G.O.A.T. modes testing in icy conditions.

[Mark S.]

We had several hours of freezing rain here in the STL area this morning, leaving a sheet of ice over all secondary roads. Given all the different opinions regarding the "best" GOAT mode for specific conditions, I decided to do some testing. I kept the center display set to show how/where the system was distributing power. Here's what I found (for me at least):

• Moderate acceleration in NORMAL mode resulted in immediate engagement of traction control system--you can see the indicator on the dash illuminate when it's working. I could see power going to all four wheels almost instantaneously with power application. RPM climbed to around 3000 resulting in quite a bit of wheel spin. This prevented the car accelerating straight ahead--there was a bit of fishtailing left and right. Heavy acceleration (pedal to the floor) exacerbated the above--higher RPM, more wheel spin, more fishtailing.
• Moderate acceleration in SLIPPERY mode did NOT result in immediate engagement of traction control. I couldn't really see a significant difference in power distribution using the dash indicator--power was going to all four wheels. Throttle response was significantly reduced, and upshifts were quicker, keeping RPM below 3000. This curtailed wheel spin and kept the car going straighter under acceleration. Even under full-throttle acceleration I could feel/hear the system working to prevent too much power to the wheels, thus preventing wheel spin. I did get the traction control system indicator in SLIPPERY mode, only after stepping much harder on the accelerator. I believe this reflected the decrease in throttle response rather than a modification in the way the traction control system works, i.e. I had to step harder on the throttle to produce the power necessary to engage traction control. In my opinion, SLIPPERY mode is very effective in icy conditions. NOTE: I didn't see 4WD or rear diff lock indicators illuminate on the dash. Does that mean the system doesn't employ them in SLIPPERY mode? I don't know, but I did try out both features--see below.
• In NORMAL mode with 4WD locked, I could hear the clutches in the power transfer unit working. There was no improvement in acceleration/handling using the 4WD lock in these conditions. I engaged the rear diff lock and again saw no improvement. If anything, the fishtailing got worse with the rear diff locked, which makes sense. Without the rear diff locked one rear wheel can spin while the other doesn't, so you always have at least one wheel with traction. With the rear diff locked both wheels spin, leaving you with no traction on the rear axle. This is a recipe for a spin out. I will not use 4WD or the rear diff locks in icy conditions.
• The ABS system works quite well. The car remains very steerable under maximum braking on ice. I would imagine it will behave similarly under maximum braking on dry pavement. In other words, if you find yourself in an emergency situation don't rely solely on braking to avoid an accident, otherwise you are robbing yourself of the opportunity to steer away from hazards.

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[gatornek]

Slippery Mode for the win!

I was pleasantly surprised, and ultimately thankful for how well it worked in wet mountain conditions. I think you're right. The drastic cut back on the throttle response really makes the car work harder to make power to the wheels, instantly on demand ... which is what we're looking for.

 

[Tigger]

I am in Central Illinois and we had that same ice storm. And like you, I went GOAT testing. The tl;dr is my results were the same as yours.

I had three unique circumstances and here are the results on each:
- I have a driveway about 3 car lengths long and it is the typical subdivision steepness. I backed down it and tried to drive back up it. On my first attempt I did it in Normal mode and I got some significant spin and sliding. Enough that on the way up I couldn’t direct it into my side of the garage without hitting the wall or my wife’s car. In Slippery mode, it went gently on its way and no sliding at all.
- the subdivision streets were pure ice with significant thickness. It was quickly evident that Slippery mode was much better than Normal with no fishtailing but still, sliding was an issue and stopping still felt like an ice rink. For fun I tried Sport mode. Let’s just say I’m lucky I’m alive to be posting this.
- once out of the sub-division, Normal mode was more than enough to handle the more well-traveled roads. The occasional ice was easily and quickly managed.

I should point out two things different from the @Mark S. post.
1) I’m not technical and I was watching the road and yards to see what I was going to hit, so I have no idea what lights and systems were engaging
2) he mentioned moderate acceleration a few times …. what’s that?!

 

[Dennis Kilbride]

I agree with 'slippery' from our last ice storm here in Minnesota. I stopped on purpose 6 times on a steep hill where two different cars totally lost traction and had to back down the hill and try a different route. The Big Bend had absolutely zero hesitation or slip that I noticed all six times from a complete stop facing up hill. I call that a W I N N E R !

 

[sajohnson]

I posted this on the "Newbie about to try out 4X4… maybe" thread:

~~~

Since no snow was predicted we got some last night. About 4" of powder. It's been well below freezing so it's nothing tricky -- the kind of snow that provides fairly good traction.

Our road had been cleared so I used our snow-covered lane to test the various GOAT modes. The portion of our lane that I used has about a 15%-20% slope (just an estimate, I need to measure it). The BS BL has the stock tires with maybe 5,000 miles on them.

Executive summary -- all modes including NORMAL were about the same in these conditions!

I checked all of them except ECO. To be honest, it actually seemed to spin easier with the "four-wheel drive" (center) and rear diff locked. The rear diff lock made the rear end less stable, which stands to reason -- with the diff open, one tire will typically not spin, and provide lateral stability. With it locked they both spin and walk back and forth.

In all cases I was intentionally trying to get the tires to spin -- not flooring it but giving it enough gas that they broke loose. If anything NORMAL and SLIPPERY worked with the least drama. With the center and rear locked I got quite a bit of spin and quickly let up on the accelerator because it was working its way sideways, and our lane is lined with trees and boulders.

Bottom line -- more testing is in order, but my inclination (when not off-roading) would be to leave it in NORMAL -- or SLIPPERY mode if the roads are 100% snow & ice covered.

 

[point78]

I've been playing around on snow covered roads and watching the torque display.

I can confirm the badlands does actively torque vector the rear end while turning when on the throttle. Outside rear wheel was getting a good bit more torque sent to it.

For everyone testing things out in low traction situations. Go find a off camber road section, lock the rear end, give it some gas.... probably be the last time you lock the rear in that situation. lol

 

[Barry S.]

I feel left out of fun. No snow but the temperature was about 18 degrees. School openings were delayed by two hours, mostly because several school buses couldn't start. Welcome to North Carolina.?

 

[Escape2Bronco]

Like Mark showed, Slippery is best used for ice. I don’t think that should be confused with “slippery” roads with mixed snow and slush. I’m sure it might help there as well but not necessarily needed. The nice thing about normal is you don’t need to over think it.

Fortunately, we don’t get many days of ice like STL or further south gets. Normally just get dumped on with snow . Which I love, this thing is just great in snow under normal goat.

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