Recent content by sajohnson

I'm guessing you're referring to my OP. Unlike Mud/Ruts and Rock Crawl, Slippery mode does not allow four-wheel drive lock. Only the rear can be locked. In addition, Mud/Ruts and Rock Crawl say: "Note: This mode may help get your vehicle unstuck from deep snow or sand." Slippery mode does...

Very well said.

Well said, you saved me some typing. :cool: I don't particularly care for the appearance either -- I'm just not really into SUVs. The Badlands is really my wife's car. She loves the look of it. Most of the other 'boxy' SUVs were/are crazy expensive. I'm concerned about the reliability as...

I'm surprised you haven't gotten flamed yet! :cool: I once criticized the "AWD" system on my 2002 WRX -- saying it stands for "All Wheels Disconnected." That did not go over well on NASIOC. Even after the Ford/Subaru dealer confirmed the system was lame (complete with a lot of laughing...

The 2-piece handles are attractive, but I'd worry about their strength. You might consider something like this: https://www.acehardware.com/departments/lawn-and-garden/gardening-tools/digging-tools/7598485? That one has a one-piece steel handle, which according to the reviews is very strong...

There's usually snow up there this time of year, right? I know it's a lot cooler.

The crust is what we had to deal with a few weeks ago -- no high centering though. The snow wasn't quite deep enough for that -- maybe 7-8". It was very cold (for MD -- single digits) so the snow was light & powdery. Somehow it developed a thick crust. The snowblower would not break through...

One nice feature is that it can be oriented in one of two directions, depending on which is best for the angle of the recovery/pull. Also, once you own one you are guaranteed to never need it! :cool: Actually, we've already used ours to pull a tree down -- to ensure it would not fall on our shed.

I wonder if you could find one used? Chances are Ford uses the same tow eye for several vehicles.

Speaking generally, not necessarily about the BS, most 4 cylinder engines are best kept muffled. One exception is the Subaru boxer engine. When I went to Cobb Stage 2 on my 2002 WRX, that required replacing the downpipe. The stock pipe has 2 cats, the Cobb pipe has 1 high flow cat (a catless...

I plan to replace the OE tires on our BL with all weather tires when the time comes. That said, if I was still commuting to work (no 'snow days', must report) I'd continue with summer and winter tires. It looks like all weather tires are getting very good. CR says these out-perform many...

Excellent story! Ingenious solution for the recovery.

That's what I have for my WRX as well. They certainly ride (rode) nice and handle snow & ice well, but (as expected) they are pretty sloppy in the handling dept. For that reason, if our temps were predicted to be mild I'd run the summer tires. I think part of the issue is that none of us are...

All weather tires can be a good choice for many people. I'll probably go with them as replacements for our OE tires when the time comes. That said, like all tires they are a compromise. They have the 3MPSF symbol and do well on snow & ice, but they are not a replacement for winter (or summer)...

This guy does excellent tire testing: Here he talks about a great winter tire (Michelin X-Ice) that does poorly in wet & dry testing: He mentions a test done by the German magazine Sport Auto. They tested at 46*F, which is very helpful to know: According to this chart, the reference...