Taking delivery of my 96 Tahoe (hopefully) today.
Question for all concerned.
yesterday we got about 1" of snow with lots of Ice.
my wife and I get into her 95 Z28 Camaro, and can BARELY make it out of the driveway, (slipping /sliding).
We get to the post office which is up a hill, and make it half way up and start sliding backwards.
After that it was Black ice (in the shadded curves) going down the mountain.
Now all of this was on pavemnet.
So my question is, given the SAME ROUTE ,iF I had my Tahoe, would I have just put it
into 4 Wheel "HI" and gone on my merry way?
Would it have "hurt" the Tahoe leaving it in 4Wheel "Hi" going down the mountain, even though 70% of the road was dry and only icy in certain corners/shady spots?
my speed would have been no more than 50 MPH.

Roger

 

Here are some of the basics regarding the GM Insta-trac 4X4 system:


Never use it on dry pavement, it can bind up and damage components.


Use at any speed in 4-Hi is permissible however I have no idea why anybody would be going fast on slick roads.


The system enhances traction to get the vehicle moving but does little to prevent loss of control at speeds greater than about 20mph.


Insta-trac is not capable of skirting around the laws of physics, and if driven aggressively on slippery roads it may inspire a certain level of confidence but once traction is lost and the vehicle starts to depart from controlled flight you are in serious trouble, it can be much tougher to regain control of then a conventional 2WD automobile.

 

So given my exapmle (in my original post), I'm assumimg I would have put my tahoe in 4-HI, to get out of the driveway and down to the main highway, and then put it back in 2-WD?
That makes sense. [&:]
So I guess going down the mountains through the shady spots/turns, I should keep it at 20 MPH or under as opposed to putting it into 4-HI before coming to every corner/shady spot, down the mountain?

(bear with me here, I'm a Newbie)

Roger

 

Compared to your Z-28, the tires alone on the Tahoe will be a massive improvement in overall traction. Good tires make a world of difference imo. 4-wheel drive doesn't do much of anything going down hills (unless in 4 lo). On snow, it's better to use rpms to slow you down, touching the brakes as little as possible. You'll be surprised at how well the Tahoedoes in the snowusing 2wd.

 

So does the Auto work ok at any speeds and anytime? I guess insta trac is different from the new hoes?