i'd like to see YOUR numbers that say that 4WD makes a car less stable at speed, tw. or is it just an opinion based in feelings?
If you're going down a wet road at 55 mph, and you hit a long puddle...like the kind that form in lanes where the road has rippled from use..... and the tires on the right side begin to hydroplane.... (most 2 wheel drive cars are actually ONE wheel drive)
.... if that drive tire happens to be the one to lose traction suddenly and begins to spin faster because the gas is still being applied and there is no resistance from the surface...
.... the driver senses the loss of traction, maybe corrects course to get away from the puddle, and now that wheel that had been spinning extra fast because it lost traction, GRABS the drier spot, and weee! your car jerks, maybe you get back into the puddle, suddenly slowing, and wooo! you're in a spin.
the car that shunts power to the tracking wheel when it detects spin maintains even acceleration the whole time as they swerve around the dickhead in the honda that just bought it in front of them.
Roll over occurs more in vehicles that have high centers of gravity and narrow tracks. I don't know what that has to do with 4WD. The Wrangler will roll if it's been lifted 6 inches. The worst culprit back in the early 90's was the Bronco II. VERY tall and narrow. The Suzuki got all the press, but the Bronc was worse. I put 1.5 inch spacers (3" wider track) on my commander and a 2.5" lift kit. It's a 5200 lb vehicle. plus it has YAW control...VDC ...it engages the ABS to correct detected roll....
I'd imagine it would roll more easily than an Altima... but it's not scary to drive at all. It really did do a great job in that snow on Sunday. The Nitto Dura grappler tires are new and excellent, as well.
As for ABS, bruce is right. it's not supposed to make you stop FASTER. it's supposed to help you stop SAFER.
Off road or in deep snow, ABS lengthens stopping distance because a locked up tire will amass a pile of dirt or snow in front and that actually aids in deceleration. but how often do we really drive in that condition?
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