Jump to content

Snow/Off Roading Vehicle Settings

ripcurlksm
 Share

Recommended Posts

ripcurlksm Enthusiast

ripcurlksm

Posted
Posted (edited)

Truck: Stock 2018 Silverado Crew Cab 5.3L Z71

 

 

1) Snow on public roads:

What are the best vehicle settings for fresh 1-4" snow on town roads and highways or 1" of ice on side roads? I've always used 4x4 High and have ~380lbs of sandbags over the rear tires and axle in the bed. I've read some people suggest 4x4 Auto? Under what conditions should I consider disabling stabilitrak and/or traction control?

 

What settings will put me in the best scenario to keep control of the truck?

 

2) Off roading on semi-maintained roads:

This year for hunting season I will be driving up to 15 miles on poorly maintained forest roads that are likely rutted up in some areas and washed out and uneven. I have a lot of experience on dry desert type roads but not so much on mud and snow off road. I will be driving conservatively and have all the recovery gear and comms, but wanted to get some advice on a few specific areas. My goal is just to get to the location I am planning to reach safely and back home.

 

My perfect example/fear is driving 15mi down a terrible muddy road with ice patches and then returning to my truck in a few days with 1-2 feet of snow on the ground and trying to get home:

  1. How much will I benefit from disconnecting my sway bars?
  2. My tires are Michelin Defender at 35psi, can I air down to 15psi?
  3. Stay in 4x4 High?
  4. When should I consider turning off stabilitrak and/or traction control?

 

What settings will put me in the best scenario to not get stuck?

Edited by ripcurlksm
CamGTP Senior Enthusiast

CamGTP

Posted
Posted

If there is just snow on public roads I just stick it in 4AUTO, the truck is pretty damn fast at putting it into 4WD if the rear wheel start slipping. I don't like driving in 4WD unless it's a ton of snow because I'll forget sometimes and going into a tighter turn in 4WD can start to bind stuff up if there isn't a lot of snow on the ground.

 

If you're offroad, just put it in 4WD and it should be fine. No reason to air down the tires in my opinion. Only disable traction control if the truck just can't do anything if the T/C is freaking out. But in 4WD it should let you get away with a lot before it stops letting you move.

  • Like 1

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing

  • Latest Articles

  • Posts

    • James Beyer
      Trading 7.3 (Godzilla) for G.M.C gas

      By James Beyer · Posted

      Congratulations Isttype, on your gmc. Really like my 2024 2500hd sle doublecab now with 85,500 miles.  I checked the oil today at 4800 miles since last oil change and barely reading on the stick.  I don't care if GM says it's Acceptable adding a quart every 2000 miles because that is 100% BS, It is not a 1966 Harley Shovelhead! Sounds like it's setting up a future failure like I had with my 1500 6.2l. Other than oil consumption problems, I really like the 6.6l gas and 10 speed is really nice.  Towed a light 4000 pound trailer last week and averaged 14 mpg.  I was pretty impressive that a 7300 pound gas truck did 14mpg towing, Later-
    • Grumpy Bear
      OCI, not when but why?

      By Grumpy Bear · Posted

      Long Term Cold Cycle Limited Testing   Back to the 1990's and XOM's million mile test. Since then there have been others and there will be more. Schaeffer's, AMSOIL to name two. Of these Schaeffer's is the stand alone which I will explain in a bit later.    http://papers.sae.org/600190/:   http://papers.sae.org/850215/:   Up to 75% of  engine wear occurs on cold starts. These two links (above) provide the technical reasons for engine wear. In a nut shell, and by a large margin, cylinder wear is what takes out most motors and even with a pre-oiling system that part of the engine is dry enough on cold starts and cold warm up to pierce Stribeck.   So when you put a motor, or a car, on a dyno for a million miles stopping only for oil changes, (yes fuel is uninterrupted) or break down maintenance, you are depriving the test of the most important part of it's wear cycle. Yes a million is then a pretty easy walk even for a mineral oil under those conditions.    How about cleanliness during the long test cycles? Same thing. Varnishes that stick rings and insulate parts are laid down by repetitive 'heat cycles'. It's the cool down the precipitates the varnishes. These long runs also hinder acidic attack caused by cold start richness and less than optimal cold start ring sealing. They hinder water formation and enhance breathing of the crankcase; the petri dish of acid formation, the first step in sludge formation, amalgamation and precipitation. These motors are also monitored and controlled for water and oil temperatures to within the "normal operating range".      https://www.swri.org/sites/default/files/sequence-iiih-test.pdf Note the test sequence in some boutique oils literature for testing, API IIIH, is not the standard used for the ILSAC G7 testing. Does that mean it is irrelevant? No, not as used. As used as a 'visual guide' it makes it's point. The G7 weighted piston deposit minimum is lower.      Back to Schaeffer's. That was a cyclical test of an engine in fleet service and not a dyno mule and if you saw the video it was not mirror clean but wear was low.    There are oils like BioSyn and other 'Renewable" source oils that taught cleanliness and have proven themselves in fleet testing. Havoline an other example.    The newest ILSAC G-7 test prioritize cleanliness, LSPI mitigation and fuel economy OVER WEAR. In comparison Porsche C30 Specification Verses ILSAC G-7 Specification below:      Some will balk that this graph isn't apples to apples and I will challenge that in that this graph represent the SPECIFICATION and not the any One Oil Performance.   It is absolutely possible to minimize wear, maximize cleanliness and mitigate LSPI etc., It just isn't cheap and currently I see none that are not walking toward profit over performance.     
    • asilverblazer
      Intermittent no-code issues on 2022.5+ V8 trucks — what did the shop fail to capture?

      By asilverblazer · Posted

      I don't think you will need a split, separate product, etc., the OBD port should be able to deliver everything you need. Since your device would be plugged into it all the time, it wouldn't miss anything.    Hardware in this case will be the easiest part of your project - ELM 327 devices will already deliver all the data you need. Reporting/software is where your advantage/marketability is.
    • Coastie05
      2027 GMC Sierra: Official Discussion

      By Coastie05 · Posted

      I do too. I’ll never be stuck again 😂
    • KARNUT
      2027 GMC Sierra: Official Discussion

      By KARNUT · Posted

      It has happened to me a few times. I carry a jumpstart-tire inflator with me.

  • GM-Trucks.com Clubs

  • Popular Contributors

×
×
  • Create New...