seems to come naturally.

I am looking forward to putting an Aussie into my D30. LSD in my 8.25 soon. Now to track down a good price on an Aussie, and get it into Canada without paying customs and shipping out the whazoo.

 

[98XJSport]

how do you hit it into reverse?
you'd be surprised how easy it is to slap the shifter up, (it won't go into reverse) once you've been taught, it just seems to come naturally.

When my XJ was having problems at idle I kept having to bump it up into neutral and rev the crap out of it to keep it running. And I found out it was all to easy to hit reverse like that, especially when trying it and driving. Stalls the motor.

 

[cumorglas]

When my XJ was having problems at idle I kept having to bump it up into neutral and rev the crap out of it to keep it running. And I found out it was all to easy to hit reverse like that, especially when trying it and driving. Stalls the motor.

Didy ou disable your shifter and interlocks?

you should be able to slap that out of d into n with no fear of reverse at all. you have to push the button to go into reverse. neutral should just need a nudge.

 

[98XJSport]

Yeah I pushed the button, did it without thinking. Habit I guess. Still wouldn't want to be hunting for gears in that situation, though. Then again I don't want to have 1 wheel spinning and 1 not...

 

[boomhauer]

Since this is now a winter driving tip driving thread, here's a tip to pass on to your wife and kids and perhaps a reminder to yourself as well. Do NOT use cruise control on ice patched highways no matter what they are driving. Get up and tell them now while it's on the brain. lol
:wave:

 

[y-townxj]

Decompression of the motor slows your vehicle down (simple mechanical principle). If you are braking more than that, then the drivetrain is no longer in the equation, the brakes are doing all of the work. If the decompression braking is causing a slide (not likely, esp. with an auto), then any amount of braking would cause more of a slide. Additionally, if the drivetrain is in neutral, every wheel is essentially independant and can independently lock up. If everything is tied to together (in drive), it keeps things moving which is better for braking than being locked up.

Since you apparently know more then me, enlighten me as to why you think the opposite.

Also, all this assumes we are discussing a NON - ABS system.

u suck.... It defintly helps, unless your idle is super low. I can feel, it at stop lights, in my xj. When, I slip it in nuetral, to let some of the pressure off the brakes ...boooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo U SUCK

 

[Jeep914x4]

Since this is now a winter driving tip driving thread, here's a tip to pass on to your wife and kids and perhaps a reminder to yourself as well. Do NOT use cruise control on ice patched highways no matter what they are driving. Get up and tell them now while it's on the brain. lol
:wave:

Good Tip

I always tell people that your car/truck/jeep does 3 basic things.

1. accelerates
2. slows down/stops
3. turns

The main thing to remember when driving in snow/icy conditions is to only do one of those 3 things at once. In otherwords, don't accelerate and turn. Slow down before turns, not during.