Rain &4wd

MY164X4 · March 20, 2018

Need some advice today I have a 65 mile trip to Nashville tn, and it is raining all day, is it safe to drive in 4wd?

And if so high or low, this is my first 4wd.

I have BFG K02 LT.

And these ****in tires slides in the rain.

SMH...

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Johnny01 · March 20, 2018

Need some advice today I have a 65 mile trip to Nashville tn, and it is raining all day, is it safe to drive in 4wd?
And if so high or low, this is my first 4wd.
I have BFG K02 LT.
And these ****in tires slides in the rain.
SMH...

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Never drive in 4 wheel drive in rain or dry highways, ONLY use 4 wheel drive if you are driving in snow or ice, Then use 4 wheel high.Only use 4 low if you are off road.You can trash your running gears if you do.your owners manual should tell you this.johnny01.

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MY164X4 · March 20, 2018

Never drive in 4 wheel drive in rain or dry highways, ONLY use 4 wheel drive if you are driving in snow or ice, Then use 4 wheel high.Only use 4 low if you are off road.You can trash your running gears if you do.your owners manual should tell you this.johnny01.

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Thank you for the knowledge.

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aseibel · March 20, 2018

DON'T drive in 4 HI on paved roads. a short trip is won't hurt anything, but when you turn your steering wheel, everything binds and you are wearing out the tires and everything in between the wheels.

there are people on this forum who use 4auto when it is raining because they don't know how to feather the gas. You can do that and it won't really hurt anything. very slight amount of extra wear and tear.

My opinion is, don't floor it when the road is wet. under normal driving, you are fine to use 2wd even in rain.

tnchevy · March 20, 2018

I have been driving rear wheel drive trucks and cars my whole driving life (30 years) and my 14 silvy is the first one I have ever owned where I do put mine in auto 4wd when the roads are wet. The problem with my truck is that when you are turning on to an incline the truck holds a higher gear way too long and then downshifts abruptly causing the rear to get loose. Traction control does not usually engage either. I know the cheap SRA's aren't helping anything but IMO the transmission is too blame.

BigBadSierra · March 20, 2018

You can run 4 Auto any time wet or dry as it's a clutch based system and will not lock the drive line up so no binding when turning. It also has very little issue with heat.

I will run it in wet or rainy conditions. Have it might as well used it IMO.

4Hi locks the hubs so you have to have extreme low traction surface or it will bind up and wear stuff out. It's also doesn't like to run faster than 50mph or again heat becomes an issue.

For me on the roads if the truck is sliding in snow in 4 auto then I will run 4Hi So 3 or more inches on the ground and your already crawling at a slower speed.

It sure can help get you out of a slide for sure.

Crstfr · March 20, 2018

Auto is the way to go in rain~..

Sierra 5.3 · March 20, 2018

I will use 4auto as well in the rain at times. This is only the case when turning from a side street into a heavy traffic road. It's not fun losing traction during rush hour.

14BlackSilverado · March 20, 2018

Yea just put it in 4wd auto.

MY164X4 · March 20, 2018

Well 4 auto it is .
Oh well If anything goes wrong I'm still under warranty 5kmiles left on it.

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garagerog · March 20, 2018

I'm old so my opinion probably doesn't count for much, but I've followed tire threads along with many others on this forum. Aggressive lug tread mud and snow tires may look cool or manly, but unless at least 50% of your driving is in mud or snow conditions most people would be better served with a good all season tire, especially if you have 4wd as a backup. Take the OP's pictures of his tread pattern, there is no easy way for water to channel off in heavy rain at highway speeds, it has hydroplane written all over it, in fact that should be on the sidewall. And as far as auto 4wd, in my experience if your at 50 mph+ you're already in trouble before it kicks in.

MY164X4 · March 20, 2018

I'm old so my opinion probably doesn't count for much, but I've followed tire threads along with many others on this forum. Aggressive lug tread mud and snow tires may look cool or manly, but unless at least 50% of your driving is in mud or snow conditions most people would be better served with a good all season tire, especially if you have 4wd as a backup. Take the OP's pictures of his tread pattern, there is no easy way for water to channel off in heavy rain at highway speeds, it has hydroplane written all over it, in fact that should be on the sidewall. And as far as auto 4wd, in my experience if your at 50 mph+ you're already in trouble before it kicks in.

What's a decent tire but good in rain.

So I should stay away from LT tires?
They were on the truck when I purchase it.

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garagerog · March 20, 2018

Should you stay away from LT tires? not necessarily, those are available in all-season patterns too, but unless you tow heavy loads a P-rated tire will give you a smoother ride. Tirerack.com is your friend when picking out a tire, lots of reviews on all the available tires for your rig there.

TXGREEK · March 20, 2018

What's a decent tire but good in rain.

So I should stay away from LT tires?
They were on the truck when I purchase it.

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I was like you when I bought my new truck, looked at the AT tires cause it’s a 4x4 and needs beefy tires, not! I’ve bought countless of tires through the years, “ALL” AT tires are heavier then regular all season tires and will make you loose mpg’s as soon as you put them on and you’ll definitely notice longer breaking distances as well as loss of 0-60 cause of the weight. No way around it, I went with Michelin Defenders and never looked back! Excellent wet and dry and though not AT’s they’re great all around tires. Unless you tow I’d stick with P rated cause they’re more comfortable/softer riding. As for your question on 4x4 for rain or snow...select “Auto 4x4” which will switch to high 4x4 if the computer notices tire slippage.

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aseibel · March 20, 2018

13 minutes ago, MY164X4 said:

What's a decent tire but good in rain.

So I should stay away from LT tires?
They were on the truck when I purchase it.

anything with channels that run around the tire in straight lines are better for rain/highway use. That's what all season tread looks like. anything with aggressive off-road tread (mud-terrain) like what you have is not going to flow the water away efficiently. The large flat lugs are easier to hydroplane.

I think the problem most people who use 4auto encounter is not on when cruising on the highway, but when accelerating from a stop. nearly any tire can break loose easier on wet pavement, especially when driving over painted lines like crosswalks. The reason 4auto helps you there is because it is splitting the power between 4 tires instead of 2, thus requiring 2x throttle before breaking loose. if you have to pull out into a busy road from a stop, that is the benefit.