Did some off-roading today. High centered, and driving through deep crusty snow

[Osco]

There's no new tech in the BS. They combined a bunch of solid tested tech in a desirable way. It's why I'm not too worried about teething issues.

Then why is my drive system so much more capable than my Ford Escape ?
It was AWD with the center manual diff lock (only made that one year, switch on the dash) and still gets stuck really easy where this BS does not? And my escape has good AT tires where my BS is on all season hiway continentals ?
No I think your wrong here. This GOAT thing really helps me where I drive..it's new tech. Right ?

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[broncobuster2550]

Then why is my drive system so much more capable than my Ford Escape ?
It was AWD with the center manual diff lock (only made that one year, switch on the dash) and still gets stuck really easy where this BS does not? And my escape has good AT tires where my BS is on all season hiway continentals ?
No I think your wrong here. This GOAT thing really helps me where I drive..it's new tech. Right ?

It is far more advanced than the Escape, but the driveline is basically what Ford introduced in the Focus RS back in 2016. You're right that the drive modes are new, however. Ford Calibration has done a great job with the hardware, and good tires will also make a huge difference.

 

[Cabezone]

Then why is my drive system so much more capable than my Ford Escape ?
It was AWD with the center manual diff lock (only made that one year, switch on the dash) and still gets stuck really easy where this BS does not? And my escape has good AT tires where my BS is on all season hiway continentals ?
No I think your wrong here. This GOAT thing really helps me where I drive..it's new tech. Right ?

When I say not new I mean to cars in general. I know Ford plays up the GOAT modes but the exact same system is in the Jeep Compass and Patriot. The BS marries that system to a more overall capable vehicles. GKN makes the system.

It's a good thing that it's not new tech. Land Rover pioneers AWD off-road tech like this but it's also one of the reasons their vehicles have some of the worst reliability.

 

[MuddyBoots]

New tech is often just better.
Kudo's Ford.
It will be fun to watch Jeep er as you were, I meant Dodge as jeep is just a model series now, and to see Toyota and Subaru come out with new, better stuff.
Competition Improves every make and model. Or they Ffffade away :'P

Apparently Subaru is going to come out with a new trim level called "Wilderness." Looks like it could be hitting the Outback and the Forester first. I would love to see a more rugged Forester, but I think an upgraded Crosstrek could be more useful off road.

 

[Heart2]

Nice ride! What size tires are you running? Are those the upgraded 235s?

 

[Freeskierdude]

Nice ride! What size tires are you running? Are those the upgraded 235s?

Yup! I got 235's of the Copper discoverer at 4s. Their very good

 

[GrueBronco]

so i live in NE wisconsin and ron, thanks for your post of the picture. i have winder open roads and driveways up here, so it sounds like i might be able to puch through at least 1ft of snow to get out and definitely punch through a 2ft high snow bank created by the plows.

yep we have the wet heavy stuff which packs down to hard extremely slippery snow under your feet or tires. then we have powdery drifty snow which when it gets real cold crunches under your feet when you walk on it - and acctually is not that slippery. then we get either of those types of snow on top of sheets of ice!

i think your pic ron, even though you couldn't make it, sealed the deal for me given that i don't have to negotiate tight spaces. like i said i could probably punch through it to where drifts are not as deep. and it's a once every couple years that we get two days of 12" per day snow. and no lake effect snow where i am.

i also just checked my 2 winter old blizzaks i got for a song from tire rack for my 2012 kia sorento and they are 235 65 17's! who'd have thought?! and D A M N are they good. but i think i'm going to go for the bad lands with the optional tires

 

[Jrl]

so i live in NE wisconsin and ron, thanks for your post of the picture. i have winder open roads and driveways up here, so it sounds like i might be able to puch through at least 1ft of snow to get out and definitely punch through a 2ft high snow bank created by the plows.

yep we have the wet heavy stuff which packs down to hard extremely slippery snow under your feet or tires. then we have powdery drifty snow which when it gets real cold crunches under your feet when you walk on it - and acctually is not that slippery. then we get either of those types of snow on top of sheets of ice!

i think your pic ron, even though you couldn't make it, sealed the deal for me given that i don't have to negotiate tight spaces. like i said i could probably punch through it to where drifts are not as deep. and it's a once every couple years that we get two days of 12" per day snow. and no lake effect snow where i am.

i also just checked my 2 winter old blizzaks i got for a song from tire rack for my 2012 kia sorento and they are 235 65 17's! who'd have thought?! and D A M N are they good. but i think i'm going to go for the bad lands with the optional tires

Yes

 

[christopheru]

I don't know how well the Falken Wildpeak At3w compares to a purpose specific winter tire, but it felt like I had a lot of traction in deep snow, untreated roads with fresh snow, slush, etc. I had about 2 hours in the car yesterday while it was still coming down at about an inch an hour in some spots and felt very confident the whole time. Lots of confidence in the snow after this weekend.

I can pretty much guarantee that any A/T tyre will not be as good on the road in winter as a dedicated winter tyre. That said, if actual off road is planned for the winter, an A/T might be a better idea simply because they are a tougher tyre.
I am running the Falken Wildpeak A/T Trail on mine and will be heading into Lake Huron lake effect snow next winter and am anticipating worse performance than I would get in a winter tyre.

 

[christopheru]

so i live in NE wisconsin and ron, thanks for your post of the picture. i have winder open roads and driveways up here, so it sounds like i might be able to puch through at least 1ft of snow to get out and definitely punch through a 2ft high snow bank created by the plows.

yep we have the wet heavy stuff which packs down to hard extremely slippery snow under your feet or tires. then we have powdery drifty snow which when it gets real cold crunches under your feet when you walk on it - and acctually is not that slippery. then we get either of those types of snow on top of sheets of ice!

i think your pic ron, even though you couldn't make it, sealed the deal for me given that i don't have to negotiate tight spaces. like i said i could probably punch through it to where drifts are not as deep. and it's a once every couple years that we get two days of 12" per day snow. and no lake effect snow where i am.

i also just checked my 2 winter old blizzaks i got for a song from tire rack for my 2012 kia sorento and they are 235 65 17's! who'd have thought?! and D A M N are they good. but i think i'm going to go for the bad lands with the optional tires

Sounds like here in Southern Ontario. One of my favourite winter pastimes is to go out and drift surf on back roads. It is a good giggle.

 

[GrueBronco]

I am running the Falken Wildpeak A/T Trail on mine and will be heading into Lake Huron lake effect snow next winter and am anticipating worse performance than I would get in a winter tyre.

it'll be great to hear people's opinnions. if i order in the next week, i wonder if i will be able to find out too. but i talked to a friend at work over the years about this and although the general claim is, AT big truck tires or whatever they are called will be as good as snow tires and i whole heartedly disagree. i mean, it's not as soft a compound in cold cold -20 degrees and no sipes! however he also commented that ko2 tires will go through anything the 1st year. well, that is a telling thought.

i guess though that more an more of th AT tires are going to focus on snow. but those will be like all weather car tires. still not as good but some better than others.

edit: i should add two things about snow tires. 1) on my 2013 mustang gt they did awesome but on 2018 gt with performance pack, they sucked, just couldn't overcome the stiff suspension drawbacks in snow. 2) on my kia another buddy of mine was shocked that in a 4-5" snow covered parking lot with ice underneath, he would get pushed forward when i hit the brakes hard going 15-20mph. he didn't think they would have made that big a differnce. i converted him to snow tires in winter.

 

[GoatsyBanks]

So what I've learned is as long as the water is in the form of snow everything works great.
Liquid, not so much...

 

[RonSwanson]

I can pretty much guarantee that any A/T tyre will not be as good on the road in winter as a dedicated winter tyre. That said, if actual off road is planned for the winter, an A/T might be a better idea simply because they are a tougher tyre.
I am running the Falken Wildpeak A/T Trail on mine and will be heading into Lake Huron lake effect snow next winter and am anticipating worse performance than I would get in a winter tyre.

Dedicated winters are definitely better for snow than A/T's, but they wouldn't have made a difference when I got stuck. We hadn't gotten 18" of snow in one go in Chicago in 10 years and it was more the tight spaces and turning angles in the alleys that are the issue then. The BS has good ground clearance but it was completely swamped with snow underneath it.

While not as good as winters, I was impressed with how much better the AT3Ws did in the snow compared to an all-season tire.

If my FE had come with all-seasons, I'd have bought a separate set of winters. I have separate summer and winter sets of tires for my other two vehicles.

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