Which level of 4WD did you have?I have a 96 Jeep Grand Cherokee. Boy, do I hate that thing. 180 hp and slips in the snow more than I thought. In the blizzard of 2000 when we had a 98 Jeep Wrangler, we couldnt get out of the driveway before we were stuck. Another time, goin about 20 mph in slush we fishtailed. Actually twice. If your looking for wintry off-road, I dont think a Jeep would be the best. AWD with Traction Control is better. Jeeps are for mud.
You only get a locking rear diff in the hummer h2's or h3'swake said:Which level of 4WD did you have?
I shopped for GCs at one point and learned there are three levels of 4WD. I believe it was Select Trak II that was the true 4wd.
Most people I've come across don't realize that the majority of 4wd vehicles on the road are not really 4wd. They're open differentials front and rear, meaning that only one front and one rear wheel actually provide power to the ground.
My first 4WD vehicle was a Trailblazer, it came stock with open differentials front and rear. There wasn't anything I could do with the front as it had a cheap non-standard differential that nobody made aftermarket parts for. The rear was a standard 8.5" GM though and I did put a G80 mechanical locker in it. It was a night and day difference the second winter I owned the vehicle with the new rear differential.
I'm new to the Escalade world so I haven't experienced a real winter with it yet, but I was very disappointed to learn that GM's top of the line luxury SUV didn't come with some type of LSD or locker as standard equipment.
I agree fully with you.I guess they don't think those of us that own these high class caddies take them off road.
Not only the Hummers. From what I remember the G80 locker rear was an option on the Denali which is essentially an Escalade in different clothing. I thought some Escalades had it as an orderable option as well.You only get a locking rear diff in the hummer h2's or h3's
I guess they don't think those of us that own these high class caddies take them off road.
I do know mine has a LSD in the rear idk about the front there are sites where you can run the rpo codes or call a dealer and have them run your Vin and you can find out.
Out of curiousity, do you have the locking rear differential (G80 RPO)?I have actually taken my 2004 Escalade off road. Not babying it, real serious off roading. The AWD is great. I have the regular short version, not the ESV or The truck. The performance on these are better than any truck of other SUV I have ever driven off road and on the road. Nothing can beat it in my opinion.
I have had my truck in both dirt and mud dirt it don't matter the speed mud you have make sure you keep your momentum unless you want to break a wheel free of traction but that was with my old tires I haven't tried mud yet with my new tires.wake said:Not only the Hummers. From what I remember the G80 locker rear was an option on the Denali which is essentially an Escalade in different clothing. I thought some Escalades had it as an orderable option as well.
It's a safe bet that most won't see any off road conditions heavier than a dirt driveway. I remember living in the L.A. area and saw 4wd Jeeps with, "Mall Rated" stickers on them above a silouhette of a jeep with it's front wheel on the parking curb. LOL. One of my coworkers who kept his vehicles long term told me he had his truck in 4wd one time in 14 years of owning it. He didn't know if it even worked anymore since it had been about that much time since it was last engaged.
My Trailblazer had a big increase in off road capability with the G80 I added to it, if I understood the stability system (active braking system) a little better I'd attempt a transplant into the Escalade as well.
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Out of curiousity, do you have the locking rear differential (G80 RPO)?
Also, how did it behave in low traction conditions like dirt and mud? Stability/Traction control on or off?
I have experienced this in a older ford explorer it is fun to fishtail the rear end around just be aware of trees(not even thinking of trying this in my truck)smelly$cat said:I think the G80 RPO code is just a limited slip diff. I have a 2wd suburban with the G80 RPO code written in the glove box. When in snow, when one wheel starts to spin, the other side kicks in and both wheels spin and typically give better traction. My suburban is a 05. It actually has a suspension and body lift and 37" BFG Mud terrains on it. Kind of corny since it's a 2wd, but, I just had it out on some snowy dirt trails this past weekend and it went everywhere! Even up some fairly steep hills that I didn't think it would make it up. I just keep my foot lightly on the gas and it fishtailed it's way up the trail. Pretty fun actually.