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Driving in the Snow - How’s the 4A system?

Markpf189

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Now that there’s been enough snow on the ground in many places, I’m curious how the 4a system works. I’ve never had a 4a vehicle, but I’ve heard Ford has a good system. The idea of cruising in 4a in the winter seems ideal to me as some areas around here will be plowed nicely while others aren’t, plus you never know when black ice will appear.
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604Bronco

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I had a 4A system on my Silverado, and now on my Bronco - I love it.

Similar to you, we have some areas well plowed and some not so much. The past week or so I've left my Bronco in 4A and it has handled like a champ in everything from wet roads to fairly deep snow, without any issue. If it was a consistent deep snow, I'd like flip it into 4H but there was never any need.

We also get heavy rain here at times, and another reason I was interested in 4A.
 

UncleBuck

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The 4A system...what I call "Subaru Mode"....is fantastic. I live in Western Washington, north of Seattle and I took delivery on 12/23. We have had snow on the ground since 12/26 which is unusual in the Seattle area. I've been driving around a lot in 4A, including a trip through Stevens Pass on HWY 2 in Washington. It's very stable and smooth with no wheel slip. I went wheeling through some deeper snow and switched to 4H but it wasn't really needed....maybe in real deep stuff where you need a little more wheel spin. I drive home from work on I-5 at like 4am and I tested out the 4A on packed down icy snow on the interstate. I could comfortably do 60+ mph. I would not recommend that in traffic, but alone on the freeway it was impressive.
 

Roll Sound

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I just got back from Tahoe. I can tell you the Goodyear MT tires and the 4A mode rock in heavy snow and ice. I was absolutely confident going over the Kingsbury Grade a bunch of times and it dominated HWY 395 north of Bishop. I never used Slippery Mode, 4A was all that was needed.
 

talbot

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4A works very well in snow and slippery conditions

Ive been using it quite a bit over the past few weeks in light and deep snow
the sas tires are horrible on ice and without it i would fish tail all over the place
 
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PNWAdventurer

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Similar to UncleBuck, I live just north of Seattle. I've had it in 4A most of the past week, very seamless. I can confirm the performance on the freeway with compact snow and ice. In my opinion, it performed better than my 2012 Range Rover which was all wheel drive.
 

Theherofails

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Ive taken my Sas Badlands up in the snow several times.

4A does a KILLER job in the deep powder with the Goodyear tires and zero issues on the road in 4A. Its reacted quickly and kept me pointing straight when passing over black ice. I did have my back end slide out once or twice in clay mud while using 4A though.. so watch it on really slippery surfaces. For those unfamiliar, clay mud is as slippery as ice.. You can barely walk on it without falling on your ass.

I've had to do a few steep hill climbs in mud and snow, and it's never let me down.

The tires do need to be kept at a higher RPM to clear the snow.. keep that in mind if you are bogging down. Give it some gas and hold on tight. They'll clear quickly and you'll be on your way no time at all. Also works great in the mud. People will debate until the end of times on proper snow driving, so your mileage or routine may vary.

I've tried keeping my tires at max PSI to cut through the snow and I've dropped them to about 12 PSI to ride on top. Overall, They seem to do a lot better when you deflate to 12-15 PSI.. That should be obvious for people who drive in snow often as these tires are a whopping ~13" wide.

I keep it in 4A in the snow unless I'm expecting LOTS of traction issues or to lift a tire. I think you'll be happy with it.
 

AKBronc49

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It snowed 18" the day before I took delivery 11/23. My Bronco hasn't been in 2wd since I've owned it haha. I leave it in 4A most of the time (like my f150) but there is a slight delay at times. When I anticipate it might slip a little before kicking in I run 4H.

Also running studded Nokian Hakkapeliitta LT3's.
 

pakrat

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This thing just grips the snow with the sasquatch tires. I live in Tahoe and after 200+ inches over the the holidays I can say it has been thoroughly tested by commuting, just driving it for the hell of it, and dodging clueless tourists in feet of untracked snow, packed snow, slush, and ice.

New sasquatch tires and 4A or 4H make this as capable as any truck or jeep I have owned (except all four wheels chained up and a plow... yes I own a plow service during winter). But I will say compared to my work Denali in "Auto" the 4A seems to be noticeably slower to react, though nothing to complain about. Gotta say the tires and high clearance are probably everything here, not the 4A or 4H ability. We will see how they perform as they wear but so far these are leagues better than KO2s IMO.
 

Dirtyjed

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Sport mode with 4A is nothing but smiles per hour.
 

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4A is great. Also in western WA. My sloped driveway was very icy so I did a test. Couldn’t get up on 2H. Switched to 4A and it climbed up with no perceivable slippage, I expected it to let front slip a bit before kicking in but it didn’t even have to think about it I guess
 

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I have used 4A a few times in mixed conditions here in MI. Similar to past auto systems, but maybe just a bit more refined than past examples (Chevy Tahoe and older “Full Frame” Explorer. I have used it off road and in any sort of higher speed or mixed surface driving, it has been my go to. Slower stuff or when forward traction is the primary focus, 4H or 4L. I really like the choice.
 

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Is Ford’s 4A similar to Chevys? My wife’s Tahoe 4A is rwd and then when it detects slippage, the front will engage.
I noticed on our 4A it shows power being distributed to all four wheels which seems more like a AWD system.
 

WuNgUn

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Now that there’s been enough snow on the ground in many places, I’m curious how the 4a system works. I’ve never had a 4a vehicle, but I’ve heard Ford has a good system. The idea of cruising in 4a in the winter seems ideal to me as some areas around here will be plowed nicely while others aren’t, plus you never know when black ice will appear.
I'd say it behaves like an older Gen Haldex unit, where the hydraulic pump needs to run up the pressure for the system to transfer power. In other words, slow to react. Lol
Newer systems constantly have pressure and control it with solenoids
 

Techun

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Is Ford’s 4A similar to Chevys? My wife’s Tahoe 4A is rwd and then when it detects slippage, the front will engage.
I noticed on our 4A it shows power being distributed to all four wheels which seems more like a AWD system.
That dashboard graphic is a lie.
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