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Subaru All Wheel Drive Traction Testing Video. I have a 2008 RAV4 AWD which is OK in the Wisconsin winter but Subaru beets it in this test. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kRniF4JQN2U
I obviously dislike the tire pressure systems in general.However the Jeep system is neat, not only monitoring pressure, but it also gives you a digital display of each tire's actual pressure (accurate to less than 1 psi of my analog dial pressure gauge).It's generally great as you can even watch pressures rise as the tires warm.But yes, you lose that and/or would have to reprogram with each wheel swap.And when they are below spec I believe the digital readout that displays that or other data like fuel mileage, range, coolant temp, oil temp, oil pressure, trans temp, Nav directions, etc. Will alternate flashing between the selected display and a warning triangle, which is not only annoying but makes it hard to use the other selected function.
The latest Honda CRVs (and other Honda models) have eliminated the stem-mounted pressure transmitters. They now rely on the anti-lock wheel speed indicators to detect low pressure (a tire with pressure lower than the others spins at a different RPM). No more reprogramming. No more dead batteries in the transmitters.I use all-season tires on my AWD CRV and did just fine when I lived in NH.
Does your 2008 RAV4 have a locking center differential? And if so, would it have helped it up the ramp in that demo?
Wouldn't it be nice if they would put a couple of switches on the console so you could manually 'lock' all that electronic stuff. Like having an ABS switch on a dual sport. When you just know you are going to be sliding, at least let all the tires spin at the rate you want them to instead of the computer just 'turning off' the power (or applying full brakes).Rant off. PS being an engineer makes me hate other engineers some times :(
I guess I take a different approach in tires/driven-wheels. I drive RWD with snow tires from mid-Nov to the end of March.AWD will help give you traction when you attempt to accelerate. Snow tires will help you accelerate, turn, or brake.
Stopping is more important than going. I like studded tires for that.
I found these related videos interesting.http://www.tirerack.com/videos/index.jsp?video=26https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=STaximkaQxo
One could argue you won't have to stop if you can't get going.Chicken - egg ?
But, at the video's are pretty good at showing, (and years of driving in the winter in Minnesota) snow tires are superior on everything. Even all season tires pale compared to all snow tires.