Warrior General Games

Originally posted by seths99
meh. to an extent. tires are still the more determining factor

Well, it obviously depends at what point and what angle you are talking about. Acceleration is the cause of a lot of traction loss and the subsequent loss of control that happens. AWD/4WD help immensely with that.

They help much less during deceleration, but no worse.

Originally posted by Corndog
Well, it obviously depends at what point and what angle you are talking about. Acceleration is the cause of a lot of traction loss and the subsequent loss of control that happens. AWD/4WD help immensely with that.

They help much less during deceleration, but no worse.

wait, what?

As a whole, an AWD vehicle is going to get you moving in snow much better than a 2WD with snow tires. That's a known thing. Power to all 4 tires means substantially less traction needed.

If we're talking ice, though, that AWD really doesn't matter. The snow tire is going to do it's work on the traction side of the equation for you there. Handling and stopping are what's important in that snow and ice. It's avoiding the car stuck in the middle of the road or keeping traction along a nice curve. If you need to hit the brakes and stop your car, you NEED the snow tires.

ETA: I'm sure there are tests out there that show the difference between all-seasons and winter tires in regards to stopping. It's going to be substantial, that's the engineering of the winter tire.

wat

That's like, what I said?

No you're definitely downplaying the value of the winter tires. If you had to choose between two vehicles to drive your mother to the hospital in the middle of a bad winter night:

1. 2WD vehicle with winter tires
2. AWD vehicle with all-season tires

You choose #1 unless it happens to be a smart car or mazda 2 or something like that with negative HP, lol.

Again, wat?

Replacing tires is easier than making a 2WD into an AWD.

If the choices are AWD with winter tires, and 2WD with winter tires, then ldo is the first. In every situation.

Unless you live in a snow-bound environment for much of the year, the increase in cost from front-drive to all-wheel drive isn't worth it. Front wheel drive will get you through any *reasonable* amount of weather, and you don't really need to be out in unreasonable amounts of snow/ice.

And all wheel drive drives the potential for maintenance costs higher as well.

I got AWD for free because it was the only model they had with the color and interior I wanted. \o/

Originally posted by Corndog
Again, wat?

Replacing tires is easier than making a 2WD into an AWD.
Originally posted by Corndog
If the choices are AWD with winter tires, and 2WD with winter tires, then ldo is the first. In every situation.

duh and duh

but what Larry said. And AWD generally means lower MPG.

Originally posted by Larry Roadgrader
Unless you live in a snow-bound environment for much of the year, the increase in cost from front-drive to all-wheel drive isn't worth it. Front wheel drive will get you through any *reasonable* amount of weather, and you don't really need to be out in unreasonable amounts of snow/ice.

And all wheel drive drives the potential for maintenance costs higher as well.

exactly. the only conditions I would not take my corolla out in are conditions in which I would not want to be in with any vehicle, and likely involves ice.
the only reason I also have a 4wd beater pickup is that my summer/fall recreation tends to involve a lot of off pavement travel

Originally posted by InRomoWeTrust
duh and duh

but what Larry said. And AWD generally means lower MPG.

Well, he is saying he wants the safest of the safe. At least AWD isn't as bad on MPG as 4WD.

Originally posted by Corndog
Well, he is saying he wants the safest of the safe. At least AWD isn't as bad on MPG as 4WD.

and he can do whatever he wants. I think that the point that most of us are trying to get across is that if money is a factor, and I assume it is for someone just about to finish school, then the added 'safety' of an awd is usually not worth the added cost

AWD/4WD has more practical use in rainy conditions than snow/ice anyway. If you live in an area with idiots who don't build roads to drain properly, it definitely comes in handy.

Originally posted by seths99
and he can do whatever he wants. I think that the point that most of us are trying to get across is that if money is a factor, and I assume it is for someone just about to finish school, then the added 'safety' of an awd is usually not worth the added cost

The problem is there's like five different conversations going on.

My foray started when you said AWD won't help you on icy roads, which is clearly false.