We can't forget about the trail dust or long lineups at the ferries or border etc....
A/C is a triple A luxury!!!! I for one would prefer to have my windows rolled up and be in comfort while following apack down a dry loging/gravel road or waiting to lod onto a ferry and you have some guy in a convertable beside you smoking a cuban, or some noisy kids or music.

Whats your take on these new vehicles and the traction control.
I always turn it off in my car (G35) and my truck (Armada) it really pisses me off when my tires slip and it takes away the control of the throttle.

How does old school posi/limited slip/trac loc/lockers compare, in your opinions?

And how about these ARB lockers...

 

Anything that takes the control of systems in the vehicle that the driver SHOULD know how to deal with gets yanked or disconnected in my vehicles.

The problem with modern drivers (particularly the young, texting, phone-calling, traffic weaving, morons out with daddy's Lexus) is that the manufacturers keep trying (and failing) to make the car smarter and let the drivers be as dumb(-***) as they want to be! If you don't know how to drive, then don't blame the car because you are stupid!

What modern car makers can't see is that by adding all this ridiculous technology to the vehicles is they are just setting themselves up for the lawsuits and legal mess when the stuff fails! They are so busy figuring out if they CAN do it and spending no time determining if they SHOULD do it. Quit trying to make cars smarter and throw money at making the drivers of your cars smarter! Educate them don't feed their ineptitude.

--Steps down from soapbox, picks it up and stuffs it under his arm, walks off--

As for ARB lockers, I personally don't care for them simply because the idea of relying on compressed air to maintain the position of the locker is a terrible idea. Rail cars, and trucks with air brakes don't use compressed air to engage ANY part of the system. The air keeps the system FROM engaging. At least this way, if the air pressure fails, the system lets you know by safely bringing the vehicle to a stop. With the ARB the argument becomes, "Which position should the locker be left in then if you use air to hold it in a locked or unlocked position?" The problem is that the answer is unique to the conditions and situation that the vehicle is in at the moment of failure of the system.

Give me electronics or a mechanical link to give me the peace of mind to be certain of the locker's position. Just my $0.02

 

I agree 100%.

 

i would never drive anything that takes control !!! one of my very first cars ,even before i knew how to turn a wrench . the brakes went out completely !!! i still drove that car for six months it made me a better driver in the long run because i would try to anticipate every stop it kept me on my toes i like nothing that takes control of the vehicle.

 

When I was about 19, I had a '82 Datsun 200sx that I'd gotten for free, I did some engine work and I drove that car HARD. 7000 rpm second gear clutch dumps and all. I blew up the rear in that car, and a piece of spider gear tore through the back of the housing, and oil was leaking out. I had my buddy weld up the carrier into a homemade spool to bypass the spider gear problem, and I welded up the hole in the housing, and slammed it back together. Now I had a spooled rear, and it was awesome to play with. It wore the rear tires really bad, and they had small flaps of rubber sticking off the tread from making turns. The car would actually slow down a lot when I'd go through a turn, because of the spool. But as it turned out, this feature came in handy, because, like you, the car lost most of the brakes one day, and when I wanted to stop after that, I'd just swerve back and forth a lot in the road and let that spool do the work.

 

those are learning experiences that we will never forget .modern cars an trucks are being made idiot proof .when winter hits and the roads get bad i always see some,ok alot of morons in there suvs an all wheel drive cars driving like maniacs slipping an sliding . i see so many suvs an new trucks on there roofs ,rolled all because they were going to fast for conditions . there modern suv gave them a false sense of security .

 

I'll stick with my chances to survive in a full size big truck in this ever shrinking world of small cars.

 

99% of these people who have bought a 4x4 modern suv and nevr driven one before, think that they can stop better than 2 wheel drive vehicles. DOH!!!! They yhink that if they get into an accident they will be hurt less, not thinking that if they caused the accident, they will hurt others more..

 

Trucker: "The rear end is gone from your SUV, why did you pull out in front me??"
Lady in SUV: "I thought you could stop faster, because you have 18 tires!"
Trucker: "..."

True story.

 

p.s. Doesn't All Wheel Drive make you invincible?? You can even stop on wet ice??
From the wheels that slip to the wheels that grip and all that stuff??

 

Walking is simple. Right?

We are taught to walk.

People don't know anything at all unless they are taught.

 

Older the better, IMO.

 

I think its a natural SELLING POINT manipulation,

Salesman "These Honda Pilots are for Family safety. When its snowing or icy, you dont have to worry, YOU HAVE 4 WHEEL DRIVE!!" They dont tell them or they themselves dont know, that once a 4x4 has lost brake traction, they are an out of control SUV, just like any out of control car or rig.

 

Now if you have a AWD with 4 new studded snow tires on it, you might be good on just about any winter surface. plus you could do some ice racing on the weekends. haha

 

You make a very good point!