With the old lock-up 4wd systems, engaging 4H or 4L would lock all 4 wheels together so it was MUCH less likely to brake-lock any individual wheel…Better overall control was obtained in this way under severe off-road conditions… Sort of a purely mechanical anti-lock brake system…
But with todays ABS brakes being virtually standard equipment, going into 4L offers little if any advantage…Glare ice and a steep hill?? YES Chains! (Or stay at home)…
@Caddyman
I had 3. …4 wd drive trucks without abs but with traditional hi/low range part time system and driven a bunch of others of people I worked for. Several had the manual hubs ( which I still prefer for a variety of reasons ) and found this while driving, plowing and sanding slippery mountain wintery roads.
One cannot generalize about when to use low range for braking down hills in a variety of conditions. About the closest I have heard was the statement by one very knowledgable fellow ( may have been you) that you use the gear going down, that you would going up a hill. That’s not too far from he truth with using engine braking.
You would never climb a hill or try to accelerate with low range in slippery conditions; there is too much torque available. Neither would you use the same gearing for engine braking; to much uncontrolled braking. I hear what you are saying about brake lock but you still have uncontrolled braking which can easily result in loss of steerage in low range as opposed to high… Even the increased drag in 4 wd coutd cause you to loose control while in neutral.
Ice, whether going up or down, and low range cannot coexist. And, the slipperier the conditions become closer to glare ice at warmer temps ( the slipperiest state) the less you consider engine braking at all. This was true before ABS, and as you seem to agree, is especially true with ABS.
Chains have their own problems. They do help initially, but. Once you start to slide on ice, they can skate, just like ice skates you wear. The key to not reaching that situation is to never over engine brake but over all, studs work best on ice.
NOTHING outperforms V-bar chains on ice…Chain up all 4 wheels…Only have one set? Put them on the BACK axle and put some weight in the bed so the chains can bite…
NOTHING outperforms V-bar chains on ice…
Definitely a good choice for a studless tire, and I agree in this case. But nothing performs better in general ? No substitute for point loading. I put 80 per tire of these on my tractor each fall on R4 Industrial tread tires, which are notoriously, the poorest tire you could ever use on ice on the worse vehicle you can use on ice (because of excessive engine braking). http://www.maxigripstore.com/
I can go up and down a glare ice road where with ice chains, sliding side to side were was the norm. Snow traction is best with chains. But studs, as long as the are long enough, work best. When lake ice racing with the SAABs out on good old Pushaw Lake, we used studs. My Neighbor typically rides his bicycle over the lake and up and down iced up hills with no problem. He has studded bike tires. I repeat, nothing beats point loading on ice…NOTHING !