SUV 4 x 4 or AW

[jd0716]

Matt, thanks for the information.

Schmism, I don't know much about AWD, but my def. of 4 x 4 is that you can turn it on and off. If on, all 4 tires lock. I have a 4 x 4 truck.

I want to use the vehicle mainly as a car for the family. I don't need it for towing, as I have my truck for that. I need the 4 x 4 or AWD (if suited for snow) for my drive when we get snow. I know so little about AWD, so I wasn't sure how well they work in snow and a drive on a hill. Not looking to go off roading.

Also, to correct my first post, I have a 1998 Olds with nearly 200K miles on it.

 

[Matt_Jr]

Many new AWD's do great on snow covered hills. Better w/chains. Only put chains on the rear or one drive axle or damage can occur. See them a lot up here on the mountain getting around pretty good. Especially Subaru's. Know what Subaru spells backwards? U R A Bus.

 

[jwstewar]

We have a Trailblazer EXT. It is a 4wd system, but a little different than what we normally think of. It has 2wd, Auto Trac, 4Hi, and 4Lo. 2wd works just how one would expect. Power going to the rear wheels only. 4Hi and 4Lo work like a normal 4wd except instead of being driven by gears that engage, they are driven by clutch packs in the transfer case. Auto Trac provides power to the rear wheels, but it has the front axle engaged but no power goes to them. As soon as wheel slippage occurs, it engages the clutch packs to engage the front axle until no more slippage occurs.

This Auto Trac is the same concept as what is in the Silverados, but works differently. The Silverado has the transfer case engaged, but doesn't engage the front axle I believe. There is also a difference in how well they work. I can't feel the Silverado Auto Trac kick in. The truck just goes, on the Trailblazer you can actually feel the back tires spin before the front axle engages. If can actually feel the back of the TB start to slide before the front engages. Depending on how much you are spinning, it can take a couple of seconds to engage the front and then you can feel a clunk and hear the clunk of it engaging.

BTW, my Silverado has the G80 locking rear differential, while our Trailblazer does not - wish it did though.