27 replies to this topic

[DavidGraves]

Howdy

 

Before you overthink it go back there today or tomorrow and walk the hill.

 

Find out the actual conditions under all the white stuff.

 

Gravity wins every time on ice.....

 

the only instinct I might have had would have been to try and steer to shoulder edge looking for some traction in an unpacked edge of the road or trail.

 

Glad you and your rig are okay but no need to go on a buying spree thinking you can avoid all issues while driving.

 

David Graves

 

PS Wifes' car is a '16 Tacoma OffRoad TRD with the electro crap and it often takes the driving away from us.

[wicked1]

 

PS Wifes' car is a '16 Tacoma OffRoad TRD with the electro crap and it often takes the driving away from us.

 

Yeah, that's why I have the stability kill switch I mentioned in the first post.  Just driving on a curvy road sets the stability assist off in a way that could cause an accident!  It basically slams on the brakes when I'm going around a corner, causing me to slide forward when I was under control.  Common issue with lifted Tacomas, apparently.   
So I already don't trust the electronic driving systems in this truck.  Which is why I'm left wondering, was I really sliding and ABS saved me?  Or did ABS almost kill me... again....
 

[ski3pin]

wicked1, from the varied responses here, you should see there is no silver bullet. As you'll come to learn,snow and ice is very different one storm to another and also can change throughout the day. Experience will teach you how to handle the conditions you encounter. Do not get in a hurry to change tires, etc.

 

In the meantime, drive slow and with caution.

 

In regards to my earlier post about the road down to our house. The only real solution for us is to keep the road clear and clean.

[JaSAn]

I learned to drive on 21st ave w in Duluth, Mn (~20º slope).  If you are truly sliding (no traction) there is little you can do.  If your tires are rotating you have a little bit of steerage.  If they are locked, steering can imitate a spin.  If you use the accelerator, the torque force vector of the axle will initiate a spin (left for forward, right for reverse).

Studs help on ice, but if you are sliding on compacted snow above 10ºF chains are the your only hope.

 

P.S. we had neither true winter tires or ABS back in the 60's and I drove a stick.

Edited by JaSAn, 28 January 2021 - 06:58 PM.

[rando]

Yeah, that's why I have the stability kill switch I mentioned in the first post.  Just driving on a curvy road sets the stability assist off in a way that could cause an accident!  It basically slams on the brakes when I'm going around a corner, causing me to slide forward when I was under control.  Common issue with lifted Tacomas, apparently.   
So I already don't trust the electronic driving systems in this truck.  Which is why I'm left wondering, was I really sliding and ABS saved me?  Or did ABS almost kill me... again....
 

 

The ABS will only kick in if it detects that a wheel that should have been turning is not turning, so in this case you must have locked up at least one of your wheels, so ABS did its thing.   Pretty sure the 3rd gen Tacoma has 4 channel ABS so it will only pulse the brake that is locked.   The fact that you could still control the vehicle under the conditions is a testament to how well ABS works.

 

To echo what others have said, the BFGs are not really snow tires and are even worse on ice.   I have them on my Tacoma/FWC but have real snow tires on the daily driver Prius.    Unless there is enough snow that ground clearance is an issue, the 2WD Prius with Michelin X-Ices outperforms the 4WD Tacoma in most cases.   In terms of safety, stoping is often the most important aspect, and four wheel drive doesn't really help you there whereas snow tires and ABS will.

[Bigfoot Dave]

JaSAn was darn near a next door neighbor. I grew up in Superior Wi and now live at the top of the Duluth hills. They are steep and I find that if I do as others have mentioned and put the truck in neutral  it removes the "push" from the engine idle and adds controll in icy conditions when trying to stop or go down a steep hill. We have one of those at the cabin with a slight super to the low side. Unless the snow bank is high it's a long way down over the edge.

Enjoy the pucker factor while you can, Bigfoot Dave

[smlobx]

Wicked you did not mention feeling the brake pedal pulsing when you were going down the hill. If the ABS was engaged you should feel the brake pedal pulsing. If it didn’t then you may have an issue with the modulator or something similar. 
Our car club teaches a teen survival driving school and one of the exercises is to get the student in a situation where they have to brake as hard as possible and feel the brake pulsing so that they won’t be surprised when it happens on the open road. This is done in a large parking lot with cones set up in a safe environment. Several times the kids find out that the car they drove and thought had ABS didn’t have a working system...

[ntsqd]

I once launched a Suburban a couple feet into the air because the ABS kicked on. When I finally got it stopped I unplugged the ABS computer. The truck was working just fine and we were under control prior to it's interference. Sold the truck with it unplugged and advised the buyer to plug it in at his peril. Either I am driving the truck, or it is driving the truck, but we are not BOTH driving the truck. YMMV....

[goinoregon]

glad you are ok.  when i started the post, my thought was to use 4wlo, and creep down the hill.  i have a gmc std, and not aware that 4lo disables the abs. but will check.  it seems odd that your vehicle in 4lo, disables abs - as they are 2 totally different systems.

[Kolockum]

glad you are ok.  when i started the post, my thought was to use 4wlo, and creep down the hill.  i have a gmc std, and not aware that 4lo disables the abs. but will check.  it seems odd that your vehicle in 4lo, disables abs - as they are 2 totally different systems.

 

Most trucks disable the ABS when you are in 4-Lo. You don't want ABS to kick in when you are in the process of trying to crawl over an obstacle.