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Thread: These Snow Days are the Days I love My Car......

  1. #1
    Gold Member bulldog's Avatar
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    These Snow Days are the Days I love My Car......

    Dang, first AWD car and every snow storm it amazes me more. I got a 2014 Subarua WRX with snow tires and was just passing people in giant trucks sliding all over with no problems.

    Matty and Hoopty used to always tell me how great these cars are in the snow, but I didn't think they were this good. Thumbs up for symetrical AWD





    And before it is said, yes Audi and BMW's are sick in snow too....I could imagine, never owned one. Not comparing, just happy at my little Rex.
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    Gold Member bulldog's Avatar
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    Re: These Snow Days are the Days I love My Car......

    Now I am sure Subaru puts out these type of videos, but the more I research it the more it becomes apparent all AWD is not the same. Even read some Volvo AWD cars only get 10% to rear wheel and is more of a "selling technique". WHo can break this down if these videos are legit or just hype?

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    Gold Member bulldog's Avatar
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    Re: These Snow Days are the Days I love My Car......

    Bulldog's Motto: F*ck around and I'm going to bite you!!!

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    Gold Member bulldog's Avatar
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    Re: These Snow Days are the Days I love My Car......

    Bulldog's Motto: F*ck around and I'm going to bite you!!!

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    Senior Member Captain Obvious's Avatar
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    Re: These Snow Days are the Days I love My Car......

    Pretty interesting videos. I was never disappointed with the AWD in my Volvo S60R. However, when I moved to the WRX, it definitely seems to work better but only a bit. I never found myself stuck in the S60.

    I do love it in the winter with my winter rim set up. I am running Goodyear UltraGrip Ice and have been pleased. As a winter set, they do everything I ask for snow days etc. No that my hook up at Goodyear is gone, I may consider something else just to see what else does / doesn't work. Curious, what tires do you have on your Rex?
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  6. #6
    Gold Member bulldog's Avatar
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    Re: These Snow Days are the Days I love My Car......

    Quote Originally Posted by Captain Obvious View Post
    Pretty interesting videos. I was never disappointed with the AWD in my Volvo S60R. However, when I moved to the WRX, it definitely seems to work better but only a bit. I never found myself stuck in the S60.

    I do love it in the winter with my winter rim set up. I am running Goodyear UltraGrip Ice and have been pleased. As a winter set, they do everything I ask for snow days etc. No that my hook up at Goodyear is gone, I may consider something else just to see what else does / doesn't work. Curious, what tires do you have on your Rex?
    Nice. what year is your WRX? I always wantd one for years so finally saved up and got one and have loved the car since day one.

    I actually have some cheaper snow tires as I usually buy Nokian. Right now I have Cooper Tires as it was a bind I was in. Bought the WRX brand new last December (2013) and little did I know the WRX came with summer tires. First snow i almost killed myself so I was forced to buy snow tires right after I bought the car. A friend recommended Cooper and I tried then and have been happy. Nokians were still better, but these work well for the price. I did end up buying some Rota rims so I now have two sets; summer and winter setup
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    Senior Member birchyboy's Avatar
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    Re: These Snow Days are the Days I love My Car......

    Our RDX has been very good to us from an AWD standpoint. We're selling it, though, and moving to either a Grand Cherokee or Tahoe. My wife will have to learn to to turn on 4WD when necessary.

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    I'm pumped... Let's let the healing begin! Lifetime Supporter ~Barn~'s Avatar
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    Re: These Snow Days are the Days I love My Car......

    Too bad you don't have an MDX for sale! Probably will be my next ride since I offloaded the 'Burban awhile back.
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    Gold Member madvlad's Avatar
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    Re: These Snow Days are the Days I love My Car......

    The FWD Maxima did just fine last night lol
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    Senior Member WolFeYeZ's Avatar
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    Re: These Snow Days are the Days I love My Car......

    So did the FWD Mazda 3. Perfectly fine weaving between AWD SUVs that were going 30 under the speed limit on a 40 mph road.
    Last edited by WolFeYeZ; Thu Feb 26th, 2015 at 10:11 AM.
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    Senior Member birchyboy's Avatar
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    Re: These Snow Days are the Days I love My Car......

    Quote Originally Posted by ~Barn~ View Post
    Too bad you don't have an MDX for sale! Probably will be my next ride since I offloaded the 'Burban awhile back.
    Great cars. Not great at towing, though Otherwise, I'd be getting one for my wife.

    Are you sure it's big enough for your Brady Bunch?

    Edit: How about a package deal for a Yukon and RDX ????

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    Gold Member madvlad's Avatar
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    Re: These Snow Days are the Days I love My Car......

    Quote Originally Posted by WolFeYeZ View Post
    So did the FWD Mazda 3. Perfectly fine weaving between AWD SUVs that were going 30 under the speed limit on a 40 mph road.
    I left work at 11 last night and the roads were not plowed at all, still rolled 60 mph on 470 lol. Pretty crazy how it snowed less last time through and CDOT did great cleaning up but yesterday was a Uber fail lol
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    Gold Member bulldog's Avatar
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    Re: These Snow Days are the Days I love My Car......

    Quote Originally Posted by birchyboy View Post
    Our RDX has been very good to us from an AWD standpoint. We're selling it, though, and moving to either a Grand Cherokee or Tahoe. My wife will have to learn to to turn on 4WD when necessary.
    Any idea what they mean by RDX's having "Tech AWD" (also called Intelligent AWD)? Is that the same as how Subaru measures tire spin and transfers power individually to each tire?

    If so is that standard on all AWD or is this a option on some; seems standard with Subaru, but not sure how it works with other brands.


    EDIT: Think I answer my own question with this. http://www.infinitiusa.com/now/techn...eel-drive.html (although this one seems to turn off FWD when not needed; I know my WRX does not do that)

    But still is this a feature on some AWD or standard on all? My research shows only some offer individual wheel power when needed.
    Last edited by bulldog; Thu Feb 26th, 2015 at 10:23 AM.
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  14. #14
    Senior Member birchyboy's Avatar
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    Re: These Snow Days are the Days I love My Car......

    Here's a quote from a review:

    The suspension setup entails struts up front, and the multilink rear embraces a simplified version of the SH-AWD system employed on the RL sedan. In normal operation, 90 percent of the power goes to the front wheels, but this can vary up to 70 percent to the rear. At the rear axle, the SH-AWD can send as much as 100 percent of available torque to one wheel, which Acura says improves handling by overdriving the outside rear wheel in a corner.
    The Tech package includes a nifty 4 bar graph that shows where the power is being sent.

  15. #15
    Senior Member Captain Obvious's Avatar
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    Re: These Snow Days are the Days I love My Car......

    Quote Originally Posted by bulldog View Post
    Nice. what year is your WRX? I always wantd one for years so finally saved up and got one and have loved the car since day one.
    2013 5dr. I just decided that I wanted a AWD Sports car to replace the Volvo and the WRX fit all the reqs. Parts were stupid expensive on my S60 and it always needed something. Considered a STI, but felt as a DD, the WRX was better fit, as well as I wasn't interested in electronically adjustable suspension, the Volvo had it and made all suspension work more expensive. I do wish I had more room, but I survive.

    I heard similar things about the summer tires during winter so just accounted for buying a winter set on day 1.
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  16. #16
    Gold Member bulldog's Avatar
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    Re: These Snow Days are the Days I love My Car......

    Quote Originally Posted by Captain Obvious View Post
    2013 5dr. I just decided that I wanted a AWD Sports car to replace the Volvo and the WRX fit all the reqs. Parts were stupid expensive on my S60 and it always needed something. Considered a STI, but felt as a DD, the WRX was better fit, as well as I wasn't interested in electronically adjustable suspension, the Volvo had it and made all suspension work more expensive. I do wish I had more room, but I survive.

    I heard similar things about the summer tires during winter so just accounted for buying a winter set on day 1.
    Nice, we probably have very similar cars then since not much changed from 2013 to 2014; I just have the sedan. I did get the Limited because I wanted HID headlights and a sunroof; just two things I hate to be without nowadays. It also came with the STI shifter and exhaust so that was a nice touch because I have always modded my cars, but am planning to not really do this to the WRX. Same with you I considered the STI, but I felt I was a bit too old at 36 to have a giant spoiler and all the bells and whistles that come with it. Then I read the WRX is actually faster than a stock STI in a 1/4 mile because of the 5 speed vs 6 speed and that kind of sold me; plus was nice to save some cash. I love this car and by far the best and most fun car I have ever owned.

    The summer tire issue was scary. I had heard how great these cars were in snow so that first snowfall I tried to stop and slid straight though and my car went sideways about to slam the curb. I was shitting because the car had like 25 miles on it. Somehow the AWD kicked in and still saved me even though I was on frozen summer tires; inches from hitting the curb. I got to work and told my friend and he was like "I bet they did the same thing to you as me and gave you high performance summer tires". We walk out and sure enough they had; awesome since they gave me a season pass to Winter Park, but never mentioned the tires.

    I do like the Rota wheels I got. Ever heard of those? They are basically cheaper versions of fully forged Volk rims that costs a lot. For the price these were way cheaper and still quite a bit lighter than the stock rims; which are nice rims on the WRX anyways. For once in my life I stayed with 17's and now am happy I did; much better than the 19's I used to get that were basically just for looks. Some people hate Rota wheels, and some love them...so far they have been great for me http://www.rotawheels.com/
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    Member texlurch's Avatar
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    Re: These Snow Days are the Days I love My Car......

    Jeeps Quadradrive is still the standard.
    Not only do you have a torque sensing transfer case, but also in both axles... it'll send power AWAY from the tires that spin... to any of the 4 corners.
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  18. #18
    Gold Member bulldog's Avatar
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    Re: These Snow Days are the Days I love My Car......

    Quote Originally Posted by texlurch View Post
    Jeeps Quadradrive is still the standard.
    Not only do you have a torque sensing transfer case, but also in both axles... it'll send power AWAY from the tires that spin... to any of the 4 corners.
    Pretty sure that is how Subaru's AWD is, but still trying to learn all the different types.
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  19. #19
    Senior Member Moderator Spooph's Avatar
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    Re: These Snow Days are the Days I love My Car......

    Quote Originally Posted by WolFeYeZ View Post
    So did the FWD Mazda 3. Perfectly fine weaving between AWD SUVs that were going 30 under the speed limit on a 40 mph road.
    so that was you.... dick... :P

    Quote Originally Posted by bulldog View Post
    Any idea what they mean by RDX's having "Tech AWD" (also called Intelligent AWD)? Is that the same as how Subaru measures tire spin and transfers power individually to each tire?

    If so is that standard on all AWD or is this a option on some; seems standard with Subaru, but not sure how it works with other brands.


    EDIT: Think I answer my own question with this. http://www.infinitiusa.com/now/techn...eel-drive.html (although this one seems to turn off FWD when not needed; I know my WRX does not do that)

    But still is this a feature on some AWD or standard on all? My research shows only some offer individual wheel power when needed.
    This usually refers to some sort of electronic control, similar to traction control and usually run by the same computer. It uses brakes individually to slow/stop spinning wheels so the power can be transferred back to the other wheels. Fancy and farkly with lots of stuff to break and fail.

    Quote Originally Posted by texlurch View Post
    Jeeps Quadradrive is still the standard.
    Not only do you have a torque sensing transfer case, but also in both axles... it'll send power AWAY from the tires that spin... to any of the 4 corners.
    Bulldog is right, this is how Subaru's work, and has been doing this for decades. Jeep is a little behind.

    Bulldog, to aid you in your search, look up a vicious coupled limited slip differential. Subaru's symmetrical AWD in principle is a limited slip diff for all power transfers. So, front axle has one, rear axle has one, and the drive shaft in between them has one. What makes Subaru cool is how they integrated the front LSD with the middle LSD as part of the manual transmission. The auto has some funk about it.

    Anyway, the point to all of this is that symmetrical AWD is a fully mechanical system which is very simple compared to electronic assisted finaglings. Also, this means you don't need Traction Control to make the system function as there is no "brain" to sense when a tire slips. All it uses is friction. Building off of this, Subaru's TC is pretty dumb (although very effective) when compared to BMW, Audi, Volvo and such.

    Obviously, I'm on my 3rd Subaru, and thus a groupy, so take my opinion with a grain of salt.

    So why don't all manu's do it this way? Aside the licensing fees... Because gas mileage sucks. It always will. Somewhere, at all times, a tire is dragging the other 3 down. Volvo's get great mileage because of that 90/10 default split on their "smart/electronic" system.

    Also, I hear ya on no grip with the wrong tires... Too much power, too quickly. Doesn't matter how many tires you spin, they're still overwhelmed. Throw some environment specific tires on there and it's all good! I'm sure you've found out, but with my first subaru it was a weird feeling to learn - pushing on the accelerator to get out of trouble instead of easing on the brakes...

    Also please note the difference between AWD and 4WD as they are not the same thing. AWD is all the time. 4WD is selectable between 2 and 4, and usually 4 LO. The big distinction here is that 4WD has a transfer case, AWD vehicles do not.
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  20. #20
    Senior Member Clovis's Avatar
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    Re: These Snow Days are the Days I love My Car......

    I love the Subaru AWD system.

    I have a '11 Rex and my wife has a '13 Forester turbo.

    About a year and half ago when we bought the Forester we had a VW Beetle convertible to be sold. I took the bug to work so they could meet me that day to look at it. It ended up snowing a lot and the drive home I was cursing not having my WRX with it's brand new all season tires.

    A 20 minute drive took 45 minutes and I had a really hard time getting up my street (we lived on a hill back then). I got stuck in my drive way which had a foot of unshoveled snow. After I got home I spent another 15 minutes shoveling snow so I could get the car into the driveway at least.

    For shits and giggles, the Rex was in the other spot, covered in the same foot of snow. It started up and backed out now problem. I found myself laughing as I was driving up the hill, through the fresh unplowed / undriven snow (ie the center of the road) - no problem!
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  21. #21
    Senior Member Moderator Jmetz's Avatar
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    Re: These Snow Days are the Days I love My Car......

    I've only had to use 4wd on the Ram once so far.
    I've got more flavor than a packet of macaroni.

  22. #22
    Gold Member madvlad's Avatar
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    Re: These Snow Days are the Days I love My Car......

    Quote Originally Posted by Jmetz View Post
    I've only had to use 4wd on the Ram once so far.
    well yea, says the guy who had race slicks through winter lol
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    Senior Member Ezzzzy1's Avatar
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    Re: These Snow Days are the Days I love My Car......

    I like love it hear! Where im from in California its all hot and stuff....

    I HATE DRIVING IN COLORADO WHEN IT SNOWS BECAUSE THERE ARE SOOO MANY PEOPLE HERE NOW THAT DONT KNOW WHAT THE FUCK THEY ARE DOING WHEN A 1/2 INCH OF IT SHOWS UP!

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    Senior Member sag's Avatar
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    Re: These Snow Days are the Days I love My Car......

    yeah Haldex awd sucks (volvo/vw) you can throw one on a lift, put in gear, let it drive and grab a rear wheel and stop it by hand. i liked my wrx with snows but without the fancy diffs its way too pushy for my tastes. need that shit to rotate and step out cleaner. STI and EVO ftw. i dont have any experience with quattro or bmw.
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