Heavier vehicles bite harder into the snow. I think the differences you feel are primarily weight. But I noticed that the Taurus tends to track and "feel" more stable in snow. I have only driven a few winter miles in the Vibe, it handled ok. I have a 94 Taurus FWD and 2005 FWD Vibe. Curious how much the feel of the car changes with the proper rubber on the ground.ĭerf wrote:With winter well on the way, this topic sparked my curiosity. This year I purchased a set of snow tires. Last Winter I had just gotten the car, so toughed it out with the all season tires that were on it. The Taurus and Yukon track ok, I noticed the Vibe tends to float just a bit on worn roads and tire tracks in heavy snow. Since tractor trailers and box trucks apply the most weight they tend to create wear patterns in the road/snow. An 18 wheeler has a width of about 94" on the outer wheel about 68" on the inner wheel. On the Taurus I had a rear caliper seize up, trip in snow brought it to my attention.Īlso I think the wheel width, outer tire edge to outer tire edge makes some difference. If your brakes are out of adjustment, snow and ice will cause strange things. Not sure if the Vibe's ABS computer simply compensates for slipping where in 1994 they found it easier to use a mechanical link into a proportioning valve to help the ABS system. I have not found anything similar on the Vibe. It is a mechanical lever that adjusts the rear braking based on the suspension travel of the car. Also, the Taurus's rear brakes use a load sensing system. Looking back I figure the softer compound was acting more like a winter tire,increasing the "feel". I do not put a lot of miles on year to year, so I have always gone with the lower rated tire. I think the cheaper tires on the Taurus made the difference. Tires winter truck tires, these are are on the verge of all seasons 70k rated Tires All Season middle upper spec rated for 60k tires (harder compound) Tires, All Season lower spec rated for 30k (softer compound) Before suspecting that as a cause of traction issues, I'd check the tires first.With winter well on the way, this topic sparked my curiosity. If anyone tries this, please be sure the car is secure, we don't need any Bueller moments.If you truly are having traction issues due to the rear wheels not getting enough power, then it could be caused by a viscous coupling, especially if the coupling wasn't as viscous as it should be. Depending on the differential slip however, you might see one front wheel spinning faster than the other front wheel, and one rear wheel spinning faster than the otherr front wheel, but there shouldbe at least one front and one rear wheel spinning. The viscous coupling on the front end of the rear diferential would experrience difference in spin between the two shafts, and the friction of the viscous coupling would transfer torque to the rear differntial. The transaxle would spin the front wheels and also the shaft to the rear differential. One description of a viscous coupling is at you jacked up all four wheels, and ran it in drive, I think all four wheels should spin. The power transfer to the rear differential is by a viscous coupling.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |