On 06/09/2011 10:35 AM, Oli Glaser wrote: > On 09/06/2011 18:13, Gordon Downie wrote: >> On Thu, Jun 9, 2011 at 3:20 PM, Michael Watterson w= rote: >> >>>> But SUVs have rubbish handling on slippy surfaces. >>>> 4WD is designed for slowly on a very uneven surface. It needs turned= off >>>> on ice/wet >> Really? 4WD have excellent performance on slippy smooth surfaces. Im >> not sure if you are just referring to SUV's or all 4WD. >> Not quite perfectly smooth, but Audi showed how good and fast a 4WD >> could be on loose gravel in WRC back in the 80's >> >> In the UK when is snows, the guys in the Audi quattros have most fun. >> FWD slow and steady, but easy to get stuck. >> RWD forget it (Unless you are a very very good driver) > I wondered about the above too. I have a Mercades G-Wagon (a kind of > jeep made for German military) > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercedes-Benz_G-Class > I always use this when it snows or roads are bad (we live in a remote > country area) as the other 2WD merc we have often hasn't got a chance > (before we got the G-Wagon we had to just stay home if it snowed badly, > so it certainly was not purchased to make a fashion statement :-) ) > The G-Wagon in 4WD mode has never got stuck anywhere, the locking > differentials help if it's really bad. > So IME it seems to me as if 4WD works better on ice/snow (and does seem > to make logical sense as the drive is transferred to the ground more > evenly), although I'm no expert on this kind of stuff. > 4WD isn't likely to help you stop or turn on ice, but it can help you=20 avoid getting stuck. Good winter tires help a lot as well. The best tool, of course, the the one between your ears. -Pete --=20 http://www.piclist.com PIC/SX FAQ & list archive View/change your membership options at http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist .