4wd no-no’s

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relak

relak

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4wd means you go a few hundred yards farther than the 2wd truck with good tires before you get stuck.

Any time you’re off road and doing stuff that peasant cars can’t do, the risk of parts breakage is there. A lot of breakages are understandable in context, but often times, not so much to the driver.

So, you’ve lost traction and are losing forward momentum, you floor it, suddenly your front right tire hits high traction and -- SNAP.
This can happen to any off road vehicle.

be mindful of traction capability, if you’re in doubt, get out an walk the path first.

Tire pressure matters. if you decide to hit the beach - air down. It does make a difference. What pressure you need depends on the terrain. Can you off road at 38psi? Yes. It won’t be as comfortable, or as compliant but you can.

Donuts. 2wd. Can you do it in 4wd? Yes. but if you suddenly catch traction with the front, things can go really bad, quickly.

pull people out going forward if you are at all able to. Reverse is not the preferred way to get someone out.

Water crossings are an unknown. if you don’t know how deep it is, probably best not to drive your 80k dollar truck into it.

If you haven’t been to Raptor Assault, go.

Off road with locals or local Raptor owners. Don’t be ashamed of being a n00b and asking n00b questions. All of us have been n00bs and asked those questions.

I find my most used modes are Normal & Sport for street, M&S for off road.
I’ve tested the other modes - rock and Baja but I keep coming back to mud and sand. Not quite as high strung as baja, good throttle response etc.
Thanks, Mr. slayer! Well written and helpful response. I’ve been to raptor assault but they really didn’t get into the “what will break your truck” because it was mostly a promo for how awesome Ford stuff is.

I’ve noticed the slippery mode kills throttle response (for good reason) but when I’m playing in the snow I’ve kept it in normal mode and just manually selected 4auto. Not sure if that’s a bad thing.

I appreciate you taking the time write this up!
 
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Nex

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Depends on what type of snow, how deep, and what kind of playing you are doing. There are no absolute rules on when to engage which mode.
 

Sozzy12

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My gen 1 came with a supplement to the owner's manual specific to the raptor and explained the different functions and how to drive in different conditions. Nothing new in it for me but for a newb, I could see it being a worthwhile read.
 

JURASIK18

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Why would you attempt donuts(slipping the rear) in 4wd? Makes no sense.
Made sense at the time, Its called learning.
I was trying to get more traction/momentum drifting around in an icy/slushy parking lot which also included a few donuts. My thoughts were that the 4A would kick in when needed and disengage once it had enough traction. I drove the crap outta that Raptor ,thats why i bought it and thats what warranty is for.
So you have never done a donut in 4wd??
 
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