by "awmaster10" (awmaster10)
Published 01/05/2017 at 22:32
by "awmaster10" (awmaster10)
Published 01/05/2017 at 22:32
Tags: nissan
; pathfinder
; 4x4
; overland
; trucks
; toyota
; 4runner
; tacoma
; titan
; snow
STARS: 2
Got a little snow here so i got to test the new tires a bit. It was like an inch or two, so it was an absolute tank. Basically drove it like I was in a cold rain and didn’t slip the tires (Unintentionally) once. Also I only shifted into 4hi just to make sure it was still working.
If you live in a state where it snows, having a 4wd vehicle of some sort is arguably just as fun as owning a sports car, if you must daily them all year. If you have a low slung sports car, snow is just a tedious complication in your life every time it happens, so the entire winter is pretty miserable. You also have to have a separate set of snow tires and wheels (If you are a responsible driver), and you will be extremely sad when your paintjob is salt covered and your car looks like shit. A good SUV is not even miserable in the Summer, and you can go tokyo drift through deserted streets for 3 months of the year, and not really care about breaking parts or getting your car dirty.
I’m glad I was driving in PA and not Virginia, so the other drivers were pretty competent and I didn’t have to dodge any runaway vehicles. Can’t wait for it to snow at least 8-12 inches so I can really test this beast out and see how it stacks up against the 3rd gen Runner I had last winter.
Next to do to the pathfinder:
-Trim a bunch of fender lining so my rubbing doesn’t wake up the neighbors
-Black out B pillars with eBay gloss black covers, simulated here (Poorly) with black tape:
-Black out rear emblems
-Aggressive rust prevention measures
"jimz" (jimz)
01/05/2017 at 22:38, STARS: 3
4WD and snow tires is the funnest fun that ever funned.
"awmaster10" (awmaster10)
01/05/2017 at 22:41, STARS: 0
In like 6 inches of snow, a subaru or other symetrical awd with snow tires is the most fun thing in the world, but above 6 inches something like the pathfinder with snow tires is the most fun thing in the world too.
"jimz" (jimz)
01/05/2017 at 22:44, STARS: 1
I have a 4x4 Ranger Sport with Firestone Winterforce UVs. it laughs at anything under 18 inches.
"awmaster10" (awmaster10)
01/05/2017 at 22:46, STARS: 0
Yeah its hard to go back to a car after having that much capability in snow. It literally doesn’t affect me. PA rarely gets over 18"
"Nibby" (nibby68)
01/05/2017 at 23:06, STARS: 1
Love those gen Pathfinders
"awmaster10" (awmaster10)
01/05/2017 at 23:15, STARS: 0
I love it so far. Great power, reliable motor, can go anywhere I need it to in comfort.
"gogmorgo - rowing gears in a Grand Cherokee" (gogmorgo)
01/06/2017 at 00:14, STARS: 1
I also almost never run in 4hi. Too much understeer. But when I swapped the np242 (with full-time 4x4 i.e. awd) into the MJ, well, the lever’s in full-time pretty well full-time.
"awmaster10" (awmaster10)
01/06/2017 at 00:20, STARS: 0
With enough snow cover 4hi has always felt the more competent than 2wd by far. Especially at low speeds in parking lots and such you really appreciate those front wheels pulling in the direction youre turning. But yeah my 4runner had full time 4wd with a viscous center diff and that was the most ideal setup for snow.
"VonBootWilly - Likes Toyota, but it's still complicated." (vonbootwilly)
01/06/2017 at 06:05, STARS: 2
Yeah, “fun to drive” is really subjective. In snow on a road at speed, most everything is reduced to a vehicle with wheels with varying degrees of tire setup and weight. I think the only real winter/snow driving fun is those magic days where the conditions are actually predictable, like the 1-2" on a clean road, but from my experience they are rare days.
IMO there’s a sweet spot of tire width and weight ratio that works. Small cars with skinny tires, 18=wheelers with tons of weight and lots of width. Just have to look at rally cars to know what works the best for winter performance (which is really just about maximizing ability). Narrow is awesome, and a bit taller can help average vehicles gain a little more road clearance too. you might be a tad wide, but if you don’t see a lot of snow depth you should be fine if you have enough weight.
rust prevention is really just oil spraying, nothing else is worth doing unless it’s taking off parts to add more oil spray inside the rockers and fenders etc.. I’ve loaded my vehicle to the point where the interior and windows were the only things not touched haha.
"adamftw" (adamftw)
01/06/2017 at 06:53, STARS: 1
The 242 rocks, people who hate on it are dumb. Full-time with a rear locker was pretty much WRC mode in my first XJ... More power = more rear axle, let off and you got back to 50/50 and could correct before anyone even knew you made a mistake.
"adamftw" (adamftw)
01/06/2017 at 06:56, STARS: 2
I befriended a dude who made a decent name for himself in semi-pro racing in the late 90s and early 2000s. He would do snow Rally America events in a 1st gen RX7 and have faster lap times than Evos and STis. Agreed, it’s all about that balance.
"adamftw" (adamftw)
01/06/2017 at 06:58, STARS: 0
I disagree. My 2.5RS was the most BORING car in the world with snows on it. I could drive around in blizzards like it was a lovely spring day. Not enough power to overcome the Goodyear Ultra Grip Ice tires do sweet donuts and slides.
"StndIbnz, Drives a MSRT8" (stndibnz1)
01/06/2017 at 08:10, STARS: 1
Agreed. My XJ in the snow is a monster, and so much fun. Goes through everything, and if you want to drift you just leave it in 2WD. Get stuck? Pop it into 4HI.
Also, Grand Cherokee SRT8's are fun as hell to drive!
"gogmorgo - rowing gears in a Grand Cherokee" (gogmorgo)
01/06/2017 at 11:23, STARS: 0
Well yes, 4x4 to get moving. But as soon as I hit the street it was 2wd again.
"gogmorgo - rowing gears in a Grand Cherokee" (gogmorgo)
01/06/2017 at 11:32, STARS: 1
Even with an open rear diff it’s a huge advantage. There’s almost no change in handling characteristics from 2wd, just grip for days. On gravel roads this summer I timed myself and I was generally 15-20% faster around corners than I was in 2wd, and 5-10% faster than 4hi. Entering corners at higher speeds than 4hi with minimal understeer then WOT without much dancing from the back end or the monumental understeer of 4hi. I also put in some CV shafts in the front axle. Between those and full-time, 4x4 becomes completely invisible, until you hammer the gas and friggen LAUNCH.
"awmaster10" (awmaster10)
01/06/2017 at 14:12, STARS: 0
The way youre describing the full time 4wd on your truck is exactly how the pathfinder with LSD handles in 4hi in my experience. Zero understeer, and feels a lot like my 4runner in full time 4wd. The 4runner had an open rear so in 4hi it was a little understeery like youre describing in 4hi with your truck. The r50 is also a noticeably more oversteer side of neutral handling car than the XJ and especially the MJ because of weight distribution.
"awmaster10" (awmaster10)
01/06/2017 at 14:27, STARS: 0
Yeah you can do a lot more fun things on empty snowy roads than you can on roads in the summer without killing other drivers.
"awmaster10" (awmaster10)
01/06/2017 at 14:30, STARS: 0
Well then my point in the article is further reinforced. My SUV is more fun than a subaru on snow tires. But also the subaru I drove in the snow was a newish wrx hatchback, and I could break it loose pretty well, and it was a ton of fun.
"awmaster10" (awmaster10)
01/06/2017 at 14:35, STARS: 0
Yeah 2-4 inches of powder is my ideal road conditions. Very grippy under regular driving, but you can just kick the throttle suggestion peddle for a downshift and be a WRC driver around wide empty roads. You’d be surprised how competent some SUVs are in 8-10 inches though, very predictable, but downhill braking is a bit sketchy.
In terms of width, 265 is actually not that wide. The 4runner and a lot of other suvs of that era run 265 width stock. I found the 265 coopers I ran last winter to be adequate at cutting down into the snow, but I do totally agree that on a lighter car skinnier and taller is the way to go. Clearance wise, I have....ample. With the r50 you have solidly distributed weight through all 4 corners and with an LSD and one of the front wheels kinda helping out, its pretty predictable and easy to rotate without slippage.
And yep, my truck is 100% rust free right now so Ive just been fluid filming all over the place. The front fender wells are the real area of concern for r50s.
"gogmorgo - rowing gears in a Grand Cherokee" (gogmorgo)
01/06/2017 at 14:38, STARS: 0
You sound like you don’t use enough throttle when you drive. ;)
I’d be pretty hard put to call the XJ on the understeer side of neutral handling. Except 4hi under power. When you hit the gas it’s just push-push-push. It’s not easy to get the back end to come around when the axles are locked at the same speed, and that applies to every 4x4 vehicle I’ve driven, not just the Jeeps. Even the Niva, which is surprisingly well balanced and tends towards oversteer even in the dry will turn into an understeering pig as soon as you lock the centre diff.
"awmaster10" (awmaster10)
01/06/2017 at 14:43, STARS: 0
Not enough throttle? I was saying im experiencing more oversteer in response to throttle with the pathfinder than in an XJ or the 4runner. Meaning if I were to drive with less throttle in 4hi it would feel understeery. I mean the point of the article was how fun it is to drift an SUV in the snow, which requires throttle.
"StndIbnz, Drives a MSRT8" (stndibnz1)
01/07/2017 at 12:16, STARS: 1
Very true.